Like before, during the brief flyover with Rabae a couple of weeks ago, we saw the shadows of several prominent reptilian figures swimming beneath the lake's surface. They were the native sacred guardians – the basilisks.
Then came the massive city in the middle of the lake. There were more trees now—fewer than before, but still enough for the town to stand on solid ground. Thankfully, the district was governed with a hospitable approach that welcomed everyone with open arms. That probably explained the 83,900,000-resident population.
Its resident crest consisted of 500 pneumarians and 179 klevonians. Thanks to being the producers of Cindar's best drinks and beverages, they had a crazy net worth of 730 billion spendil.
We felt the air shake as a fiery explosion suddenly erupted from below us, igniting trees. As we lowered to see what was happening, we heard yelling as a group of adult klevonians and a pneumarian of the crest chased after a boy who was throwing a sticky, white-orange substance into the area around them. Then he shot flames at them that caused more explosions.
The kid seemed to be a handle. He wore ragged clothes and was dirty, but my guess was that it was his choice. I know it was common for boys to refuse showers back home. This kid, though, also had sparks of flames igniting off him. Even his messy hair was on fire.
I used the biolenses to read his card. His name was Sticky Flam. He was a 2.5-star threat with a base EQN of 42,487,640. He possessed the eutierric Blaze cintracy, which explained his fiery element, and a temp cintracy called Slime, which gave him the ability to generate a sticky, flammable substance from his hands. Fire and sticky substances... not a good combination with a child.
"Mwa ha haa! Is that all you got!?" He laughed maniacally.
"Please, Flam! Stop running, it's your nap time," one of the klevonians pleaded as they dodged flames.
"I'm not tired!" Flam threw more combustible sticky balls. "I have to stay vigilant for Granny Brae! Go away!"
"Varuni can handle it while you sleep," one of them finally managed to get near him. They spoke softly so they wouldn't spook him. "Come on, Granny Brae will be unhappy if you don't nap to make sure you stay strong."
The boy halted momentarily as he gave it thought, allowing the pneumarian of the group to quickly approach the boy and apply pressure to his carotid artery, forcing him unconscious.
Each of them sighed with relief as he was carefully lifted.
When the pneumarian saw us, he smiled.
"Welcome, you're the newest members of the Chimera Crest, right?"
"Yeah, is he going to be okay?" I asked in response.
"Yes, he's always like this. He may be a child, but he's beloved by our Crest Head and is skilled enough to be one of her personal guards. Unfortunately, it's his naptime, so I will have to lead you to her in his stead. "Please, follow me."
After that, we were taken to a large castle – the type you'd see on a creepy Halloween display. Inside, we were led to the throne room where two others were present.
One was a pretty klevonian who sat, drinking – drunk, actually – at a bar in the room. She wore Egyptian-style clothing, I'd expect to see in the Graboid district. She had pointed, brown ears and an iridescent aura that leaked from her drunken state of control. So we knew her element. When she hiccupped, her surroundings got sliced to ribbons by something we couldn't see. Her bio card revealed her name was Varuni, also known as The Drunken Steward. She was a 2.5-star threat with a base EQN of 42,518,960. Other than the Iridescence cintracy, she possessed a temp cintracy called Dice that gave her the ability to produce invisible slashes from her. She was the other personal guard mentioned earlier.
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The other was the Crest Head, working through a stack of papers she had disregarded upon our arrival. She was older in appearance, but not as old-looking as The Winter Witch. Like Flam, she wore dirty clothes, overalls, believe it or not. She had a Southern American vibe to her. Her name was Braeic, or sometimes known as the Scourge. She was a 3-star threat with an EQN of 522,990,000. She possessed the eutierric, Acidic Toxin cintracy and a temp one called Plague. Viraa said Braeic could use it to manifest a sickness inside someone, killing them with a touch, depending on how weak they were.
"Oh, guests! Well, whattaya waitin' for!? Come on in, we ain't gonna hurtcha. I'm Braeic, the cap'n round these parts," she waved us further in. "Can I offer ya somethin' ta drink? Varuni..."
Braeic looked over and saw that her personal guard had already prepared the drinks for us, but was stumbling as she stood from the bar.
"Coming *hic* give me a sec..."
"Never mind, sober up, would ya?" She said as the glasses levitated and floated over to us.
What's the hygienic state of this place? Avarice inquired, skeptically as he grabbed one.
Dunno, but they have the best drinks. I'm guessing they're pretty clean, Za'Fia replied, grabbing one for herself.
Both began drinking their beverages before looking surprisingly pleased.
"No thanks," I said. "I don't drink."
Seeing the drink float back to the bar, I wondered if she had telekinesis, too.
Not quite, Viraa said. Her sacred gift is called Constriction. Had you used omnivision, you would have seen corporeal basilisks extending from her hand to those glasses.
"So, you enjoyed the drinks. I'm pleased!" Braeic said gleefully before spitting a glob of green acid into a bowl next to her throne. The acid flowed into a hole at the bottom of the bowl, down a path in the stone, and into a pool of acid that, at closer inspection, probably served as a reservoir.
Is all of that her spit? I asked with an unexplainable curiosity. Then a disturbing thought crossed my mind. Please tell me the drinks aren't made using that stuff...
It is. The acid I diluted for processing, Viraa confirmed. No need to be concerned, though. Pneumarians are beings of energy. We cannot carry bacteria, so it is perfectly safe.
Za'Fia immediately spat out the drink in disgust.
Avarice, having already finished his drink, smacked his lips as the taste set in.
"Never have I been so insulted..."
Braeic laughed loudly, jolting Varuni, who was wasted in her seat.
"People do that all the time once they figure it out," she slapped her knee as she continued laughing, then straightened up. "Ahhh, I needed a good laughin'. So yer the new Crest Head that popped up, huh? Well, look at ya! The pretty one there, too! Nice arm," she motioned to Za'Fia, "Aint y'all pretty. If ya had a bit more power, I'd bet you'd have fellas eager to unify with ya. Trust me," she rubbed her unkept hair down before some of it stuck back up, "I'm havin' the issue now, but I'm not interested in love! 'Pose you wouldn't be havin' the same sorts of problems though, huh? Seein that you really ain't a pneumarian...or a klevonian. You really are an enigma, aren't ya? Well, it makes no never mind, we gals gotta stick together, don't we!?"
This one is talkative, Avarice remarked.
While resisting the sudden urge to respond with a southern accent, I greeted her.
"Hi, I'm Alissia," I smiled and extended a hand, then instantly regretted it as Braeic shook it with her dirty gloves.
"I know. We've all heard of ya! Seen ya in the Palace too."
The next hour or so went by in a haze. Braeic was certainly chatty, but she was kind, though her lack of hygiene left a lot to be desired. Having paid our respects, we tried to take the first opportunity to depart, but she kept going.
"...I know ya probably busy with ya travelin' and whatnot, but do ya mind stayin' for a while? Varuni, there is 'posed to handle the drinks for a shindig this evening. Big names of the district come to invest in new drinks. Whataya say?"
"I'm leaving," Avarice said flatly, having had enough. He turned and started walking away, hovered actually. He didn't want to touch anything.
I smiled and politely declined Braeic's request as I eased toward the doors. She didn't take any offense and waved us farewell cheerfully.
"Come back anytime! We're always creatin' new drinks I'd love you to try!"
After leaving the Crest House and taking flight, we flew northwest until we came across a large, blue ocean. There was something nostalgic about seeing something as familiar as a blue ocean on Cindar. I took a deep breath, taking in the salty sea air.