02-18-2018, 09:53 PM
Zanzibar raised his eyebrows in surprise. For the past hour or so he had been mentally preparing himself to be a kiss-ass, and the king’s sudden interest in his own life was a pleasant change of pace. The demon exhaled deeply, trying to figure out where to start. He absentmindedly sipped at his wine, allowing the wonderful nectar to dance with his taste buds. He made a mental note to try and figure out just what kind of wine it was that Gilgamesh gave him. After a few moments of mental deliberation the jewel-encrusted demon leaned forward.
“Well,” he began, “there isn’t much to tell, I was summoned here in the Underverse not too long ago, I’m not sure who summoned me, but whoever did has never shown any interest in me, at any rate I suppose I did what most of us do down here.”
“Which would be?”
“Fight,” Zanzibar answered, “I joined the gladiator pits and fought for my life because that was all I could do to make a living.”
“Mhhm,” the king nodded, apparently beginning to regret his question.
“Ended up being pretty good at it to,” he said as he tapped a jewel embedded into his chest, “being covered in these things does wonders for your protection, but then again I suppose they didn’t do too much against Allanon.”
Upon the mentioning of his nemesis Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow and refocused his attention.
“Sure, I was big and strong, but Allanon is on a whole other playing field when it comes to brute force,” Zanzibar said, taking a sip of wine before continuing, “it was nothing more than pure luck that he didn’t end up killing me, he hurt me pretty bad though, bad enough that I couldn’t compete anymore.”
“So you took to buying and selling slaves,” Gilgamesh stated, adding in a few dashes of snark.
Zanzibar raised a finger and said, “ah, but not just any slaves my king, I’m only interested in the exceptional, anything less would be a waste of my time.”
“I see,” Gilgamesh answered, “so you’ve fought Allanon?”
Zanzibar lifted up the side of his shirt and revealed a wicked scar running along his torso. Small blue crystals jutted out from the center of the scar, tracing a line from the small of his back to the bottom of his ribs.
“He blindsided me with an axe,” Zanzibar said, lowering his gold-laced shirt, “if it weren’t for the crystals in my body absorbing the blow I would’ve been cleaved in two, his strength is more than impressive.”
Gilg’s eyes narrowed and he spat, “he is nothing more than an insect waiting to be ground underfoot.”
“Yes well, regardless of your opinion you will not beat him through brute force alone,” Zanzibar noted, “and even if you could, he picks his own battles he only takes duels against people that interest him.”
“Oh he’ll be plenty interested when I take everything from him,” Gilgamesh responded.
For a while the two continued talking after they put in their order. Their food arrived and Gilgamesh listened while Zanzibar explained the intricacies of the Underverse and its coliseums. They ate their meal and, for the most part, enjoyed it. Once their bellies were full and they had exhausted all desirable avenues of conversation Zanzibar asked for their check. He paid the waitress and left a sizeable tip for tolerating the king’s regal disposition.
“Come,” Zanzibar motioned towards the king, “it has been a long day, let us retire for the evening, hopefully you’ll find the accomodations suitable.”
Gilgamesh nodded and, with a slight hint of venom, said “yes, hopefully they are.”
--
Perched at the precipice of a cliff Zanzibar’s villa was just a stone’s throw from civilization. A carriage, drawn by a pair of charcoal colored horses, transported them along a sloping dirt road and to their destination. The villa itself was a sprawling structure, taking up every last bit of available real estate. Once they arrived the patron took it upon himself to give Gilgamesh the grand tour. Beyond the basic amenities there were several additions that Zanzibar seemed particularly proud of, the first of which being a quaint indoor bath house. The demon noted that while heating the water was incredibly easy in the Underverse the hard part was actually acquiring it in the first place. As they continued the tour Gilgamesh took note of several impish creatures which were in the process of completing several household chores.
“What are those creatures?” the king inquired.
