Even though he wore practically nothing, Eden felt hot. No it was not a heat which came from the warming sun, but rather from the heat of the moment. And no it was not that kind of heat either, for it was not the type of moment he spent with the still sleeping girl last night. The wine helped quench his rising temperatures, but even still there was something burning inside of him, a primal call to accept the challenge. Despite the wiser Eve around his neck, wrapping herself around his hand to get a better look at the bottle of wine offered by the Bartender now in her friend's hand. While she had the more fiery temper should she get angry, Eden had the quick fuse, although he seemed to be keeping calm as he gazed upon the bottle. "Sounds like problems at home to me. How embarrassing do you think it is to know my cousin, the King, had to send out his army to find two thieves that had managed to escape his own borders... I thought you boys at home had everything under control."
A fine bottle indeed, stamped and sealed three times with the prestige of such a wine, named and labeled with many awards over the amber-green glass. A claw uncorked the bottle, as Eden began to walk down the stairs, sniffing the vintage with a satisfactory smile. Eve was beginning to sense his playfulness, masking the growing tensions that was heating the entire room up. "It'll probably take more than a month's wages for you to buy this stuff won't it?" And reaching for the nearest hanging empty glass as he passed the bar, Eden poured himself a small sample, swirling the fluid and taking a deep breath of its aromatics before watching the long legs run down like a lovely lady. A consummate consummator and coinsurer of the finer things of life, drinking wine like this was art afforded by Eden's upbringing and status, as he admired the wine before taking a sip. He let it sit upon his tongue, swishing it between his teeth, letting it soak into his gums before he swallowed with a judgmental smile before offering it to Eve. She of course passed, being small enough that even a tiny sip of it would probably intoxicate her, well assuming she didn't waste good wine and burned it all in her stomach.
"If you wanted a contest, you should have been here last night mate, in the bedroom where it counts." He gave a roguish wink to the waitress as she was returning from slipping her note to some Seraphim-Sol girl, quite the wings on that one. Oh boy, Eden's already getting distracted, to which his natural playboy made it impossible for him to resist laying on the charm and flirt even under these situations. "Trust me I'd win that one for sure." Ever so lewdly, was the bottle brought over to his crotch and tippled into an empty flagon of some seated Vrondi girl. The message was quite clear, and of course she blushed as she was given the spotlight, however brief as the royal meandered his way around the bar, now suddenly filling up empty glasses of the bemused patrons in a less lewd way however. Generosity it seemed, would definitely win him the public approval here, redistributing his gift-bottle to the commoners, despite his noble status made him a hero of the people certainly. Despite Eve's hesitancy of such noble, but really quite dangerously stupid act she knew was probably coming his way as he stopped right in front of the challenging Fotian and set down the now-empty bottle.
"So how about if I win, you buy me a drink instead?" Oh gods, no was Eden really going to go through with it? Eve knew better than to expect him to cool off, she could feel his heat against his body, the warmth of his rock-hard scales warmed by the call to prove his masculinity, and warrior culture. A counter-challenge, the terms negotiated as Eden shifted his feet squaring off his stance at the hips, a definite indication of how invested they were now into this, even as they were still negotiating. His hands were brought up, palms half-open, or perhaps half-closed towards himself, an elbow tucked in low, and hand ready to strike at his side. "Come on then. Take your helm off, and let's see that pretty face of yours so I can report this little incident of insubordination."
"He has no right to challenge you Eden." Eve piped up at last, chiming in what she was too late in saying, "no commoner can openly challenge one of your birth. You don't even need to do this, just report him and let the proper authorities take care of it." She was speaking loud enough for the entire bar to hear, but that fell on deaf ears as by now he would not let this disrespect go unpunished. Regardless of the outcome of the fight, Eden was not about to take it sitting down. "Eden, stop it, what are you-?" He had picked her up from off his shoulder and set her properly aside on the bar counter. Her safety was important to him, and more so probably her earful would just distract him further. Eve could hold off on her own, many singed mice whiskers can attest to that, and several 7-legged spiders, maybe even a scratched cat. "Eden..." Eve sighed, deciding to watch from the sidelines at probably stupidity and skittered over to the angelic girl she thought was a waitress. "Can you prep some healing magic? I have a bad feeling about this..." A soft spoken request, almost whispered in comparison to her louder announcement. But she was not a waitress at all, although Astrea blended in with the rest of the hostesses. Then again knowing Eden getting hurt might just be part of his plan to spend more time with one of these girls... Which suddenly came to Eve's mind as she regretted asking for help.
"Now, how about it? Fisticuffs, loser buys the winner a drink." Eden grinned his cocksure smile, a glint of mischief twinkling from the corner of his blue eyes. The odds might be against him in hand-to-hand combat, but the cards should be stacked up against his rival here. Time to see if this infantry was smarter than the average warhead or not.
---
Stare back into the blind abyss for long enough, and perhaps it shall devour you.
What is the darkness? It is formless, shapeless, without mass, yet it exists.
It is the void of nothingness, inexistence itself which feeds and swallows all.
Faceless and timeless, it watches the rest of the universe dance around it.
Behold the nameless one, the Blind Idiot God: The Primal Darkness!
Each step taken, a deeper descent into madness, the blind horror of being guided not be the light, but by the dark. Forces beyond this world, and the next, forces which seek to change this beautiful land into a twisted reality of that which should not be. A mockery of life and eternity, a world which neither sleeps or wakens, an animation between life and death itself. Not a dead world, but an Undead world.
"Oh such a poor thing..."
"W-Who is there?" His voice faltered with his steps, trembling in the cold as he felt it against his skin though even enfolded in his eelskin robes. His stance changed into a cautionary one, as he held his precious book tighter against his chest. Normally people would demand for the voice to show themselves, or reveal themselves, but R'lyeh was blind, and as such had no reason for such a request. "Where are you?"
Pulled into the numbing sensation, the cold which thread him like a bead on string to the source. They all would meet. R'lyeh and his phantasmal associates, with whatever this force was, this voice without meaning. An empty voice, but one which lured him in, bit by bit, drawing the Lassan foolishly in, despite the whispers in his mind driving him to remain focused on getting to the King of Nero. Even now as he stood shadowy figure and its pet.
Yes those voices which served as his hidden council, invisible to most but those capable of seeing the dead forces. Visitants from the outer dark, stranger beings which predated the existence of this world, and survived the destruction of the last. Ancient beings, sorcerer-kings, and necrolords who served the means to an end for the Grey One. They appeared to those who could see them in their most horrific appearance, cloaked in tatters of clothing as a mass of terrible tentacles, flesh and bone. Warped souls which had taken to servitude beyond death, in order to gain powers over it. There were at least six surrounding their pupil, although how many truly were bound to the book was uncertain. What was certain was this diabolical meeting between two forces, or at least representatives of such.
"Why do you stop us..."
"Leave us be..."
"And we may spare you..."
"He is our student..."
"He must bring us to him..."
"yes, bring us to him..."
