Djar’Ku was enjoying himself: he had a nice fire in the afternoon, a lizard was roasting over the flames and as a starter he tasted a delicious mango that he had received from Ja’Jen’s monkey. “For a priest who serves the Jatal of the Dark Sea, it is very lively here.”

  “Lively, you say?” Haki replied, not quite as convinced. She was sitting topless by the fire, washing herself with water she had collected from the spring in the rock face. However, she had noticed something else further back in the rock. ”I find it a little eerie.”

  “That’s only because you’re still so young,” Djar’Ku said, unconcerned. The older warrior only glanced in the direction of the rock, where there was access to a tomb where the dead were buried. ”Would you rather have him standing here with graves and urns everywhere, along with withered trees and rotten earth?”

  “No?”

  “Well then,” Djar’Ku nodded as he looked back at the fire. He didn’t stare at the female, because this kind of physical freedom was as natural to him as breathing. Of course he thought she was pretty, but nothing more than that. ”And you really want to do this?”

  “It’s a price we can afford,” Haki said dutifully, though not too eagerly. Ja’Jen had demanded a night with the female as payment for his help. ”And I’ve already been harassed by disgusting trolls. The Yani priest seems...acceptable.”

  “You really want this giant with us.”

  “I have never been blessed with a sign or the favor of the tiki,” Haki said. Her decision was irrevocable, as she saw something of inestimable value for her group and wanted to ensure their survival by all means. ”And then I saw him. If that wasn’t a sign and a blessing from the tiki, what will be?”

  “That leaves the question of which tiki?” Djar’Ku added. Language barrier aside, Bloodg Tusk was not at the fire to hear the old warrior. ”I doubt that several tiki took pity on us. Maybe that’s why Ja’Jen wanted to talk to the giant alone as the other half of the price. Maybe he’s an emissary of the Dark Jatal.”

  Haki had finished washing. She leaned forward so that her breasts glistened in the firelight as she took down the lizard skewer and cut off her share. “He radiates complete dominance and power, like Tzugar or Meneka.”

  “The mighty gorilla? No. He holds blood and family sacred and this giant is completely alone.”

  “Because he has yet to find and raise his family.”

  “Creating a family, exactly,” Djar’Ku added. Here he became more slippery, but he remained respectful. For him, the tiki of healing and fertility was also clearly an option. ’The giant is a reflection of trollish life, strong and healthy. He will make whelps in abundance, in the name of Ayu’nara.”

  “Many whelps,’ Haki murmured softly. Her neck hairs stood up and the rest of her fur plum rose slightly. It was a natural reaction as a female, but she agreed with the old warrior. “But when I think about it, you could be right. Despite all his strength, his wounds were considerable and he has now almost completely healed. Ayu’nara must be well inclined towards him.”

  The Crane of Life, that was the tiki Ayu’nara. Some also called her the evergreen Crimson Rose, because she was said to be the most beautiful female troll that had ever lived.

  “Questions upon questions and only death might have an answer,” Djar’Ku pointed out and he looked at the hut of the Yani priest.

  “I have to say, this is a real change,” Ja’Jen confessed in common language and calmly. His hut was currently only illuminated by the incoming light from smaller window openings, which were large enough for birds, and a handful of candles. ”Apart from the unintentional blasphemy, you have a pretty good story.”

  “What is blasphemy?” Blood Tusk asked. On the one hand, he liked this troll so far, since he said almost nothing but the bare necessities and understood him. On the other hand, it bothered Blood Tusk that the stranger always wore his mask and he couldn’t even look him in the eye because the eye holes were simply completely dark.

  “In your ignorance, you speak badly of the tiki, the most sacred thing for all trolls,” Ja’jen explained. However, now that he knew a little about the gladiator, he overlooked his ignorance and because it had been directed primarily at Haruk’Zil. “That’s called blasphemy and elsewhere, trolls would have killed you for much less.”

  “It’s not my problem,” Blood Tusk said simply. He saw nothing wrong with his actions. ’I’m not a jungle troll and I didn’t want to be here. That’s what this Zu’ji wanted.”

  “Yes, she probably had something planned for you,’ Ja’Jen nodded. He had never heard the name before, but he had at least heard of the River Fangs. “Maybe she’ll send someone to look for you.”

  “Let her. By then I’ll be back in the arena. Do you know the way?”

  “I was in Khuwix a good 20 high-summers ago, but I’ve long forgotten the way and I have no desire to go there.”

  “And if you get gold? Pucks have a lot of gold and many are crazy about gold.”

  “For many trolls that would be an offer, but not for me.”

  “Then it’s probably time you did what the trolls outside wanted,” said Blood Tusk with slight emphasis. He finally wanted to go back. ”What did you call it? Translating? Then I can ask if they know the way.”

  “But first, I would like a small favor,” Ja’Jen demanded. He pulled an empty bowl toward him and took a knife, clutching the blade and holding the handle out to the gladiator. ”A token of gratitude for my hospitality.”

  “What is hospitality?”

