The Beast

The Beast - Part 54

They reached the elevator to the city without issues. He was in awe again as the stone tunnels turned into the lightshow the city presented. A sea of people went about their day inside the giant dome. Gabriel was still clueless in the labyrinth of streets and alleys but Chip navigated them swiftly until they reached a quiet dead end with one dimly lit door at the end of it.

Chip knocked and entered he then followed her ducking under the low door frame. When he looked up again he saw, for the first time ever, a room filled with people from a singular race. They were all bolgs like Chip and all stared at him now. She was unimpressed tho, grunted 'He's with me' before leading gabriel into a backroom.

The room was dominated by a roundtable, around it was one uninterrupted bench. The walls were filled to the brim with pictures of blogs he didn't recognize. His analysis of the room was interrupted by Chip jumping over the backrest to slam herself into the semi-padded bench with a relieved moan. She spoke, laying on the bench with her left leg over the backrest and the other one on the table: "It's been ages since I was on one of these. Make yourself comfortable. It doesn't get better than this."

He did as she said, making himself comfortable next to her. She used her legs to push herself around the bench like a child until her head bumped into his thigh: "Do you wanna do me a favor." Happily surprised to see her in such a good mood he agreed. "You see the bloodstains on the table?"

Now that he was looking he saw them covering almost the entirety of the table: "I do." He replied, already worried.

"Whenever a blog brings a guest into a sacred retreat like this it's assumed that the blog wants to get rid of an unrelenting individual, especially when brought into a council room like this." Her cracking up during the explanation expanded on the unease he was feeling. "The first drink served to the intruder is always laced with the sweat of a pfellegi. I want you to keep eye contact with the owner while you drink from it."

He cut in: "What will happen and why?"

She giggled: "You'll vomit out your intestines."

"CHIP!" He glared down at her.

Chip rolled her eyes: "You survived worse. Don't tell me a little prank crosses the line."

"Do you even know the guy?" He was still processing whether or not he was down with throwing up his stomach.

She tapped with her finger against the side of her head: "Ever heard of icebreakers? It's all about the first impression."

Gabriel didn't get a chance to answer as he heard someone step into the room. A tense voice spoke from behind him: "Starting round is on the house." Both were handed tiny glasses. The drinks came from an older blog who remained in the room. Chip downed hers and handed it back. Now their eyes were on him.

He emptied his drink in one go and waited.

Elle whispered in his ear: "Make a fist if you want me to nullify the poison." Gabriel kept his hand open having already come up with a plan of his own.

The guy gave him a pad on the shoulder and said, 'Sorry big fella.' just before the poison kicked in. A violent wave of blood streamed out of his mouth, he arched forward until his head was pressed against the table. The flow died down after a second or two but the amount of blood on the table was plentiful. He remained in the position even as Elle was done repairing the damage. Elle quickly figured out what he was doing, therefore slowed his heart rate and cooled down his skin.

After a while fingers poked into his neck: "He's gone."

Chip answered with a hint of fear in her voice: "No, he doesn't die." She was now sitting upwards.