Chapter 7

Big city life

That night was no different from the nights before, and I was starting to pick up on a trend. If we stayed in this village much longer, I’m pretty sure I’d become drunk. We definitely needed to head out tomorrow, but before we left, I needed to ask Colismo some more questions. So before the night got into full swing, I asked Colismo if I could speak with him. He agreed with no hesitation, and we made off to one of the corners of the large room. Seeing the two of us separate from the group, Janet walked over and joined us.

“Good, you’re here. This will make this simpler. Colismo, I wanted to pull you aside before it got too late and ask you a few questions, if that’s okay.”

“Of course, Travis, what’s on your mind.”

“Well, on our way to the dungeon, before we reached your village, we saw a sign that said something about a coliseum?”

“Oh yeah, we’re still heading there tomorrow, right,” Janet said eagerly.

“Ah, the coliseum. Well, one of the coliseums, at least. That would be something to you. A sight to see indeed. The great Coliseum.” The way Colismo said the word coliseums didn’t sound like he was a fan.

“The Slags coliseums. They are legendary throughout the multiverse. Legendary for their violence, lack of mercy and compassion, over-the-top displays of wealth and power, and known to be the start of many true heroes.” Colismo said the last bit about heroes with a glint in his eyes as he looked at me and Janet. Then he continued.

“The coliseums are places of wonder but also horror. With you two, however, you may do very well there. That is, if you can stomach it. I know I can’t, but I do wish you good luck there. The last thing I will say is, watch your backs. At first, the coliseum may appear grand and great, but Wistpoo lay in the grass waiting to strike.” I blinked in confusion.

“A Wistapooin? What the hell is that?” Colismo laughed at my confusion before answering me.

“Oh yes, I forget myself. You would not know of the Wistpoo. They are small, soft-bodied creatures with many long, slimy tentacles living in the mashes of my home world. They are small but powerful. They leap from the water onto your face, and then it’s over. They then inject their poison and eggs into you. It’s an extremely painful and lengthy death. Quite awful, honestly.” Then he laughed again at our stunned faces. I asked him a few other questions, but we got back to everyone shortly, and the night truly got started.

I was awakened the following day by the morning sun hitting my face. I opened my eyes, squinting and blinking rapidly at the painfully bright light that had invaded my pleasant dreams. I realized I was outside as I sat up and shaded my eyes with my hand. The meeting slash feasting room we had slept in during our time in the village was to my right, and I was sitting there in the middle of the street. Oh, I was also half-naked too. It was the upper half of my body, thank fuck, but I was still getting odd looks from the locals as they went about their morning routine.

Honestly, I had no idea how I had gotten there, but I couldn’t just sit here in the middle of the road any longer, so I tried to stand up. Oh, wow, that was a bad idea. I stumbled as I tried to stand, took a few steps over to the side of the meeting house, and promptly threw up. I think I stayed there throwing up for at least ten minutes. At one point, I projectile vomited, and I swear it traveled over five feet through the air. A few times, shivers ripped through me as I vomited. If you couldn’t tell by now, I hated throwing up.

When I was finally done being sick, I turned away from my mess and was wiping my mouth with my hand when I noticed I was being watched. It was an elderly Incoanmenti I had met a few times in the village. Her name was Micose. I think she was actually related to Colismo in some way. His wife’s mother or something like that, mother-in-law, something? I was trying to remember, but my brain was struggling to work properly.

“It seems as if last night got the better of you, young hunter,” Micose said with a caring smile on her elderly face. I was trying not to start throwing up again, so I couldn’t really answer her at that moment, so I just shrugged. Micose chuckled at my answering shrug.

“Your companion and most of the village, in fact, are still asleep after last night’s festivities. Your visit has riled up this small, peaceful village quite well, hasn’t it?” She chuckled at my silence.

“Come, I run a small restaurant in the village. I am on my way to open my shop. Follow me, and I believe I can give you something to help with the remnants of the night that still linger within you.” Then, before waiting for an answer, the elderly Incoanmenti woman grabbed me by the arm. With more force than I thought the old woman should be able to produce, she led me off. I assumed she was referring to her shop, as she had said.

Micose led me through the village, and quickly, we were standing before a small restaurant. It was a quaint place. The building was made of wood and had simple yet striking carvings. Small, beautiful animals: little frogs, birds captured in the moment of taking flight, and lizards climbing columns. It was a wonder to take in. There were four small tables out front of the place with umbrellas tied up from the day before.

