Chapter 8: Difference between day and night

CHAPTER VIII

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DAY AND NIGHT

They followed Gary until they heard many people shouting. "Where are we?" White Ezra asked as they came to a worn down warehouse. Gary, who gestured with his pitchfork toward the building, said, "Welcome to the 'Back ally Brawl.' Its my, how you say, 'other job.'" his shivers after saying that, thinking to himself,  "I'm doing it for them." He looks up and the building takes a deep breath, and goes inside.

The men walked in a tall, but short corridor; made from wood that looks of obsidian. The hall had four sets of stairs, two on either side, both having a set going up with a set going down next to them. Vendors littered the hall selling food and merchandise, it looked normal except for the vendors. One vendor who was selling clothes was a big, bright purple behemoth; which emitted a small layer of slime, had tentacles with suction cups for arms, a trunk for a nose, small bat-like wings for ears, and a slug like tail below his torso. 

The children hear the screams from what seems to be a unseen crowd and are a tad nervous because of it. White Ezra asks nervously, "Where are all the people?" Black Ezra responds with, "Ya, and why are we here?" His temper increased with every second. 

Gary looks at The Master in a questioning manner. The Master nodds and Gary looks at the children. "This is what I do to make extra; due to not making enough money by selling fruit." He then proceeded to pull out a watch then said, "And to answer the question of 'what we're going to here,' follow me." He then proceeded to the stairs on the left, then goes up the stairwell.

When they all get there they see a room much like the one downstairs, except the floor was actually obsidian. crowds of people surrounding a hole in the ground, which was blocked off by a guardrail. Many looked poor, barbaric and

unreasonable people. The children were more unnerved than before. The hole was fifty feet across and had four lights on the ceiling pointed towards it. At the entrance of the stairwell, there was a stall in the wall with a green fish-like man. Trying to look professional for his job, the man wore a blue suite with a red tie.

Gary walked up to the fish person and asked "Who's up next, Frank?"

The fish-like humanoid, known as Frank, responded in the most professional voice he could muster, "Blinkoff and 'Krogthar The Masculine' apparently a traveling warrior with, well, an ironically big head."

"Ironically?" Said the confused merchant.

Frank shook his head, then said, "Just wait and see, Trust me on this"

"Equipment and known strategy?" Gary asked

Black Ezra whispered to the other children, "What's he asking all this stuff for? And why does this...this...fish happen to have the answers?"

The three brothers shrug at the question the fourth has just asked.

After a few more questions from Gary, and a few more answers from Frank. Gary says, "I hope Blinkoff 'll be ok. 25 on Blinkoff."

The green gilled man, looks a little shocked, "You sure Gary? I know Blinkoff is your friend, but this guy dosent have a history with us. And you know well, what happened with the last guy like that."

"I know," Gary says. He then takes off his pine green hat and the two men bow their in heads in silence.

While those two are doing that, The Master whispers to the buffalo and the kids, "I'll be right back, I have an old friend to see." He goes down the stairs and into the basement, where the participants get ready. There, me and a minotaur await for The Master.

"I'm glad you could make it," I say, "Is Tiki Bison coming too?"

The Minotaur sneers at the buffalos name

The Master says, "Only if you want him to be."

I give a little whistle and the bison appears in front of me.

He looks at me with wide eyes. Then, despite being two inches tall, he attempts to give me a hug, and says in a manner that expresses much joy, "I missed you so much, Your three times the man The Master is."

The Master and I exchange glances and smile, then simultaneously respond with, "I know."

"Can I stay with you now?" Tiki Bison says as squeezes me harder,

I give a chuckle and pat his head, "Not yet, but soon."

The Minotaur coughs

I look at The Master and both of our smiles fade, "You remember what we planned tonight, right?"

The minotaur looks at The Master and responds with, "Yes, I do, And I don’t need a 'meeting' to do it."

I look at the minotaur annoyed, "Yes, I know how...ruthless and brutal you are." 

The minotaur chuckles.

"But," I continue, "That doesn't mean to we don't inform him of what's happening. I have no doubt in your ability. But he has the children. Their very impressionable and if he's not informed of what to do. The entire plan is ruined."

So, I tell The Master what he needs to do, and Tiki Bison what he should do to make sure the children aren't...permanently damage.

Afterwords, the depressed old Man returned to the kids. He didn’t like where this plan went but Tiki Bison was reassuring him. Tiki Bison knew more than The Master, but he knew how to keep quiet. The Master hated the plan, he knew there was more to this plan than he knew, 

"But why couldn’t he tell me? Why is that minotaur so important? I don’t even know his name. Why the hell does that damn bison know more than me? WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING! WHY ME?" The old man sighed and ended his inner conflict there before it got out of hand.

The Mental plane is can be a nasty place. There's two things there that beings have to worry about: illusions, and yourself.

The Master calmed himself with a saying I made 

'Thinking is the most risky thing you can do; It can build anything, or it can destroy everything; and the worst part is, you can't control where it will take you, and if you do, your restraining it.'