“So, you’ve been gone for a while. How did the talk go?” Alira sounded hopeful.

“We have a saying in our world that may apply here.” The breaking-the-news easy was off to an excellent start.

“And that would be?” Thalia didn’t yet know my penchant for delaying.

“It’s gonna get worse before it’s going to get better.” It was no smiling matter, so I was as serious as could be.

“What’s that suppose to mean?” Viper's patience was fading quickly.

“The high priest, whatever, is a major power-hungry asshole, so please have that in mind before you judge me too harshly.” Almost there, you just have to stick the landing.

This time they waited for me to continue. “The gods made him do a task, and he’s taking it out on you. I managed to convince him not to kill you.” I paused for dramatic effect. “But…”

“But?” Alira was not having it.

“But you might have to, maybe possibly, fight in the arena for your lives.” The last words were kind of whispered there.

Surprisingly, Steel was the first to react. “Did you just say we had to fight in the arena to the death?”

“No!” I imediatly said and they seemed to calm a little, but now I felt like the damn trolls with their double speak. “The fights are not to the death... but if you lose, you get killed.”

Alira snapped immediately, “How is that different? What are you talking about?” The decibels were starting to climb.

“Just trying to break the terrible news as lightly as possible,” if such a thing was even possible.

“Each of you has to fight in the arena.” I held up my hand in a sign to hold off questions. “He wanted to the death, I managed to give you a chance. There are four of you, so there will be four fights. If you manage to win two, you are all free. That’s why I insisted the fights to not be to the death.”

Thalia's demeanor changed as she slumped in her seat. “Well, I for sure ain’t winning any fight.”

“Maybe…” I started to try to reassure her.

“I’m a healer, very good in a team, beyond useless solo,” she finished sharply.

“Ok, so we only need to win two out of three. It’s doable. How good are you guys at fighting one-on-one?”

"And why aren't you fighting?" Viper interjected.

"To valuable?" I tried to lighten the mood but clearly it wasn't time for jokes. "Seriously though, I'm the only one they have to grant safe passage, and even that was into question at some point. Did I mention the leader is a giant power-hungry double-speaking asshole?"

“If they don’t have any magic, I’ve got a very good shot at victory. Otherwise…” Steel seemed to accept the situation, but his confidence was not that great considering he had been knocked out two times.

“I’m more of an assassin type; strike from the shadows. Fighting in an arena is terrible for me.” Alira was understandably not happy.

Viper was the most confident. “If it’s just one on one, I got it. No problem.”

“You may have an advantage; the Spiritwhisperer will definitely underestimate you. So, when you enter the arena, the other fighters will probably already be there. Try to get a read of them quick, and maybe choose one that you may counter in some way to improve your chances.”

“Ok, we enter in a line. Thalia, you stay last and take the one we all avoid so if we have to lose a fight, we might as well get rid of the most powerful opponent.” Simple yet effective plan from Alira.

They didn't leave us much time to strategize, as a few minutes after that, we were escorted out, and the arena was near the ziggurat, so it was a short walk. They were led to the lower levels while I had a vantage point from one of the floors.

Inside the arena, four trolls already waited. One was the classical brawler, massive, full of muscles; another was a spear-wielding female troll. The third one was a caster of some kind as she had no weapons on her. The last one looked the most unremarkable, short for a troll, not even lithe but very skinny; he had two daggers. He didn’t look like much, and while my facial expression reading ability was amazing, at sizing up fighters, I had no idea who was better or worse. I hoped they knew better.

As they entered Steel didn’t think about it much and chose the spear lady. Viper went for the big guy. Alira chose the caster, and Thalia was left with the average troll guy. So they all assumed he was the most dangerous. Damn.

King Asshole spoke, “The fights will be not to the death but to first blood.” That got some boos and jeering from the crown, but it died down quickly.

Surprisingly, Thalia stepped up first to the average but maybe dangerous troll. She had picked up a shield and a mace, the classic healer combo.

“Begin,” was heard.

He immediately used some sort of teleport ability, grabbed her shield, and in the next moment, his dagger was coming for her neck. She managed to raise herself slightly, and the dagger ‘only’ connected to her shoulder under the clavicle.

Thalia screamed from the pain, and for a second I was worried he was not going to stop, but he pulled his dagger from her shoulder to another scream and headed back.

Damn, he was so fast and vicious he actually went for the kill. If she didn't have that reflex, it would have been her throat.

The next “begin” pulled me out of my thoughts. Alira was next.

