Pandemonia Chronicles: DAWN

CHAPTER ELEVEN: PORT!

"You cannot come in~!" said Zaria from the other side of her cabin door.

"What do you mean?" asked Gestalt from the hallway. "And don't you want to visit the port? Rebel said it was a flying city! Doesn't that sound neat?"

"No, I totally do not!" snapped back Zaria. "And you cannot come in. I am tired, and my hair is a mess, and my dress is dirty, and other stuff, too~!"

Gestalt wasn't sure what Zaria's problem was, but she was clearly doing something she didn't want anyone to see. Maybe she was washing her dress and was naked?

"Let's just go," said Jofur. "The penguins said something about a great casino, and I'd really like to play some Blackjack. If she wants to stay here, let her."

"Yes, let me stay here, please!"

"Well, we're off then." said Gestalt. I'll see you when I get back."

"Bye~!" snapped back Zaria.

'Girls are so weird,' thought Gestalt.

Walking past the demons on the street, Gestalt felt sort of like an idiot with his head wrapped up like a ninja.

"Is this really necessary?" he asked Jofur, who was sitting on his shoulder.

"Rebel said it'd be too dangerous for a human to run around," replied Jofur. "But we should be fine as long as no one realizes you are a human. There are a lot of strange looking fellows here, so dressed like this you fit right in. I mean, look at that one right there."

Jofur pointed to a woman walking past them who had snakes for hair. Noticing Gestalt was looking at her she smiled as they passed one another, exposing rows of sharp yellow teeth.

"That was a Gorgon," explained Jofur after she had passed. "Not a face you'd want to wake up to in the morning, is it?"

Gestalt nodded. The idea to sneak into the city had seemed good when they were on the airship, and he was very curious what a floating city would look like, but now that he saw how dangerous some demons looked like, he was kind of wishing he remained on the ship like Rebel had told him to.

Although they got a little lost and had to ask a Gremlin airship mechanic for directions, Gestalt and Jofur found the casino. Inside, Gestalt thought it looked more like a wild west saloon. There was a bar, and at numerous tables demons were playing card and dice games.

"I feel Lady Luck shining down on me," said Jofur. "I've got a really good feeling about that table over there."

Jofur pointed to a table in the corner of the room where a smiling red-skinned minotaur was engaged in a card game with a frowning penguin.

"Let's play at that table," said Jofur. "Not many at that one."

"Uh, do we even have any money?" asked Gestalt.

"Oh sure," Jofur removed his hat and reached inside, seemingly digging for something. "I think I have some Pandemonian dollars here, somewhere."

"You sure keep a lot of stuff in that hat, but where do you keep it all?" asked Gestalt.

"Oh, this?" Jofur withdrew a bag of coins from the hat. "This hat has an enchantment. There is a pocket dimension inside it. I've had the hat for many years. It was a gift."

"Pocket dimension?" asked Gestalt.

"It's like an artificial world, but much smaller, and can only hold a small number of things. It's a pretty high-level enchantment."

Jofur flew over to the table and landed on the table. Gestalt followed.

"Do you two mind if I join in your game?" asked Jofur to the minotaur and penguin.