“They are homunculi, artificial lifeforms created for servitude, I use them to take care of the place while I am away,” he answered, “feel free to command them as you see fit, but be aware they are simple creatures and might not be able to complete any complex tasks, now if you’ll come this way…”
Their tour ended at the heart of the villa. A rectangular courtyard dressed up as a mock gladiatorial arena stretched from one end of the villa to the other. Wooden practice dummies lined the edge of the courtyard along with several archery targets. An assortment of basic weaponry hung from one wall, as well as several more exotic weapons. A rudimentary obstacle course took up one corner of the courtyard while several weightlifting machines and equipment took up another. Footprints and weapon marks marred the soft red clay underfoot as they walked from one end to the other.
“Levem!” Zanzibar shouted, “Levem, come here!”
There was a moment of stillness as Zanzibar’s booming voice echoed throughout the villa. GIlgamesh began to open his mouth, but stopped as a multi-colored serpent spilled down from the archways above. It slithered across the cracked red earth and coiled itself before the demon’s feet. It shivered and condensed into a pool of what appeared to be some sort of viscous black gel. For a few moments the gel twisted and contorted itself into a vaguely humanoid shape. Eventually the creature stretched upwards, growing to a height of around five feet. Natural colors flooded its body and finer details began to emerge. From this primordial ooze came a woman, with long bounding locks of brown hair and a set of ruby red eyes. She smiled and bowed.
“Yes sir? What do you require this evening?” Levem spoke.
“Please show our king to his quarters,” Zanzibar said, “he has had a long day, so please make sure he is accommodated well, obey him as you would obey me.”
“Yes sir.”
Zanzibar turned towards Gilgamesh and said, “this is Levem, it is another homunculos, but it is quite exceptional in some regards as I’m sure you’ve noticed, make sure you rest well, you’re going to have a busy day ahead of you.”
--
Zanzibar groaned and stretched. He leaned back in his chair and reread the letter than he had just finished writing. It was directed towards another patron, one that he was not especially fond of. The demon had done well to hide his disdain as he wrote, but the mere thought of politely requesting anything from the bastard sent shivers down his spine. Still, sacrifices had to be made and he was no stranger to playing kiss ass. With a sigh he folded the letter and sealed it with wax, stamped with his sigil. He whistled for a messenger homunculos, which took the from of a rotund ball of fluff with wings and claws.
“Deliver this for me,” Zanzibar commanded, “if the king wishes for a fight then it is a fight he shall receive.”
“Well,” he began, “there isn’t much to tell, I was summoned here in the Underverse not too long ago, I’m not sure who summoned me, but whoever did has never shown any interest in me, at any rate I suppose I did what most of us do down here.”
“Which would be?”
“Fight,” Zanzibar answered, “I joined the gladiator pits and fought for my life because that was all I could do to make a living.”
“Mhhm,” the king nodded, apparently beginning to regret his question.
“Ended up being pretty good at it to,” he said as he tapped a jewel embedded into his chest, “being covered in these things does wonders for your protection, but then again I suppose they didn’t do too much against Allanon.”
Upon the mentioning of his nemesis Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow and refocused his attention.
“Sure, I was big and strong, but Allanon is on a whole other playing field when it comes to brute force,” Zanzibar said, taking a sip of wine before continuing, “it was nothing more than pure luck that he didn’t end up killing me, he hurt me pretty bad though, bad enough that I couldn’t compete anymore.”
“So you took to buying and selling slaves,” Gilgamesh stated, adding in a few dashes of snark.
Zanzibar raised a finger and said, “ah, but not just any slaves my king, I’m only interested in the exceptional, anything less would be a waste of my time.”
“I see,” Gilgamesh answered, “so you’ve fought Allanon?”
Zanzibar lifted up the side of his shirt and revealed a wicked scar running along his torso. Small blue crystals jutted out from the center of the scar, tracing a line from the small of his back to the bottom of his ribs.
“He blindsided me with an axe,” Zanzibar said, lowering his gold-laced shirt, “if it weren’t for the crystals in my body absorbing the blow I would’ve been cleaved in two, his strength is more than impressive.”
Gilg’s eyes narrowed and he spat, “he is nothing more than an insect waiting to be ground underfoot.”
