The instant the light turned on, Chase’s pick was in his hand and his shield was up. The shrieks and hoots of the Uchmute sounded like the chimps they resembled, and Chase grit his teeth as he looked up at the elevated rings above the four of them. Each ring was filled with shrieking Uchmute, like the stands of a sports stadium, though the Roman Colosseum would probably be a more accurate comparison.

And low and behold, there’s their Caesar, Chase thought to himself as his eyes narrowed behind the lens of his mask, staring at the form he’d seen once before.

Isushi Riniki grinned down at Chase and the dokkalfar from where he relaxed on a throne formed from the twisting branch of a tree. The chimps wore clothing similar to the Japanese Samurai, armor and all, with a red and white haori, the only distinct difference being the red tattoos on the Uchmute leader's face.

“I must admit,” Isushi said as he stood from his throne. “I was unsure if you would take the bait. My advisor was certain that you wouldn’t.”

Another Uchmute stepped forwards, wearing white robes with paper charms pressed against the fabric with red wax, baring their teeth in an eager, hungry grin. Chuckling, they said, “It is rare, but I do so love being wrong. It makes life more…interesting.”

Chase tightened his grip on his pick, the muscles in his forearm tensing. The scene above played out like a grotesque circus, and he was all too aware of the role he and his companions had been cast into: unwilling performers in a deadly spectacle. The air was thick with the musky scent of the Uchmute, mixed with the smell of damp earth and blood.

“We didn't come here to play your games, Isushi,” Chase called out, his voice echoing slightly in the enclosed space. The throne room—or whatever this twisted arena was supposed to be—was dimly lit by flickering torches that cast long, dancing shadows across the walls.

Isushi's grin widened, an unsettling display of amusement. “But you are here, nonetheless.” He gestured grandly to the surrounding Uchmute. “And as long as you are here, you might as well entertain us.”

Chase glanced at his dokkalfar allies. Their expressions were grim but resolute. Readying his shield, Chase glared up at the stands full of sentient chimps, as Isushi made another grand gesture with his arms, facing the surrounding Uchmute as he declared, “My faithful! I know things have been difficult, our chance at conquest stolen from us on the eve of our victory by the Cruel Spirits!

“But while the Spirits are Cruel, they are also Kind. For now we have an even larger world to conquer! To rule! To enslave! A world filled with not just our own kind, but the Dogs!” The crowd cheered. “The elves!” Another cheer. “And the humans.”

The last word was spat out like it was a curse, and the response of the crowd was equally full of vitriol, a wave of hate that washed over Chase and the dokkalfar.

This is bad, Chase thought to himself, shifting his grip on his pick and getting ready to fight. He didn't like where this was going, and neither did the dokkalfar next to him, based on the looks they were sharing.

Isushi continued, his voice booming through the room. “These Dogs, these elves, and these humans. They are weak! They are pathetic! They are not like us, they are not Uchmute, not ape! But they are here, in our realm, under our rule. And tonight, we will show them the strength of the Uchmute!”

Isushi's declaration was met with thunderous applause and more frenzied shrieking from the assembled crowd, their excitement visibly growing as the prospect of a vicious spectacle unfolded before them.

Chase felt the tension rising in his muscles, an instinctual reaction to the hostile atmosphere and the adrenaline that coursed through his veins. He exchanged a glance with Thorir, Skeld, and Errsai, the dokkalfar scouts with their faces were set in lines of determination, their eyes sharp and alert. They knew the stakes were as high as they could get—failure here could spell disaster not only for themselves but also for their comrades back at the Outpost.

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As the noise from the crowd reached its peak, Isushi raised his hand for silence. The sudden drop in volume was almost as jarring as the noise had been.

“Bring forth the entertainment!” he commanded, and at his words, gates on opposite sides of Chase, Thorir, Skeld, and Errsai opened, releasing a flurry of creatures that made Chase’s eyes widen in shock and surprise.

“The chimps have dinosaurs?!” Chase shouted in shock at the trio of ancient animals came charging at them.

Chase tightened his stance, lowering his shield to cover his lower body while raising his pick, the sharp point gleaming in the dim torchlight. Beside him, the three scouts all raised their longarms and took aim.

The ground trembled as the massive creatures hurtled towards them. Each one was a behemoth in its own right, scales glistening with an unnatural sheen under the flickering torchlights, eyes glowing with primal rage. The first to reach them was a stegosaurus, its spiked tail sweeping viciously at Chase's head.

