The communication between Blood Tuskr and Djar’Ku had been more than poor so far. But that was not because they could not get along, but because neither of them had said a word yet. Instead, they helped themselves to the roasted meat and ate, while in the background, here and there, a lustful groan could be heard coming from Ja’Jen’s hut, that of both trolls screwing.

  Kriz’kriz cleaned her feathers, looking from troll to troll by the fire. “Are you going to open your mouths sometime?” she squeaked in trollish.

  Blood Tusk looked at Djar’Ku, since the old warrior was the only one who had understood. However, Djar’Ku just waved it off, considering the bird’s comment not worth mentioning.

  “You just sit here all the time, eating and listening to them fuck,” Kriz’kriz complained. She pecked Djar’Ku on the head with her beak, not too hard, and cawed annoyingly. ”But maybe you are too weak? Ja’Jen may mount the female. The strongest male gets the female!”

  “No one doubts Ja’Jen’s power, but it is because of his power. Haki is making a deal in there,” Djar’Ku said, at which point the female can be heard panting brightly for a moment and the old warrior takes it with humor. ”With a lot of effort. So be a good girl, you flying piece of chicken and just fulfill Ja’Jen’s part of the bargain by translating for us or I’ll tell the Yani priest that you didn’t help us. Then you’ll end up in the cooking pot tonight after all.”

  “Asshole.”

  “I see we have an agreement,” Djar’Ku grinned, but his lips quickly returned to normal. For him, it was time to talk to the big one. “So, translate between us from now on – Blood Tusk, you really don’t remember this king alligator?”

  Kriz’kriz took over their role so that Blood Tusk could talk to the old warrior. ”No. How could I forget something like that?”

  “Good question, but I don’t think Haki imagined it,” Djar’Ku murmured thoughtfully. He himself had been in a great many fights and a suspicion occurred to him. ”Maybe you took one to the skull so hard that you really forgot it.”

  “You forget things when you get hit on the head?”

  “It can happen. It happened to me a few times, but usually the memory came back after a while.”

  “If it has, the time hasn’t come for me yet,” Blood Tusk said dismissively. It had never happened to him and it sounded a bit nonsense to him, but he had no reason to doubt the words. ”Do you mount Haki?”

  “She could be my daughter,” Djar’Ku laughed. His desire for females was hardly present anymore. ’But no, I won’t mate with her. Why do you ask? Do you want to make her your female?”

  “Make her my female?’ Blood Tusk replied. He lacked understanding and interest in bonds and family. “I’ve already mated with her and might do it again. What more could I do?”

  “It seems you have some traits of true trolls after all,” Djar’Ku stated. When he was very young, he was hardly different: taking many females and passing on his seed was all that mattered to him. Apart from that, Djar’Ku considered what Ja’Jen had told him about the gladiator’s seemingly unbreakable desire. Unlike the others, however, who had questioned the giant’s desire, the old warrior understood him and even took a sincere interest because the gladiator’s world was foreign to him. “Are there also troll females in this Khuwix?”

  “Many. The pucks often send them to me.”

  “Also fighters?”

  “No,” Blood Tusk only now noticed. He sounded quite surprised. ”Here in the jungle, I’ve seen such strong females for the first time.”

  “I assume that in Khuwix, the body and the labor force ensure the survival of the females,” Djar’Ku said. He knew that there were also trolls of this kind, where female trolls were limited to work and sex, so the pucks’ approach was not alien to him. ”Here in the jungle, however, that’s sometimes not enough. You have to adapt or you die.”

  “It’s treacherous here,” Blood Tusk said, since he didn’t consider himself too weak for the jungle. After all, the wilderness hadn’t beaten him yet. ”So much that I don’t know and some things are barely bigger than my fist and yet so dangerous.”

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  “Welcome to the Diamond Jungle,” Djar’Ku grinned. Of course he knew from Ja’Jen’s account what Zu’ji had said to the gladiator, but the old warrior put it differently. ”Not everyone here is strong enough to survive in it.”

  Blood Tusk didn’t react aggressively and he didn’t show any emotions worth mentioning. “Don’t I look strong enough?” he replied, subtly questioning his strength.

  “You could probably defeat many trolls in this jungle in a direct duel,” Djar’Ku admitted. Nevertheless, he had not forgotten what he had seen in the last few days. “But surviving here is not just a matter of will, brute strength and fighting experience. If you would hone your instincts and engage with the endless wildness of the jungle, you would surely become almost invincible.”

  Although Blood Tusk was tempted by the prospect of always being the strongest, the troll’s simple mind had another word to say. “In the arena, there is no jungle, no nasty plants and tiny animals. There I see everything clearly and I am the best.”

