No Good Deed goes unpunished...

For once, you are not woken up with a sharp pain in your sides, but rather by Nihara's nudge into your shoulder. The circumstances still haven't improved much though.

"Hey" she whispered as you stirred "Look alive Kromdor, bad news is coming our way" As you become more alert and conscious, you find guards walking to your cell, armed and holding chains.

"It's time to go, you two" the guard commanded from behind the gates "don't be making this difficult now. The Boss is already mighty pissed with the likes of you. I don't think he'd mind you go out to the arena already bloodied, if it comes to that."

"Ya ya ya" Nihara spoke up first as she rose to her feet, her hands forward in compliance "We're just trying to stay alive here. Can't we just call this a big misunderstanding and go our separate ways?" As the gate to the cell opened, a guard with a short patience lunged forward swung at Nihara with his sword to silence her insolent mouth. You quickly rose into action and grabbed him by the forearm to put a stop to it, but merely pushed him back rather than countering an attack.

"Cut her some slack, all right? she had a rough night" You say to try and mend the situation, without necessarily apologizing for anything.

"Today doesn't look much better" one responded as the others came in with the chains, binding your hands together, and than binding you and Nihara together. "Let's move" he says quickly, and you respond just as quickly. Trying to move like this is awkward, the hallways are narrow for you to be walking side by side with her, to say nothing of the size differences between you two. The movement becomes easier once you clear the gate and enter the sandy arena pit, where the bloodthirsty crowd eagerly awaits the next show. The cheers and shouting turns to booing immediately.

"What are they booing at us for?" Nihara asks "We're the strongest competitors in this fucking tournament, they should be excited to see us."

"I think they don't like the fact that I let you live." You say flatly, fearing what's to come. "We're hear to be punished, not to fight" Your premonition proves to be correct. As you are moved to the center of the ring, the guards who led you out walk away without a word, leaving you both chained up and defenseless.

"Wait! You have to release us. We have no weapons! How can we fight like this!?" Nihara calls out to the guards, thinking they may have made a mistake. The guards continue moving without recognizing her presence at all.

"That's the point. The Boss is putting us here to kill us...." You state grimly, standing resolute in defiance.

"Ya..." Nihara responds somberly as she accepts the truth "I don't see us getting out of this one Kromdor. Not unless you can break us free of these chains."

"I don't think so..." You respond flatly, you give some effort to test the strength of the chains.

"Well, we had a good run" She says as she takes in a deep breath, pulling what bravery she has together "We're not going down without a fight, whatever comes next"

"Agreed."

"I would have liked to see the farm. The one in your dreams"

"We'll live on that farm yet Nihara. In this life, or the next"

Your conversation is cut short as might horns bellow. The gates on the other side of the arena open, and you are both surprised by who comes out of them. None other than The Boss himself, followed by the guards who helped the two of you the night before. The Boss revels in the moment, waving his hands at the audience and smiling like a child, while his guards seem to want to bury their faces in the dirt. The entourage comes close enough to speak to you personally, and his face changes to reveal his true colors; a furious glare tries to cut your feet out from you

"You brought this upon yourselves. Nothing happens in this arena that I don't approve of. You had your chance to fall in line, and you have tested my patience for the last time."

Turning away, he smiles again, and after casting an arcane spell, speaks to the crowd with a clear and magnified voice

"My dear, beloved audience, men and women, I am always thankful for each and every one of you coming to see the entertainment I humbly put on display for you each day, and I am enamored to see this stadium filled to the brim once again. It is because of you all that I am who I am, and it is for you all that I work so hard to bring you a quality show, and what a special event we have for you today! I'm sure by now nearly all of you are familiar with our leading contestants in our Tournament of Champions! The monstrous, ferocious, dangerous orc Kromdor, and the infamous, mysterious, perilous Nihara!" The crowd erupts to praise you both "They had quite the fight yesterday, and in an unprecedent event, came out of the arena in a tie! This was followed by even more unprecedent events outside the ring, as it seems that the two have been engaged in a treachery most foul. These two fighters, without fear, without equal, without morals, sought to play you all for fools" The Boss paused for effect, and to allow the gasps and boos to have their moment "We found out that these two had conspired to throw the match in order to progress further in the tournament for their own gain, and for their own pleasures. Why, we even discovered these two together had overpowered one of our noble guards in order to become more....intimately familiar. It seems these two have hearts after all, for each other! What a crazy idea, that a human and orc could ever love each other!" The crowd does erupt in laughter, and you feel your blood boil inside as you hear these words, and the crowds reaction to them.

