Kilaba was chilling.
The sun had just set. The smell of fresh food getting prepped lingered in the air. That's because the whole tribe cooked at the same place at the same time inside an open kitchen hall that also served as a gathering place.
It had dinner tables and benches that could be raised from the ground by imbuing mana over the arrays that stored them. This level of nitty-gritty couldn't be seen in any typical Orc settlement. The smell of fresh meat stew getting cooked was coming from the same tribe's kitchen.
Kilaba didn't need to be present in the kitchen. His food would be served to him as soon as it was made.
That's why Kilaba felt relaxed in his room, playing a game of cards with one of his Orcina treasures. There was soft music being played by an Orc who had received clarity about music. Rankers of continent Anfang would have received a cultural shock seeing an Orc playing music and a pair indulging in it. One shouldn't judge a monster by its ferocity.
Kilaba's private chamber was as lavish as his taste in music and Orcinas. It was meant for the chieftain of such a big tribe like him. The palace was located on the top floor, which was the most secured place in the palace thanks to the apt placements of guards and arrays.
The palace itself was a grand, three-story construction that appeared poorly constructed but wasn't. It was made of limestones that were summoned into existence by earth-element spells. Unlike a typical Orc chieftain residence though, it was painted with colors.
There were runes and arrays in the palace that served as amenities. Kilaba had a room dedicated to every one of his Orcinas in his harems. There were 25. It seemed there was a custom for Orc chieftains to have 25 Orcinas.
"My treasure, it looks like you are going to lose. Why not call it quits and head to bed? I'm sure we can squeeze in a quickie before dinner? Hahaha!"
Looking at his treasure with mischievous eyes, Kilaba said to her. The Orcina looked around and put her cards down. She was letting the guy win. Otherwise, he would throw tantrums. One had to say that Orcina had received her clarity very well.
"My lord, don't you need to seek out that previous chieftain Baran? I hate to say this, but there are some Baran sympathizers left in the tribe. You'd profit more if you strike him early while he is still down with his injuries."
Orcina commented before looking outside the grand window that was letting the starlight in. There was a New Moon tonight. So the usual brilliance of the night star was nowhere to be found.
Kilaba didn't mind that the Orcina had subtly changed the subject. He smirked before speaking to her.
"Investing time to find that loser geezer, you say? I have better things to do with my life. Besides, I need tribute for the Oni festival. I'm too busy collecting that to concentrate on him."
Kilaba then got up from the bed and started walking towards the gallery that was on the other side of the grand window. The large-field view offered by the gallery allowed the chieftain to have a look at things happening inside his tribe grounds.
Inhaling fresh night air that was a bit cold, Kilaba replied in a confident voice to his treasure.
"Besides, that guy would never make a comeback. The mutiny could only happen if the guys challenged me again and won. But I don't see that happening. Hahaha!"
The Orc Lord said while patting his open chest. He was only wearing black pants while keeping his torso bare. On his back was a strange tattoo. A tattoo of an Orc face that looked menacing. He had also worn a silver necklace that was etched with runes.
The Orcina named Resha nodded at Kilaba's logic after hearing it from his mouth. She just didn't understand why she was getting paranoid over a potential mutiny when she had seen how easily Kilaba had beat Baran.
Just when she thought that she should allow her chieftain to have his way with her, a guard asked for permission to enter the private chamber. Kilaba noticed that the guard who was supposed to bring them dinner was earlier than usual. So he allowed him to enter the chamber through their voice communication channel.
In the meantime, the musician Orc who was playing a flute and zither stopped playing his track without vocals. He surveyed the room on his own and excused himself from it.
"My Lord, Baran is here to challenge you, once again. He is asking for mortal combat."
While bowing humbly, the orc guard continued.
"He says he needs you to fight him in front of all your trusted Orc Leaders so that they can see you lose."
Kilaba was stupefied when he heard the guard's words. She shrugged her shoulders in response, indicating that their conversation just now and Baran's presence were nothing more than a coincidence.
In the next moment, Kilaba started laughing like a maniac. He couldn't believe that a loose end had come forward to allow itself to be tied by him.
Generally, a challenger would not kill an old chieftain even if he had won. This was done to highlight the importance of the chieftain's position. The second was to keep the Orc Leaders from getting angry about their former chieftain's death.
In general, even if the monster had lost, if they had served as the tribe's chieftain they would have been allowed to live. They would only get banished from the tribe or serve the new chieftain depending upon the new chieftain's stance.
Of course, this was only applicable to tribes that had the majority of their population receiving clarity including former and latest tribe leaders. That's why Kilaba didn't kill Baran.
But all the formalities were off if the guys came knocking on your door asking for mortal combat. Even Baran's hidden supporters won't be able to do anything if Kilaba kills him now.
"You could have lived a less-privileged but happy life and died in the land of the faithless you were born into. But no. You just had to make your death as spectacular as possible.
Haha! This is way too hilarious. For this joke alone, I've decided to give you a swift death. Hahahahaha!"
