Iris leaves the orc village behind, carrying the silver key and wearing one shattered blood moon gauntlet. The elder spokesman, warriors, and unconscious Korga remain at the gate as he follows rune-light along the ancestral road.
The road descends through red-leafed hills and old standing stones, each rune answering the key with a quiet silver pulse. By dusk, the walls of the gladiator village rise ahead.
Its arena gate is barred by Veyra, a scarred middle-aged orc woman with a broad frame, iron-gray braids, dark hide armor, and a hooked bronze scar across one cheek.
Veyra
Stop there, traveler. That crown-mark belongs to the divided crown, and I know the hand of its next claimant when I see it.
Veyra’s gaze drops to the silver key, then returns to Iris’s shattered gauntlet. Behind her, torchlight spills across the arena’s empty sand and tiered stone seats.
Veyra
One half of the crown lies beneath this arena. I will grant you passage, but not by the tribe’s sanction. Win the champion I choose, and claim your right before these stones.
Veyra
Will you enter the contest, Ash tusk, or turn back to seek permission from elders who already let you leave?
✓ Quest Accepted
Defeat the arena champion
✓ Quest Accepted
Claim the crown fragment