"The next morning Spencer was woken by sunlight pouring in from a window. He found himself lying on his side, hugging an unconscious Andima. 'Fine way to wake up... I think I'll just lie her a little longer.' He thought. His plan was ruined by the sound of a crowd outside his room.
"Where is he?"
"I have to meet him!"
"Hey, this is his room!"
'Can't a guy lie in bed for five minutes?" Spencer thought to himself. He managed to get up and out of bed without waking Andima, although his efforts were in vain once the people outside picked the lock to his room, and slammed the door open. A bunch of citizens, some having fur and tails looking very cat-like, others looking like giant lizards, and some short and tall with pointed ears, though most of them were normal size with rounded ears. A couple of them even had blue or green skin.
"Are you the one who put Landus in jail?"
"It is him! There is only one person staying in this in with that clothing!"
"How did you do it?"
"Tell us!"
"Look out! A creature sneaked it's way into your bed!"
The last comment came from a tall white skinned elf in the back of the crowd. Andima had been sitting in the bed, half-asleep until she heard that statement.
"What's going on? Who said that?" She said, slightly still in a daze as she put on her fused shadow.
"It's capable of speech! Fascinating!" A green robed Human said.
"What? Do you think I'm stupid?" Andima asked.
"You'd best stop addressing her as an 'it'" Spencer said.
"You know this Imp?" The Green robed man asked.
"I ought to, I'm married to her." Spencer said. He soon found out that saying that was a mistake.
"Married to an Imp!? Preposterous!" The elf in the back said.
"Don't make me hurt you." Spencer and Andima said simultaneously. Andima had floated up beside Spencer.
"Look! He bears the symbol of the land beyond Tamriel!" One of the blue-skinned elfs said, while pointing at Spencer's hand. The crowd gasped.
"No wonder he was able to defeat Marcus Landus!"
"He must be the most powerful man in Tamriel!"
"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" A rather muscular man with red skin walked into sight.
"What is this, land of the rainbow people?" Andima asked.
"I challenge you to a boast-threat contest!" The man said, pointing at Spencer, who was confused. He never heard of such a thing.
"Er... Ok." Spencer said, looking at Andima and shrugging.
"Meet me outside and we will begin!" The man said.
--
Outside, the a crowd gathered in wide circle around both Spencer and The Red man. Andima floated on the edge of the circle behind Spencer. Link and Midna were no where to be seen. Another Red skinned man in steel armor walked into the circle to say:
"This is how things will work: You each take turns saying 3 boasts, then 3 threats. First to give up or hit their opponent loses." He walked back out of the circle.
'Who do I know that is really bad ass?' Spencer thought back to the beginning of his gaming days. 'Duke Nukem! Let's give this a shot.'
The Red man was first to speak.
"I have killed a thousand Imps!" He said.
"Hey, you better watch it, big guy or I'll come over there and-" Andima was cut off.
"Hey! We're not quite to the threats part yet!" Spencer said. He turned back to his enemy and tried to think of a good Duke quote.
"I have balls of steel!" He said. The crowd stared.
"What? I know for a fact those are not steel!" Andima said.
"Who's side are you on?" Spencer asked.
"I've traveled to Bruma and back shirtless!" The Red man said. The crowd "Ooh"'d.
"I uh... I ain't afriad of no quake!" Spencer said. The crowd Boo'd. Spencer heard some whisper 'What's Quake?'
"Try thinking of something they might understand!" Andima said.
"I was once the Arena grand champion!" The red man boasted. The crowd "Ooh"'d.
"Uh... Me too!" Spencer said. Technically, this wasn't a lie, but the crowd didn't believe him anyway.
"Now for the threats!" The red man in armor said from the side lines.
"I'll take your head and mount it over my fireplace!" The red man said.
"Isn't that motivating... Uh..." Spencer said, thinking back to Duke Nukem. "I'll rip your head off and shit down your neck!" He said.
"Never heard you say something so violent." Andima said.
"I'll explain later." Spencer said.
"Challenge me to a fight and you won't live to tell the tale!" The red man said.
"Blow it out yer ass!" Spencer said, doing his best not to laugh. He didn't need to try anymore, though, because apparently he had just hit a nerve.
"WHAT?!" The red man ran up to him and swung his fist, only to break a knuckle on Spencer's Hylian shield. The force of the impact knocked Spencer back, and Andima caught him by the shoulders.
"Thanks." He said.
"Look out!" One of the crowd members yelled. Spencer looked up to see the angry red man coming up towards him, fists raised. Spencer jumped to his feet, and both and Andima dodged as the big brute tried swinging at them, only to smash his hand on the road.
"ASSAULT!" One of the crowd members yelled. Spencer looked towards the gates to see gaurds running towards them.
"This'll be good." Spencer said. Many a time had he been attacked by those gaurds, way back when he played this game. He knew that no matter who they were fighting, they were always somehow stronger.
The crowd dispersed as guards came running through. They pulled out their sword and bows, and next to no time two of them were dragging the big brute towards the Prison. The remaining two walked up to Spencer.
"What were thinking challenging him to a fight?" One asked.
"I didn't, he challenged me!" Spencer said. Andima floated up behind him.
"I could back him up on that." She said.
The guards hadn't noticed Andima until then. "How did that thing get in the city!?" The said, pointing at her. She turned to Spencer.
"I'm seriously hitting my boiling point with these guys. Can I hit them just once?" She asked.
"Sorry, but we need to keep a good reputation with these guys or else the mages won't help us out." Spencer replied to her. He turned back to the guards. "Don't worry, she's with me." Spencer said. The guards eyed him suspiciously, then returned to their posts.
"Where are Link and Midna, Anyway? they should have been woken up by that crowd barging into our room." Andima asked.
"If Link is the same as he was ten years ago, he sleeps like the dead." Spencer said. They walked back into the Inn, up the stairs, to find the door to Link and Midna's room ajar. The walked in only to to find the room empty. Spencer walked up to the bed, which he had noticed had a note on it. With every step an odd twisting feeling grew stronger in his stomach. He picked up the note and read it aloud for Andima to hear.
"If you ever want to see you're oddly dressed friend and his Imp ever again, you must free the man you imprisoned yesterday, Marcus Landus. Failure to do so in the next 72 hours will result in your friend's lives becoming our property. Signed, the Dark brotherhood.
Spencer and Andima stood/floated there for a few moments in silence.
"What are you going to do?" Andima asked. Spencer stuffed the note into his pocket and turned to the door.
"It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum." He drew out his sword. "And we're all outta gum."