The Vineyard as it is called is the very pub Bell mentioned on our arrival. It's the only pub in this place. No alcohol apparently though. BL00D decided that alcohol was bad for human consumption. So the closest thing people get to it is the soda this place cranks out. I was taken down a few streets and between buildings of all sizes. I originally thought that perhaps the diagram I was shown was wrong. But then I realized that the place we were in had a a level sky above us with an elevator going into the sky. Apparently the sky scrapers on the diagram are bigger than I thought. Either that or everything is bigger than I thought.
We made it to the elevator and Bethany pushed the button indicating the 1st floor. Were were currently on the 50th floor. Don't ask me the logic of how that works with the training area. I dont know and I didn't ask. We made it to the 1st floor which was packed to the roof with people literally. Apparently fairy battleforms aren't actual battleforms. They're just small flying people that are constantly stuck in that form. That would suck. Save on water and heating. But still suck.
Fairies were flying everywhere. People were uncomfortably crowded till Lily spoke up
"Death hunters coming through!" Everything stopped. It got quiet and people parted like moses had commanded the red sea. Fairies tried to not fly above us even. "What makes them so nervous about you guys?" I whispered to Horacio.
"Beth accidentally emits disintegrating miasma in great amounts at times. One time a random person bumped her and he disintegrated without so much as a peep." He said quickly. "That was only one time!" Beth hissed at Horacio. "And I had to spend a month in solitude because of it. And he's fine. He respawned perfectly normal. It's just that people dont want that happening twice." She grumbled.
I blinked in shock. I patted my brand. I love you little buddy just keep her from disintegrating me and we'll be just fine.
We got closer to a place filled with music and dancing. It looked like a massive building from the distance. Then I realized it was an enormous orchard with a vineyard attached.
People were having fun drinking things and talking. It was then that I saw Them. Two battleforms that any Greek and Roman myth lover would know. They wore laurels with grapes hanging from them. One was heavily robust in size and wore a white toga. He had an enormous pitcher with a large leg of some roasted animal he was hauling around. It was obviously Bachus. The great drinker. So drunken was he that a simple woozy breath could intoxicate a crowd.
And it was obvious he was tipsy constantly from how he was walking if you consider wobbling to be walking. (I wonder if he's actually drunk or just acting since there's no alcohol.) I thought.
Next to him stood Dionysus. He was much thinner and he bore blue robes with a bowl of fruits and a small container of what seemed to be honey. He was chastising Bacchus about something which I imagined was about his drinking. But I won't judge. Beth reached over and pulled my hand. I followed as I was pulled along.
We sat at what seemed to be a granite table where a dryad appeard. She was 5'5, slimly built and completely made of leaves with roots for feet. A type of red fern by how red her leafy hair was. It didnt take a second for Lily to order for us all. It was all drinks. 2 drinks each. A cheeseburger soda followed by cokes, sprites, and grape sodas.
It was strange to say the least. I watched the waitress closely though. She walked up to Bacchus and lightly tapped his shoulder. She whispered something in his ear. He smiled widely and sauntered over to us. His belly was like 2 kegs rolled into one. It roiled and rumbled all over the place.
"My longest customer Lily! I heard you had a new recruit and came to say hello!" The strongest greek accent I have ever heard came from him as he shouted making my ears quiver. He patted my shoulder practically moving me into Horacio's lap with the sheer force of it. Horacio didn't seem to mind but I moved myself back into my seat quickly.
"Hahahaha! I heard you had a rough time in the Dark Dome! For that this one's on the house!" Bacchus rumbled out and slapped his pitcher. What came out was amazing. 10 bottles shot out of the pitcher in a perfect arc landing in front of us like they deserved to be there. They were empty of their contents thought. Bacchus smiled mischieviously and tapped the side of his nose. Liquids shot from the pitcher through the air and cycloned into the individual bottles.
"The ones directly in front are the meal and behind that is the real drink. Enjoy!" He said as he sauntered off toward Dionysus again. "That is a nice man." I said as I rubbed my arm. It strangely tingled where he had hit. None replied and I realized why.
Everyone had already started sipping from the first bottle. I slowly picked up the bottle and took a sniff. I smelled cooked meat and what I could almost swear was ketchup. I took a small sip and found a party started in my taste buds. It was the heavy taste of beef and the smooth acidic taste of ketchup and mustard. I almost bit the liquid thinking it was a real burger. All I felt was fluid rush about my mouth. After that I realised this was only a taste sensation. I took another sip. Which gave me more. The soft earthy taste of potatoes and salt. The taste of fries. It was something I had spent almost 3 weeks craving for a taste of. The old burger and fries combo I used to order whenever I was coming home from work. It was always a stress reliever for me.
