"Even without a functioning brain, still you persevere." Azrail said as he looked at Abraham's twitching body. He looked at Abraham, like you would look at a wounded animal mangled around the front fender of a car, but still kicking its feet.

Slowly Azrail walked over to Abraham and knelt in front of him. "I do not know if I am strong enough to free you, but I promise I will do what I ca..."

Azrail jumped back as Abraham swiped his arm at his crouching form. His head was reforming the missing back half as he stumbled to his feet. "I've never met anyone who loved hearing their own voice as much as you."

Abraham looked at Azrail with pure disdain before he cracked his neck from one side and to the other. His disdain turned to cruel glee as he grinned maniacally. "But that'll make finally shutting you up all the sweeter. Just because it's my duty doesn't mean I can't enjoy it after all."

They stared each other down. Two storms, one calm and one furious and wild. Both poised to finish the other off.

But, as they were about to leap into action, a wooden barrel rolled out in-between them. This simple action seemed to suck all of the tension out of the moment, and both of them turned towards the direction the barrel came from.

It was the hollow king. He was sitting down with his back against a stone archway. Lanterns hung on either side, and the interior was lit by even more. It was hard to see from their position, but even they could tell that inside were dozens of barrels like the one that had drifted out to them.

Abraham inspected the barrel first, while Azrail stood back. The scrawny man in his long robe looked skeptical. Abraham's clothes were in tatters now, with holes and tears covering so much of them that it was a small miracle they could hold themselves together at all.

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POP

Abraham popped out the cork on the top and held his nose over the hole. After a deep whiff, he pulled back in surprise.

Then, with a mischievous grin Abraham said, "It's rum."

Azrail turned towards the hollow king with a confused expression. He ignored Abraham and walked towards the archway. It seemed their fighting had brought them to the lights on the horizon.

Azrail stopped just before he crossed the threshold. He looked down at the emaciated corpse on the ground and seemed to appraise him for a moment. Finally, he turned towards the room full of barrels on stands and walked inside.

Abraham watched the other man with an amused expression on his face. He let out a short chuckle and with some strain, lifted the barrel up onto his shoulder. There was a spigot already in it, and he turned it until brown liquid started to stream out. He dipped his finger under the falling liquid, and brought it to his mouth.

"Hmm, not too bad," he mused before he lifted the barrel up with both hands to let the stream fall directly into his mouth. Much of the rum spilled outside of his mouth and dribbled down his chin.

After chugging the equivalent of three pints, Abraham closed the spigot, and pressed the cork back into the bunghole. He wiped his mouth with the remains of his sleeve and let out a satisfied sigh.

Abraham's eyes rose up to look at Azrail, who was still standing right at the threshold. He shifted the barrel back onto his shoulder and walked up to him.

"What's the matter? A simple bit of stone enough to make you lose your nerve?" Abraham asked after he slapped Azrail on the back. "And after all that big talk too."

Azrail lurched forward as he was hit, but he didn't move. His face was scrunched up, and he was clearly thinking about something. In fact, it almost seemed like his ears would burst forth with smoke at any moment with how clearly he was overtaxing his brain.

Abraham looked down at the hollow king. He smiled as he pulled the bung out of the barrel and shoved the spigot directly in the sitting man's mouth.

"You look thirsty, here have a drink," me said mockingly as he turned the spigot.

Surprisingly, the rum did not overflow from his mouth. It seemed to be sucked down as if by a dry sponge.

After a few seconds, Abraham let out another laugh and turned off the spigot as he pulled it away. The hollow king was exactly in his same position as before, except it almost seemed like he was smiling.

Abraham looked over at the prim and proper Azrail. He licked his lips and quickly shoved the spigot into the frail man's mouth as he released the alcoholic liquid once again.

Azrail reacted very differently, as the liquid caught him by surprise. It poured down the sides of his mouth and onto his robes as he sputtered and coughed. Azrail put a hand on the keg, and pushed himself away as he continued to hack and cough.

"Oh? Didn't expect you to be such a lightweight! Even the corpse their could down much more than that." Abraham mocked as he sealed the barrel again.

"No...was that..." Azrail looked at the barrel with a twinge of fear. His eyes looked down at the barrel and then over to the others stored just beyond the stone archway. As he glanced, the two lanterns swayed in a breeze that wasn't there.