I didn’t notice all of this while I was left to stand in front of the building, hungover as fuck. Micose eventually came back and got me after she had opened up the restaurant. She led me inside, where there were more tables, and sat me down at one. I let my head fall onto the table in front of me, and I think I fell asleep until Micose woke me a little later. As I woke, Micose placed a bowl of something on the table next to my head. I tilled my head and looked up at the woman,

“Eat,” she said. So I did. It took me a second, but I downed the whole bowl. Honestly, I didn’t know what the fuck it was, and I couldn’t remember. That time I spent eating at Micose’s restaurant was a blur, but a few minutes after I had finished my bowl, I felt as good as new. It was like a ripple or a shiver passed through my body, and my hangover left with it as it passed through me. As well as my exhaustion and any other toxins that had been in my body. It felt so good. I sighed when it happened, and as my senses came back to me, I heard Micose laughing at me.

“Sorry, but that was amazing. What was that? That, that, that was, fuck. Ah, I’m sorry, that was just amazing.” I said as I stretched a bit. Micose just continued to chuckle softly for a moment longer before she stopped, yet the smile remained on her face.

“It’s fine, young hunter. That was a restorative soup. The recipe for that dish has been passed down in my family from mother to daughter for many generations. I hope you enjoyed it. I was going to bring a big pot of it over to the hunters who overindulged a bit too heavily last night. Maybe you can lend an old lady a hand. I smiled at the elderly Incoanment woman and stood up. “Of course, after what that soup did for me, it would be my pleasure. Thank you again, Micose, truly.

Once we made it over to the meeting hall slash dining hall, Micose began handing out bowls to barely-standing hungover hunters. Soon, everyone was much more lively. Janet had made her way out of the building at one point when Micose was handing out soup. She had gotten a bowl, and when she finished the thing, Janet had been so happy not to be hungover anymore that she hugged the older Incoanment woman. Micose looked surprised at the hug but not unhappy, and she was pleased that Janet had enjoyed the meal so much.

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When it was finally time to leave, we said goodbye to all our new friends and headed out. It was actually harder than I thought to leave the village. Maybe it was the Incoanment, or maybe it was just being part of a community again after being gone from Treehouse for so long. I was sad to be leaving, but we knew we would be back, and that helped. We were also headed to the Coliseum today. Colismos’ warnings had made me worry about the place, but my excitement from his description had made me partially forget my worries. I know Janet felt the same way. It was time to see what the coliseum held for us.

We had made it to the road sign we had seen before, which told us the Coliseum was 80 miles away. I was guessing the direction the sign was pointing in. I took one last look at the direction we had just come from, thanking our Incoanmenti friends one more time in my head before turning and joining Janet on the road towards the coliseum. It was time to see what they were all about. Those signs I had seen on the street corners in the bay area when the world first went to shit came to mind. Gladiatorial combat? This must have been what the message was talking about all that time ago.

We had been traveling for almost an hour when we saw our first roadside inn. It was a two-story building and must have had only a handful of rooms for travelers to stay in, but the inn had a tavern and a small general store inside. I could see it becoming a small town in a few years, but it was just one building for now. As we passed, a fucking minotaur was tying a large lizard-horse combo-type creature up at a post. The creature even had a satel, so I assumed it was the minotaur’s mount. This world was crazy, but I knew that was just the start of what was to come.

After that, we started seeing more sentient beings. There were so many different species of sentients that it was a bit overwhelming, and I figured it was the Coliseum. We knew we must be getting close to our destination when we started seeing aliens everywhere. Sure enough, about five minutes later, the Coliseum came into view in the distance. The coliseum was massive, and I could see what looked like a town that had formed around the base of the enormous structure.

I hadn’t seen a single other human yet besides Janet, and that was a bit unnerving. We were getting more attention than I was comfortable with as well, but as we were sucked into the crowd that was heading for the massive structure in the distance, we were lost to the masses. The travelers seemed more concerned about getting into the city than anything else. Soon, we were walking alongside merchants and other visitors down a wide road that led to large gates that opened onto the city beyond.

By the time we made it to the gates my neck hurt from constantly being on a swivel. There was just so much to see. I know I must have looked like a country bumkin. Out on his first trip off to the big city, but I kind of was, and part of me couldn’t help it. We hadn’t even entered the city, yet there were so many crazy-looking aliens, some straight out of myths and legends. I swear, while we were waiting in line, I saw a fucking Medusa. Like a real woman with fucking snakes for hair. It was insane, and Janet was just as enthralled with it all as I was.

As we finally stood before the large, thirty-foot-tall gates that looked as if they were made from obsidian, I was caught off guard by the sheer amount of Mana pulsing from the doors. I could feel Mana roiling through them in waves of power. As we moved up in the line, I studied the doors more and started to make out intricate designs carved into the black stone of the doors. There were loops, lines, and flourishes everywhere over their surfaces. It must have been what held all the Mana in the doors. The inscriptions might have been for a shielding spell or some kind of attack spell. Maybe it was just magic to let them close the doors. Those things were massive and looked heavy as shit, but it felt like so much more than that.

