07-09-2015, 03:05 AM
You know you've gone up in the world when your appearance causes a sudden and panicked reaction in those who had previously written you off. The pet store / pirate haven had been in the same place as I remembered it, poorly kept storefront and bar guarded windows in all. The same bell chimed when I pushed open the door into the storeroom floor, where the portly owner stayed at his counter with no joy or ambitions in his eyes. A couple seemed occupied with a display with puppies before I entered the building, and when I stepped further in I was the only thing they noticed. Where previously I had merely been a strange man with a lot of guns among so many strange people, I could see that look of bewilderment yet familiarity in their eyes, that to them I wasn't just some random prime but the Doomguy. Which is an ego boost, I will say.
The reaction from the , on the other hand, was far more expressive and a thousand times more amusing. He lazily rolled his neck on the stump he called a neck to glance over at who the newly arrived customer was, then his entire body cracked like a whip from his slouched to straight back at my sight. He practically bounded from his post, knocked over a container of pet collar onto the floor in his hurry, and fiddled with the Employees Only door until he had it wide open and welcomed me with a very toothy if soulless smile. All of this was done with the pudgy manager gripped in fear, which he poorly hid as he watched me like a deer in the headlights of a 18 wheeler. I sure my helmet made my look far more intimidating that what normal, as I was in the middle of not laughing my ass off with my lips pressed together to help hold it. I passed by him with a short chuckle, and descended into the hive of villainy hidden underneath.
It was only by now that I started to realize how often my time in the Omniverse was spent in seedy dive bars such as the pirate's hideaway, and I wondered if most other people did as well. The place was as typical as you would expect, a barely lit room with cig smoke in a thick fog and unruly patrons. Less so that when I was here before, and a quick scan across the tables told me why: The green monstrosity named Choprot was absent and so was his crew. A temporary set back, as I headed straight to the barkeep to get the answers out of him.
A short man with a stocky build and perhaps the longest beard I have ever seen which had golden bands woven in it. His only feature that confirmed that he wasn't just a very dwarf-like human was his extremely grey skin and red eye, although the giant hammer he kept in arm's reach would probably also dispel that notion. Or at least make people less likely to ask whether or not he was. I wasn't fazed, just mentally shrugged his appearance off and walked up to him, but he certainly had a reaction when he spotted me. His eyebrows scrunched up and his red eyes glared at me with a sting comparable to a laser beam. He was fucking pissed off, enough that he raised his hammer up and pointed the tool's massive head at me.
"Aw, no ye don't, yea walkin' trouble maker," his gravel mixer of a voice told me "Get out of me bar before I throw ye out meself!" I was rooted at the spot, enraged at the bartender's action but far more confused as to why I was blackballed by the dwarf. He couldn't see it on my face, but was probably clued in when I held my arms help up in front of me with hand open,as if I expected an explanation. Or possibly to be thrown a long object.
"What?!" I yelled back, and thought what could has set this off. He had nothing against me the last time I was here. What happened between now and then to sour is opinion.
"I 'eard what happened at the Wet Sea Cat. I don't want whatever bad new ye drag around in me bar" I cursed, mentally and out loud. The PLF attack screwed me once again, and I found another reason to hunt them down and slaughter them. "The guild's put you on the list"
"Hey, fuck you, I had noth- wait, what list? You guys have a guild!?" curiosity wormed it's way in, but I immediately snapped back to the point "Doesn't matter. I just want to know where Choprot is and I'll get out"
"He ain't here" The dwarf dwarf answered bluntly. He put his hammer down, but he kept his steely gaze on me.
"I can fucking see that!" I pointed out, my rage bubbled up but I still kept a lid on "Where!?"
"I'm not 'is babysitter" The barkeep answered, still as blunt as before and now even less interest. He put his hammer down and went to clean one of his glasses.He wanted nothing more to do with me, although the smirk under his heard told me he got his kicks out already "Now leave, or I'll have mongo throw you out"
"Oh, no, I'm not going anywhere until I get my answers" I demanded, my hand grabbed around my shotgun hilt and I advanced on the short man. Despite his rugged shape and complete fearlessness, I figured that I could take him. He had a hammer, and I was a walking armory with more than enough power behind them that he had no chance to fight back. Perhaps I could have found a way to get what I wanted without violence, but my inflated anger and the day's previous victory made pushed the idea that intimidation was the way to go.
But by the time I realized that a large shadow and ungodly smell had sneaked up behind me, what felt like a telephone pole was plowed through my head and I blacked out.
