---

Tarum laughed but he soon fell silent when he realized that the dwarf was not kidding when he said the effects would hit him up quick. ‘They better!’ was his first thought, he wasn’t going to just wait around for that pill to kick in, and kick in it did. His vision turned absurdly red, so much so that anything naturally red around him became nigh on invisible in his eyes. The loud music seemed to be getting even louder and louder and then louder beyond that, causing a discomforting sensation for him akin to having someone holding your brain in a neck-lock. Like that wasn’t enough, the people around him moved so sporadically and so swiftly that all Taurm saw was an amalgamation of red blurs in the vague shapes of people. ‘Damn’ it all! What is this?!’ he shouted in his mind only to have the effects subside in the next moment and be replaced with…something else. Something better. Something that brought his wicked smile back.

He found himself surrounded in an eerie silence, feeling lighter on his feet. Just like the bearded short-man said, like on a cloud. Apart from that he felt a slight tension in his muscles, the good kind, the kind that translated to ‘I could strong-arm the Destroyer of Worlds’. What the hell was in that pill anyway? He thought for a moment to make a mental note about accepting strange pills from strange dwarfs in the future but that would be playing it safe. He didn’t care if he had gone deaf, Tarum was going to take every opportunity to have fun and sow chaos in this new world, even if that ended up killing him. If it did, he would die laughing and regret absolutely nothing! “Take the world by the balls!” he shouted as he snatched another drink from an oblivious dancer and chugged the fruity flavored beverage in one gulp. A thought occurred to him in that moment, if this pill indeed would cause deafness, even if temporarily, and if one could assume that each of these party-goes took one, then one could reach two conclusions :

First, this would explain their ‘off-tune’ dancing since they probably only imagine the music they dance to.

Second, the DJ was most probably wasting his time. Either that or he thought of putting some annoying music as an unconscious incentive for people to take the pill.

Another series of maniacal laughter escaped Tarum. Who cares in the end? He was feeling high and mighty and that is all that mattered. He was hopeful that the deafness would pass sooner or later so why not have some fun along the way? If you can’t beat them, join them. So it was that the Chaos-Weaver began to shake his hips and strut his stuff on the dance floor along with the others. True he couldn’t actually hear the music but he assumed the rest were in the same boat and simply played along, hell the tune was so catchy that even now he had it stuck in his head and his mind played it over and over, it would do!

With the corner of his burning eye, he noticed a new participant. A blonde woman was sheepishly making her way through the crowd, apparently rejecting the drinking offers from various people. A clear sign that she was, like him, new around here. A few moments later, the same 'kindly' dwarf approached her and same as Tarum, persuaded her into taking the same sort of pill he took. ‘Oh, this will be FUN!’ he thought as he made his way (dancing, of course) to the blonde and without any warning grabbed her buttocks with a frim squeeze. “This is not the place for abstention, sweetie!” he said and proceeded to wrap his other hand around the woman, his metal staff dangling on the side. “This is the place where bad decisions happen, where man, woman and whatever else, give in to their deeper desires and enjoy the life they have!” He then stretched his free hand on the other side and snatched yet another drink from someone, this time offering it to the blonde with just a ‘hint’ of insistence.

“Let the future you worry about the future, this moment belongs to you and me and all of us! Now drink up and shake your stuff!”

---

The woman struggled in vain to escape from his ‘embrace’, her failed attempts did noting but fill Tarum with delight. His grin was accompanied by a cackle, oh this all felt strange yet so, so amazing. When it became clear that the blonde was not going to accept the drink he ‘kindly’ offered, Tarum shrugged “Your loss. More for me.” He mumbled and was about to take a sip when he felt a shove from the side. It came more as a surprise rather than anything else, startling him enough to release the woman from his grasp and slightly stumble on his hooved feet. The one who had the gall to push him appeared to be a young man with the same blonde coloration of his hair like the woman. He was talking directly to Tarum, even pointing at him with his index finger to accentuate his words. In spite of his efforts, the words fell on quite literal deaf ears, the effect of the pill still present on Tarum, making it look almost comical how the man moved his mouth with no sound.

Judging by the aggravated expression on his face, he was clearly angry at Tarum for one reason or another. Hah, maybe he was this woman’s boyfriend and didn’t take kindly to someone groping her out of the blue. Or it could be something else, yet it all was the same for the Chaos-Weaver. ‘Alright then..’ Tarum thought as his ever-present grin only turned more wicked. He released the grasp he had on the glass, its contents spilling on the floor next to him followed by the glass itself, shattering as it touched the surface. This only seemed to make the blonde man in front of him angrier, good, it is going to make it more easier. Tarum nonchalantly took a few steps until he was right in the man’s face, they were approximately the same height. He chuckled as he saw the man continuing to talk, only to be silence in the very next moment when Tarum head-butted him without so much as a warning of any kind.

Oh, the advantages of having not one but two pairs of horns. Tarum felt pretty much nothing yet the poor bloke fell on his ass with blood gushing from his nose, the surprise of the strike contributing to the force behind it, accentuated by the pill’s effects. “Shut up.” Tarum said mockingly and then proceeded to place his hoof on the man’s chest, preventing him from getting up. He applied a bit of pressure, yet again, the pill’s effects probably accentuated the force behind it more than Tarum assumed. The man struggled for a bit but stopped as he saw the Chaos-Weaver lean down, his burning orange eyes affixed to his face, smudged with blood from his nose. “Piss. Off.” Were the only two words Tarum said to him before giving a final push from his hoof and then stepping back, releasing him. Another crazed laugh escaped him as he turned his attention back to the blonde woman, who appeared to be retching. He sighed and waited for her to be done before once again pulling her closer to him “Oh, you poor, fragile little thing.” He said sarcastically, “How about some rest and relaxation somewhere more... private from prying eyes? Hmmmm?’ He asked, indicating with his free hand towards the wooden path that lead away from the party. The slight ringing in his ears was an indication that maybe, just maybe, the pill’s effects would pass and he could hear again. If that was the case, he had a few questions to ask this lovely little blonde and was curious to hear her answers.