Upon arriving at his rooms, Hadorix chose to sleep. He would have plenty of time to check on his new recruits in the days to come. That night Hadorix slept soundly. He awoke to the sound of pounding on his door. This was followed by the loud voice of Brina. "Hadorix, wake up, your needed. The creatures you knocked out yesterday have awoken. The beasts had to be locked in their rooms. The dwarves are arguing over what happened. The humans are scared to death that they will become slaves or food for beasts. You need to stop the insanity, or none of us will have a moments peace while you're in the arena."
This amused Hadorix. To him this meant that his wing was acting more like a city than any other area he had seen in the wolf's den. Perhaps returning balance to the world would be more fun than he thought. Hadorix first made his way to the humans, they should be the easiest for him to calm down right?
Upon arriving at the humans, Hadorix spoke. "I am the Archdruid Hadorix. I am a human just like each of you. I will ask that each of you join my town in The Mystic Orchard. There you will be freed to do as you like. If you possess a soul stone, I ask that you gift it to me so that I may add it to my throne for your protection. This will enable you more strength than you could acquire on your own. I will be recruiting more druids, as well as recruits for the army of Mystic Orchard. If any of you desire to join, let me know. I will welcome you to the ranks."
Upon hearing Hadorix all the humans began yelling and attempting to speak over one another. Hadorix yelled, "SPEAK ONE AT A TIME. Otherwise, do not speak at all."
One of the men opted to speak first. He said, "Master Hadorix, we are not warriors. Most of us are mere citizens that have never held a blade. We were teleported here from earth, captured and have found nothing but pain and servitude in this new land. We have seen many of our kind die in the arena. Had you not saved us; we would have died as well. I cannot speak for everyone here, but I want to learn how to defend myself. I do not wish to join the army, but will you have a militia? I would be glad to be a citizen soldier…"
Hadorix replied, "We will need people from all walks of life, healers, soldiers, militia, merchants, everyone will find a place and a safe haven."
With that, Hadorix walked out and moved to the dwarves. When he arrived, the dwarves recognized him. They bowed and spoke as one, "Well met young human. We be the Anvilborn brothers, merchant, and smith by trade. Fikhik here runs the forge, and I sale his goods. Me name be Glaruk. Fikhik be mighty good with the hammer. He found a way to add beast blood to the weapons. Makes em have elemental abilities. We would be honored to work for ye. It's the least we can do for ye saving our lives."
Hadorix replied, "We do not yet have a smithy, but would be honored if you will help to build one. Master dwarves we appreciate your willingness to join us."
Hadorix then moved to the room with the frogs. When he entered, they stopped attacking and began to croak, they clearly recognized Hadorix. Unfortunately, Hadorix had not yet learned spells to communicate with animals. The few he was able to speak to had extremely high intelligence. It was the animals rather than Hadorix that were skilled. These frogs were rather normal in regards to intelligence. Hadorix was forced to move on and hope he would have more success with the scorpions and snakes.
The scorpions and snakes were kept in a room together. When Hadorix opened the door, the creatures stopped moving and began hissing. Again, these beasts were not intelligent enough to communicate with Hadorix. He had to remain content that he had managed to make an appearance and they did not try to attack him. When next he had free time, he had to look up spells for communicating with beasts. If none of the regular beasts he managed to save could understand him, there was no way he could manage to free them and allow them to live in The Mystic Orchard in peace.
Hadorix shapeshifted back into human form and next went to the room with the Trolls. Upon entering, he was unsure what to expect. These trolls were far more human looking than those he had read about in mythology. In fact, aside from their large stature and slightly rock like characteristics, they could be confused for humans. Hadorix entered and spoke, "I am Hadorix. You will be free soon. Are you warriors?"
A troll replied, "We are not warriors. I am a rock farmer; she is a spirit binder. I can farm gemstones. She binds spirit weapons, armor and what have you into the gemstones. It is nice to hear we will be free. But we have nowhere to go."
Hadorix replied, "I can provide you with a home. If you have a soul stone, I will add it to my throne for your protection. I would be honored if you would live and work in the Mystic Orchard with my people."
The troll replied, "Free us, and we will work for you. We will need a dark cave for our home. If we are out in the light, we will eventually perish."
Hadorix replied, "I have an underground room. Until I can find you a suitable cave, you can call it home."
Hadorix then went to check on the Husky and the lady that it injured. When he entered the room they were still sleeping, he could at least feel a pulse coming from both.
Hadorix then returned to the great hall to meet with the other druids. This was the last day Hadorix was required to fight in the arena. As such he wanted everyone ready to leave at a moment's notice. As soon as his commitment to Casper was completed, he desired to leave. That would of course depend upon how well the husky and woman were able to travel. Hadorix did not desire to allow them to die.
Soon after Hadorix arrived in the great hall, the other druids arrived. Ivory and Phynia were with them. They seemed to be getting along quite well with the druids. Hadorix spoke, "This is the final day that I am required to compete. I am sure that Casper will try everything he can to kill me. Be prepared to leave tomorrow morning. I also won the freedom of one creature of my choosing from the cells. If any of you have any suggestions on which creature to free, let me know."
