As the two were unshackled and granted their weapons beneath the shadow of the gate, the drums began. Small beams of sunlight pierced through small cracks above the ancient doorway, flecking the skin of the slave-fighter and the pirate captain. Bahadir had no stories of the northern world to equate this to, but he recalled a number of tales from his childhood that seemed apt, like the Tale of Rasheed and the Necromancer's Fool. He glanced at Calliope, the woman testing the weight of the sword betwixt her hands.

"Scared?" He asked, which drew an almost accusatory look. He did not change expressions. Very little had changed since the other day, particularly for her, but Bahadir felt a sense of loss. He had insulted the master, and had lost their favor. Bahadir had never been happy in servitude, but it was...familiar. Even when sent out to face death, he had done it knowing he had their approval. It had always been there, and now it was not. They did not want him to die gloriously, just to die. He did not know how to feel. 

For her part, Calliope gave a predatory grin. "Aye, I'm shakin in me boots." She replied, her accent a bit thicker with the facetious remark. "Being condemned is where the fun begins, savvy?" 

"Savvy?" He echoed, confused.

The dark woman, always so confident, was caught by surprise for a moment. "Er, Savvy is understand." 

"Savvy... what?"

"No, savvy means understand." She remarked, even sheathing her sword to place her hands parallel to one another, gesturing left and right as if indicating two boxes. It dawned on him what she meant, and he nodded.

"Ah, savvy." He replied, using it with its intended purpose. Her grin returned.

"You watch my back, I watch yours." She said, retrieving her sword again. Bahadir caught her eye, and he gave her a look between them. She laughed when she realized he was indicating how much larger his back was than hers. "Means I'm working twice as hard, don't forget that." 

With brutal suddenness, the gates opened with a clang, hot wind and sunlight pouring in to invade their bodies. Even through the glare, Bahadir could see two other gates following suit across the breadth of the sandy arena, and he gripped the haft of his axe more tightly when he saw the distant, hulking figures emerge from the dark shadows. To the east, misshapen and bestial things loped into view. Their bodies were scarred and mutated with coarse fur, some sporting hooves or paws on their feet. Their heads were twisted into mockeries of beasts from the forest, and they carried axe, sword, and spear in their hands. Bahadir knew them by many names, but the northerners called them Beastmen. Most had curved horns or antlers, the ungors and the gors, save for a few with wolfish heads. However, one was larger than the rest, stepping with greater confidence, as if it believed the Gods themselves watched its every movement. What stood out the most were its great sloping horns, and the patchwork armor on its broad chest. 

"Bestigor..." Calliope spat, looking at the creature. 

To the west, other beings strode into the light. With pigish, yellow eyes and tusks, they were thicker in body than the beastman, and lacked none of the ferocity. All were taller than the ungors, and even most of the gors, and rather than fur, their skin was a putrid, moss green. They had sloping foreheads and large jaws, with huge fists and shoulders as wide as Bahadir's. In their hands they wielded similar weapons, axes, swords, clubs, but none held spears. One did hold a long handled axe, however. A veritable bardiche, and the thing that wielded it seemed nearly as ready to sweep it across the backs of his allies as he did his supposed opponents. They bristled with taut aggression, as keen on violence as the beastmen were on destruction. They were Orcs, and along with the beastmen, there must have been thirty humanoids in all stepping into the arena. Bahadir looked behind him, and saw Mamluks with spears approaching to worry their backs if they did not step forward, and so he and Calliope leaped out of the gate and into the sun, even as the beastmen and orcs saw both the two seemingly helpless humans, and the opposing monstrosities, and great roars erupted as the monsters charged.