Inside the first-floor bar, Fred dashed straight to the stairwell in the back corner.
"Baloo!" Fred shouted. He did his best to sound concerned for the reptilian man while putting Fred's own worries to the side. "Baloo, wait up!"
And no voice called back from above.
Fred didn't slow down or hesitate, though. He sprinted up the thin staircase at top speed. "Baloo! We need to talk! It's me, Freddy!"
As Fred's head peered past a trap door and into the second floor, he spotted the behemoth slave. The reptilian man was clamoring up the next floor's cramped stairs with great difficulty. Yet Baloo's lizard head jolted back and his pressuring eyes instantly spotted his pursuer.
"Shhhut the fuck up!" Baloo roared with his hissing lisp.
Fred continued up the steps at a breakneck pace. But even he was startled to hear the gentle lizardman say such a thing. It was a verbal shockwave that struck Fred's heart and mind.
