02-14-2018, 05:43 PM
There was never a more sincere smile than the one plastered across Zanzibar’s face. For the first time in a long time the man found himself clapping and cheering along with the crowd. Levem, who had taken the form of a crow, watched from its perch on the shoulder of Zanzibar’s seat. The Golden Gladiator was ushered from the field, visibly limping. Once the crowd’s frenzy was quenched Zanzibar removed an earplug and turned to his companion.
“Levem, please contact Murmur,” Zanzibar said, “I wish to make an acquisition.”
“Yes sir,” Levem responded, “how much are you willing to spend.”
“However much it takes,” Zanzibar replied, “I must have him.”
“Yes sir.”
--
Gilgamesh had spent the better part of two hours recovering from his wounds. Were it not for his prime physiology and his raw tenacity the internal bleeding would have probably done him in, but as it stood the deposed king simply languished in his cell. As the warden sauntered into view the prime straightened himself and tried to hide the pain that wracked his body. The goblin fiddled with his ring of keys and slid one into the cell’s lock. He turned the key and pulled the rusty gate open.
“Come on then,” he said, motioning towards Gilgamesh, “you’ve been bought.”
“What?” Gilgamesh asked.
The goblin sighed, “you’ve got a new owner Goldy, apparently your performance has impressed someone, only Diablo knows why someone would want to put up with your temper though, now come on.”
Under threat of the electric prod Gilgamesh was fitted with a pair of manacles and led to a wing of the prison that he had yet to see. He was taken to a room at the end of a long hallway.
“Here we are, I’d say it was fun, but you were a real pain in the ass” the goblin said, opening the door and ushering him inside.
Inside the room sat two people sharing a laugh and drinks. They sat in elegant red chairs with a table between them. A large sack of what appeared to be coins sat in the center of the table, surrounded by two glasses of what appeared to be wine. Gilgamesh recognized the smaller of the two as Murmur, his original captor, while the other man he had never seen before. The two stopped laughing and turned to face the new arrival. Murmur smirked and sipped on his drink while the stranger smiled and stood to greet Gilgamesh.
“Oh, it is a pleasure to finally meet you,” the stranger said, “my name is Zanzibar, and I have to say I am quite impressed at your recent performance.”
The man that stood before the king must have been at least seven feet tall. Broad shoulders carried his muscular body. His outfit consisted of a deep neck satin shirt and trousers. Golden thread was laced throughout the pieces giving them a dull shimmer. What was most striking about Zanzibar was not his stature nor his finery, but rather his skin. His flesh was stained a deep purple and craggy multicolored gemstones peaked out from beneath his skin. His ears were pointed and rather than hair his head grew a series of blue-tinged crystalline spikes and even his goatee was nothing more than a jagged jewel. Gilgamesh’s brow furrowed as he studied the creature put before him.
“You have done well to recognize my greatness,” the king finally conceded.
Zanzibar motioned for the goblin and said, “please remove his restraints, they are not fitting of such a powerful warrior.”
The goblin squirmed a bit and said, “uh, well, I wouldn’t recommend that, he can be a bit unruly at times.”
Zanzibar glanced at Gilgamesh and said, “you will remove them, he is my responsibility now and it is not your place to decide whether or not he will be restrained, so remove them”
The goblin looked towards Murmur for guidance, who only shrugged. With an audible gulp the goblin removed the restraints and shuffled several feet away. Gilgamesh rubbed his wrists and shot a withering gaze towards his tormentor. Zanzibar smiled and turned towards Murmur.
“Please give us a moment alone,” the gem-covered devil requested, “I’ll be on my way shortly thereafter.”
Murmur finished his drink and said, “very well.”
Murmur stood up, grabbed the sack of coins, and walked to the door.
“Please don’t take forever,” he said as he stepped through the door, “I’ve got other clients to speak with today.”
Once they were alone Zanzibar returned to his seat and continued sipping his wine.
