Chapter 35
When we went to this meeting, I never imagined getting caught up between rival gangs. I thought we were just going to have a secret meeting with a gang leader, not meet the man in an inn's tavern that was taken over by him and his lieutenants. Still… we got a front-row seat to a gang beatdown. I'm not sure how to feel about this.
The first intruder got a boot to the face. The second ran straight into Dragon's arm when the lieutenant lunged, his entire body lifted up into the air by momentum and gravity seemed to pause as he turned a few times before landing on his third swung but he stepped out of the way, grabbed the arm and gave the attacker a headbutt. Without wasting time, he swung a punch at the fourth coming up behind him, breaking his nose. Then, he got out of the way of the charging fifth man, grabbed him by the neck, and pulled him back. He landed on the ground and the lieutenant grabbed him by the legs and swung him around, then let him go and sent him flying into the first three.
That left the fourth intruder, who came at him swinging. Dragon dodged the first one and then punched him in the face. He punched him two more times and then jumped, drop-kicking the intruder into three and five. As he got up, he kicked out at the first intruder and tripped the second. The latter fell flat on the floor, a few feet in front of the party. He quickly got up and caught sight at them. The man leered but before he could say or do anything, the lieutenant grabbed him by the neck from behind, lifted him up like a sack of potatoes, and threw him on one of the tables. The wooden item collapsed under the weight and the intruder was knocked out. The first one then grabbed a chair and tried to attack with it, but the lieutenant's leg crashed through, breaking it apart and slamming the block of wood into his face.
Distracted, the third intruder slashed his back, cutting through the robe and drawing blood. Dragon grabbed his head, slammed it into his knee, and held him in a suplex, tossing him over behind him. The intruder crashed into the table behind him and was knocked unconscious. The last two managed to capitalize and slashed his chest. He stumbled back, growled, took a deep breath, and suddenly exhaled lightning, electrocuting the two.
Subaru heard Coco gasp. She turned around and found the dragonborn muttering nonsense as she gestured wildly. Turning back to the lieutenant, she watched as he closed his mouth and the toasty-smelling intruders collapsed to the ground in a heap.
"Has Coco gone mad, Subaru?" whispered Rushia. Dragon had now gone back over to the table.
"I… don't really know," muttered the fighter.
Diamond then handed over a healing potion and said, "Your robe is torn."
Dragon grunted and took off his robe to examine it, giving the party a full view of a tattoo on his back. It was a dragon rising upwards, grasping a pearl in its claw. Then, Coco let out a sound that resembled a squeal of happiness.
"Er, Coco, why are you…. like this?" asked the former guard hesitantly.
"The legend is here… the legend is here..." she started repeating to herself.
"What legend? Him? He looks like some ordinary..."
The dragonborn immediately grabbed and shook the tiefling by the shoulders and shrieked, "What!? You never heard of Amu-Kaz the Most Loyal!? Protector of Dragonerica who defeated an army ten thousand strong!? He is the legend of legend of legend of legends!"
"Er, Coco, I don't think any of us has been to your homeland before," said Subaru, trying to placate the overexcited dragonborn, "So, can you stop shaking her?"
Pausing her actions, she thought a moment before saying, "Fine." She let go and Choco could actually get a proper breath in.
The lieutenant sighed and said, "Huh, never expected one of my kind here." His visage started to flicker a bit before breaking, revealing two pairs of black majestic horns rising up from the side of his head. He had pale dragon scales around his chest and abdominal area while the rest of his body was covered in bronze dragon scales. The tattoo itself became different colored scales that formed the same imposing, majestic picture.
"Gods above, Dragon, you broke the damn illusion again," groaned Patches as he gestured with his hands, "Damn it, why can't you stop breathing that lightning. Grr, hold up. I'll get another scroll." The first lieutenant continued to grumble as he headed round the back.
"Hmm, I'll get this repaired later," said Dragon as he put on the robes again. Turning to the dragonborn, he said, "I would rather you don't tell anyone else back home I'm here."
"But why? Our people deserve to know you still live," protested Coco.
"I grew tired of the fighting," he said as he sat down facing the group, "The adoration and the respect… it helped. But it wore down on me. Eventually, I had enough of the killing. What the black dragon put our home through... that was the last straw. And you know it yourself that even if he is gone, his fanatics still exist. If me being dead can help protect my friends… my family or what's left of it, I will stay dead."
"But the issue with Dorgriaz..."
"I will still help with this issue, but not as Amu-Kaz the Most Loyal," he stated, silencing the dragonborn, "But as Kazuma the Dragon."
"Hrn, who would have thought you got found out, eh Dragon?" said Dojima as he leaned forward against the table, "To think I only asked you to fill in for Zhane."