  Ja’Jen murmured dryly. “It’s when I let someone walk around in my home instead of putting their head on a pike. Instead, I would just like to have a little blood in this bowl.”

  Blood Tusk looked at the blade handle incomprehensibly. ”I like to taste blood when I feel a female, but what do you jungle trolls have in bowls with your blood?”

  “Mostly it’s for ritual purposes,” Ja’Jen mentioned, vehemently offering the handle. ’So be a good fellow.”

  “Okay,’ Blood Tusk agreed. He didn’t understand any of this tiki stuff or what was going on with these trolls, but the stranger had treated him well and shared his possessions with him. Therefore, the giant saw his blood as legitimate compensation, which he squeezed out into the bowl after cutting his palm.

  “That’s enough,” Ja’Jen nodded contentedly. ”Go out to the others. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

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  Blood Tusk took a deep breath as he walked out. So much free space, the jungle around him all the time and sky as far as he could see. He was not aware of it, but all the years of captivity had accustomed him to closed spaces and this habit overshadowed the curiosity he had shown in the pucks’ camp in the jungle.

  “Great warrior returns,” the orange batparrot cawed in troll from its perch. Then it fluttered onto the gladiator’s shoulder. ”Shall we go to your tribe?”

  Blood Tusk had never seen a talking animal before, and although he didn’t understand it, he tolerated it. Ja’Jen had told him that these simple birds were harmless and only sought company.

  “It seems they are finished,” Djar’Ku said when he saw the giant approaching. He wiped the mango juice from his lips and greeted the gladiator with a raised hand.

  Blood Tusk silently returned the gesture and squatted down by the fire, watching the female as she wrapped her brown cloth around her breasts.

  “And it seems Ja’Jen has taken more than that,” Haki stated. The cut on Bloo Tusk’s clenched hand wasn’t too severe, but she knew why he’d made it. ”But at least the Yani priest seems pleased.”

  “Ja’Jen is powerful,” said the batparrot on Blood Tusk’s shoulder, spreading its wings wide. ’Don’t anger him or he’ll eat your heart.”

  “Mine is quite dry,’ Djar’Ku patted his chest. ”More dust than flesh.”

  “Old fart.”

  “And still prettier than you,“ Djar’Ku grinned.

  The bird cawed testily, but when Blood Tusk glanced at his shoulder, the animal fell silent and began preening its feathers instead.

  “Now, now Rak,” the voice of the approaching Ja’Jen sounded. “Be good.” As soon as the Yani priest arrived, the batparrot moved to his shoulder and Ja’Jen took a seat by the fire.

  Haki and Djar’Ku sat a little closer together and straighter, so that they could keep a close eye on the Yani priest. “Is he a gift from the tiki?”, the female asked, full of youthful exuberance.

  Ja’Jen raised his hand. “Wait,” he replied in trollish and said to gladiator in Common. “I’ll tell them a few things about you, because they’re curious. Is that okay with you?” The Yani priest got a nod from the giant, so he spoke cryptically in Trollish. “He is life and death, special and ordinary.”

  None of the jungle trolls understood, but their attention was piqued nonetheless. “Sounds to me like it’s a gift from the tiki,” Djar’ku said. “Did he say how he killed this king alligator?”

  “He has no idea what a king alligator is,” Ja’Jen replied. He fed Rak some nuts on the side. ’I described the beast to him, but even though he’s aware of his strength, he said it was nonsense that he could have killed such a beast with his bare hands.”

  “But I saw it with my own eyes!’ Haki affirmed plausibly. “I did!”

  Even without understanding the language, Blood Tusk gave the female a disbelieving look, while Ja’Jen was more open-minded. “In that case, he doesn’t seem to remember,” the voodoo witcher noted. “But perhaps I start from the very beginning, before we end up with the king alligator. It will surely blow your minds.” The Yani priest grinned, which looked really creepy through his elephant skull mask, but his guests nodded in agreement. “Blood Tusk, as he’s called in the arena, knows nothing of us...” Ja’Jen began. Basically, much of what he told them was always the same, at least when it came to the arena. Practice, fight, eat, mate, sleep and repeat, until he came to the trials of the three troll tribes, what Zu’ji did that night, the ambush and how the herbalist let him go. “He still knew that he was attacked by the River Fangs. After that, he only remembers waking up in the cave.”

  It didn’t matter whether it was Haki or Djar’Ku, because the minds of both were trying to process what they had heard. Their faces revealed that they were torn between many feelings: rejection, doubt, admiration, interest, but the fact that Blood Tusk was a troll without a tribe or faith still weighed most heavily on them.

  “I... don’t understand,” Haki murmured, holding his hand in front of his mouth. No, none of this could be true for them. ”I know what I saw. He leaped through the air as high as a bird in flight. He uprooted large trees and used them as clubs, threw chunks of rock and earth around like oranges. And then he’s... impure.”

  “Outcasts and wanderers are one thing,” Djar’Ku said. He would never speak ill of the tiki, but he had seen enough in his life not to be rooted in his convictions. ”But if we bring a troll like that to our group, he won’t be accepted.”

