Ghak's opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She looked at her bounded comrades. Shame weighed heavily on her, and it was clear she was caught between regret and defiance. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, Durzag stepped in and declared to the crowd.
"But we are not tyrants!" Durzag said. "We promised to keep them alive, and we will honor that promise."
"If you wish for a leader who does not trust untrustworthy humans, who will never put our nation in this position of weakness and humiliation, then make the right choice. Choose Tharnok of the Ashfang tribe! He will lead this nation not to peace through softness but to strength and power."
Durzag raised his fist to punctuate his words, but as he prepared to continue his speech, a sudden, sharp cracking sound filled the air. The stage beneath him and his supporters shimmered with frost, and within moments, a sheet of ice expanded across the platform, trapping most of the orcs from the Ashfang tribe. Some from the Thunderjaw tribe, unfortunately, were caught in the freezing grip as well.
Durzag's eyes widened as he turned to see the source of the magic. The ice climbed up his leg, stopping just below his knee, pinning him in place. His breath fogged in the cold air as he growled, "What in the—?"
From her position on the roof, Eliss grimaced. "Tsk…" she muttered, noticing some allies caught in the ice. Without hesitation, she yelled, "Amukelo, now!"
Amukelo emerged from the shadows. In a flash, he was charging across the frozen platform toward Durzag. Durzag's eyes darted from the ice creeping up his leg to the blur of movement heading his way. But before Amukelo's blade could strike, a massive axe slammed into his sword.
The force of the clash sent Amukelo stumbling back several steps, his feet skidding across the wet stage. Durzag laughed. "Humans! What do you think two of you can do against all of us?"
Amukelo steadied himself, holding his sword in front of him. "Look around," he said with a smirk. "Most of your people are frozen. There aren't as many of you left as you think."
Durzag's gaze swept the platform and the surrounding area, and then he realized to what extend the ice spell had worked. His forces were immobilized, encased in ice. Only about five orcs remained free, and most of them were scrambling to comprehend what had just happened. Durzag clicked his tongue in frustration.
"Impressive," he admitted grudgingly. "But not enough."
Amukelo didn't wait for another taunt. With a burst of speed, he closed the distance between them. Durzag raised his hammer, but before he could bring it down, Amukelo ducked low, aiming his blade at the exposed side of the orc's torso. Just as the sword was about to connect, a wall of earth erupted from the ground, blocking the strike.
Amukelo growled in frustration as his sword bounced harmlessly off the sudden barrier. He instinctively leaped back as Durzag brought his hammer down with a force that cracked the ice beneath him. The ground shuddered under the impact, but Amukelo managed to keep his balance, retreating just far enough to reassess the situation.
Durzag sneered. "Is that all you've got, human?" he snarled.
Ghak watched Amukelo dart between Durzag and the axe-wielding orc. She couldn't believe it—after everything, after being betrayed, after being outnumbered and ambushed, these humans hadn't run. They hadn't abandoned Naguk or the Thunderjaw tribe. Instead, they fought, despite the overwhelming odds. A pit of guilt began to form in her stomach, her earlier certainty crumbling like sand beneath her feet.
Durzag broke free from the ice and was charging at Amukelo alongside the axe-wielding orc at his side. Amukelo, moved left and right evading their relentless attacks. He never stayed in one place long enough for them to land a solid blow.
Durzag snarled as his hammer smashed into the ground where Amukelo had been moments before. The axe orc swung next. Amukelo ducked low, narrowly avoiding decapitation, but before he could create distance, a sudden magical barrier appeared behind him, boxing him in.
"Tsk," Amukelo hissed, realizing the trap. His eyes flicked to the mage responsible, standing a few paces away. Two other mages had begun working on freeing their allies from the ice. Amukelo gritted his teeth and glanced back just in time to see the axe-wielding orc's next attack. He dropped into a roll, evading the strike, which instead collided with the magical barrier behind him, shattering it with a deafening crack.
Amukelo sprang to his feet, only to find Durzag towering over him with raised hammer. Amukelo brought his sword up just in time, the hammer slamming into the blade with such force that he was driven to one knee.
"Got you now, human," Durzag growled, pressing harder.
Amukelo's eyes darted frantically. To his left, the axe orc was recovering from his missed strike, readying for another attack.
"Eliss!" he yelled, his voice strained. "Do something!"
Above them, the rain and water covering the plaza suddenly shifted. The droplets seemed to pause midair, suspended as though held by invisible threads. Then the rain converged into swirling masses, forming countless jagged spikes. The water froze almost instantly, turning the spikes into deadly shards of ice. They hovered ominously in the air for a single moment before descending in all directions like a storm of icy spears.
The axe-wielding orc barely had time to react before he was struck. One shard pierced his shoulder, another his thigh, and then countless more followed. He dropped to the ground lifelessly. Durzag's eyes widened as the frozen barrage rained down around him.
"Protect me!" Durzag bellowed to his mages. A shimmering sphere of magical energy surrounded him just as the ice shards slammed against it. Durzag stumbled back, gritting his teeth as he realized the scale of the spell Eliss had unleashed.
The mages scrambled to defend themselves, erecting smaller barriers and using their own spells to deflect the incoming shards.
Meanwhile, the ice spikes tore through the chains binding Naguk's people, severing the magical bonds. Most of them were still enchained, as Eliss's spell couldn't last forever, but some of the were free. One by one, members of the Thunderjaw tribe began to rise, shaking off their shackles and arming themselves with whatever weapons they could find.