Obcha responded, "I do not think the Husky or the woman with him will be able to leave that soon. I am doing all that I can to help them, but my healing magic I just not strong enough to sustain them. Perhaps you can find a green fairy in the cages? The healing magic would be far better than mine."
Ivory spoke next, "There are many strong creatures in the cages. I would suggest you free the Yali. (Yali have the body of a cat, but the head of a lion with tusks of an elephant and tail of a serpent. They are far stronger than the creatures whose parts they contain.)"
Phynia spoke last, "To me it matters not which creature you choose. However, Casper managed to obtain a full clutch of dragon eggs. As yet he has not found a way to hatch them. I suggest you do everything in your power to obtain those eggs before we leave. They will be useless to him, so you may be able to trick him out of them."
Hadorix considered the words of each of them. The fairy would make them ready to leave far sooner, the Yali would prove to be a rather interesting ally, and he wanted to obtain that clutch of dragon eggs. He felt they would be needed to maintain the balance in nature. If Casper managed to hatch them, who knows how powerful he may become. Hadorix still could not abide slavers, he felt they were scum.
During his contemplations, the two wolves arrived to take him to the arena. Hadorix shapeshifted back into a lion and went along with the wolves. Once he entered the arena he again sat at his side and waited on his opponent.
To Hadorix surprise, the beast that entered was in fact the majestic Yali. When it entered, Casper spoke, "Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Adonis the Yali. If Adonis wins, he will be granted his freedom and be allowed to own and transport his own slaves to this arena if desired. Whomever wins this battle will also be granted one spirit of their choosing from my collection. Let the battle begin."
Hadorix shapeshifted into human form and immediately cast vindings. Vines grabbed the legs of Adonis and bound him in place. Hadorix shifted back into the lion and charged at Adonis. Adonis ripped the bindings loose and charged for Hadorix. The vindings barely hindered his movement at all. Hadorix had to be careful to avoid the tusks of Adonis. They could easily pierce straight through Hadorix.
When the two met in the center of the arena, Hadorix dove to the side and swiped at Adonis's front right leg. He managed for form a deep gash in the leg. Hadorix had drawn first blood. He did not get to celebrate however, before Hadorix could move, Adonis had smacked him hard with his tail, knocking him down. Adonis then pounced on top of him, hoping to gore him with his tusks. Hadorix shapeshifted back into human form and slipped away, the difference in mass from the two forms allowed him to get loose easily. As soon as he was free, he shifted back into lion form and summoned Monk. Hadorix realized this was not a battle he could win alone.
Monk jumped from Hadorix shoulder and grabbed onto the tusk of Adonis. Using the tusk as a ladder he began to run up to his head. Once he was close enough to strike, he dove with all his might and struck Adonis on the muzzle over and over. At the same time, while Adonis was distracted by Monk, Hadorix lowered his head and charged into the side of Adonis bowling him over. Monk's strikes had managed to momentarily stun Adonis. Hadorix continued to strike Adonis with his claws, ripping open wounds all along his sides. He intended to make the most of this opportunity that Monk had provided him. He felt he was likely not to get another. Adonis let out a mighty roar and rose up knocking Hadorix to the side. Monk quickly latched back on to Adonis's tusk. Adonis then shook his head back and forth in an attempt to dislodge Monk. Monk held on for dear life. He knew if he were to get dislodged, he would be dead.
Hadorix dove over Adonis, and began to swipe at his other side, he began ripping out chunks of flesh. By this point Adonis had bled profusely. He began to slouch down. As he had stopped shaking his head, Monk struck him in the head, over and over. Hadorix pounced on top of Adonis, knocking him to the ground. This time he did not try to rise. Hadorix was unsure if Adonis was alive or dead. He began to gather the flesh that he had ripped out and eat it. Strength +1 flashed before his eyes with each bite. In total Hadorix managed to gain 17 points, which effectively doubled his strength. The flesh also managed to restore most of his health and energy. He then went back to his side and plopped down. While it had restored his energy, he did not desire for Casper to realize. After all, he wanted to find a way to get the clutch of dragon eggs, and that would be simpler if Casper thought him weak and exhausted.
Two wolves came in and removed Adonis. He was taken to Hadorix's rooms. No one knew if he were alive or dead. Either way he would be a massive surge in strength for Hadorix.
Next, Casper came in. He said, "Mighty Hadorix, you have done rather well for yourself in this competition. Do you have another round in you? I will surely make it worth your while."
Hadorix replied, "After the battle with Adonis, I am exhausted. I would only fight again without a break if you were to put up a clutch of dragon eggs as a reward. Haha, and we all know no one has those but dragons."
Casper replied, "You underestimate me Druid. I have a clutch of dragon eggs. In fact, I will place them as the reward for this battle. We will move up your match with the Arena champion. You will owe me another match later tonight if you manage to win."
Hadorix replied, "I accept your challenge. I have also decided which creature I wish to free. Have the green fairy brought to my wing. She will serve me well."
Casper agreed and left the arena. Hadorix waited on his next opponent.