Nibal: "Before going in, you'd better understand the difference so we don't get killed at the first opportunity. The snakes basically own everything. Not many people put up a fight against them around here. They can leave you breathless in an instant if they want to. The security system is so robust that those we looked at at the beginning didn't say anything. The security the snakes provide is simply greater than their own, so they're basically just for show. What you're about to see inside might not meet your expectations, but never follow a born snake. They're quite secretive, and few know what they do with their victims. And it goes without saying, but you should always keep your word," Nibal warns me while trying to tower over me. Of course, it's hard enough for him to reach my shoulders, let alone my level, but the warning is understood.
Once we passed through the main door, literally a large color hit me, several beings, people, and basically an indigent number of beings similar to snakes or at least it is understood that the animal they carry is a kind of snake or reptile, walking a little further, machines, sounds of screams and various blows become present in the room
'So, a casino, huh?' A couple of memories hit me, although I don't recognize the machines, they do have the same function as those where we were constantly among friends. I remember that my luck was terrible back then, to say the least. I had to pay for many of these in installments because of the debt I had to save, although that doesn't matter, with the bottle caps we have, we can pay them without problems.
We went between several machines; basically, you pull a lever, some numbers move, and if you get a combo, you win money. Pretty simple, but literally everything was rigged. My game is cards. Even if you count them, you might still lose because you're not the only one taking them, so you're doomed to lose even if you play your cards right. You could say I'm the kind of person who leaves it to chance without hesitation.
Born serpent: "Heyyyy, watch where you're going" - one of the born ones shouts at me as he brushes against me, emphasizing the letter 's' in his speech, I understand his actions
"No problem." I ended the conversation to continue walking near Nibal as we headed to a place unknown to me. I suppose his contact here must have everyone's information. It's a casino, and if he's the owner, as I assume, then it won't be cheap. Hence, anything he says must be followed to the letter.
For a desert world, honor and one's word are still upheld. I suppose some things don't change between people, but that's not what interests me right now.
"What are you doing, Nibal?!" - I grabbed him by the shoulders before he could throw a large bag of bottle caps at a number. Perhaps he saw something, but for a brief moment he had an unyielding expression, now a master of the game, although his pose said "I'm going to give it my all."
Nibal: "The truth is" - he puts away the bag of bottle caps, immediately killing the bright eyes of everyone at the table, even the goat representing the gambling house sighs in disappointment
Born a bear: "Please stay, insist." A bear approaches us as we continue walking towards wherever Nibal's contact is.
Nibal stops for a moment and then continues walking, but newborn crocodiles block our path, so we are forced to return and sit next to the bear.
Nibal: "Relax, we didn't come looking for trouble, so..." He then tries to get up, but is held down by one of the crocodiles. What surprises me is that no one tries to help us; if it's not their place, they just stand there, like we did a few moments ago, watching, and then go back to whatever they were doing before.
Born a bear: "Come on Manfred, the night is young and we have plenty to play for," he said, placing an even larger bet than the one Nibal had initially placed on the same number he had previously wagered. "Come on! Let's spin the roulette wheel, it's not like I have anything better to do..." he said with some annoyance while staring intently at Nibal.
I had never seen Nibal so scared before, not even when we were basically standing in front of that awakened being. After that, the house spun the wheel, finally landing on the number Nibal had predicted earlier. Nibal blushed and looked at another number, the red 5.
As if guided by Nibal's gestures, the bear, with his newly acquired bag of bottle caps, takes them and places them on the other number indicated by Nibal. Nibal tries to break free, but it's all for naught. I, on the other hand, wait for the crocodile to become confident that I won't do anything before hitting him and running away. It's not like I want to put my trust in a bear that isn't really threatening me.
Born a bear: "Well, from words to deeds, you're quite an enigma in this game, Red 5," says the bear, then laughs along with Nibal, who instead laughs uncomfortably, as do the crocodiles, while they look at the number that came up.
'Red 5' came up in the number given by Nibal, he looked at a different number again, but the bear took all his chips and left the table, with us following him with the crocodiles.
We briefly exchanged glances; there was a curious look in the way he looked at me. Perhaps it's because of what everyone says: every dragon-born has this unique and strange way of looking, inappropriate and seemingly meaningless. But all the ones I've seen lately, if you can even call it that, make sense to me. I think I'm the only one who looks like a dragon, unlike the others.
After a few more machines, we approached the door we had entered through. I looked at Nibal for a moment and we both agreed on something: we had to prepare to escape. But perhaps it was useless to do so, since we were basically surrounded, and as Nibal told me, we shouldn't attract too much attention, especially from the snakes.
But it's not the time to call each other out; we're both taking different positions, preparing to take action. The crocodile's grip on me is loosening more and more, and I even think it trusts that I won't do anything stupid.
