was finally killed in 365 AD by Alammanic forces, by what was known as the Raining of Spears. What isn’t well known was that he was betrayed, set up by his enemies, who believed he was becoming too powerful too quickly. The story goes, that he then sold his soul in order to seek revenge, and as payment basically had to become the Devil’s personal bounty hunter for a time. As in, a long time, because this was Hell after all. But after which he was free to do as he pleased in his Hellish afterlife and well, after looking at this place now, then I would say that freedom obviously equated into running your own pub.
What can I say, some people dream of fame and fortune, whilst others obviously dream of opening some crappy tavern in some shitty place named Turdville, where everyone wants to kill the new guy. Okay so admittedly that wasn’t the most mature description of the place, but then considering my first impression of the joint, then I wasn’t exactly going to call this place the Ritz.
Especially not with all the demonic heads mounted on the wall… because euww. And there were beasts of all shapes and sizes, that had been stuffed and preserved like some Hellish taxidermy.
Gods, but someone had even gone to the trouble of having the fangs and horns polished to a high shine. To the point that it made them look far too alive to be up there, as I wouldn't have been surprised in that moment if one of them had opened their mouths and breathed fire. Had it not been for the fact their bodies were missing, then I would have been reluctant to sit under one as I was doing now.
As for the rest of the place, crossbeams from the A shaped frame also held chained wheel chandeliers with every inch of them covered in wax and candles. Long icicles of that same wax hung down like frozen teardrops, and every so often a piece would go so far as to drip on the floor, hence why there wasn't any seating underneath. An even cobbled floor showed a carpet of wax at these points in the room, some with dirty footprints cast at their centres.
As for the furnishings, there was little to speak of, as there was nothing more than rustic wooden panel tables that were either round like ours or rectangles with bench seating for larger crowds. A mismatch of chipped stools and chairs were all the details I could make out considering nearly all of them were covered by a body, as it certainly seemed like a popular place.
“So, how long is this planning on taking? I mean I’m not one to rush you guys or anything, but we do kind of have an execution to stop,” I reminded them, ignoring the urge to look down at a watch I knew wasn’t there.
“Yeah, speaking aboot that, yer hundred percent sure oan this... right?” Vern asked after downing some of his ale and wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. Meanwhile, Trice had turned towards the bar area and raised four fingers before gesturing back to their table. Something which I gathered was indicating that he wanted another round, this time with my drink included.
“Well, I think you guys can gather that when it comes to Lucius and talking about his family, I am not exactly in the know!” I snapped before this became the beginning of my Lucius rant, something that couldn’t be stopped now the ‘Angry Girlfriend Beast’ had been released.
“In fact, I feel like the last bloody person in Hell who does! So clearly this means we obviously haven’t reached this level in our relationship, oh but being kidnapped together, being shot at by mercenaries, dates that include car chases and hijacked planes are the new relationship guidelines are they!” I snapped at the brothers who were starting to look at me as if I had officially lost the plot. Then Vern pointed a finger at me and said,
“Relationship goals right there.” This was something I ignored because, well in truth I hadn’t yet finished ranting.
“Oh, but he wonders why I might have trust issues when it comes to him, as let’s face it, he hasn’t exactly been Mr information…” I said, then turned to face Vern and finished off with,
“So, in answer to your question, I have no idea how many brothers Lucius has, because honestly, he hasn't told me about