It was one of those rare moments when Alyon lifted his head from the sand he had buried it in; he was looking into the eyes of his friend with whom he had once ravaged the continent together.
"You have changed a lot!"
After two short words came out of the hulking orc's mouth, he was about to bury his giant head between his shoulders as if wanting to return to where he belonged. Whether out of respect or fear of not finding the courage to lift it again, he hadn't turned his face to the ground this time.
"So have you, my old friend. There is a saying where I come from: 'No success goes unpunished.' I guess the same conditions apply in this world too!"
Alyon was dumbfounded; the words of his friend, who had been by his side since the day he was born, were very inconsistent.
"Even though we come from the same place, I have never heard that saying!"
"There are so many things you don't know; I wonder what else we missed while being swept away for a cause that wasn't ours?"
With every answer, Nafız was drawing the curtains of the unknown one layer more over the windows peered at by curious eyes; perhaps this was also the reason why Alyon, whose tongue had been tied for two years, was speaking like this.
"So, is the revenge you seek now our purpose?"
There wasn't an ounce of distrust in the giant orc's words; only those who truly knew him could understand the meaning hidden in the tones.
"Revenge will just be a tool we use on this path; there are things we need to rip out and take from the five civilizations that don't belong to us either! We have a long time until Crazy Water; how about I explain the rest on the way?"
It was as if a piece of spring had fallen into the eyes of the gray-haired giant who had been wandering like a living corpse for two years; his movements had become visibly more agile while getting into the vehicle they would travel in.
After Nafız entered the coordinates, they engaged in deep conversation. Convoys passed by them from time to time, but they were afraid even to approach the vehicle with the blood-red orc fist on it.
When the day turned and morning came, the first convoys had reached the center of the Orc tribe; the arrivals were kept waiting in an area outside the tribe under strict supervision.
The Parthenia Trade City delegation was the first to arrive in the region; the delegation, headed personally by the City Lord, included the leaders of two noble families and high-level executives.
Of course, Eftelya had come too; the seed sprouting inside her had grown ceaselessly for two years, spreading the flowers of an unstoppable passion to every corner of her heart.
She had also received the news that Kitapkurdu had returned, but her cheerful demeanor would give way to disappointment when she couldn't see him at the head of the group welcoming them.
This was happening for the first time; the man who had welcomed her with sweet words and small surprises on every visit until today seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Every need had been thought of down to the smallest detail inside the large tent where they were placed, but her eyes were looking for only one person without seeing any of it.
Towards the evening hours, when a messenger came and said that Khan would accept all Trade City delegations on the evening of the third day, she became very happy, unlike those around her.
At noon on the second day, the Nikonya delegation also entered the tribe; seeing them placed inside the small tent next to theirs, the Parthenia citizens were surprised but inwardly delighted.
They hadn't broken the agreement and had remained loyal to the orcs; how could they be put in the same basket as those who bailed at the first opportunity?
Despite this, there was no sign of complaint or whining in the delegation led by Gulag; they proceeded to the place allocated to them and began to wait. Without leaving their tents unless there was an essential need, they were enduring this humiliation that circumstances forced upon them.
When the representatives of the Karsak Trade City arrived on the evening of the same day, they would realize how graciously they had actually been treated. This delegation was given the open area next to the tents of the two cities; they were strictly warned not to step even outside the place limited by a line around them.
While three members of the Elite Ten stood guard at their head, the scientists with weak bodies didn't have the courage to move a muscle.
In the later hours of the night, Eftelya threw herself out of the tent to relax for a while, adding the thoughts clouding her mind to the blowing cool wind.
Two warriors allocated for their safety were also accompanying her; when she came to the head of a slight slope, the young girl gathered the skirts of her eye-catching dress and sat down.
She didn't know how long she stared at the desolation; this place had been good for her melancholic state. The lands stretching as far as the eye could see, with nothing to remind her of the memories of the past, had become a silent confidant to her.
Although the sun's rays didn't reach the earth, when the morning frost started to make itself felt, Eftelya shuddered involuntarily with the effect of the blowing light breeze. While a cover placed on her shoulders followed this sign reminding her that it was time to get up, the presence of a familiar scent brought back the memories she had tried to escape all night long.
"Kitapkurdu!"
The young girl had moved in excitement when an icy voice rang in her ears.
"Don't turn your back!"
Eftelya had recognized the owner of the words, but what was this feeling given to her by the man she was burning to see the face of?
"I beg you, don't look at me; I am far from being that orc you knew now!"
Unlike his words a moment ago, Kitapkurdu was softer this time; the signs that he didn't deem himself worthy of her were visible even in the pitch darkness.
Eftelya did as he said; she waited where she was for a while, but was it that easy for a human to rein in desires screaming for her to do it?
Just as the orc, practically blended into the night with his black cloak, was about to take a comfortable breath, the young girl turned around. Without saying a single word, she planted a passionate kiss given by longing on the lips of Kitapkurdu, who was examining her with timid glances.
His tongue was tied; a sob coming up to his throat had settled there helplessly like a migratory bird returning to its nest.
He wanted to say something, to scream as if tearing his lungs out, but a finger placed on his lips prevented him. Eftelya, while gazing into his violet eyes, evidently just wanted to enjoy the moment.
When the two lovers left the place where they experienced intimate minutes with the first lights of the morning, the purple fog surrounding the region disappeared at the same time, even if Eftelya wasn't aware of it.
In front of the tent they arrived at silently, the young girl was still holding Kitapkurdu's hand tightly.
"I lived the most beautiful night of my life with you; no matter what you do or what you turn into, I will love only you until I die!"
A single sentence would be enough to make the man smile who hadn't smiled even once for two years. The black-cloaked orc realized that Eftelya was holding his hand even tighter; while the biggest question mark in his head was being erased, he bid her farewell to her tent by bowing down to the ground.
The rest of the day, which started with an emotional reunion, would pass very calmly; the number of orcs returning to the tribe was increasing moment by moment, and the rush of the meeting to be held in the evening was ravaging the Trade City delegations.