“Yes well, regardless of your opinion you will not beat him through brute force alone,” Zanzibar noted, “and even if you could, he picks his own battles he only takes duels against people that interest him.”
“Oh he’ll be plenty interested when I take everything from him,” Gilgamesh responded.
For a while the two continued talking after they put in their order. Their food arrived and Gilgamesh listened while Zanzibar explained the intricacies of the Underverse and its coliseums. They ate their meal and, for the most part, enjoyed it. Once their bellies were full and they had exhausted all desirable avenues of conversation Zanzibar asked for their check. He paid the waitress and left a sizeable tip for tolerating the king’s regal disposition.
“Come,” Zanzibar motioned towards the king, “it has been a long day, let us retire for the evening, hopefully you’ll find the accomodations suitable.”
Gilgamesh nodded and, with a slight hint of venom, said “yes, hopefully they are.”
--
Perched at the precipice of a cliff Zanzibar’s villa was just a stone’s throw from civilization. A carriage, drawn by a pair of charcoal colored horses, transported them along a sloping dirt road and to their destination. The villa itself was a sprawling structure, taking up every last bit of available real estate. Once they arrived the patron took it upon himself to give Gilgamesh the grand tour. Beyond the basic amenities there were several additions that Zanzibar seemed particularly proud of, the first of which being a quaint indoor bath house. The demon noted that while heating the water was incredibly easy in the Underverse the hard part was actually acquiring it in the first place. As they continued the tour Gilgamesh took note of several impish creatures which were in the process of completing several household chores.
“What are those creatures?” the king inquired.
“They are homunculi, artificial lifeforms created for servitude, I use them to take care of the place while I am away,” he answered, “feel free to command them as you see fit, but be aware they are simple creatures and might not be able to complete any complex tasks, now if you’ll come this way…”
Their tour ended at the heart of the villa. A rectangular courtyard dressed up as a mock gladiatorial arena stretched from one end of the villa to the other. Wooden practice dummies lined the edge of the courtyard along with several archery targets. An assortment of basic weaponry hung from one wall, as well as several more exotic weapons. A rudimentary obstacle course took up one corner of the courtyard while several weightlifting machines and equipment took up another. Footprints and weapon marks marred the soft red clay underfoot as they walked from one end to the other.
“Levem!” Zanzibar shouted, “Levem, come here!”
There was a moment of stillness as Zanzibar’s booming voice echoed throughout the villa. GIlgamesh began to open his mouth, but stopped as a multi-colored serpent spilled down from the archways above. It slithered across the cracked red earth and coiled itself before the demon’s feet. It shivered and condensed into a pool of what appeared to be some sort of viscous black gel. For a few moments the gel twisted and contorted itself into a vaguely humanoid shape. Eventually the creature stretched upwards, growing to a height of around five feet. Natural colors flooded its body and finer details began to emerge. From this primordial ooze came a woman, with long bounding locks of brown hair and a set of ruby red eyes. She smiled and bowed.
“Yes sir? What do you require this evening?” Levem spoke.
“Please show our king to his quarters,” Zanzibar said, “he has had a long day, so please make sure he is accommodated well, obey him as you would obey me.”
“Yes sir.”
Zanzibar turned towards Gilgamesh and said, “this is Levem, it is another homunculos, but it is quite exceptional in some regards as I’m sure you’ve noticed, make sure you rest well, you’re going to have a busy day ahead of you.”
--
Zanzibar groaned and stretched. He leaned back in his chair and reread the letter than he had just finished writing. It was directed towards another patron, one that he was not especially fond of. The demon had done well to hide his disdain as he wrote, but the mere thought of politely requesting anything from the bastard sent shivers down his spine. Still, sacrifices had to be made and he was no stranger to playing kiss ass. With a sigh he folded the letter and sealed it with wax, stamped with his sigil. He whistled for a messenger homunculos, which took the from of a rotund ball of fluff with wings and claws.
“Deliver this for me,” Zanzibar commanded, “if the king wishes for a fight then it is a fight he shall receive.”
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