"Be careful with those crates," orders Zahtan to his mechanical minions as they load crates into a huge container.
Behind him, the bald man with an eye patch taps his foot, ". . . Are you almost done?"
"Don't worry, once we are done loading this stuff up and doing a few other things, we will take you there," assures Zahtan.
"Alright. Thanks, by the way. I would have gone by myself but when I tried, I couldn't get far before the creatures started attacking me and I had to run back,"
"No problem," says Zahtan, straightening his suit jacket. Then he takes off his hat and brushes his silver hair backward. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he takes out the cigar box and takes one out. He places it in his mouth and lights it, then takes a good puff.
He catches the eye patch man looking at him in wonder.
"Want one?" offers Zahtan.
"Oh, yeah sure!"
Zahtan takes another one out and holds it out for him. The eye patch man takes it and places it in his mouth.
"After I light it, don't inhale too strongly. Just inhale and then take the cigar out, and then exhale," instructs Zahtan, lighting the cigar for him.
The eye patch man follows his instructions but breaks into a coughing fit as he struggles.
"It's because it's your first time. Don't worry, you will get used to it," remarks Zahtan.
He snaps his fingers, "Two glasses," he orders, and a robot comes to him with a tray, two glasses sitting on it.
He grabs a fancy-looking bottle and pours a small amount into the two glasses. He hands over one glass to the eye patch man.
"Cheers!" says Zahtan, clinking their glasses together.
He drinks deeply and the eye patch man follows his lead, only to break into a coughing fit again as he struggles with the liquid.
"You will get used to that, as well,"
"Why is this large place here, anyway? I was enjoying my fall in peace until it appeared," asks the eye patch man, his hand covering his mouth.
"Well, this place is a setting for a game that's taking place in which," Zahtan pauses, taking a puff of his cigar, "The victor gets a pretty powerful prize."
"Powerful prize? What do you intend to use said powerful prize for?" asks the eye patch man.
Zahtan pours himself another shot and downs it in one go.
"To get a step closer to my dream,"
The eye patch man hesitates, contemplating whether to ask or not. But before he can decide, Zahtan interrupts him.
"Hey, did any pilots pass by you?" he asks, taking a puff of his cigar.
The eye patch man takes a puff of his cigar and this time, coughs once lightly.
"Yeah, I am familiar with them. I kept on rejecting their offers though, I'm not very fond of them. Just a while ago, one of them passed by me with a passenger. It's like, just let me enjoy my fall, you know? Wish they would stop inviting me to 'salvation' or whatever that rope stuff is," he says, shaking his head.
"I am not fond of them either, I hate the ones in the Castle especially," says Zahtan, filling the eye patch man's glass again.
"Hey, cheers to that!" exclaims the eye patch man.
Zahtan chuckles and smiles as they clink their glasses, "Cheers!"
"What's the Castle?"
Zahtan hums, "You know, I can use this place to help you understand," he takes another puff of his cigar.
"There are twelve properties in this game. Four of each basically represent one of the levels of the Castle. The first four represent level one of the Castle, Fun and Games. As you can tell from looking around, the next four represent level two of the Castle, Adornment and Luxury. And the last four represent level three of the Castle, Boasting and Competition for more, "
"I see, I wonder what it looks like," says the eye patch man.
"Maybe you should pass by and check it out before continuing your fall," suggests Zahtan, smiling.
"Haha, I'll think about it. By the way, since you mentioned the presence of pilots there, have you ever seen the rope?"
"No. And whoever accepts going with them to the rope, never comes back,"
"Never comes back, huh? Sounds too suspicious, I guess I was right to doubt them,"
"Well, all the best with winning your game," says the eye patch man as he takes a puff of his cigar.
"Thanks," Zahtan says with a smile, "But I don't think I'll win,"
"Why not?"
"Well," Zahtan takes one last puff of his cigar, "While I have an early game advantage for reasons such as that I didn't have to use the pieces the game provided as a labor force, instead, I brought my own workers with me and they don't get labor work payment nor require much maintenance, and will probably grab a lot of properties early on as a result, the people and pilot I am up against can easily wipe the floor with me using military strength, and start taking my properties one by one,"
"There is a pilot participating in this game? Damn, this is gonna be rough,"
"Well, we will see how it goes. Anyway, we are about to finish up here, can you go grab me one thing . . . Ugh, right. You don't have a name," says Zahtan, looking at the eye patch man.
"How about I nickname you Deadeye for now, while we figure out a name for you?" he suggests.
"That sounds cool to me, I like it," agrees Deadeye.
"Alright, great. Well," says Zahtan, tapping his shoulder as he picks up a box, "If you don't mind, Deadeye, there are a few boxes over there, to the right after that pillar. Walk for a while and you will reach them. If you can grab them and carry them here, that would be great help,"
"For sure," Deadeye nods.
"Thanks," says Zahtan, walking away.
Deadeye follows Zahtan's instructions and finds the boxes.
"This should be it—"
Clack!
Deadeye falls unconscious.