Someone had gotten around to convincing Enis not to kill his opponents and that really helped him gain a better reputation, but a sport-fighting career of promise wasn't developing and the man from Waykeep wasn't drawing the crowds that were expected.
The Baroness was not pleased.
They made the most of the rumors that were going around early on that the "wild man" from across the channel had killed another sport-fighter. The fights over the next few weeks got big attendance in anticipation of some uncontrolled rage, but soon crowds faded as Enis was disappointing his potential fans.
There was too much invested here to let the big man just fade away into bad ratings. The Baroness just couldn't let this opportunity pass and she applied all the influence she had, even employing sexual blackmail on a few of her favorite consorts to taunt him into a frenzy.
It wasn't working. Enis wasn't playing along.
"Where is my wife?"
The Baroness made a sad look. "One of the fighters took advantage of her, I am told." She squeezed the space between her eyes to hide her lack of tears. "She didn't survive."
He knew the woman was lying. Tessreen could have dismembered any of the play-fighters who challenged her. She was always a most capable warrior in the Pass above Waykeep.
Something within him told the Waykeep leader to play along.
Narrowing his eyes in mock-anger, he let his laser focus look at the woman in the face in the way that was strictly forbidden. "Which one?"
The Lady, flustered by the unfamiliar break in protocol, stuttered out "I d...d...don't know."
Enis began to hyperventilate for effect, far beyond his true feelings. He was turning red in the face and suddenly bellowed. "They will pay for what they have done! I will beat all of them senseless!"
Now, that was the sort of threatening tone the Baroness liked to hear. "Let's get you to the arena, wild-man."
Although there were weapons of various sizes and shapes attached to the walls, Enis chose to ignore them. The first man he was facing was no friendly acquaintance. The challenger barely acted human, pawing the ground with his feet, stirring up distracting dust and bellowing like a bear. The crowd roared, ready for the end of the wild-man, but Enis simply rushed forward, knocked away the brandished weapon, and struck the fighter in the face with such force that he flipped end over end and landed on his face jerkily.
The spectators were stunned for only a moment before they changed their allegiance and cheered for Enis. "I am Enis!" he shouted, "I protect the Alaed from the evil outside!" He might have said more, but another fighter was already stalking him in the arena.
"I defy you, Enis!" A double-edged ax swung out from the dust cloud and he ducked to prevent it from cutting off his head. These men were not playing by the rules of sport-fighting by the order of the Baroness, ready to kill. Enis swept his leg into the cloud and connected with a barely seen shadow before him, knocking the opponent down and stirring up more dust.
A quick swing of the big man's bulk caused a crack that many arena attendees heard readily enough, followed by a scream that curdled the blood. His opponent wouldn't be walking for some time. "I do the will of the Lord!" was the big man's reply.
The final challenger in the regular trio didn't wait for the dust to settle, launching himself over the haze with a twisting horizontal body and large scissor kick, one boot seeking to connect with the side of Enis' head. It must have whistled out because the Waykeep leader cocked his head just enough to create a miss. The contender hadn't anticipated hitting air and sprawled awkwardly beyond the big man.
Enis shook his head at the attempt. "I succor my bothers and sisters at the Pass!" He reached down and grabbed the poor man's head like some ball and pulled his body over his own head letting the connected body flail worthlessly behind and letting go to let the challenger fly back into the still unsettled cloud of dust. There must have been some conflation of the latest man with the previous one, as it set off another howl of pain.
Enis boomed out, "The Lord will protect his people and ease their defense!"
The crowd cheered in response as the broken men were dragged out of the arena with further painful cries. It could be readily seen, as the dust settled, the kneeling figure of Enis in a posture of prayer. The place was quiet reflexively, like the arena had suddenly become a sort of church. Then, the big man arose and held up both of his arms triumphantly. "The Lord is my strength!" The crowd gave a exultant response. "Glory to the Lord and his Mariner!"
Not knowing what else to do, the crowd began to chant "Wild-man, wild-man, wild-man!"
The Baroness, who had been sitting in her box high up in the midst of the arena crowd, rose with a mix of self-satisfaction that she had been right about Enis and a growing realization that she had likely unleashed a power that she could not control.