  “That will be so,” Ja’Jen agreed, but he did not share the decision. ’But that would be your loss and could not be more foolish.”

  “Please speak more clearly, Yani Priest,’ Djar’Ku respectfully requested, glancing back and forth between the two. The giant sat there silently, almost without a flicker, letting the trolls conduct their conversation.

  Ja’Jen’s voice grew darker, much more fitting to his appearance. “To the untrained eye, Blood Tusk may seem a worthless troll, but he echoes death itself. It tells me of a past in which he has already sent many trolls to Yani, and this echo is so strong that it extends into the future. This warrior will yet serve Yani well.”

  Haki concluded uneasily. “So... is he an envoy of Yani?”

  “What he is is hard to say,” Ja’Jen confessed. He clicked his staff casually and seemed almost disgusted. “Because as much as death surrounds this troll, he is bursting with life, as if Ayu’nara herself had thrown him from her womb. The spirits of life surround him distinctly, just as they whisper to me that this troll is of special blood.”

  “The spirits say that?” Djar’Ku asked, pricking up his ears. It was reason enough for him and Haki to overlook their learned revulsion for a moment.

  Spirits were soul fragments of deceased trolls who had either had an extremely strong will in their lifetime or were revered by many. However, this veneration was not nearly enough to become a tiki. There were various spirits who often did not show themselves and were especially devoted to spiritual trolls, such as priests or shamans. They could wander through the world of the living without limits, and many were simply there, neither good nor evil. Although they had no memories of their old lives, they retained all their accumulated experience, and they could continue to learn as spirits, just as they could perceive supernatural things.

  “It’s not entirely clear what they mean. That’s all they say,” Ja’Jen said, waving a hand in front of his face as if inhaling something. ”But if you don’t want to take him with you or can’t persuade him to join you, I would try.”

  “You... want to keep him?” Haki pricked up his ears. Having heard all this, she was conflicted about the gladiator, but her female instincts made her favor goodwill again. ”Haven’t you been a hermit for a long, long time?”

  “Do you now realize what value this troll can have?” Ja’Jen whispered thoughtfully, growing more serious. ’Perhaps I should kill you so that the question of whereabouts does not arise in the first place.”

  Djar’Ku was not drawn out by this objection. ’What would a Yani priest and hermit want with a troll who knows nothing of us?”

  “That remains to be found out, and what does ignorance mean?” Ja’Jen questioned. He seemed to be a pragmatist, who nevertheless brought forth a logical approach. ”Our whelps are born screaming and ignorant, until we teach them, and what is a Blood Tusk other than a whelp?” The Yani priest remained objective but honest. “A seemingly extremely strong, extraordinary, stupid whelp.”

  “That may be true,” Djar’Ku admitted and he looked at Haki, seeking advice. “But before anything happens here, we should finally get what we were promised. We want to talk to him.”

  “Yes, we do,” Haki nodded and the trolls looked at the Yani priest. ’A deal is a deal.”

  “True,’ Ja’Jen murmured with a demanding undertone and he stretched out his hand to Haki . ”I’ll take the female and you can talk to Blood Tusk about whatever you want.”

  “And how can I do that when you are busy?” Djar’Ku replied, glancing sideways as Haki stood up and slowly walked over to the Yani priest. ”The reason we are here is so that you can translate for us.”

  “Don’t worry,” Ja’Jen reassured him, imitating the call of a bird. ‘Kriz’kriz, come here, my love.’ From the canopy of a nearby tree, the lime-green feathered batparrot came and the Yani priest let it land on his other hand as he stood.

  Kriz’kriz fluttered her wings. ”What’s going on?”

  “I know you don’t like outsiders, but do me a favor,” Ja’Jen toed the batparrot. ”These two troll males need to talk. The big one only speaks Common and the half-dead one only speaks troll. Hear what they have to say and report it back to each in their own language.”

  The batparrot didn’t like that at all and cawed rebelliously. “I don’t like strangers. Why are they both so stupid?”

  “A good question,” Ja’Jen grinned, gently shaking the bird off his hand and pulling Haki eagerly towards him. “Ask them while I mate.”

  “Talking to idiots is annoying,” Kriz’Kriz complained, flying moodily around the fire. ”Stupid trolls.”

  Bluood Tusk watched Ja’Jen and Haki in particular. The female was not quite willing to submit to the priest’s advances, that much was clear to him. However, she had come to him of her own free will, and just as Blood Tusk always received a reward in the arena, he sensed that Ja’Jen was now demanding his reward, and the giant respected that.

  “Be good or you’ll end up in the cooking pot tonight,” Ja’Jen grumbled, and he pressed his mask to Haki’s shoulder while he was halfway to his hut.

  “The giant will eat me first,” Kriz’kriz said, before landing on Djar’Ku’s shoulder. ’I’ll stay with you. You probably don’t have the teeth to eat me.”

  “Tiki,’ Djar’Ku sighed, running his hand over his face. ”No matter where and which species, females are alw