Fighting School and Slave Market in the City, The Flesh Golem

At the furthest end of the wharf district, where most consider the edge of the city is the The Flesh Golem. A gladiatorial training school and slave market owned and operated by Geshwin, a women who made her way first as an adventurer, and on the sand. Her business caters to a number of different types of people who and what they are looking for.

Services

As a gladiatorial training ground Geshwin, or one of her trainers, offer lessons in combat styles and techniques. Between them there are very few styles, techniques, or weapons they do not know. Their training can be useful for adventures, would be gladiators, or typical city residents.

There are almost always a couple adventurers, or would be adventurers, training at The Flesh Golem. Because there are usually people training here Geshwin has contacts with a number of adventuring companies and mercenary guilds. With her contacts, she is also able to direct people to those who may be interested in hiring their particular talents.

For city residents the training is useful for personal safety and for advancing one's career. A number of personal guards are regularly sent to train at The Flesh Golem by members of the affluent. These men and women are trained in how to provide safety to their client. Freelance warriors and others who rely on their martial skills also are regular customers at the training grounds.

Self-defense is also taught to those who desire a basic understanding of protecting themselves. This training is not as involved in mastering a weapon, but in how to limit the attack until a body guard or city patrol can provide help. The techniques taught are simpler maneuvers of incapacitation and escapes from holds.

Full combat training at The Flesh Golem is harsh, but no non-slave gladiators have ever died in training. A person taking fighting lessons will most likely get hurt. Geshwin believes a fighter will get hurt, and most likely die, in a fight. Therefore, getting a person used to the idea of what it means to get hurt and to get beaten in a fight is the only way anyone can become a better fighter.

Additionally, fighting skills are taught at a much more intense level to slaves destined for the fighting sands of the arena. The fight trainers working for Geshwin work with the gladiators, allowing Geshwin to work with the paying clientele. This training is provided for the property Geshwin owns and to those others have hired her to train.

There are more injuries and a higher level of intensity to the training for gladiators. Geshwin knows the ring holds death, even when the fights are not scheduled to be deadly. The slaves are trained to be able to survive the situations that can arise in the arena. Most of these fighters are trained in techniques designed for one-on-one combat and small party fights.

Gladiator combats are usually performed by slaves, but there are times when the celebration requires additional participants. The rules of the city arena require free-lance gladiators to have fulfilled some level of evaluation of skill at one of the training schools. The Flesh Golem provides this service for the city. Before an untested person can enter the city arena one of the senior trainers watch the fighter to rank their ability to allow for solid pairings in the arena.

The final service The Flesh Golem provides is an auction block. Slavery in the city can be dictated by the government as a means of paying for crimes committed, most of these people are prisoners of the state and are put on work crews, but there are a few times they are sold into the service of others. This is usually done when the individual has a skill making them more valuable on the block than as menial labor.

Along with those dictated by the state people can sell themselves or their children into slavery. This indentured servitude is one way people allow for additional benefits in their own life, or for someone else.

All terms of slavery are for a specified period of time. A person can buy their way out of slavery, but the price is determined by the owner.

Description

The reason The Flesh Golem is located at the edge of the city is because of its size. Along with a training area that is gated for the slaves there are several other training areas for paying clients. Most of the areas are walled with rough wood to provide privacy for those who want it. The main house is for Geshwin, her trainers, and her house retinue which consists of slaves and hired help. There are a couple of low, long buildings housing the training gladiators, attached to a common area for them.

The training areas are designed to provide individual practice areas and group areas. The weapons are practice weapons, wood and blunt. There are also training areas for building stamina and strength. The gladiators in training spend most of their time in one of these areas.

The brick and stone main house is well furnished and taken care of. A person visiting Geshwin will note her home is clean with a lot of open space. The furniture is comfortable and practicable. There is very little in the furnishings that would be classified as art. Instead of art there are weapon displays throughout. Within the displays are functional weapons that Geshwin and her trainers are knowledgeable of. Each trainer has a private room and Geshwin maintains a suite of rooms as her private quarters. The live-in house servants also have their own rooms, albeit smaller ones, which includes the trusted slaves.

The wood gladiator/slave quarters are also designed to allow one person per room. Gladiators who have been successful also have been allowed to provide some of their own furnishings. Some have even been given larger rooms.

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