Algra rolled her eyes. He wasn't very good at lying and appeared rather dumbfounded by the whole concept.

“If you leave your challenge un-fixed then other orcs may still challenge Bolut. I would guess that he wants you to fix the challenge since you're letting him keep his things and if you're his permanent master he won't have to worry about other orcs challenging him." Algra looked across to the merchant who was appearing slightly pained that she'd put the matter quite so bluntly.

"So you want me to look after you?" Gregory almost Laughed, so far he'd barely been able to look after himself.

“Master, if you were to fix our challenge then I wouldn't need to hold back my business any longer. I could expand! Orc beer, steel, armour and weapons are prized on any market. I've had buyers begging me for our goods as the only other two merchants of my people don't even go far enough north to get to a city. If I didn't have to worry about looking Like I had just enough to feed all my slaves then we could both be very rich men!" Bolut was clearly quite passionate about the issue.

"There are only three orc merchants?" Gregory asked sceptically.

‘Bah! You may have noticed that my people value battle and war more than trade. Our biggest trading good at the moment is the meat and crops we trade with the human emissary and that business is done directly by the warchief. ALL young orcs want to be honoured in the battlefield, not sit at a table counting coins. We have many items to share with the world that the world is practically begging for and I can't sell them because if I do then I'll get my fat arse kicked and have all my profits swiped in a day. I can do sweet bugger all about it." The orc grunted and took a cup of offered water, guzzling the whole thing down at once.

“Alright then." Gregory shrugged.

“Hah! Oh you will not regret this!" Bolut was clearly elated. "What are your colours?"

Gregory blinked and turned to Algra.

“He asks so that he may wear them in order to show that the challenge has become fixed." Algra explained.

"Oh, I dunno. Does it matter?" Gregory asked.

“Not really, which colours do you favour? There are usually no more than three."

"Black, red and blue?" Gregory ventured as if answering a question in school that he wasn't quite sure of.

“So be it! Thank you for this opportunity master. All that I own is yours and we are both soon to be rolling in gold!" Bolut virtually had dollar signs rolling around in his eyes.

“I will prepare a caravan immediately and use some of my emergency gold to set you up with a tent. It will be up by the end of the day.”

Bolut moved to stand and get on with his plans.

“Hold on," He quickly lifted his hand for the orc to slow down. Bolut visibly cringed, obviously waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Yes, master?" He asked, turning back to Look at Gregory.

“Two things. The first is that if we're going to be rolling in gold I want the first thing we do to be going to get Emmet's brother and his family. I want them brought here when you return from this trip."

Bolut nodded in agreement, it certainly didn't seem to be a condition that he appeared to mind. Emmet's jaw practically bounced off of the ground. He'd apparently thought that Gregory had forgotten all about this and for him to make it such a prominent goal was a kindness the old man was far from used to.

“The second is that I've asked for Freddie, the human you had sent to the pits, to be returned into our care." Gregory's words suddenly caught Janette's attention as the girl jolted upright.

Bolut openly snarled at this particular request, clearly unhappy about Gregory's deal with Grolfir.

“He is no more than a dog and a coward!" The orc complained.

"Oh I know, believe me I know. But he's my responsibility. We'll take him and make sure you chain him up somewhere. I don't want him getting ideas. He's to be fed, cleaned and treated well...and very firmly chained to a post. Alright?"

Bolut seemed about to argue but he visibly stopped himself. This meeting had gotten him more than he'd ever hoped and he wasn't about to risk throwing it away over an argument about how a coward should be treated. In the end he said nothing but nodded his acquiescence.