I look at Nibal one last time, and his suit lights up slightly. We're about to make a scene. Everyone falls silent, preparing for what's about to happen.
A well-dressed figure said: "My friend Anders, I seem to recall telling you not to show your face around these parts again, especially with my gem, so I'm telling you to let it go." From the walls and the door emerged a multitude of snakes, most with the upper half of their bodies resembling humans, their other features being primarily serpentine. If you removed their arms, you'd say they were entirely snakes... I suppose these people call them "nagas."
The bear lets out a tired snort and the crocodiles let go of us. When we turn around, we see a man in a suit being accompanied by snakes that are twice his size and build. He wears a rather formal suit, black with vertical stripes and a red bow tie, has refined hair and a kind of strange mustache.
As he approaches us (or more specifically, Nibal), he takes him by the shoulders and they exchange a sort of kiss on the cheeks as a greeting.
He continues walking towards the bear, who watches expectantly, wondering what might happen next. Then he turns back to us and gestures for us to follow him. When we turn around, the bear is already leaving, escorted by some snakes.
Once again, the screams and machines being dispatched fill the air, once again to make it seem as if nothing had happened.
After a while, we passed through a few rooms, and little by little the naga following us disappeared into some of them. Even the smell in some of them was repulsive as we advanced, until basically no one remained except the man in a suit in front of us.
Man in a suit: "So, I suppose we meet again, partner. I see you haven't changed a bit," he said as he continued leading the way towards what I assume is Nibal's contact's location, unless this is Nibal's contact!
"We're looking for someone, I don't know if you know him, he looks..." I'm interrupted by a grumble from Nibal, while the man seems to laugh a little at it... What's going on with Nibal?
Man in a suit: "I see you didn't skimp on the new guy. Well, for your information, new guy, I already know who you're looking for. Don't worry, William is nearby and will receive you elsewhere, Nibal." He stops walking and turns to look Nibal in the eyes again. "I hope you brought what you got from your last errand." He finishes, going through a door and reaching the end of the hallway.
As the doors closed, it goes without saying that Nibal's contact, William, was here. The doors were shaped like rather long dragons, not like the one I imagined, which was large and muscular; this one looked more like a noodle.
Nibal: "As if I were going to give it to you." Naturally, he asked what she meant. "None of your business. You'd better keep your word if you promise anything here," he replied simply, continuing to stare at the door.
"I suppose if you promised, you should hand it over." Nibal takes a piece of his suit and, judging by his expression, is clutching it tightly. "Unless, of course, we can reach an agreement, because if this interferes with the mission, I won't leave it to chance... besides..." Nibal turns to me with interest.
"You must teach me how to choose a number; the third number you pointed to was also the winner."
A suppressed laugh escapes him, at which point the door opens before us, revealing inside a series of gaming tables, several nagos and humans distributing drinks to the various guests, among whom are also bears.
Everyone continues with their own things, regardless of whether we're walking among them, drinking, or talking as if it were a normal day. Finally, we arrive in front of a large—and when I say large, I mean a very large—seat; easily the largest naga could lie down on it, and there would easily be room for me to lie down as well.
The elegant man leaves a room near the enormous armchair
Elegant man: "Mr. William will attend to you shortly, so you shouldn't worry about being stood up." He looks back at Nibal. "It shouldn't be much of a problem as long as you both pay your tribute."
Nibal's face basically dies at that moment, but then a naga appears and whispers something in his ear, his face changes drastically and continues
Elegant man: "If you had done what you could for me, maybe I wouldn't be in so much trouble, you bastard!" - and with that last part, his entire facade of elegance quickly crumbles, his hair becoming disheveled and revealing some dirty parts of his suit.
Nibal: "Relax, it only happened once, it's not a big deal, besides, you don't know what I've been doing." But what he expected was a blow from the no-longer-so-elegant man; literally, Nibal was knocked down with a single punch as if he were nothing.
Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at the scene, and of course, I'm part of it; if anyone should hit him, it should be me.
The man in the suit gathers some energy from himself and recovers a little, but I knock him down, sending him sprawling to the ground. Some naga take this seriously and separate us. I was literally thrown to the side by the naga's unexpected force.
Little by little, the elegant man reforms himself with the help of one of the naga, and of course, I also help Nibal.
Nibal: "You didn't have to do that, now it will be more expensive for us to leave here" - but another blow from one of the naga immediately knocks me down
Man in a suit: "If we're going to be gentlemen and start a proper fight, we must first show our respect..." But just like me, another guy punches him and knocks him to the ground, so a big fight starts with a "Who the hell was that?" from the elegant man
Nagas fighting against other nagas, including those born as serpents, but few humans manage to get involved in the fray. Those serving beer are basically untouchable; punches and glasses fly through the air, but either none of them manage to hit anyone or they are dodged with such ease that it seems like this kind of thing is an everyday occurrence.