I was so caught up in the doors that I almost missed the hand coming at my chest. On instinct, I shot my hand out and grabbed the wrist of the hand coming at me.

The guard to whom the hand belonged was momentarily shocked and stunned by my actions. Then she tried to rip her hand free from my grip, and I let her.

“What your self. If I wasn’t in a good mood today, I’d have you brought in for questioning for assaulting an officer of the Coliseum.” The guard looked me over for a second, taking in my humanity. Then, her eyes lit up as if she finally understood something.

“Oh, locals. Of course, you wouldn’t know anything. Congratulations on making it to Coliseum City 32808, also known as Eight oh Eight City. Watch your ass while you are here. Cause trouble and will throw you in a cell. The first thing you’ll need to do while you’re here is to get a galactic identity card or G.I.C. It’s the standard form of identifying people in the multiverse. While you’re here, It will also be the most common way to use and store your galactic credits. So get one before it gets too late, or you’ll be sleeping on the street tonight. Now move it. You’re holding up the line.” I was then pushed slightly from behind by the masses trying to enter through the gate, and I moved on. I didn’t even get to make a witty comeback to the guard, but we were in the city now, and what a city it was.

There were galactic pioneers everywhere. We even saw a few humans or what looked like humans in the mix. Shops were everywhere, aliens shouting about goods for sale and low prices. I couldn’t understand half of what was being said around me. I could make out at least ten different languages being spoken within five feet of me. It was intense. Magical shop signs and advertisements were all over, floating above the heads of the passersby beneath them. The town overall looked like it had been erected quickly, but the craftsmanship looked impeccable. Beautifully carved wood and stone adorned every building, and magic was just another part of everyday life for this enthralling city.

It was then that Janet smacked me in the back of the head, causing several passersby to chuckle as they saw the act.

“Ow, what? And stop doing that.”

“I wouldn’t have to keep doing it if you kept your brain on this planet. I was talking to you. It’s like you pick when to listen to me.”

“Janet, if anyone picked when I listen to you, it’s you, and it’s usually with some form of physical violence,” I said as I rubbed the back of my head dramatically as if It still hurt from her blow. Which wasn’t entirely a joke. She was fucking strong. Janet just rolled her eyes at me and punched me in the arm.

“Ow, fine, okay, what did you want? And stop hitting me, damn.”

“I was asking if you knew where the fuck we were going? We gotta get one of those G.I.C.s, right? Do you know where we get them? Im not trying to sleep on the street tonight, are you?” That was a good point. Janet had a good point, and I had no idea where to get one. I went with honesty as I answered Janet,

“No idea at all, you?” Janet Just rolled her eyes at me and then looked away.

“Fuck! Well, let’s start asking around, I guess. This is gonna suck.”

Janet was totally right. The next hour fucking sucked. We had to work our way through the crowd. Then, go to the different shops to ask the vendors for directions. We figured they were more likely to help us than some rando on the street. That turned out to be the wrong move. When the shop clerks knew we weren’t interested in buying anything and were just looking for directions, they ignored us. Janet almost hit one guy. I had to pull her away from the shop and back into the street.

A passerby must have heard me trying to calm Janet down because while I was talking Janet out of going over and punching the guy in the face, a finger tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to see what had tapped me and found a tall, slim, dark purple-skinned, humanoid figure. The alien was wearing a suit, of all things. It had slight differences from a traditional earth suit, such as flourishes on the cuffs of the sleeves and on the neck. The entire pattern on the outfit was moving like it was one connected LED display. It was sick, and I wanted one. As I was caught up in the alien dude’s clothes, he cleared his throat to get my attention.

“Excuse me, sir, but I believe you and your companion are new to 808 City.” When he saw my confusion at the name, so he continued.

“Ah, this city is called 808 City, and I will take that as a yes then? That you are new to 808 City, that is.”

“Ah, yes, we are. How can I help you, my friend?”

“I believe it is me who can help you. I overheard. Please forgive me for my rudeness, but if I’m not wrong, you’re looking to obtain your G.I.C.s, am I correct?” My face lit up a bit at that.

“yeah, we are. Do you think you can point us in the right direction?”

“I actually think I can do you one better. I am headed in that direction now. I can show you where to go if you want to accompany me. Would that be amenable to you?”

“Yeah, that would be great, but why are you helping us? What’s in it for you?”

“I simply wish to help a newcomer. It will not be much for me to lend you my assistance in this matter, and who knows, maybe one day you will be able to pay me back in some way. Now come, I must be going.” The alien started walking off. I looked at Janet, and she shrugged. So I said fuck it, and we ran after the alien before I lost him to the crowd.