"Then maybe he should have taken better care of himself," the legendary dragon retorted, "His stingy nature will be the death of him."
"Heh," the gang leader sounded. Turning to the party to address them, "It seems they are in agreement. The River Dragons will help. Do be aware that most of us will probably not be able to handle the black dragon. However, we will help to protect the citizens of the city from his so-called cult should they pop up."
"Sounds good enough to me," stated Subaru as she thumbed at herself, "You can leave the dragon to us. We'll handle it… somehow."
"Hmm, if you are searching for information, I might direct you to someone," spoke up Diamond, drawing the interest of the party, "He is an information broker who frequents the Broken Stool tavern. He is the one that warned me of the attack by the Viper's Nest."
"Hmm? Why haven't I heard of this?" spoked up Dojima.
"He is a suspicious person. I do not get a good feeling from him," explained the lieutenant, "One time, he tried offering me a contract that I turned down. Instead of getting angry, he just laughed and turned back to his ale."
"I guess we could seek him out," mused the fighter aloud, "Any bit of information would help a great deal. Where's the tavern?"
After giving them directions, he said, "He favors sitting in dark corners of the tavern. However, he has one thing that sets him out of the rest of them. His hands face the other way."
The party blinked and looked at each other in confusion. "Never heard of someone having that," muttered Choco.
Dojima then cleared his throat and said, "Our business is concluded. You have our help and you have your next destination. Now, leave. We have repairs to see to."
We left the place in good spirits. If what Diamond said was true, then we may get some prime insight as to what the cult was planning. We decided to go there in the morning, as we were quite worn out from the day. We went to Farun's place for late supper and went back to Okayu's place to rest. We invited Coco to stay around but she refused, saying she already had a room rented for herself. We did promise to meet up at the broker's tavern the next day.
However, we didn't expect Korone to come back in the morning and… well...
"Come with me to Merkath!" Korone exclaimed the moment she caught sight of the three settling down to eat breakfast.
"...What?" muttered Subaru in surprise.
"I heard you fought an umber hulk!" she continued in an excited state, "Come with me! We can go hunting for umber hulks and take their fingers!"
"Umm… not that I don't want to..." replied the fighter very carefully as she feared for her own fingers, "Well… we are hunting for information on a dragon cult… and possibly fight a dragon too..."
"What!?" the dog girl exclaimed again, this time with an extreme shine in her eyes, "Where!? Where is the dragon!?"
"Um… why?"
"Dragon. Fingers," she proclaimed with great joy, "This will be the centerpiece of my collection!"
-pak-
"Enough. Stop harassing our guests, Korone," said Okayu as she smacked the dog girls head with her flat-faced ladle, "Sit down and eat breakfast."
"Ku… fine..." murmured the pouting bounty hunter as she took her seat.
The party of three ate as quickly as they were able. Saying their thanks, they headed out straight to the tavern Diamond told them about. As expected, Coco was waiting for them outside. Together, they stepped inside.
Early mornings, a tavern normally is almost empty save for a few regulars or drunkards that fell asleep there the night before. This tavern was no different. Seated at one of the many tables was one such bleary-eyed drunk moaning and groaning as he held on to a cup of remedy. They took time to look around and spotted a hooded figure sitting in the far corner of the room. He was leaning back in his chair, one arm behind his head and his other holding on to his smokey pipe. A reversed palm. The hood and cloak looked to be made of fine cloth and looked well-made. Coco and the party made their way over to him and sat at the table.
The broker took a deep draught of his pipe, tilted his head upwards, and breathed out a cloud of smoke. "So, you have come to see Prasadiv, hmm?" he asked with a growly, husky, accented voice, "You come for information? For trinkets? To fight? Prasadiv provides and more."
"We want to know more about the cult in the city," stated Subaru after looking around, leaning in to listen.
"Ahh, the dragon cult, yes?" he asked rhetorically, "Prasadiv knows many things, including the dragon cult of Dorgriaz."
"What do you know?" pressed the dragonborn.
"Ah, ah, ah. Prasadiv does not give things for free," chided the mysterious broker as he took another draught, "Prasadiv requires payment."
"What do you want..." asked Choco hesitantly.
"Ah, there are many things Prasadiv wants," the broker stated rather jovially, "That depends. Are you willing to sign a contract? To fetch something for Prasadiv? To fetch... someone? OR… to entertain Prasadiv?"
The atmosphere suddenly became filled with dread. The party looked at each other, contemplating their options. Then, Subaru spoke up.
"We aren't going to sign any contract," she stated resolutely, "No discussion about it. Fetching stuff… or people… will take time and we might not have it. So… I guess... entertainment."
"Ahh, wonderful, wonderful," cheered the mysterious man, "A wonderful choice."
