Eros

Blood Bath - 26

Alora never told the others what happened that night, and they had left the crossroad before the word of Jim's death had spread.

They walked towards the Arolar Ridge. Breathtaking height and sharp slopes, made the ridge's mountains look more like cliffs. One wouldn't even think of climbing them without axes, and considering their stony, sheer surface. And one would have to be stupid to actually try. Their snow capped peaks gleamed in the sunlight, a jagged line of ivory against the blue of the skies.

The road twisted up into the ridge for what Alora felt was hours. It leard them in the cleft between two mountains, narrowing into a shadowed pass.

And as if the path wasn't bad enough, three gates built of stone and wrought with iron barred its turning points. She now understood well why the neighboring realms have never tried to take the bay by force.

By noon they were finally out the ridge's other side. A city of white stone spread below them: pale bricks carved from the Aralors built the massive harbor and every other structure except a single tower of obsidian. Erected to commanding height at the city's center, it loomed over it dauntingly.

"Guess who lives there." William said, smirking grimly. "The Black Prince barricaded the mountain passes with gates to halt forces from the land, had dozens of ballistas placed on the docks to destroy threats from the sea, and built the Dark Tower to control the city from within."

"Ballistas?" Alora perked an eyebrow.

"Giant crossbow-like machines that fire a bolt as big as a man."

The sin city's streets were bustling with people and uproars. In a few minutes Alora had witnessed more brawls, both armed and unarmed, than she did in the rest of her life. That however didn't seem to bother anyone but her.

Out of each ten buildings she passed, one was a saloon, one a whorehouse, and one a drug den. As a custom to attract clients, young women occupied small stages, presenting their busty, barely clothed bodies to the eyes of hungry men in a dance so lewd that Alora found herself blushing. How did I end up here?

"Come on," Nuts urged her on, enthusiastic. "I want to show you the floor beneath the Dark Tower's balcony. The prince had thrown so many people off of it, it became red with their blood."

"I will pass." Allora looked up at the looming tower and shuddered. It was clearly visible from every spot in Deadmen's Bay.

Nuts pouted with disappointment, but his face swiftly lit up again. "Let's go gambling then."

He called as if it were the best idea in the world.

"I'm in." Fat Sam said, and Rock nodded in agreement.

"I haven't got a single copper," Kaido said. "And I am hungry as fuck."

"Me too. Let's eat at Lo's here, I will treat ya'." William tilted his head in a gesture towards a tavern at their side. "You joining us, doll?"

"I don't have any money either..." Alora said hesitantly. Hunger had been bothering her for the last hour.

"Don't worry about it. I'm a regular here, one silver will be enough to fix up the three of us."

She bowed her head in gratitude.

"May the Jester favor your cards." William said to the other three as their ways split. Alora was surprised to hear that god's name. The Jester was known as the least powerful of the seven gods. No society had worshiped him individually. It was believed that he had no role or creation in the world.

The tavern wasn't as noisy as Alora feared it would be. One or two fist fights broke as they ate, but it was still peaceful compared to the streets outside. After taking their emptied plates, Lo brought ales for them to wash the food down. He returned a short while afterward, displeased to find Alora's mug untouched.

"What is this, does Lo's specialty ale not please your elven tongue?" His brow furrowed as he seemed to take personal offense.

"It ain't that Lo," William reassured him. "We let her drink too much rum the other night and she lost taste for alcohol."

"Oh," Lo's lips stretched in a wide, thin grin. "Why didn't you say so?"

He left, and returned a minute later with a fancy hookah and a smile full of promise. "Here, on the house." He winked at Alora as he placed it at the center of their table.

"Remind me to bring you along for every meal..." William murmured as he took the hookah's pipe and propped it to his lip. The coal atop the hookah shone red as he dragged a long breath.

"What is it exactly?" Alora asked as she watched tendrils of thick, bluish smoke swirling out with William's breath. Their scent, unlike the harsh one of Kaido's cigarettes, was intoxicating. Eerie sweetness mingled into the air she breathed.

"Venium." William said, passing the pipe to Kaido. "Damn good Venium."

Kaido puffed then offered it to her.

"Relax." William noticed her hesitance. "It just loosens you up, it's not Ouzei or something."

It didn't completely reassure her. She recalled the headache and memory blur that rum had granted her in the morning, but still thought of the night of drinking it with fondness. I will just try. Pressing the pipe to her lips, she took a brief, gentle breath through it.

Expecting an initial shock similar to the taste of rum, she was surprised as the smoke flowed down her throat, leaving a subtle sweet trail across her tongue. She exhaled a small, bluish cloud and was yet to feel anything, so she puffed again.

A soothing wave washed over her body, making her limbs tingle with pleasant numbness.

Wow.

The pipe had made a few rounds around the table, and everything became hilarious.

Even when nothing happened at all, it wasn't long before laughter overtook the three of them. She smiled without reason too. A smile that lingered so broad it ached her cheeks. The men smiled too, but she hardly registered William as her eyes kept winding up at Kaido. No acrimony nor mockery twisted his smile now.

She wasn't sure if it was the light of his boyish smile, or the effect of the drug on her that made his features so captivating.

His gaze turned to her and she looked away in a sudden panic. She insisted on keeping her eyes elsewhere, though the Venium weakened her will. This time it was her who caught him staring, but he wasn't even slightly embarrassed. A smile slowly spread across his cheeks. His eyes locked with hers and for a moment, she was mesmerized. At the next, she burst into laughter.

She didn't know why she laughed; she didn't feel like laughing. No matter how broad his smile curved, it still wouldn't reach the darkness in his eyes.