Of course, Nibal finishes helping me recover from the blow; some scales are broken, but thanks to the suit, none fall to the ground, but I do feel something warm sliding across it.
Nibal: "It's best if we hide. If one of their blows hurt you like that, I don't want to imagine what a drunk can do," he said as he headed towards the exit. I, on the other hand, threw a couple of punches to clear the way. A couple of nagas didn't even flinch; instead, they were violently pushed backward or even sent flying by others of their own kind...
'Who would have thought such bodies were capable of flight?'
A tremor shook the entire room, and out of nowhere everyone stopped fighting to look behind the enormous sofa. Instantly, everyone hid or continued with their normal activities as if there hadn't been a fight. Those with more obvious bruises tried to conceal them or simply went behind others to hide. The man in the suit also seemed to see a drop of sweat fall down his forehead when the tremors stopped.
With all his professionalism, he stopped hitting one of the nagas to take a seat near the large armchair. Of course, Nibal and I wanted to go out too, but something told me it was now or never, so I didn't follow Nibal and instead stood in front of the armchair. Nibal didn't say anything, he just stared at whatever I was bringing closer. I took out one of my regeneration bottles and passed it to Nibal... besides the elegant man
He takes the glass suspiciously, but seeing the effect it had on Nibal, he opens it and drinks it all without thinking. I, on the other hand, don't need it, since my scales are armor in themselves, besides the suit itself which disguises quite well the scales broken by other, less severe blows I received while fighting my way through.
Soon other naga also appear behind us, as if asking for some of the liquid, so I throw it away hoping that one of them will owe me a favor later; you never know when you might need someone born with the general strength to break my scales with one blow and have been completely unharmed by my physical attacks, not even scratched.
A couple more tremors and then a large figure appears, basically a giant dragon similar to the naga, but of course with a beastly face and nothing human about it. It sits (or rather, what appears to be it) on the chair; it was literally floating moments before. Its gaze surveys the place, which had been in disarray but in a few minutes had returned to its original state when we arrived.
Super long dragon: "Well, where are my manners? I'm William, master of the gates." A kind of super rare dragon appears from the same gate the elegant man left through before the fight, carrying plates with bottle caps and other objects. I can even say I saw a couple of nets.
'So he gave them to them too, didn't he?'
This dragon... or rather, William looks at the plates with all the offers, at which point the men take the items and basically lie down more comfortably to talk
William: "Well, I've been notified of everything. My partner, Marty, although you may already know him, gave me everything, and my informant will surely be here shortly to find his..."
"Wolf, with some green or similar decorations, gray fur and large ears" - I open and turn on the tablet showing the image of the wolf
William: "Of course, I hope the journey here wasn't too dangerous. I apologize for my recent absence, but I had other business to attend to before this meeting. But your offers are sufficient, so... let's get down to business."
A clank-like sound is heard, and when they turn around, the nagas close the door.
William: "I hope, Nibal, that you brought what you promised to free your"—he brings one of his claws closer to Marty, the elegant man, and basically pets him as if he were his pet—"partner, well, unless you've changed your mind"
Nibal: "Of course I brought it" - he forces one side of his suit, trying to hide it
The dragon's expression grows dull as we wait for the informant who is supposed to tell us everything about the wolf and its whereabouts.
William: "You know what? A super famous Taurus also came looking for the same thing as you, but his offer wasn't as good, so I didn't exactly tell him where it was. But let's make a deal, Nibal, if you give me the gem, I'll give you both."
"Sounds like a good deal"
But when I turn to look at Nibal, all I find is a murderous glare, but then I think the sound of caps being drawn from the different offering cups becomes present, which temporarily erases that.
William: "I see nothing has changed about you, I suppose 3 things for those gems is more than fair"
Knocks, well, a few knocks interrupt the room. The dragon's face, though expressionless, is in a pose of annoyance. He looks towards the door and one of the naga opens it to let in a rabbit-born creature, a real one this time, unlike the last one who seemed gentle but inside had a mind full of madness and perhaps murder plots.
Born a rabbit: "My name is Mr. William?" - to which one of the naga approaches her and whispers something to her. Before all this, she had forgotten that everyone had fallen silent after the dragon offered Marty the information and the bottle caps for whatever Nibal was carrying, which was also somewhat promised.
"What did you promise William Nibal?" I whisper to him, but another snort greets me, though this one sounds sad.
Nibal: "His son, technically"—he pauses to catch his breath—"but I promised him I would never hand him over to his father"—he turns to the dragon
"So... we run away?"
He denies it and turns to the dragon
Nibal: "Well? Where's my information?"