Before Naguk continued with his execution, Eliss yelled once again, "Wait!"
Naguk turned to Eliss as he sighed. "She's said all she needed to say. Her explanation changes nothing. Betrayal is betrayal."
Eliss took a step forward as she clenched her fists. "I know," she said, her voice steady despite the tension in the air. "But you just said it yourself—your hopes as a tribe are gone. Your aspirations are over. Why is that? Because you are injured for the match? You've said before that the match isn't everything, so why are you acting like it's over already?"
Naguk's brow furrowed as he looked at her. He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Amukelo stepped in.
"She's right," Amukelo said, drawing Naguk's attention. "You've always said that you believe the match isn't the only thing that matters. That it's about the support, the message, the people. You've gained a lot of followers, Naguk. This isn't the end unless you decide it is."
Naguk's grip on his axe tightened as he considered their words. "But people still died," he said with guilt. "Even if that is the thing, how can we justify her, if people still died?"
Eliss stepped closer as she tried to search for any reason for him to change his decision. "Emberhorn tribe has already proven they're willing to kill your people. You know they're tricky, that they'll use whatever means necessary to get ahead. Who knows maybe if we continued more people would die? If we'd kept going blindly, we could have stumbled into something even worse. Maybe the fact that we stopped now saved others from something worse."
Naguk's furrowed his brows even further. "That's a ridiculous justification. You're saying that betrayal might have saved lives? You think that excuses what she did?"
Eliss met his gaze hesitantly. "I don't know," she admitted. "But can you be certain it didn't? Maybe this ambush, as terrible as it was, prevented something even worse. You can't know for sure that it didn't."
Naguk's jaw tightened as he turned back to Ghak. Her face was streaked with tears, and she looked utterly defeated, trembling where she knelt. For a long moment, he said nothing, his axe still raised, but his hand trembled as though the weight of the decision was pressing down on him.
Finally, with a heavy sigh, he lowered the axe. The crowd gasped softly, and Naguk said to Ghak. "Fine. You live. But hear me, Ghak. If we lose, if I am too weak during the match because of the injuries I suffered here, I will execute you. Do you understand me?"
Ghak nodded quickly, her tears falling freely as she choked out, "I understand. Thank you, Naguk. Thank you…"
Naguk said, "You shouldn't thank me, you should thank those humans. I have no idea what interest they have in saving you, but I guess they succeeded." Ghak then looked at Amukelo and Eliss with a mix of guilt and gratitude. The very people she thought would betray them, not only saved them when it was the most difficult, but also saved her life now.
For a moment, the crowd was silent, processing his decision. Then, from somewhere near the front, a voice spoke up. "I respect that choice."
Naguk's eyes flicked toward the speaker, and he saw an older orc nodding approvingly. "As you said," the orc continued. "You are different from your opponents. You've shown that here."
Slowly, the crowd began to murmur in agreement. Another orc clapped, then another, until a growing ripple of applause spread through the plaza. Though not everyone joined in, several of the louder voices that had called for blood remained silent, but it was clear that the majority supported Naguk's decision.
Naguk's face remained stern, but there was a glimmer of relief in his eyes as he stepped back from Ghak. He turned to his people and said, "We're done here. Everyone, return to the inn. Rest. We need to regroup and prepare for what's ahead."
As the group began to disperse, Naguk stumbled slightly. Two of his people moved to support him, helping him down from the stage. Ghak, still bound, was led away by two others, her head bowed low in a mixture of shame and gratitude.
Amukelo and Eliss stood at the edge of the stage, watching the scene. Eliss sighed heavily, leaning slightly against Amukelo. "Well," she said softly, "that could've gone worse."
Amukelo smirked faintly, though his eyes remained serious. "Yeah. But let's hope Naguk will win. Otherwise, all these efforts were for nothing."
Together, they followed the others back toward the inn.
The next day they traveled back to Grenskar. Grenskar was where their main base was, and it would be much harder for anyone to launch another surprise attack there. This gave the group a chance to breathe.
Naguk spent most of his time recovering, his injuries severe enough to require both magical and natural healing. His leg, shattered during the ambush, was slowly mending, though he still walked with a limp. Meanwhile, Eliss buried herself in her grimoire, studying every waking moment she could spare. Amukelo divided his time between practicing his swordsmanship and helping the orcs organize their defenses.
One evening, after a grueling sword practice, Amukelo was heading to his room. His muscles ached, and he was looking forward to collapsing onto his bed when Eliss appeared in the corridor full of excitement.
"Amukelo! Come, come, you have to see it!" she exclaimed, grabbing his arm and pulling him along.
Amukelo blinked at her in surprise, resisting slightly. "What's going on? Did you find some food?"
Eliss rolled her eyes but didn't stop dragging him. "Very funny. Do you remember that spell I was studying for so long? The one I told you about?"
Amukelo raised an eyebrow as he followed her to her room. "You mean the book you've been obsessing over to the point where even food took a backseat? Yeah, I remember."
Eliss huffed. "How rude of you. I've already told you, there are many things I value more than food."
Amukelo smirked. "Rude? Should I remind you how you thanked me when I caught you during that fall? The one that could've seriously injured you?"
Eliss waved him off with a dismissive tone. "Whatever, man. Who cares? You're so dramatic."
Amukelo's smirk disappeared, replaced by irritation. "Who cares?" he repeated under his breath, shaking his head. "Sure, why not…"
Before he could say more, Eliss gestured enthusiastically. "Look, just watch. This is going to blow your mind."
Amukelo stepped into her room, looking around warily. On her desk was a single gold coin, sitting atop a scorched mark on the wood. He frowned and asked, "Can you remind me what this spell is supposed to do? Because right now, it looks like you're trying to ruin furniture."
Eliss grinned confidently. "You'll see. It's not perfect yet, but with something small like this, it should work."
She summoned her staff, the air around her crackling faintly as she began to chant. Amukelo crossed his arms and leaned back slightly, watching her intently. After a few moments, the coin began to swirl, spinning in place until it shimmered and disappeared entirely.
Amukelo raised an eyebrow. "So… you made a coin disappear. Amazing." His voice was laced with sarcasm.
Eliss narrowed her eyes at him. "Shh... Look at this part!"
She extended her staff again, and the air in front of her shimmered. A swirling portal-like distortion appeared, flickering with tiny arcs of lightning. The desk beneath it trembled slightly, and a low hum filled the room. Suddenly, with a small explosion, the coin reappeared—but it was charred, cracked, and fragile, as though it had been burned to near ash.
An awkward silence followed. Amukelo stared at the coin, then at Eliss, waiting for her to say something. Eliss, meanwhile, slowly reached out and picked up the crumbling remains of the coin. She held it delicately, inspecting it as though it wasn't falling apart in her hands.
Then, without a word, she set the ruined coin aside and carefully replaced it with a new gold coin. Her expression was calm as if she could pretend that the previous coin's catastrophic state had never happened.
Amukelo blinked, incredulous, as she quietly adjusted the coin on the desk, straightening it slightly.
Eliss finally glanced at him, offering a sheepish smile, her expression reminiscent of a guilty pet trying to avoid punishment.
Amukelo continued to stare at her, his arms crossed.