She had picked a sword and some daggers that were nestled all over her armor. The caster let Alira make the first move, and she sent a dagger her way, only for it to hit nothing as she turned to shadow and re-materialized a second later. She didn't seem deterred and sent two daggers with an interval about the same time she took to reform herself. The first one had the same fate, but she dodged the second while reforming.

She was being clever, clearly probing for weaknesses. It appeared that the female troll recognized this too, as she launched an attack.

A shadow tendril exploded from the earth not far from Alira’s back and launched at her, but in a surprisingly fast response, she dodged it and started running to the caster. She summoned two more tentacles at once, but Alira rolled under one and somersaulted over the other. Damn, she was good. Now within melee reach, the troll lady seemed not so sure and started backing up. Alira pressed her and swung to the right shoulder, but the weapon passed through. But, continuing in a fluid motion, a dagger promptly went for her leg, but a tentacle sprouted right near the leg and intercepted the dagger.

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The troll retreated to the other three tentacles, but Alira threw two daggers at her forcing her to de-materialize, then did a soccer tackle-like maneuver under a shadow arm, swung her sword right to her legs as she rematerialized. The troll was forced to awkwardly jump over the sword, but she was with her back to Alira for just a second, and a dagger made its way into the caster's back.

She was way better than I had imagined. Why was she losing to armadillos in the damn forest? Was it a setup of some kind? Still maybe she was injured, or not feeling that good that day, I was trying to come up with a scenario that didn't involve some sinister connotation.

Again I was taken out of my thoughts by another “Begin.” Viper had taken two daggers, seemed daggers were popular here, and went to the attack against the big guy. He didn’t even try to dodge the hits, and either the daggers were dull, or he had skin like Steel. He tried to pivot and strike at the back of the knee, but clearly that wasn’t his Achilles' heel. The big guy was deceptive as he sprung into action, and Viper was clearly surprised by his speed. He grabbed Viper by his arm and threw him over his shoulder a good five meters away. Viper tried getting up, but I think his shoulder was dislocated from the fall. He looked at Steel with a smile, and with his remaining dagger, drew a little blood from his pinky. Guess the daggers were very sharp after all. The big guy was not pleased but backed away.

The spear lady wasted no time, not even waiting for the start, and lunged at Steel. He took the spear to the chest without damage and advanced with his sword, but she moved like Alira, and he was not having any luck connecting.

So far it was the longest fight; he was slower but more powerful, and her speed didn't manage to make much of an impact. It seemed it was only a matter of time till she tired out and made a mistake.

Maybe she sensed that the fight was not going her way as she became more and more erratic and Steel was coming closer and closer to matching her.

That was until she spread her fingers over the top of the spear, and it started to glow. This was not good. If it was an enchant of some sort, Steel would be vulnerable.

The shift was visible before she even attacked; Steel has started to back away, clearly realizing the danger.

Indeed, as she connected with his right arm, a huge gash appeared on his shoulder then biceps, and he dropped his sword. But remarkably, there was no blood, clearly something connected to his power. The spear troll lady hesitated only for a moment, thinking the battle was over, and Steel threw himself at her. She was just a little too slow to dodge him. He pinned her to the ground, and having no other weapon, he bit into her shoulder, red blood staining her blue skin. Winning by biting your opponent, that’s hardcore.

I was so engaged in the battle I didn’t even notice the public until now. They seemed a little more subdued than I would have imagined them to be. Probably no fight to the death was the children's version of entertainment in the troll city.

All looks from the public turned to the leader. He was hesitating, and there was not much I could do but hope he would not back down on the deal.

Finally, he broke the silence. "They fought bravely, and they deserve freedom." While I let out a breath, I didn't know I was holding; the crowd went wild with boos and jeers.

Would the pressure from the crowd change his mind? because clearly he had to do something to appease the masses.

"Since the warriors who lost disgraced our tribe, they will now fight to the death." The crowd went wild again, this time cheering. Guess it explained why they still had low numbers.

My companions were taken out of the arena while the fight was being prepared. I hope they were going to heal the caster troll lady first; fighting with a dagger in the back was not going to be great for your chances of survival.

It seems I had forgotten about the regeneration part, as she was moving with no issues a few minutes later when the fight started.

The 'to the death' part was clearly having an effect, as they were as vicious as the troll that fought Thalia before. Every strike was directed to a vital organ, and while many strikes did find the target, their regeneration was as incredibile as they basically ignored their injuries.

Still, the caster seemed to take more hits. It seems men here of any kind or race were disadvantageous. Her defensives were just inferior. Her turn to smoke was cool and all, but it could only dodge her one hit while the speed of her opponent meant she was taking far fewer hits.

