What was this man's game? It's obvious at this point that he's aware that Ryuma wants information. How much does he know about that though? Is he aware that he wants info on Erin?
"Sorry to break it to you. I'm not much of a drinker to begin with. You'd be better served to find someone of your caliber," Ryuma said. He was more suspicious than ever now.
Benkai was acting extremely shady. Who knows what his intentions were.
"Then it'll be a match made by amateurs. Sometimes, that's much more interesting and fun to watch than to see two experts go at it," Benkai said.
Ryuma kept up his fake smile. This guy wasn't leaving him room to secede. Benkai was set on him playing a game with him. It wouldn't be suspect for him to want to decline, but a second thought about it got him wondering.
Maybe he can gleam some information from this.
He took a pause. He doesn't have to win. He doesn't even have to drink very much. Just enough so that he'll pull out with the information he wants. Even on that front this was risky behavior. To leave himself in a drunken, vulnerable state even if he were just a little tipsy could prove dire. A Skylander could show up at any moment.
"… I'll do it," Ryuma answered.
Progression over safety. If he keeps trying to play it safe, he'll get nowhere at all. He must know what Naru is all about. More importantly, he must find out who Erin Frost is.
It went against his principles of safety but whatever. He'll just have to deal with whatever consequences it'll bring.
"Great! You can decide who goes first if you want," Benkai said.
"I'll go first," Ryuma said. He can pass the first round with only one drink. The rounds after that are going to be a nuisance. Since winning wasn't his goal, that's how he saw it.
"All right. Bring out the cups!" Benkai ordered.
Several cups lined up next to each of them across the table. {These cups were pre-poured.} His suspicion that Benkai was up to something only strengthened.
Since you were so generous to offer yourself up first. I'll toast you the first drink," Benkai said. Ryuma didn't like the shape of that smile. There was something he didn't like about the guy.
He looked down at the mugs of beer that were on the table. After a brief moment, Ryuma began shuffling his and Benkai's beers around. Benkai and the rest of the group looked puzzled at the odd behavior he displayed. What was with this kid?
Benkai blinked a few times. "Oh I get it. You think we'll stoop so low as to resort to cheating. Ha-ha! That's funny. We don't need to resort to something like that!"
The crowd roared with laughter. Ryuma cared not one way or the other how they interpreted his actions. With their mugs switched, he'd know right away if the laced his drink or not.
"That's fine. Have it however you want. I like people like you. Low chance for you to be getting swindled anytime soon. Not much I can say about your friend I'm afraid,"
Ryuma looked at Kosha and sure enough, he was snoring without a care in the world. {Well, that's embarrassing.}
He could only sigh.
"Well then. Would you like to flip a coin- "
"I'm going first," Ryuma said, cutting him off.
"I see… be my guest,"
Benkei seemed lax concerning the rules. Ryuma would've thought he'd be a bit more resilient when it came to the rules of the game considering it was an event for the likes of them. He must truly be confident. Now Ryuma thought there's no shot at him winning so the confidence was justified. Still, this man here didn't know that. Far as he could tell, Ryuma was a stranger.
Either way, All Ryuma had to do was survive three drinks if he were to go first. Fitting as how he only needed two questions. Even he could pull off that much.
They all stood on the sides silently as Ryuma picked up his mug. Ryuma tossed his head back and poured the beer right in, letting it hit the back of his throat.
Just as he thought. He didn't like the foam, or the taste of metal. Regardless, he chugged the thing as fast as he could. It was the only way to get any sort of information out of the guy. He twisted his face in disgust.
{How can people drink this stuff on a regular basis?}
Truly there were things in this world that weren't meant for him. He didn't like the taste of alcohol at all.
"There we go! Atta-boy!" The people on the sides started shouting. Now that the first beer has been broken, they didn't feel as tense as they were before,"
Once he was finally done, he set the mug down and looked at Benkei. He didn't feel the slightest hint of anybody spiking his drink. If nothing else, at least that was good.
"I'm impressed. I can easily tell this was your first time but the way you downed that thing tells me you have potential," Benkei said.
{A useless potential.}
Though he thought that, he refrained from speaking on such matters. It'd do him no good.
"However, don't underestimate a citizen of Naru," Benkei said. He took the mug that was in front of him and downed it within a matter of seconds that didn't even span the double digits and placed his beer on the table. He wiped his lips of the excess liquid and foam. He was about to pick up his second beer.
"Hold on! We finished the first round, haven't we? I still get my question," Ryuma said.
Benkei blinked and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Ha-ha! I did say that didn't I? Go ahead. You can ask,"
"Who is Erin Frost?" He decided to skip subtlety and go straight for the throat.
Benkei looked at him with narrow eyes. That one question dropped the entire atmosphere of the bar. Even the bartender in the back paid notice. There was no more cheering, and all focus was on him.
"How do you know that name?" Benkai asked.
"You said you'd answer any of my questions," Ryuma asserted.
Benkei huffed. He hesitated for a moment but answered his question. "He's the son of the village chief. He's also my little brother, scouted into the Skylands to be a priest. Haven't seen or heard from him since,"
Shocked as Ryuma was, he stared at him with intent. He had to keep his poker face. Benkei was his older brother all along. Not only that, but he was the son of Naru's leader? This was huge. Eventually he was going to have to break it to him that his brother was dead.
{Worse yet. He was burned at the stake.}
He was sure the man had nothing but questions to ask at this point, but he wasn't done. In time, he'd answer them all, but Ryuma had his own questions first. After all, who asked him to play this drinking game with him?
"Next round right?" Ryuma said.
Nobody there looked at them with happiness any longer. The context changed and it became an interrogation.
Nevertheless, Benkei obliged. He picked up another mug and downed it just as quickly as the first time he did it. Setting it down, he stared at Ryuma with distain.
Now, all Ryuma had to do was to drink his cup and he'd get another question. Before he picked it up, he lightly put his finger on his head. His body felt sluggish. Was this normal after one drink? Was his tolerance for the stuff really that little?
Regardless, Ryuma fought through it. He'll have to settle for two drinks and be happy with those. There was one burning question he had in his mind ever sense he got here.
He picked up the mug and chugged it. He felt the liquid of some of the alcohol dribbling down the side of his neck as he again forced it to the back of his throat. He simply did not want to taste it.
He slammed it back down gasping for breath. Now that he successfully emptied his cup, He gets another question.
"Now! How do you really feel about the priest of the Skylands?" Ryuma asked.
Even if Benkei could hide his own reaction, the reaction of those around him could not escape Ryuma's notice. Some grit their teeth in frustration. He knew it. They had no love for them, no more than the other places he'd been. Why dress their disdain for them up?
"Truth is… We hate each and every one of them. Including you," Benkei said.
That was the first time Ryuma expression changed to one of shock. They knew he was a Skylander this whole time? Then that meant…
His whole body began to involuntarily shiver. {I fucked up.} He knew they slipped him somehow. When could they have done so? He switched drinks with Benkei he was sure of it.
At that moment, Benkei too began to shiver. "You think I'm above slipping myself to get to you. You're too naïve about this world kid,"
Ryuma's head hit the ground. The world went black.