I woke up hours later with a splitting headache. I had been tossed into a back alley among a pile of trash bags, and my first senses was light that stung my eyes and the smell of rotten food, used diapers, and probably at least one dead animal. I pulled myself with the help of a nearby dumpster, only slight weak at the knees, and walked off back into Casta del Sol proper.
A set back, but whenever has things gone completely alright?
The reaction from the , on the other hand, was far more expressive and a thousand times more amusing. He lazily rolled his neck on the stump he called a neck to glance over at who the newly arrived customer was, then his entire body cracked like a whip from his slouched to straight back at my sight. He practically bounded from his post, knocked over a container of pet collar onto the floor in his hurry, and fiddled with the Employees Only door until he had it wide open and welcomed me with a very toothy if soulless smile. All of this was done with the pudgy manager gripped in fear, which he poorly hid as he watched me like a deer in the headlights of a 18 wheeler. I sure my helmet made my look far more intimidating that what normal, as I was in the middle of not laughing my ass off with my lips pressed together to help hold it. I passed by him with a short chuckle, and descended into the hive of villainy hidden underneath.
It was only by now that I started to realize how often my time in the Omniverse was spent in seedy dive bars such as the pirate's hideaway, and I wondered if most other people did as well. The place was as typical as you would expect, a barely lit room with cig smoke in a thick fog and unruly patrons. Less so that when I was here before, and a quick scan across the tables told me why: The green monstrosity named Choprot was absent and so was his crew. A temporary set back, as I headed straight to the barkeep to get the answers out of him.
A short man with a stocky build and perhaps the longest beard I have ever seen which had golden bands woven in it. His only feature that confirmed that he wasn't just a very dwarf-like human was his extremely grey skin and red eye, although the giant hammer he kept in arm's reach would probably also dispel that notion. Or at least make people less likely to ask whether or not he was. I wasn't fazed, just mentally shrugged his appearance off and walked up to him, but he certainly had a reaction when he spotted me. His eyebrows scrunched up and his red eyes glared at me with a sting comparable to a laser beam. He was fucking pissed off, enough that he raised his hammer up and pointed the tool's massive head at me.
"Aw, no ye don't, yea walkin' trouble maker," his gravel mixer of a voice told me "Get out of me bar before I throw ye out meself!" I was rooted at the spot, enraged at the bartender's action but far more confused as to why I was blackballed by the dwarf. He couldn't see it on my face, but was probably clued in when I held my arms help up in front of me with hand open,as if I expected an explanation. Or possibly to be thrown a long object.
"What?!" I yelled back, and thought what could has set this off. He had nothing against me the last time I was here. What happened between now and then to sour is opinion.
"I 'eard what happened at the Wet Sea Cat. I don't want whatever bad new ye drag around in me bar" I cursed, mentally and out loud. The PLF attack screwed me once again, and I found another reason to hunt them down and slaughter them. "The guild's put you on the list"
"Hey, fuck you, I had noth- wait, what list? You guys have a guild!?" curiosity wormed it's way in, but I immediately snapped back to the point "Doesn't matter. I just want to know where Choprot is and I'll get out"
"He ain't here" The dwarf dwarf answered bluntly. He put his hammer down, but he kept his steely gaze on me.
"I can fucking see that!" I pointed out, my rage bubbled up but I still kept a lid on "Where!?"
"I'm not 'is babysitter" The barkeep answered, still as blunt as before and now even less interest. He put his hammer down and went to clean one of his glasses.He wanted nothing more to do with me, although the smirk under his heard told me he got his kicks out already "Now leave, or I'll have mongo throw you out"
"Oh, no, I'm not going anywhere until I get my answers" I demanded, my hand grabbed around my shotgun hilt and I advanced on the short man. Despite his rugged shape and complete fearlessness, I figured that I could take him. He had a hammer, and I was a walking armory with more than enough power behind them that he had no chance to fight back. Perhaps I could have found a way to get what I wanted without violence, but my inflated anger and the day's previous victory made pushed the idea that intimidation was the way to go.
But by the time I realized that a large shadow and ungodly smell had sneaked up behind me, what felt like a telephone pole was plowed through my head and I blacked out.
---
I woke up hours later with a splitting headache. I had been tossed into a back alley among a pile of trash bags, and my first senses was light that stung my eyes and the smell of rotten food, used diapers, and probably at least one dead animal. I pulled myself with the help of a nearby dumpster, only slight weak at the knees, and walked off back into Casta del Sol proper.
A set back, but whenever has things gone completely alright?
![[Image: oGzCtPC.png]](http://i.imgur.com/oGzCtPC.png)