It took a couple of minutes for me to savor the whole bottle. It was nice but also sad when I finished the bottle. I looked at the next one before cautiously taking a sip. It burned my throat a little from the carbonation but it was smooth and bubbly. There was a deep taste of sugar that swept across the tongue followed by the burn of carbonation. It was Coke.
Coke companies existed on Mars too. But they weren't nearly as big as they were on earth. Less air makes it hard to keep large companies functioning. So it was a rare commodity to acquire. But needless to say it was a good finisher to everything I had eaten. Soon we had all finished our drinks and we got up to leave. It was then that a thought struck me.
"Beth... Hope you don't mind me calling you that. What did he mean that this round was on the house?" I remembered what he had said before the meal. Didn't seem like too much of a deal at the time. But now it got me thinking. "The normal drink and meal costs 20 points. So he swallowed the price of 100 points for Lily. Not to mention he gets additional points whenever he serves customers food. So he's not hurting in that department. But the one thing you need to know about those two is dont screw with them. They're both fully fledged Rank S battleforms."
I gawked at her in shock. "What? You expect people who've been stuck in this place for the past hundred or so years not to reach Rank S when they get points from serving thousands food and drink? They'd be stupid if they weren't." Beth said as she turned to follow the group.
"No wonder Factions cant control that place." I said in wonder as I followed the group back to the elevator. We took our trip back to the 50th floor and back to the faction house. Of course we were still careful of not being followed. I felt something coming from my right as we moved through the shadows. It was small but fast. It went to tackle Lily but not before I shifted. I reached out with my long arms and caught whatever it was. It was the goblin man from before. I pulled him into a bear hug with him facing away from me. "Lily!"
She spun around and saw who I was holding. "What in the blazes!?" We stopped our rush to the house but I kept hold of Rakish. "Rakish! Are you breaking your promise?! You swore to leave us alone! Sending your cronies after us I understand but coming yourself is a different thing!" I squeezed a little tighter and something fell out of his hand. It clanged against the ground and I looked down.
It was a crudely made knife of sorts. "Even if I promised you before. Your group wiped out mine with that avalanche. I know what you did!" He spat at Lily. "And even if I get locked away for a month you won't resurrect for a couple days. So your clan would enter the Dark Dome without their "Fearless Leader" My group already knows what to expect. And we are coming for you. All of you." He looked up at me. What he saw was a set of heavily bored eyes. "That is the best strategy you could have come up with. You really are stupid." I grunted. Rakish's face turned red as I unceremoniously dropped him to the ground.
"You knew they had you surrounded but you do know that avalanche that killed all of you was aimed at them as well?" I said as I pointed at my team. Rakish maintained a steely gaze. "So what? It was a ploy to keep suspicions off of you all." He growled. I shrank down to my normal size and shook my head. "You need to take a look at the footage again. And look hard at the top of the mountain. Maybe zoom in. You'll see a certain god of thunder when he started the avalanche." I huffed as Lily moved her head indicating we should go. We went on our way leaving him in the dark alleyway.
"Say... Sil. How did you learn tactics so well? Beth asked as she came up beside me.
"When you live on the streets long enough you just know what the scumbags will do and what a golden opportunity is when its staring you in the face. You eat, live, breath, and sleep tactics when you live where noone cares. It's brutal, bloody, and most of all. Feral when it comes down to it." I said as we continued forward.
Beth nodded quietly and spaced herself away a bit. I remembered the cold evenings on the street. I had often ended up running from foster homes. I hadn't needed pity. That was till I caught a high fever one night. A man had picked me up and brought me to his home where he and his wife took care of me. I was 11 when that happened.
"Oy! Sil! We're home!" Henry said breaking me out of my wandering and I walked into the faction house. I ventured into the place and quickly went back down the stairs. I ventured into the workout area and kept going on my 5 pound weights.
I followed the system like always. My 40 minute workout was good. My legs were warm but steam wasn't pouring off me. I followed up weight training with the punching bag which was more interesting than before. There was a mini game to it. I saw spots marked in my vision in a set order. I had to hit the spots or the game would stop and I would have to start all over again. I jabbed, uppercut, blocked and jabbed again. It was a vicious hour long cycle. I refused to quit though. My arms and chest were heating up as sweat came off me in small streams. It was when the minigame finished that I ran and dunked my head in a bucket of water which I greedily gulped down.