Chapter 66: Celebration Catastrophe! (Part 1!)

No one ever expects festivals and parties to be the site of unhappy events, and much less a place where you are reminded of your own mortality.

But one must realize that just because you’re having fun doesn’t make you invincible. You’d think Iozians and Tripolians would have realized that by now, but no!

At least Skaldi realized that, at least.

Amir and Sorbet waited for the elf in the dark shadows of an alleyway. Sorbet had, as you might guess, enjoyed her first scoop of ice cream. Sitting against the wall, Sorbet tested out the new food and it was pretty delightful. Amir, right beside her, kept looking out in case any guards or watchmen were approaching. The festivals and the marching troops had died down a bit, but there was yet an end to the partying. Next time when they got back, Amir planned to ask Valiato what day it was.

For now, Amir was contemplating on how Skaldi was leading them. He had really started to take charge and seemed to be maturing. A couple months ago he wouldn't trust Skaldi with doing anything himself, constantly laughing at his failures.. And look at him now, a smart and well composed man.

“Hey fuckers, I got a plan.” Well, sort of. Skaldi ran into the darkness, looking over his back before continuing towards them both.

“What is it? Also, do you want a slice?” Sorbet offered her ice cream cone to Skaldi.

“Slice? Slice of what?”

“Slice of ice cream. Like a slice of bread, you know?” Sorbet didn’t understand what was wrong with what she had said.

“No-look, I got a pretty damn good idea of how to bust into the Cloud District. All we need is a couple dresses, a few fruits, and a lack of dignity.”

“The fucks a dignity?” Sorbet asked, standing up.

“The thing you lose when you lose self respect.” Skaldi answered.

“The fucks a self respect?” She asked again.

“...you didn’t have many friends in Jantok Sky did you?”

“No, not really.” Sorbet said, all sad like.

“Sucks to suck. Anyway, let me explain.” The redhead brushed his hair with his thumb and pulled the two out of the alleyway ever so slightly as to not catch the eye of anyone watching.

What they saw were the walls for the Cloud District, only a bit taller than the buildings. The homes behind these walls were immaculate and well maintained in comparison to the rest of Uvi Jantok. Based on what he saw in Jantok Sky, Cloud District was the closest anyone could get to luxury homes and no crime.

Those walls had a gatehouse, with ten guards on top and five guards on bottom, most of them leaning on their weapons or lazing about. The rest of them were likely inside Cloud District, and it would be a fight to try to break in and impossible to climb the walls. They needed another way in.

“You see those guards? Pretty tired looking right? I doubt they’ll be too attentive to appearances on any papers we’re carrying.” Skaldi pointed out to them, just as a small group of rich folk headed to the gate.

“I see! We’re going to sell them dresses and fruit, and pose as merchants!” Sorbet, although excited, misunderstood the idea.

“Close… we’re going to be posing alright. Look there!” Skaldi swung out his arm, and Amir and Sorbet stuck their heads out. Many of the rich folk were girls, attended to by also pretty looking servants. Not only this, those servants were really similar to the pretty servants inside Jantok Sky. The guards greeted them well and hardly checked their papers and persons.

“Ohhh. OH. That’s actually smart!” Sorbet announced, which Skaldi nodded, appreciating the compliment.

“I try to be.”

“So, dressed as girls. Oh, that’s pretty damn good. One problem. What about the big guy?” Sorbet pointed to Amir, who was obviously out of the loop of what was being discussed. Skaldi smiled sinisterly, ready to test out his fashion skills on the big Tripolian.

In just under an hour, the three got their materials and… equipment ready. Skaldi wasn’t looking too different, trading out his chest plate for a much more in style dress with plenty of floral patterns. And for his eye patch, he simply put on a pink rose to sell the look.

Sorbet didn’t have much trouble either, deciding to be the one that did the most talking, since she was the one who knew the most about Uvi Jantok. For her outfit, it was a loud and colorful gown that was similar to the Kai Ren fashion. She was happy with it.

Amir… wasn’t so happy with the idea. Changing his entire look entirely, Skaldi and Sorbet made him dress like a sultaness, complete with vests interwoven with frills and aristocratic amount of fabric which helped mask his stature. You could barely see his eyes but I can assure you he was quite angry. The one good part of the outfit, and just about the only part Amir agreed with, was the dagger proudly displayed on his belt.

Now here comes the part you all been waiting for, how did they design their boobs?

Skaldi chose a modest option and simply put half an apple in his dress. He would have done something bigger, but he really didn’t want to jinx their chances.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Amir, on the other hand, opted for two bags of limes to present the idea of a large and fearsome Tripolian lady. He still didn’t like it, but Sorbet couldn’t understand him and Skaldi couldn’t fucking care.

As for Sorbet, she had the ingenious idea of just making a bra. Not only because it made her look pretty damn good, but it was really pleasant to wear. Like a pillow on your chest, but no back pain, sweat, or minor blemishes to speak of!

I only wish I had such a thing. So to sum it up, Sorbet was very happy with her titties.

“Can I just wear this boobie thing, all the time? It actually feels really comfy.” Sorbet massaged the last bits of stuff she put on, checking if there were anything that might fall.

“Just remember to wash it. Oh don’t, I don’t know how girls deal with that stuff.” Skaldi stretched out, ready for the plan to commence.

“I can tell.” Sorbet, in the same vain as Florato, sneaked in a gentle insult.

