New threat

[At the castle]

"Father, I have important news," Grald said as he entered the chieftain's office.

The room was dimly lit by two candles placed on either side of his desk. The wooden tabletop was filled with paperwork. The chieftain was seated behind the desk.

"I sure hope you do. You requested a meeting with me and your brother at this time of night," Harrold replied.

"You woke me up from my beauty sleep dear brother," Axel said.

"This is no time for us to fight," Grald replied.

The orc stood in front of his father, next to his brother. He wore a grim expression. Upon seeing his face, the other two realized that this really was something urgent. They wondered what could have happened for even Grald to look worried. 

"Today, Luke was covered in blood."

"And how is that surprising? The cripple probably fell somewhere," Axel replied.

"Did an orc attack him? If so, you can punish the culprit."

"That's the issue. It was not an orc. It was a lion."

The chieftain's eyes widened upon hearing this. 

"What is an animal doing around here?" he asked.

"Luke told me that the lion had jet black eyes and had a dark aura surrounding it."

Both the chieftain's and Axel's faces soured immediately. They did not utter a word. Silence reigned supreme in the room. The tension could be cut with a knife. 

"Is it them?" Axel asked.

"Probably," Grald replied.

"If that's the case, then we need to get ready," the chieftain replied.

"If this is the first instance, we have around two years to prepare," he added.

"Did you say that the cripple is still alive after facing it?" Axel asked.

"Yes. In fact, he defeated the lion! He was dragging the corpse back when we found him."

"I have to give it to him, he has some talent," Axel replied.

"Train him well. If he's shown this much progress in a week, he can be a great asset in a few years," the chieftain said.

"Bring him to the blacksmith soon," he added.

"But he has not yet mastered hand-to-hand combat," Grald said.

"Are you doubting me? Just do it and then you'll understand."

"Now both of you leave. I have to start strategizing."

After the brothers left the office, they stared at each other in the hallway. Axel extended his hand.

"Even though we are competing for the title of chieftain, we will need to work together to overcome this."

Grald shook his hand. 

"Peace it is."

--------------------

The rest of the week was the same except from the fact that training had been doubled thanks to the hot spring. My strength and speed had drastically improved. I could now complete fifty push-ups, forty pull-ups and I could complete one hundred squats. These changes were also reflected on my physique. My previously scrawny body now had visible muscle mass and good definition. I did not know that this amount of progress could be seen within a week!

"That's enough for today," Grald said.

Sweat covered my entire body and I was trying to catch my breath. I was now able to make Grald block a couple of my strikes. This displayed my fighting improvement. The added training was tough mentally, but I liked the challenge.

"You will go with Quincy to grab your new clothes and you will go grab a weapon at the blacksmith," he said.

"I thought that I was not supposed to use a weapon yet?"

"We will have to get you ready for anything," he replied.

After washing up at home, Quincy and I left for the tailor shop. He was, as usual, still jovial. The streets were bustling and by now, I could recognize a few of the passer-by. At first, all orcs looked the same, but I could now differentiate between them. As we entered the lavish shop, the tailor greeted us with a warm smile. The walls were lined with a plethora of clothing items and accolades.

"Your items are ready and mister Quincy, your special request has also completed."

"What special request?" I asked.

"You'll see," Quincy replied with a wink.

"This is what we prepared for you. I must say that we have outdone ourselves with this one," the tailor said while pulling out a black dress shirt and pants. 

"You can try them on there," he added.

I promptly removed my old worn down clothes and put on the new outfit. The pants were tailored to perfection and the dress shirt was loose so that I would be able to freely move. The clothes were made out of soft fabric and they felt well made. The outfit matched perfectly with my black hair and eyes. When I exited the changing room, Quincy gave me a thumbs up.

"You look dapper. Now wear this," he said as he extended his hand.

He was holding a black coat with luscious brown fur around the neck area. Upon closer inspection, I realized that that was the lion's mane! He had taken the pelt and made a coat. It looked so nice that I practically snatched the garment from his hands.

"We had to go through an extensive process to dye the material bla-"

"Yeah no one asked," Quincy interjected.

"Try it," he added.

The garment was heavy yet still comfortable and to be honest, I looked quite elegant. My head was surrounded by the thick fur and a gold chain held the coat shut around my neck.

"Thank you both very much," I said in a sincere tone.

"The treated skin is quite tough, so it should give you a bit of protection," the tailor said.

Quincy paid the tailor's fees who was still all smiles.

"Next up, we need to pay a visit to our dear friend, the blacksmith. Be careful, he has quite the temperament," Quincy said as we left the tailor shop.

"Don't worry, I am used to dealing with blacksmith," I replied with a sarcastic tone.