Thick lines of purple pulsed beneath my green skin. My veins tensed around the neck of the axe. The dwarf then struck me in the kidneys that forced me to withdraw. The sluggish orc shoved Harper to the ground behind him while Elix and Don clashed against the elf. A beige cloak flowed behind him as he danced with scimitars in each hand.
My mind had wondered how modern humans could have come this low so fast. But maybe they’ve always been this way. Societal chains broke and this world had let them loose. Rules, ethics, and laws be damned. This was the new world.
“I’ll carve your flesh, boy! Make you bleed and linger. The Arena won’t save you then,” the dwarf said with glaring emerald eyes.
“Come and take it!” I said in turn.
The only chance I had with my fists was defending and countering when the opportunity presented itself. And present itself it did. A missed swing. A punch to his thick skull. A tackle to the ground. A blade pressed against my chest. Screeching. Singing against my metal plating. It scraped to the side as I pinned his throat with my forearm. I reached for the axe, a mistake I quickly learned; for my ears rang from his knuckles that greeted them. We scuffled against the stone. When the dwarf whiffed a second punch and reached for the axe again, I put my newfound knowledge to the test. I grew weary of the fight and my [Stamina] had dipped to 6/20 points. His [Strength] overpowered my own. Given the chance, he’d deliver a blow that’d end me in seconds. This must end quickly. It was my last thought before a feverous, exhausted, and bubbling rage took hold of me.
I let go of the dwarf’s limbs and pressed his head into the ground. The taste of his anatomy flooded my mouth. Salt. Sweat. Iron. Blood. My tusks dug deep into his throat. His gargled screams turned breathless. His windpipe bubbled. His heart stood still.
I tried to stand but my legs wobbled, bringing my knees atop the dwarf’s corpse while I caught my breath. 15 points of [Health]. 1 point of [Stamina]. I was in no shape to aid my friends until I restored my energy.
The elf was too busy spinning and slashing the air to notice his fallen companion. Don and Elix held their shortswords taut. They were challenged with quick prods and unexpected blows, unable to respond in kind. Skin-deep cuts sliced across their bodies and arms that stung like a razor’s blade.
Don pulled back to fire an arrow into the elf, but Elix was unable to hold his own. The half-beast mage was swept to the ground while the half-elf archer had only his bow to protect himself. Two scimitars, swung eagerly, chopped into Donovan’s longbow.
The blade-dancer’s gaze grew wide when he couldn’t retrieve them with ease. The hybrid elves looked one another in the eye; one filled with worry, the other with zeal. Don, armed only with an arrow, pierced deep into the captor’s clavicle. Brought to his knees, he speared more arrows into him. Don kicked the limp pincushion to the stone and pressed against his own wounds. He stood atop the elf with 12/30 [HP], Worse than I, but I suppose it could've been worse if these fiends worked together in the fight.
Don and I had held our own, but Elix dealt with his foe the fastest.
When he rose from the dirt and realized our [Stamina] was too low to aid in his fight, he looked to the orc with a deadly stare. The orc responded with a yawn, barely concerned with keeping Harper cornered, let alone fighting a young half-beast.
“Let’s get this over with,” the orc muttered. He stood almost seven feet tall—closer to an ogre than an orc. His patchy facial hair and dirt-stained forehead didn’t help in his appearance. He kicked the wrought-iron head of the hammer, swinging it high into the sky, before landing it in his other hand. It twisted in his grasp as he watched Elix plant himself, the particles of the arcane shimmering off his hands like glitter.
The orc, letting not a moment linger, slammed his hammer down upon the beast. Elix dodged by a hair. I was certain to see him explode into a puff of feathers but the mage took the offensive. He reached for the hunched warrior and grabbed the sides of his brutish head. What once was a steady 55/70 points of [MP] turned into a rapid decrease that drained every point he had.
I knew not what nightmare the orc had to endure, nor what Elix had done to him. All I knew was what I saw. And what I saw… was frightening. Our foe had sunk his teeth into his own hammer. The cracked calcium. The torn tusks. Sounds of scraping and viscous gnawing haunted my mind. It was put to an end with the beast’s blade entering the back of the orc’s skull, exiting out of his bloodied mouth.