"We can't be having this kind of fraternization between the contestants, nor can we have insubordination or attempting to rig this hallowed tournament for material gain. Since these two seem to think of themselves as a pair, we will let them fight together, for their lives." The Boss, with a flourish of his arm, vanishes in a veil of smoke, leaving you with the Captain and his two cohorts. They finally look you square in the eye, and with **** hearts, draw their swords and move towards you.

You keep your eyes on them, but speak to Nihara "get on your knees"

"What? Are you fucking kidding me? THAT is how you think we're getting out of here?"

"Just shut up and get on your knees." You reply angrily "They don't want to fight us and we don't want to fight them. They can't bring themselves to fight someone who doesn't fight back"

"You're crazy!" As much as Nihara objects vocally, she still complies, and you both sit plaintively, defenseless. The captain and his guards stop as they come into range, holding their swords high into the air, ready to strike. At the last second, the captain plummets his weapon straight into the ground, and the other two follow suit. They also put their shields down and remove their helmets. This display is met with boos and ridicule by the fans. Without a word of instruction, the two underling guards move forward and begin to undo your chains. The captain speaks up for the group"I have enough blood and guilt on my conscience, I'll not be adding onto it by killing either of you today. The Boss will likely be having all of our heads for this, but we'll die together, and with honor." Your hands and legs free, you and Nihara both stand on your feet.

"Thank you so much" Nihara said, trying to hold a solitary tear back "You didn't have to do this"

"Aye, ya we did miss. We've been the servants to a madman and a monster for far too long. We'll do what we can to help put an end to all of this, right now!" As the captain says this, the gate opens again, with more guards pouring out. Your three protectors regain their weapons "Follow us, now!"

"What!?" You ask

"We're getting you out of here, or we'll all die trying!"

"He'll kill you for this"

"Let me worry about that lady, now move!"

The gates on either side are connected by the same mechanism, and are slow to move up and down. With all the speed you have, you're able to get through the other side before they close. The guards that chased you don't make it, but a horn in the prison is blown with three sharp blasts. With the captain in front and the two underlings behind, you weave through the catacombs of the prison. A few of the more hapless guards fall by the wayside as the captain, being the more experienced fighter, brings each of them down with expertly place strikes. After a few frantic moments, you find the gate to let you out to the city. The captain opens it and shouts at you "You have to go, now!"

"You have to come with us!" Nihara says in protest. You agree "You stay and you die"

The captain shakes his head, baring down at you with is blue eyes "Our lives were forfeit the moment we helped the two of you last night. The Boss always planned to kill us after we were done with you. Punishment for disloyalty. If we're with you, he'll be able to find you. You have a better chance of escape if we stay behind, now go!" Nihara continues to protest, but you grab her around the waist and carry her out, running with all you have before someone else catches you. While you have your freedom for the moment, a naked orc carrying a naked human through the streets is bound to catch notice. In this totally foreign environment, you don't know how to get out of the city. You settle for the safety of the moment, and make your way through the crowded market into a desolate, run down alley. It's dangerous, but anyone coming through here to look for you is going to have to deal with a lot of other problems along the way. In a quiet and dark corner, you finally put Nihara down on her feet.

"You moron! Why didn't you head for the city gate!"

"Because that's the first place they'll be looking for us! Even if I knew where that was!"

Nihara wanted to protest further, but clammed up knowing you were right "Fine, you have a point. So now what?"

"We still need to find a way to get out of here, and we're going to do that together. We need to choose our next moves carefully"