That place apparently had only two rules to keep in mind.
1. Never speak of your name inside the cave
2. Never speak of here under the sky
After reading it from a poster on the wall, Rain turned around and thought.
He and Snow sat on bar stools at what looked like a corner bar. Part of it was to avoid the attention of the crowd, but mostly it was to distance themselves from the others. And though they tried their best to look unassuming, it was nearly impossible to ask them to not stare. After all, they were literally surrounded by death.
Abyss Crawlers, Gazers, Creeping Haunts, Minotaurs, Cryptids… a dozen-odd monsters were free to roam around the extremely spacious hall. Not only that, there were demons as well. He was only able to recognize a handful of their kind, such as imps, succubi, pazuzu and the like, but what surprised him the most was that there were also humans, dwarves, elves and beastkin, the four races of humanity, among them.
And none of them were attacking each other. In fact, everybody looked like they were having fun. With ale, juice, and strange liquids in hand, they engaged in light-hearted conversation with those not their kind, without any sense of awkwardness or tension, over meat of questionable origins.
Every race in the world was in attendance, outside a war; something Rain had thought wasn't possible.
"Hey, Nu–I mean, Rain. Try the drinks. It's really good!"
"I thought I told you to stop drinking. It's bad for you."
"It's just a small cup. That lady over there recommended it for me."
Snow pointed towards the side where a succubus, who looked like she was enjoying her own drinks by her lonesome, was sitting. Perhaps by coincidence, they met eyes right at that moment, which elicited a flirtatious, but otherwise indifferent smile from the young demon.
There was no hostility from the latter at all, and the dissonance affected Rain greatly. His ability to grasp the situation was being affected; it was a good excuse to get a drink, he thought to himself. Anything to calm his nerves. It would be strange for someone to sit at a bar without ordering any booze, after all.
He raised his hand to call a waiter. And soon, he was served by–a dark elf.
"Dear guest. What would you like to order?"
Rain's mouth slackened in shock, which made him look like a fish out of water. Weren't dark elves unable to talk at all? For a second he thought it was just a normal elf with a condition that turned his skin into the color of toasted pastry, but that quickly went away when he remembered that all elves couldn't get sick. Well, at least not with any normal sicknesses.
"For humans, we offer ale, wine, juice, and some mixed drinks. Here is a menu."
The dark elf, dressed in sharp clothing that made him look like a refined butler, handed Rain the "menu". When he held it, his surprise only deepened. It was written on a glossy, sturdy piece of paper with large, elegant handwriting. The drinks were separated into categories for different types of ale, wine, juice, tea, and something he had never seen before that read "cocktails." There were even some illustrations of the drinks scattered unobtrusively to give the customer an idea of what their order would look like. What caught his eye in particular were the cocktails with their colorful presentations that made them seem like they were art.
Rain hesitated for a while until he ultimately decided to just order their cheapest ale. But though it was the item with the lowest cost in the list, it was still around three to four times the price that regular bars offered.
Oh well, he thought.
He was quickly served his order. It was placed in a large, glass mug. Again with the expensive items, he thought. It almost made him not want to drink in fear of breaking the mug and having to pay for it. And the ale, as well. Compared to what he usually had in taverns, it looked much more… refined? While it had the same foamy top, he could also spot bubbles forming at the bottom of the glass and before escaping at the surface. And most importantly, it was cold; so much so that small droplets of water formed at the surface of the glass, which raised the overall presentation of the "cheapest ale" they had to new heights.
Perhaps that price tag was justified after all.
But before he was able to have a taste, Snow shook him rather violently.
"Hey, uhh, Rain. Look over there!"
She pointed towards the middle of the hall where most of the guests were concentrated. Fortunately, they were huddled on the other side due to table arrangements, which allowed them both a good view of everyone. It looked like they were playing some sort of game, judging by the cheers of the audience. Among those actually participating, Rain first noticed Bunny. She was the only one standing. It seems like she was leading the game as an… arbitrator?
"Excuse me. What's going on over there?"
Rain asked the dark elf bartender, who followed his eyes towards the commotion.
"That's where the "Poker" tournament is being held. Do you know somebody there, sir?"
He resisted the urge to comment on how a dark elf could make small talk and simply answered.
"Uhh, yeah. We were led here by that girl, Bunny."
"Ah, I see. I assume it's your first time here, then?"
Rain nodded.
"What game are they playing?"
"It's a game of cards called "Poker." Bunny over there is the "dealer." She basically manages the participants."
What the hell is "Poker," he thought to himself. That was also the first time he had heard of a "game of cards." As he looked back towards Bunny, he saw her take a handful of cards from each player, and mix them into a much thicker set using incredibly nimble and sophisticated movements he had never seen before. The way she manipulated the cards made it look like they were an extension of her limbs. On top of all that, she still managed to put on a show with her body at the same time.
"Hey."
He suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine. Turning to his side, he saw Snow giving him an ice-cold glare.
"Stop looking at her and look at the ones sitting."
The way she spoke in a monotone made him gulp in fear for his life. But then, she coughed hard, spilling some of her drinks through her nose in the process. Rain rubbed her back as she choked for a while.
"Are you okay?" he asked; a stupid question, but what else could he do?
"I'm fine."
She was lying. But, he was already used to it. No matter how he approached that question, that would be her only answer.
"Stop. I said I'm okay. Go on and look."
Sighing, he obediently pried his eyes off of her and checked the participants of the game.
The one who sat closest to him was a dwarf. He was, just like every one of his race, short and bulky, with long facial hair that covered the entirety of his face below his nose. Since Rain couldn't recognize him from afar, he quickly turned his attention to the next person. Monster, rather. It was a giant Horror of Hands, a high-ranked undead that looked like a floating skull of a stag with a dozen human arms protruding from its eyesockets. But even though it was an undead, the enemy of the living, it was playing the same game with the rest of them.
To its side was a human. By the look of his clothes, he appeared to be someone with the same profession as him; a mercenary. But the guy was obviously of a different caliber. Not only were his armor of high-quality, but so were his undergarments. Unfortunately, the man wasn't a familiar face either, so he couldn't be the person Snow was pointing to.
The fourth and final participant was another human. She had kept her head down throughout the entire time Rain had been checking the others, so she wasn't able to attract his attention immediately. But, the moment she raised her face, he recognized her in an instant.
He felt the blood drain from his face. The woman was the Tyrant of Solycis, the dictator-ruler and sole-surviving monarch of her country. It was impossible to mistake her for anybody else with her tomboyish short hair, all-black military clothing, beautifully handsome face and razor-sharp eyes.
Rain wasn't a resident of Solycis. It was a country a good distance to the north of where he was born, but her reputation and actions were such that news of her, as well as her appearance, had spread far and wide. And they weren't good rumors. Basically, just like what her moniker suggested, she was an actual "tyrant" who abused her authority to get whatever she wanted.
"What's a country's monarch doing here?"
"I don't know. Ask her."
"I'd rather get eaten by a boar."
A loud noise suddenly erupted. The audience raised their hands or appendages the air while cheering. He saw three of the participants hang their heads in defeat. Only one of them looked happy. It was the monster, who floated several feet in the air while beckoning the crowd with a self-satisfied roar.
"A monster won?"
Both he and Snow couldn't believe it. But besides the ridiculous notion that a monster could "play a game", that was what it looked like. What was going to happen next? They feared for the life of the three who played against it. The Horror of Hands was known for its habit of collecting the arms of its victims before eating them. The other party was a monarch, though. Was there some sort of extenuating circumstances that forced her to play? Was she kidnapped?
It didn't take long for them to get answers, though. Bitter though they were, the three stood up and, shockingly, took one of the dozens of hands from the monster's eye and shook it in a gracious display of defeat. There was no disgust in their eyes at all. In response, the audience, made up of monsters, demons, humans, dwarves, elves and beastkin, cheered to new heights, applauding both their skill and the show they provided.
"That's… impressive."
Snow couldn't help but mumble. And he agreed. Initially, the impression had already been strong. However, a part of him believed that each of the races present there were rooting for one of their own to win. But when a monster triumphed, everybody without exception, even the beastkin, elves and demons who had no representation in that game, expressed their elation for its victory.
They were even able to see the Tyrant, a ruler who had a bloody reputation, accept her loss with grace and even shook hands with her foe.
"Peaceful here, ain't it?" someone asked. On reflex, Rain nodded. But then, he wondered who it was.
As he turned his head, he saw a human female, barely over twenty years perhaps, sitting beside him. She had a satisfied smile on her face while she played with a coin dexterously with one hand. Her shoulder-length, jet-black hair with a red underlayer and eyepatch over her left eye was quite striking. And judging by the empty mug beside her, she must have been there for a while already.
"Y… yeah, it is."
To that, the girl simply thanked him with an innocent smile.
A moment of silence between them took over. It seemed like the girl didn't have any intention of continuing. But to Rain, she was like a rope thrown to him as he was drowning. He had no idea about who he should approach regarding his concerns, so having someone strike a conversation with him was a golden opportunity.
"Uhh, hey," he mumbled, full of uncertainty. "I'm "Rain." And this is my companion, "Snow." You?"
He thought he might as well start with introductions. It's an infallible, time-tested method after all. But instead of an answer, the girl just stared at him, dumbfounded. It took her a short while before her face loosened into a look of realization.
"Oh, you're new here. So that's why I couldn't… Sorry, it's hard to keep track of everybody."
She then extended her right hand towards him as a gesture of friendliness.
"Nice to meet ya. My name is Coin. But people tend to call me "Master" here.
I'm the owner of this place."