"So, is this going to be singing or dancing? I can do that," offered Coco.
"Oh, that… Prasadiv will decide," he stated. Pointing at the fighter, the young necromancer, and the tiefling with his pipe, he continued, "You. You. You. You three will be in the arena."
"Wait? Arena? What-" sputtered Subaru as the mysterious man brought forth his hand that was behind his head and snapped his fingers. She blinked and found herself standing in sand. She looked around and saw that she, Rushia, and Choco were in a small arena bordered by high stone walls with caged enclosures on one side built within.
"Welcome, to Prasadiv's personal arena!"
The group of three looked up and saw the hooded broker had dropped his hood, revealing the face of a humanoid tiger. His hands were raised, gesturing upwards. Coco was next to him, looking around in confusion.
"You will fight three rounds with enemies of my choice," he declared his conditions, "If you win all three rounds, you can have your information. If not… no loss for Prasadiv. You can take a few minutes to heal up in between rounds but no more than that. Healing includes what your friend up here can give you. Now, prepare yourself. Your first fight will start soon."
After preparation time was over, the rakshasa declared, "Your first fight is with a demon of the Nine Hells! Let the battle begin!"
A bright circle appeared in the sand, the insides bathed in bright red light. As the spectacle dissipated, it revealed a large demon that bore a superficial resemblance to a toad with muscular arms ending with three-fingered hands. It roared loudly, just as Choco cast a blessing on the party of three. It charged at the nearest person, a hand reared back to strike. Subaru stepped back in time, its claws swiping on empty air. At the same time, she started coughing as she caught the whiff of its noxious stench. She could hear Rushia coughing behind her as well, the young necromancer also being affected. Still, it didn't stop them from fighting back. A ray of sickly green energy shot into its open maw, choking it a little, while the fighter's slashes cut deeply into its nearest hand.
Choco's spectral mace materialized, aiming for its shoulder while a beam of sacred flames slammed into where it stood. Both missed, as the hezrou sidestepped and continued to attack Subaru, its maw biting empty air. Frost then appeared over one arm, the cold seeping deep into its flesh. Subaru, powering through the stench, focussed and attacked the frostbitten arm and worsened the injury. The spirit mace caught up to it and slammed its head into the demon's back. At the same time, a flash of light slammed into its chest and the hezrou roared as the holy energies seared through its very being. It only became angrier, its maw suddenly clamping down on the fighter's sword arm. With a twitch of its neck, it threw her into the air. With a swipe, it dug into her arm and sent her crashing to the ground. Her pain didn't distract, as she rolled aside to her feet when it tried to swipe at her with its other arm.
It roared again as a glowing green ball splashed in it, the necrotic energies washing over its injured body, worsening all its injuries. This brought Subaru enough time to attack, its chest getting the heaviest blow, its scorched skin and muscle parting and revealing actually bone. Or what passed to be bone. The second attack dug into its leg, cutting through its thigh. A third attack surged through, slashing its lower leg and causing it to stumble to one knee. After that, much to her surprise, Choco ran up next to her and slammed her glowing mace into its face. An extremely loud roar came out of its throat as it suddenly burst into sulfurous ash, showering the both of them with bright yellow dust that smelled of rotten eggs.
Coughing and running out of the stinking cloud, the fighter heard the rakshasa announce, "Congratulations! You have passed the first round. Prasadiv is impressed. Now, take a moment to heal yourself. The second round-"
"Can start now," she found herself saying. While she was a little injured, it didn't look too serious as the wound seemed to be minor enough.
"Are you sure about this, Subaru?" asked Choco with concern, "You don't have to if you feel otherwise."
"I'm sure, Choco," assured the fighter, "We've had worse. A simple wound like this wouldn't stop me."
"If you're sure..."
"So, can we start the next round now?" she pressed on as she turned her attention back to the rakshasa.
"Very well. The second round is a pair of land sharks. It begins now!"
The three then looked around and nothing appeared. "Umm, where are they?" asked the fighter, "I don't see any sharks."
"Ah, Prasadiv never said they would be… over ground."
AN: Hello, readers. I am glad that I put this scene in. A happy Coco is the asaCoco we all need. That translated video is what introduced me to her, that clip that showed her reaction to Kazuma Kiryu making an appearance in Like a Dragon. I have been waiting to put my D&D interpretation in and I feel very satisfied with it. And him being a bronze dragon, I think, fits him well.
Then, the party goes to meet an information broker. As we see here, a rakshasa. As to how he knows of the dragon cult... let's just say he may have a hand in helping it, so to say. The arena is his test for them. Round one, a hezrou. Round two, a pair of bulettes or more commonly known as land sharks. The third round? Well, care to guess?
Alright, this is it for this chapter. Next chapter, battles two and three. Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.