Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » A Complicated Gathering (Closed)

"I know the area," Nathan confirmed, glancing at Arien with a raised brow. Not that he questioned Arien knowing the area; it was more of a 'what-have-you-been-doing' look.

"The oldest thing I know that's around here is the old column, but I don't think it's very old in comparison to, say, Arnes.

Nathan had finished his meal, slipping the unwanted remaining bits to Bella who scarfed them down happily. Her tail wagged, brushing against TMIG's feet.

Arnes looked at the Man in Gold suspiciously, but decided to answer the man anyway.

"I've a few things which are quite old, in fact, I've them in my travel chest which..."

Which he left a few worlds back in a relatively safe and secure bank, on the thought that he would be back in a bit, but instead he went into a portal and went somewhere new. Not that he couldn't just get it back, of course, but he'd have to probably walk a ways to get to it. So, instead of finishing his earlier comment, he decided to change the subject.

"It's around. Anyway, what do you want, exactly? I can tell you right now if I have it on my person or not."

Arien piped up. "Does it have anything to do with that piece of paper you were waving at me earlier?" he asked the armored man.

He hadn't given much thought to it at the time because he'd been trying to wrap his head around the prospect of finding someone the man couldn't even describe.

The Man in Gold nodded sagely to Arien; for all the human's shortcomings, he seemed capable of occasionally catching onto the significance of things. Occasionally, anyway; the amount of money offered to him seemed not to concern him with the possible illegality of this search, or maybe Arien just didn't care about breaking the law. Either way, he had managed to impress the Man in Gold for the moment.

"I took a smart portal to this place, using this drawing," he flung the parchment in front of Arnes, "with the advice that the Other now has the item I'm looking for. It's a small, two-inch long piece of metal; green in color, due to patina, and has writing on it, in our language."

He went back to his meal, a new whiskey at his side already; the server had either moved with alarming speed and discreetness, or the Man in Gold had a few tricks of his own.

Nathan leaned forward to get a better look at the drawing, but it didn't look like much. On the contrary, it looked like a dozen other places Nathan had been.

"How in the world are you going to narrow down your search?" Nathan asked TMIG. And then to Arnes. "Do you have the object he speaks of?"

He nodded at Nathan, but his eyes were focused on the Man in Gold. The item in question was not just a piece of metal, it was a core to a very powerful portal. Arnes had been the foremost authority on portals back before his disappearance; now, he still held that title, but also had the title of the only authority on portals. He stroked his goatee, then placed both hands on the table firmly.

"You must have a good reason for opening a negative portal, sir. Perhaps you would tell me why? I can't just give out the key for that to anyone who approaches, you know."

This other man wasn't just rude, he was dangerous. Most people would seek bombs, cannons, big weapons to threaten or kill others; this man, this strange armored man, wanted a tiny piece of metal that was capable of disappearing a lot of people.

Arien frowned. "Negative portal?" It meant nothing to him, but he figured from Arnes' questions that it probably wasn't a good thing. "What do you need a portal for?"

He clenched his fist loosely, due to his arthritis flaring up today, and then let his fingers relax. The Man in Gold wasn't used to having to explain his motives; killing and ravaging his way across the galaxy made him accustomed to acting first, explaining later.

"Why do I need a negative portal? Why do you think I need a negative portal? You've no idea of what I have to deal with on a day-to-day basis, Teranyn; I spent most of yesterday fighting an inter-dimensional warrior with six hundred years of experience under his belt and tentacles for a mouth, the day before I had to disarm and dispose of three different doomsday weapons from ancient alien cultures that were in danger of blowing up most of Mirth, and last week I had to destroy an entire space station filled with a parasitic virus among its inhabitants."

He took a sip of the whiskey and grunted.

"I need that portal because, frankly, some days I don't feel like messing with any of that. Some days my arthritis is too painful, or maybe I want to just sit down and read a book; some days I'd like to have a negative portal to give me some time for myself."

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "And I thought you had problems, Arien."

Honestly he wasn't going to get involved in this. The man in gold seemed to have enough worries on his mind; and at this point, Nathan wasn't entirely sure the guy was playing with a full deck

Arnes chuckled and took another sip of his drink. So, this was the fearsome, awe-inspiring Man in Gold he had heard rumors about in his travels; he had seemed harmless before, but now Arnes understood how the rumors could be created.

"It sounds like you need to take on people to deal with those sorts of things, good sir. I will tell you what, since I know a bit about your reputation, I'll give you the key...if you can win it from me."

He brought out a deck of cards, several in fact, from thin air, it would seem, and set them all on the table.

Arien glared at Nathan's comment before brightening at the addition of a wager about to take place. "You came prepared..." he said, in awe, taking mental notes to buy a deck of cards from the next merchant he happened across.

The Man in Gold snorted, then pushed his plate aside after downing the last of the whiskey. He admired Teranyn's courage, considering the man had stated that he was familiar with his reputation, and was curious as to how the card game would unfold.

"So be it; I could use the entertainment, and when it's over, I'll have the key. What are we going to be playing?"

Nathan grinned and settled back to watch the game. As true Nathan-Arien best-friend style, there was always a wager going. "I say that Arnes wins first round." Nathan said.

Bella, feeling the excitement, turned to put her head up on Nathan's knee, trying to see what was going on.

Arnes finished his drink and another one was quickly brought to the table. As he shuffled the cards, a mischievous grin spread across his face and he nodded a head at Nathan.

"It sounds like I've got a supporter already, old man."

Although, technically, Arnes was the oldest man at the table; he had more than 2,000 years of mental reflection on the Man in Gold, and another 13,000 years of it as well.

Arien snorted. "You don't know who you're up against." Not that he knew, exactly, either, what or who TMIG was or had planned. "You're bet's on, Nathan. Don't lose, man."

The Man in Gold snorted at both of the humans' comments, and then turned his attention to Arnes.

"You know what's truly funny, Teranyn? Neither of these humans have any idea what a negative portal could do, neither of them have been alive for one-hundredth of either of our lifespans, and both you and I could destroy this entire village with a flick of the wrist; yet they're betting on us like prize horses running a race."

He didn't mind being bet on, because even if he lost the first round, he would continue to play until the key was his.

Nathan wasn't too keen on that idea and his easy-going personality grew somber. "What do you mean you could destroy this village? They haven't done anything to you; on the contrary, they've been quite civilized."

If he had to worry about TMIG getting this key, then there was a possibility that more than just a round of cards would be dealt.

Arnes threw the man a look, not sure that he liked the prospect of destroying the town. Nathan's question had him agreeing with the man, and glad that at least someone at the table was looking out for the citizenry.

"Kinsman, I'm sure that's true, but as Nathan asked, why would you do that? Look, I've the key in a chest which I can access should you win, but you have to promise me that you won't abuse it. I've heard about you, Man in Gold, and the destruction you're infamous for; if you plan on using a negative portal on innocent people, then I won't play with you."

He sighed and got the cards ready to play with, unsure of why he was even doing this with such a dangerous individual.

"Why don't we play a few rounds with the humans, just for fun or practice, if you'd prefer to see it that way?