  “And if one day a troll from the jungle comes there who is just as strong as you, but has all this experience? His senses will be more acute, his movements faster and he will clearly defeat you.”

  “Then I was no longer strong enough,” Bloody Tusk admitted bluntly. Even an uneducated troll like him knew this rule of life. ”The stronger one wins.”

  “Well... do you at least agree that the jungle could make you stronger?”

  “Could be, yeah.”

  “I like your no-nonsense approach,” Djar’Ku nodded sincerely. A lot of trolls in the jungle were just pigheaded and didn’t like to admit when they were wrong. The gladiator was a refreshing change for Djar’Ku. ”So you could be stronger. But you don’t want that because you want to go back to Khuwix, where you are the strongest?”

  “Yes.”

  “I can understand you,” Djar’Ku said, turning his eyes more dimly to the fire. ”Adaptation is important, but everyone likes to have a home to return to.”

  Blood Tusk watched the old troll. He was not interested in socializing or taking a deeper interest in others, but he engaged with him a little. “And yours is with Haki and your group?”

  “In a manner of speaking. We are looking for a new, safe place. Not an easy task.”

  “There’s enough space here.”

  “Yes, but the arm of many tribes reaches far,” Djar’Ku pointed out and looked at his counterpart. ”And not one of them will help you get to Khuwix. Most of them will simply attack you because you don’t belong to them or because you are roaming their territory.”

  “Do you know the way, then?”

  “No, I hadn’t even heard the name until now.”

  “I’ll find my way back,“ said Blood Tusk stubbornly. ’If not, I wasn’t strong enough.”

  Djar’Ku thought that would have been a real waste of troll blood, impure or not. ’Yes, I think so, too,” he agreed with the giant. From the way the gladiator spoke and what Djar’Ku now knew about him, he had a compromise in mind, though. “You have the will for it and you are as stubborn and patient as a rock.”

  “How can a rock be patient?”

  “Not important,” Djar’Ku grinned. ’The question is - do you have to go back to the arena right now or are you just happy to make it back at all?”

  Blood Tusk took the bait. ’No matter how long, as long as I get back there.”

  “Then we could help each other,” Djar’Ku said determinedly. Now was the time to talk, from warrior to warrior, from troll to troll. ’How would you like that?”

  “And how do we help each other?’ Blood Tusk replied when a very loud and overwhelmed groan from Haki briefly drew his and his opponent’s attention to the hut.

  Djar’Ku looked at the hut in astonishment and a little envy, but he didn’t let himself be distracted. “Come with us. We need a strong fighter like you. Stay with us for a while and help us. Along the way, you will learn new things and the jungle will make you stronger. Once our new tribe is established and has a safe home, Haki and I will help you return to Khuwix.”

  “How can I help you if I know nothing about the jungle?”

  “Haki, me and a few others are hunted by the tribe that wiped out our old tribe,” Djar’Ku said solemnly, but he was still unsure. ”And it still hunts our remains. A mighty warrior like you will make us safer.”

  “You don’t sound convinced.”

  “That’s not because of you, not directly,” Djar’Ku explained. An obstacle had to be overcome and he used it to make the trade more palatable to the gladiator. ”It won’t be easy to convince our group to accept you, and I mean it will be damn hard.”

  “And if they don’t want me?”

  “I will still keep my word and so will Haki, I promise.” Djar’Ku swore on his warrior’s honor and patted his heart with the flat of his hand. ”But don’t expect us to accompany you immediately. Our group comes first.”

  Not that the Blood Tusk was the most adept of bargainers, but what was in his flesh and blood was now showing. He gave something and he got something, just like in the arena. It was perfectly natural for him. “Then I’ll help you,” the gladiator agreed. Then he stood up and stretched out his whole arm, because that was how a word between fighters was sealed in the arena.

  Over the fire and standing upright, Djar’Ku held out his hand, whereupon the giant grabbed it at the end of the forearm. “And in return, we’ll take you home,” replied Djar’Ku, also grasping the giant’s forearm, which was accompanied by a supposed female orgasm from the hut. “And it seems to me that Haki also got something out of the bargain.”

  Blood Tusk looked back. “Yes, sounds familiar,” he said knowingly. “I wonder if she’ll want to mate again afterward?”

  “Yes, you two can work that out without me,” Dajr’Ku replied as he released his arm. Two young trolls for travel companions, he sighed inwardly. Hopefully he would be able to get at least a little sleep.

  Kriz’kriz shot into the air as the conversation ended. “Ah, I’m finally rid of you. You’re both boring and stupid.”