With a swift duck and roll, Chase avoided the tail's bone-crushing strike, feeling the wind from its passage ruffle his hair. He popped back up just in time to see Thorir firing his longarm, the loud crack of the shot echoing around the stone chamber as a bullet found its mark in the dinosaur's thick neck. The creature roared in pain, but didn’t stumble or fall.

“Focus on their joints!” Skeld shouted over the din, his voice calm despite the chaos unfolding around them. “Aim for the weak points.”

Errsai nodded, taking careful aim at the stegosaurus before firing. Chase meanwhile rolled past the first of the dinosaurs, bringing his shield up to parry the trio of claws slashing down at him.

A part of Chase’s mind noted that the second dinosaur was the clawed herbivore that was in the most recent big dinosaur movie, another part was noting that it said a lot about how much he’d changed in the last few months that his main concern was transporting the dinosaur corpses back to his cabin so he could make stuff out of them.

But practical thoughts had to wait—survival was paramount. Chase pivoted, thrusting his pick forward and feeling it sink into the softer underbelly of the raging dinosaur. It let out a furious screech that vibrated through the chamber, its claws flailing wildly in an attempt to reach him.

Chase pulled his pick free, preparing for another strike. "Thorir! Eyes up!" he yelled as the stegosaurus, wounded but still formidable, charged towards the dokkalfar with renewed fury.

Thorir responded instantly, dropping to one knee and taking a more precise aim. His next shot was true, penetrating the eye of the beast. With a pained bellow, the stegosaurus faltered, crashing to the ground with enough force to shake the chamber.

The third dinosaur, a feathered, graceful raptor of some kind, leaped at Errsai with astonishing speed. Its talons gleamed like curved daggers, aimed ferociously at the dokkalfar's torso. Errsai, agile and experienced, sidestepped the lethal strike, slashing upwards with a short-bladed weapon that gleamed blue in the dim torchlight.

But the raptor was far more nimble and flexible than expected, its powerful legs allowing it to change directions quickly. Its claws tore into Errsai's armor, slicing through the tough leather with ease. Blood spilled, staining the ground.

Errsai grunted in pain, her teeth bared in a snarl, but she didn't retreat. Instead, she pressed the attack, using her short-bladed weapon to deliver a series of rapid, precise strikes against the raptor's neck and head.

The raptor hissed in anger, but deftly avoided the majority of the strikes.

Chase couldn't focus on the other fights any longer, however, as the clawed dinosaur came for him again.

The crowd’s frenzied shouts escalated, their thirst for blood and violence palpable in the thick air of the chamber. Chase felt a surge of revulsion mixed with adrenaline—they were not just opponents fighting; they were being made a spectacle of, entertainment for a brutal audience.

Determined not to become a mere footnote in this grotesque theater, Chase steadied his breathing and readied himself for the next onslaught. The clawed dinosaur, its eyes a fiery amber, charged with astonishing speed for its pot bellied build. The ground shook with each massive step it took towards him.

Chase shifted his weight, preparing to move at the last possible moment. As the dinosaur lunged, he sidestepped deftly, swinging his pick upwards in a wide arc. The pick made contact with a sickening crunch, embedding itself into the side of the dinosaur's head. Roaring in pain and fury, the creature thrashed wildly, trying to dislodge the weapon and its attacker.

Using the handle of his pick as leverage, Chase pulled himself up onto the dinosaur's back, clinging tightly as it bucked and twisted in an attempt to throw him off. A pair of cracking sounds and the faint sensation of impact through the dinosaur told Chase that Thorir and Skeld were focusing their fire on his dinosaur now that the stegosaurus was downed.

Curling his legs around the dinosaur’s shoulders, and hooking an arm around its long neck for balance, Chase took his pick and swung at the neck. His hope was to kill it quickly, before it could do any harm to the scouts that had come with him. But he was too slow.

The dinosaur reared its massive head, knocking Chase sideways. He struggled to maintain his grip, the scales beneath his hands slippery with the creature’s blood. With a desperate grunt, Chase pushed himself back upright and tightened his hold around the dinosaur's thick neck.

From below, Errsai shouted something indiscernible, her voice filled with pain. The dinosaur that Chase was riding like an angry bull slashed in front of it with its clawed hands, and there was a second pained cry.