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“Eat it,” the mage said.
The dwarven corpse I rested upon dropped my knees to the stone as it, and the other fiends, were transported to the Arena. All bodies, gore, and gear to loot, went with them.
We found Harper curled into a ball on the outskirts of the colosseum, her cheeks stained with old tears. I looked to the board again with my once-bloody maw and saw that Opal’s duel had already ended.
“Shit!” I exclaimed, frantically searching for her name. Three more matches were recently added to the board, but I cared not. I prayed the trio of ransomers would lose their duels and Opal had survived. As soon as I read the words Victorious, I heard the shrill cry of a woman behind me.
“Harper!” she shouted.
The child responded with her own cry, not of sorrow, but joy. In the end, it was obvious they were family. Although the mom picked a bestial bloodline, her facial features were apparent on Harper. Neither tusks nor fluffy tails could’ve separated the two. As much as Carrion and the Creator tried, they couldn’t divide their bonds.
After squeezing her daughter tight, Opal looked at the three of us. I was sure she was going to be enveloped in fear and drag Harper away, but she didn’t. She saw our exhausted bodies and tired eyes. She saw through us. Opal mouthed a quiet “thank you,” and led Harper into the city. But before we saw her disappear into the fading crowds, the young half-orc ran back to us. She pulled a round apple-looking fruit from her basket and rolled it into my palm. She said no words, only a small grin that I’d cherish before she returned to her mother. Her buoy in the torrential seas of Hubloc.
“Where the hell’s my fallfruit?” Elix asked.
Don pushed his shoulder, “You were wanting to ditch her the entire day!”
“Yeah… but I didn’t!”
“Calm it, you two,” I said. “This quest is done. Now, I seek a bed of fur to fall into.”
“Agreed. I’m zapped,” Elix said.
“If you say so, berserker.” Don gave a sly smirk, “I saw what you did back there, you damn animal.”
“Tsk, I did what had to be done. Hard to fight when your friends take away your weapons.”
“To get them repaired!” Elix added.
Full of fruit and stuffed like the meat pies we engorged ourselves with, we traveled to the inn. I was pleasantly surprised to see the red-haired elf that had caught my eye again. But was disappointed to see her busy talking with other patrons. A crowd of four had taken space in the lobby and wooden chairs near the fire.
“Looks like a full house, Karn,” Don said.
I assured him that I would still ask, even if it was just an excuse to see the receptionist.
“Hey, again,” I said. “Any rooms left for myself and my crew?”
“His crew?” Elix muttered.
“You, again,” she sighed. “No private rooms left. You’ll have to sleep in the bunkhouse.”
“W-we can do that,” I said. I recognized my stutter and unfortunately so did the boys when I left the counter.
“Ooh, someone has a crush,” Elix snickered.
Don put a hand on my shoulder, “You wanting to get with that elf?”
“I wouldn’t heed his advice, Karn. He’s been with every bloodline on the road but none wanted to continue traveling with him after!”
“Who’s to say I’m not the one that departed from them? I think the last beast-chick I was with gave me fleas anyway!” Don said, scratching the back of his head.
I couldn’t help but cringe and exasperate my disgust. I hadn’t thought about the intermingling between the bloodlines and the hybrids, especially between my friends.
“I sure am glad I get to hear about this all night,” I jested.
“Wait until you hear about the orc!” Elix said.
Don’s face crinkled. A memory he wished to not relive and a story I wished to not have heard. Though the boards were tough to lie on, the furs and my pelt served their purpose and drifted me to slumber while listening to my companions. I thought of Opal and Harper, and how joyous they must be to finally be reunited. It wasn’t until my final moments of consciousness that I remembered Opal was sent to the Arena. I figured it was a mere coincidence or fate’s fortune shining down upon us, but then I saw those motherly eyes, and wouldn't have been surprised if she sent herself there on purpose.
Attributes Leveled-Up!
[Strength] — LVL 3 -> LVL 4
[Endurance] — LVL 2 -> LVL 3
Skills Discovered!
[Bite] Acquired!
[Grapple] Acquired!