The Arena

The truth

Baruing agreed to Asendriel's conditions and allowed him a small room. He didn't care for its dimensions, but it had a decent bed on which he laid on, staring at the ceiling.

It had been a very long day, but at least everything went according to plan. Tellor was put away, at least for a short period of time, and Alera was locked as well. For now, the chances to meet them in the arena were minimum. To this, he breathed relieved, but, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't take his mind off Alera.

The way she said his name...it was the first time he ever heard her say it, yet her tone ripped through him, as sharply as a sword. He would have prefered she yelled or cursed at him, but instead she sounded so broken, it made his heart ache.

He couldn't tell her, nor Tellor anything. If their reaction wasn't real enough, Baruing would've seen right through his plan. Even now, he wasn't entirely sure Baruing bought all of it. He felt angry and powerless in this place, as the only solution he found, forced them through this whole ordeal. He had hurt them both and he felt terrible…
He had no hopes of sleeping now, while thoughts of Alera and Tellor roamed freely in his head. He got to see them one more time after spending so much time away from them but the first thing he had to do was to hurt them both. He had been terribly scared in the arena as Alera’s life hung so delicately in his hands. One wrong move and she would’ve been dead by the hands of that ogre. He remembered his heart beating fast and almost hurtful when he saw her laying on the ground, confused and unable to move, with her hand stretched out to him. He wondered what she wanted to say at that time.

He didn’t even get to see Tellor then. The first time he could see him was in the dungeon, at the end of the day and, while his best friend showed concern for him, he hurt him too, although he was like a brother to him. It took almost everything in him to keep a stern look in the dungeons, when he stopped him from casting his Holy Shock.

He buried his head in his pillow, ashamed and worried. Perhaps there was a better way than this. A way to get them both to safety, without hurting them so much or relying on so many things that could go wrong. Even now, he was aware of so many variables and his plan seemed terribly flawed. Baruing used even more poison than he had suggested so he almost killed Alera. Tellor was ready to risk his life and attacked Baruing in the dungeons. If he hadn’t stepped in, Baruing might have killed him on the spot. He was relieved he had managed to convince Baruing to give up on whipping Allera. And who knows what might happen tomorrow? What if Tellor doesn’t find the key? What if the guards catch him after? Perhaps it might have been better if he had tried to kill Baruing when he agreed to meet him in the Black Chamber. But he knew nothing about him, about his strengths or how deep his connections go or how many people are loyal to him here.

Even though he had a bed now, he realised he had slept better on the cell floor, holding Alera's hand. He could've watched over her forever, but now she was all alone, deep inside the earth, laying on a stone cold floor. He felt his nails biting into the flesh of his hand as he clenched his fists. He would do anything to get to her. But not now. Not now while Baruing was watching their every move.

A soft knock on the door stopped the flow of his thoughts, as he jumped out of bed.

Baruing did agree to give him a room, but he didn't trust him completely, to leave him unsupervised, so he had placed two guards at his door, with a secret order to kill him if he did anything suspicious.

He opened the door as quietly as he could.

‘What?- ’ he asked in a whisper, but the guard interrupted him with urgency in his voice:

‘The other blood elf. He just escaped from the Black Chamber! He knocked out the guards and is probably making his way up, armed!
‘Damn it, that idiot! He’s too early!’ Asendriel cursed, a bit louder than he wanted. So Tellor was out now, but he was wandering the building without knowing where to go. He was probably looking for Baruing. He had hoped Tellor would find the key and use it sometime in the middle of the day, while everyone was in the Arena and the security was low in the rest of the building.

‘It seems we’re doing this tonight! I have to know if you and your men are with me!’ Asendriel said, looking the guard straight in the eyes, with determination.

‘Aye, we are. It’s time to put an end to this.’ the guard replied back and Asendriel felt a bit of relief.

While Baruing set up guards, he didn’t know that at least one third of them were ready to betray him. Shortly after he got out of the Chamber, Addas, the human guard standing now in front of him, approached him cautiously, while he and another guard were escorting him to Baruing.

‘Keep walking and look in front of you, since we do not have too much time at our disposal’, Addas said in a low whisper, only for the blood elf’s ear. ‘If you have a plan to escape, me and a few more guards can help.’

‘Why would I believe a single word you just said?’ Asendriel asked, without turning back, but surprised at their proposition.

‘I did not tell Baruing that you stole my key.’ he simply responded.

‘You didn’t tell him because he would have killed you.’

‘Aye, so if he will try to kill me either way, might as well try to get out of his hell hole.’ the guard added. ‘There are a few of us who never agreed with our ‘lord’ and his way of doing things. We are prisoners too.’

After that, Addas continued to make sure that he, or any of the other guards that weren’t loyal to Baruing, would be close to the blood elf, under the pretence of guard duty and Asendriel got a few more chances to speak with them. While some did enjoy their job and advantages, there were others that feared Baruing more than anything, knowing full well that their life hung in a delicate balance. Going against their lord or simply speaking up about anything meant sure death. They weren’t allowed to leave the grounds or interact with anyone from the outside. A few of them, like Addas, even lost loved ones to Baruing’s anger or whims.

Given the situation, every bit of help might make the difference between life and death for them, so in the three days between the moment he got out and the moment he entered the arena, Asendriel managed to put up a plan that might give them an opportunity to get out.

He wanted to get Tellor and Aleria out. If they could escape, they could find help. He knew of an orc settlement in the west of the Badlands, called Kargath. Perhaps they might be able to assist as well or even call for reinforcements. While the two of them were out, the rest inside would start a riot, hoping that more would attempt to end Baruing’s cruel reign and join their cause.

‘I need you to meet with the other blood elf and send him to the dungeons below the whipping room. Alera is being held there. He is to get her and leave this place as fast as possible!’ Tell him to head to Kargath, under my order!’

‘What will you do?’

‘The ones that Tellor encountered...were they your men?’

‘Not all of them.’

‘In this case, Baruing will surely be alerted shortly. We need more people, so I'll free the other prisoners. Could you please lend me your key?’ he asked the other guard. The guard pulled it out from his belt and handed it over, while Asendriel continued:

‘The other guards will probably attack as well so be careful and try to counter them. Use any tight spaces you can find so it will be difficult for them to attack in numbers. I’ll come meet with you all as soon as I can!’