“So I heard you’re royalty,” he noted.
Gilgamesh’s face soured in disgust, “royalty? I am more than just royalty, I am the king of kings, I am Gilgamesh.”
Zanzibar raised his hands in surrender, “forgive me, I didn’t intend to insult you, I was merely going off hearsay.”
Gilgamesh did not speak, but his tempestuous expression did soften.
“As you are no doubt aware by now, I am to be your new owner,” Zanzibar began, “however that does not mean that this cannot be a symbiotic relationship, King of all kings.”
“I am owned by no one.”
“Yes, well, down here things are a bit different, you’ll have to get used to it, but I think you’ll find me to be much more agreeable than Murmur,” Zanzibar said.
“So am I to be passed around like some lowly servant?” Gilgamesh asked, his rage at a boiling point.
“You want freedom yes?” Zanzibar deflected, “you want to return to your old life?”
Gilgamesh did not answer, but stayed his rage.
“Diablo, the Lord of Terror, rules this verse with an iron fist, those that can curry his favor live a lavish life,” Zanzibar explained, “the easiest way to do that is to provide a warrior fit for his army, that is the true purpose of these gladiatorial arenas, to suss out those strong enough to be a warrior for him.”
“And that is why you purchased me?” the word “purchased” left a sour taste in the king’s mouth.
“Yes, to put it simply, I see a potential in you that could give me a life of luxury,” he said, “but as I said I don’t expect you to scratch my back if I don’t scratch yours, you will be allowed to come and go as you please, to do as you will, and I will do my best to provide you with whatever you desire, however you must fight and win for me.”
“You’re just putting me in a bigger cage,” Gilgamesh said, “I have no interest in serving a snake such as yourself.”
Zanzibar sighed, “no, Lord Gilgamesh, you misunderstand, Diablo is the gatekeeper, he decides who goes topside and who is trapped here forever, if you impress him, I am not the only one to benefit, you will be transported back to the Omniverse proper and you will be stronger for the effort, so King of kings, Lord of lords, Gilgamesh”
He poured a drink into an empty cup and offered it to the prime.
“Do you accept my offer? Or would you rather wither away into obscurity?”
“Levem, please contact Murmur,” Zanzibar said, “I wish to make an acquisition.”
“Yes sir,” Levem responded, “how much are you willing to spend.”
“However much it takes,” Zanzibar replied, “I must have him.”
“Yes sir.”
--
Gilgamesh had spent the better part of two hours recovering from his wounds. Were it not for his prime physiology and his raw tenacity the internal bleeding would have probably done him in, but as it stood the deposed king simply languished in his cell. As the warden sauntered into view the prime straightened himself and tried to hide the pain that wracked his body. The goblin fiddled with his ring of keys and slid one into the cell’s lock. He turned the key and pulled the rusty gate open.
“Come on then,” he said, motioning towards Gilgamesh, “you’ve been bought.”
“What?” Gilgamesh asked.
The goblin sighed, “you’ve got a new owner Goldy, apparently your performance has impressed someone, only Diablo knows why someone would want to put up with your temper though, now come on.”
Under threat of the electric prod Gilgamesh was fitted with a pair of manacles and led to a wing of the prison that he had yet to see. He was taken to a room at the end of a long hallway.
“Here we are, I’d say it was fun, but you were a real pain in the ass” the goblin said, opening the door and ushering him inside.
Inside the room sat two people sharing a laugh and drinks. They sat in elegant red chairs with a table between them. A large sack of what appeared to be coins sat in the center of the table, surrounded by two glasses of what appeared to be wine. Gilgamesh recognized the smaller of the two as Murmur, his original captor, while the other man he had never seen before. The two stopped laughing and turned to face the new arrival. Murmur smirked and sipped on his drink while the stranger smiled and stood to greet Gilgamesh.
“Oh, it is a pleasure to finally meet you,” the stranger said, “my name is Zanzibar, and I have to say I am quite impressed at your recent performance.”