“Shut the fuck up and let’s do this.” Skaldi rolled his eyes and pulled Amir out of the alleyway. The three didn’t stand out, as the streets still had small mobs of partying locals. If anything was off about them, was the lack of skin they were showing off or the lack of mania in them.

What they weren’t lacking was the amount of times they bumped into someone. Skaldi you might already suspect, but Amir struggled with the outfit, being forced to rely on Sorbet guiding him, which also went about as you suspected.

No matter the obstacles, the three got to the gate, hopeful that this effort would yield something. Well, something beyond wearing cute dresses.

“Halt, who are you and what business do you have in the Cloud District?” A senior officer, holding his head high, approached the three. A mixed raced man, a sort of combination between a lizard and a colorful feathered bird, complete with horns and a beak.

“Oh, we’re the three entertainers for the party at… the Lai Manor.” Skaldi came up with, gently juggling some of the extra fruit they had on hand. He wasn’t sure if the bluff was going to work, seeing the senior officer’s suspicious eyes.

The other guards were too busy gambling what little money they had or talking with some of the pretty ladies they were processing. Also they were very horny.

“Come on boss, is it really all that weird that the Lai family wants more girls at their house? Let them through!” One of the guards leaned on Amir, gesturing back to the officer.

“But that one is clearly a Tripolian woman!” The officer disagreed loudly.

“You know their head has exotic tastes.” As the guard argued back, Skaldi and Sorbet felt an uncomfortable tension on their necks. Skaldi understood at this moment how Florato is treated. He felt quite a bit sorry, and even more sorry for Amir, but he couldn’t help but to laugh a little.

“Yes, yes. That’s w-why he requested us.” Skaldi added on, feeling a little nervous.

“...Aye. You tarangs keep out of trouble.” The officer finished and turned away, whistling up at the men on the wall. Within a minute, the gate was open and various people flowed in and out.

Strangely, as Skaldi looked at them and walked past, many of the pretty folk that entered didn't seem right. Like they were statues instead of statuesque. That their movements weren’t filled with the same type of life that normally inhabits people.

Surely this thing won’t come up later, right?

“One more thing ladies, in an hour our Oligarch is going to the final part of Neo Rem Day, so don’t miss it. Or, don’t miss me.” The guard waved and winked off. Finally, after that creepy exchange, the three gratefully entered into the Cloud District.

Unlike the squalid and dense nature of Silk City, the district was a clean and fine tuned home. Homes and apartments stood tall and further away from each other, allowing the sun and wind space to pass by. The streets, although strewn with trash from the celebration, were wide and gleaming and sometimes you could see your reflection in them.

Amir stood in mild interest, as if impressed by it. But that impression ended when he saw so many people eating a disgusting amount of food, especially greasy meats.

Open air restaurants and carts were on every street corner, and dense smoke erupted out of them. Sweat and salt also were common around them, along with the shouts of cooks and servers. Sorbet would have liked to try one of them, but seeing so many mosquitoes soured her appetite.

Besides, they had a job to do.

“Alright fellas, we need to get to the Lai Manor. See if we can work out a deal with them, if not, steal their shit. Hell, maybe we can find out about the Lai Bank or something.” The thought of endless gold and jewels was lovely in Skaldi’s mind, but he knew that they’d have to live first.

“I think the big house on the top might be it.” Sorbet pointed it out. A low but long rectangular manor surrounded by trees in the shape of buttresses laid on the highest hill, resting against the Black Wall.

“That just might be it. Let’s check it out.” Skaldi ordered, and the three went on. They passed by many scenes of stupidity, as apparently in the Cloud District alcohol was allowed. People doing dares that risked and often resulted in bodily injury, taking off clothes, commiting crimes.

You know, fun for the whole family.

Alcohol wasn’t even allowed in Jantok Rock, but Skaldi imagined it as the one good part of this place. Or maybe it was a downside, remembering himself doing dumb stuff while drunk.

Aside from being clean and not being a pain to walk around, the Cloud District was barely any better than Jantok Rock. Perhaps that’s why it was so coveted by the people outside it, because they can’t get in. Or maybe it was a way out.

Either way, the three kept together and pushed on to the outskirts of the Lai Manor.

Yellow metal bars formed a fence enclosing the manor, with guards patrolling it at all times. The main structure itself is split in three parts, having two floors on each. The windows were various stained orange and blues, atop the red wooden frame of all of it. All of it put together, it might have been the most elegant thing they had seen in months.

But that was all ruined by the fact a fucking concert was happening on the front lawn. Barrels of beer were placed together like columns, bands of musicians played on platforms that’d break if one more person stood on them, and so many red faced people singing along in off key and voice breaking tones.

And no was watching the main gate, so anyone could enter at anytime, even three fuckers that wanted to steal shit perhaps.

Ah, truly the height of Iozian society.

“...you sure that this is the Lai Manor?” Skaldi hesitantly backed away.

“Well, the family liked to party when they were in Jantok Sky, so yeah. Probably.” Sorbet tilted her head, trying to convince herself that this was the right place. She looked at the other manors and none of them rivaled this place. If the Lai family lived anywhere, it was here.

“~Please see me through this torture. And please let us survive.~” Amir said aloud, hoping that whatever entity that governed the world would grant them his wish. Skaldi patted his shoulder and held onto Sorbet’s. It would certainly suck, but at least they’re together.

“Whatever he said, I agree.”