Eventually the fight became blodier and blodier until even their regeneration would not save her. The caster was lying in a pool of blood, the many wounds making it difficult to move. The spear lady came besides her and aimed the spear at her head. I tuned away as the spear connected and the crowd went wild.

With the crowds dispersing, I was led to a boat.

Seeing everyone there, I practically beamed. “Congratulations to all! You were all amazing!” Thalia wanted to interject, but I was faster. “Even you, Thalia. You went first to the troll that everybody saw as the most dangerous, and you survived, even though he was clearly out to kill you. That took guts and skill.” It seemed to deflate her self-disappointment.

“Yes, I couldn’t believe our luck when I heard about the ‘till the first blood’ part,” Steel added.

“I knew I was no match for her. I hoped Viper could take the big guy. But when I was the last one, the only chance I got was to downplay my abilities a little, just for that moment of surprise” Steel continued.

“Yes, it seems surprise was the name of the game. And in my case, I was the surprised one. Sorry, by the way,” Viper was looking worse than even Thalia, and she had her arm in a sling.

I looked at Alira, and she was avoiding my eyes, but Thalia saved me from asking the obvious.

“Alira was the most amazing. I have never seen moves like that. It’s like you were at the circus,” she thought for a moment and added, “Were you raised at the circus?”

“Not really,” was her answer.

“So, the mystery grows,” I mumbled to myself.

Fortunately, the last troll village was uneventful. We slept, had breakfast, and were escorted to the outskirts of troll territory, which by boat didn’t take long.

it had taken two days by river and it showed how far we had traveled. The forests were gone, and it appears the hills were becoming rarer. Clearly, we were approaching the plain and maybe even the sea or ocean.

As we got our bearings, I was clearly lost, so no shame in admitting.

“So, anyone have any idea where we are?” Viper, who was studying the maps, did a ‘just give me a moment’ sign, while Alira climbed a little hill to the right to maybe get a better view.

Thalia was checking on Steel’s wound. It seemed to be doing better. She wasn’t even wearing the sling, so it’s good to be a healer. But it seems the healing process in others still took some time.

“Can’t you just ask Alira to give you some healing ointment? I saw her leg heal in like half an hour.” It seemed like we couldn’t afford more people on the bench.

“It’s no good for magical injuries. What I did should be enough to close the wound in a couple of days, as long as you don’t use that arm for more than waving. Otherwise, the muscles will heal wrong, and you will never defeat anyone with a sword in your life,” she gave a short laugh. “Maybe healers, but even that is a stretch.”

Alira was getting back and didn’t look that pleased.

“We’re close to the coast, but that’s about it.” It was something, I guess.

“They must have used the second river down south, otherwise we would have still seen some forests,” Viper interjected.

“So, what’s south of the troll lands?” I asked.

“Well, the good news is that there is no unified power,” Alira stopped trying to imitate my unnecessary long pauses, gave me a smile, then continued. “The bad news is that because of the buffer that the troll lands provide to the north, mountain west, and with the ocean in the east, and the deserts south, it’s basically a zone no sane people settle.”

“Seems very fertile,” it looked very lush, and with rivers nearby, could be perfect.

“Well, the trolls might not conquer, but they do love to raid. In the desert, it’s full of necromancers who sometimes end up in this zone, and giants are still said to live down south-west in the mountains,” she shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong; people have tried to settle here, but the number of ruins we will encounter will show it wasn’t that easy.”

A long silence descended. Eventually, Steel broke it.

“Well, we could go back to the troll lands. Thalia, you didn’t get to answer if you know what happened to the Darkmoor heir?” He was all business.

“He got captured by white paint trolls. Just the three of us were able to escape, not that it did us any good.” Still a sore spot, I see.

“Actually, from what the elder at the first village said, the Stonejaw are more zealots, if such a thing is possible, and they might do the whole sacrifice-the-humans-for-the-spirits stuff.” Thalia paled.

“So no trolls. We have a witness that saw him captured. Our job is done. Sure, alive it would have meant more dinari, but I’m not going back to the trolls anytime soon,” Viper was more willing to compromise, it seemed.

“Are there any ports on the coast where we could take a boat?” I knew it wouldn’t have been that easy, but it’s just a question in the end.

“The east side of the continent has very few natural harbors. That’s why big cities are never on the coast,” Viper, the resident geographer, responded.

“Then what? We flip a coin between necromancers or giants?” Clearly, Steel wasn’t happy.

“Well, I like neither giants nor necromancers, so I vote for the coin,” I said, laughing at my own joke.

It got just a chuckle from the others… tough crowd.