The man that stood before the king must have been at least seven feet tall. Broad shoulders carried his muscular body. His outfit consisted of a deep neck satin shirt and trousers. Golden thread was laced throughout the pieces giving them a dull shimmer. What was most striking about Zanzibar was not his stature nor his finery, but rather his skin. His flesh was stained a deep purple and craggy multicolored gemstones peaked out from beneath his skin. His ears were pointed and rather than hair his head grew a series of blue-tinged crystalline spikes and even his goatee was nothing more than a jagged jewel. Gilgamesh’s brow furrowed as he studied the creature put before him.
“You have done well to recognize my greatness,” the king finally conceded.
Zanzibar motioned for the goblin and said, “please remove his restraints, they are not fitting of such a powerful warrior.”
The goblin squirmed a bit and said, “uh, well, I wouldn’t recommend that, he can be a bit unruly at times.”
Zanzibar glanced at Gilgamesh and said, “you will remove them, he is my responsibility now and it is not your place to decide whether or not he will be restrained, so remove them”
The goblin looked towards Murmur for guidance, who only shrugged. With an audible gulp the goblin removed the restraints and shuffled several feet away. Gilgamesh rubbed his wrists and shot a withering gaze towards his tormentor. Zanzibar smiled and turned towards Murmur.
“Please give us a moment alone,” the gem-covered devil requested, “I’ll be on my way shortly thereafter.”
Murmur finished his drink and said, “very well.”
Murmur stood up, grabbed the sack of coins, and walked to the door.
“Please don’t take forever,” he said as he stepped through the door, “I’ve got other clients to speak with today.”
Once they were alone Zanzibar returned to his seat and continued sipping his wine.
“So I heard you’re royalty,” he noted.
Gilgamesh’s face soured in disgust, “royalty? I am more than just royalty, I am the king of kings, I am Gilgamesh.”
Zanzibar raised his hands in surrender, “forgive me, I didn’t intend to insult you, I was merely going off hearsay.”
Gilgamesh did not speak, but his tempestuous expression did soften.
“As you are no doubt aware by now, I am to be your new owner,” Zanzibar began, “however that does not mean that this cannot be a symbiotic relationship, King of all kings.”
“I am owned by no one.”
“Yes, well, down here things are a bit different, you’ll have to get used to it, but I think you’ll find me to be much more agreeable than Murmur,” Zanzibar said.
“So am I to be passed around like some lowly servant?” Gilgamesh asked, his rage at a boiling point.
“You want freedom yes?” Zanzibar deflected, “you want to return to your old life?”
Gilgamesh did not answer, but stayed his rage.
“Diablo, the Lord of Terror, rules this verse with an iron fist, those that can curry his favor live a lavish life,” Zanzibar explained, “the easiest way to do that is to provide a warrior fit for his army, that is the true purpose of these gladiatorial arenas, to suss out those strong enough to be a warrior for him.”
“And that is why you purchased me?” the word “purchased” left a sour taste in the king’s mouth.
“Yes, to put it simply, I see a potential in you that could give me a life of luxury,” he said, “but as I said I don’t expect you to scratch my back if I don’t scratch yours, you will be allowed to come and go as you please, to do as you will, and I will do my best to provide you with whatever you desire, however you must fight and win for me.”
“You’re just putting me in a bigger cage,” Gilgamesh said, “I have no interest in serving a snake such as yourself.”
Zanzibar sighed, “no, Lord Gilgamesh, you misunderstand, Diablo is the gatekeeper, he decides who goes topside and who is trapped here forever, if you impress him, I am not the only one to benefit, you will be transported back to the Omniverse proper and you will be stronger for the effort, so King of kings, Lord of lords, Gilgamesh”
He poured a drink into an empty cup and offered it to the prime.
“Do you accept my offer? Or would you rather wither away into obscurity?”
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