Stepping inside, the building was alive with chatter and energy. People from all walks of life filled the space, engaged in animated conversations or simply savoring the moment. The air buzzed with life.
"Stay close to me," Evryn signaled to Razek, gesturing with his hand.
In the center of the room stood the bar, its counter forming a tight oval shape. The structure matched the smooth sandstone of the city, but a thin golden line of light stretched beneath the counter, blending seamlessly into the environment.
At the far end of the room stood a stage, where four performers were preparing their instruments. They weren't human—tall, bipedal humanoids with segmented, chitinous exoskeletons of dark brown. Their faces were adorned with mandibles, two large but vacant-looking eyes, and a pair of antennae atop their heads.
Come to think of it… Helaine's spider legs aren't that bad compared to whatever these things are.
Evryn began walking forward, deeper into the bar with Razek following behind.
Where would be a good place to sit..?
On the side of the room were niches with booths inside them, almost all of them filled with people drinking and having the times of their lives. The same went for the other side of the room.
In the middle of the room, people were sitting on stools that were attached to the ground, with two steps of stairs leading up to the island.
Let's just go to the bar…
Evryn, along with Razek, went up the steps and sat down at the booths.
Zzzz
A sound of something gliding toward them echoed, and soon, a sand-colored robot stood in front of them. It was attached to some railings in the ceiling. The robot had a glowing yellow eye with two arms and a skinny body that was connected to the railing.
A cackle came from the robot, followed by a robotic voice: "Welcome to Kamiya Bar. How may I help you?"
"Uhhh," Razek was lost in thought.
"You don't have to help with anything. We're just checking this place out, that's all." Evryn calmly moved his hands.
"Okay," the robot said as it glided in another direction along the rail.
Evryn rested his head on his left knuckles. I've never drunk before, but I most certainly wouldn't want a robot serving me a drink.
Evryn let out a deep sigh, now focusing on listening in on any conversations nearby that might hold importance.
Evryn closed his eyes, focusing his mind on all the conversations happening around him, picking through each one piece by piece to see if any held value.
"You should've seen the look on that man's face! It was priceless, haha."
No, that's no good.
"He wanted to charge me 20 celestial scripts for some watch. And the watch held no value whatsoever! It wasn't even worth money!" Not that one either…
"Did you hear? Ravak is moving supplies to one of his stations here, but no one really knows what it is that he's transporting."
There we go.
Evryn opened his eyes, scanning the room to locate the source of the voice. Soon, his gaze landed on a man with orange hair, talking with another man who had reddish hair.
"Razek, stay here and don't cause any trouble."
Evryn stood up and began walking closer to where the two men were.
Walking past a few of the stools, he sat down at one, two stools away from them.
Evryn casually glanced at all the drinks on display, pretending to consider buying something.
The orange-haired man spoke again. "Yeah… the transport was heavily guarded too. I hope they don't bring any trouble here."
"You can say that again. Last time, they just shot someone on the spot for no reason at all."
The orange-haired man stared down at his drink, swirling it slowly. "I know. It can get really bad sometimes," he murmured, moving the liquid around in his glass. "This has been going on for, what? Twenty-two years now?"
"Huh, yeah… I guess that would be a rough estimate."
Twenty-two years… transports…
Seems like they've been around for a long time.
"Hey."
Someone called out to him.
Evryn turned his head toward the two men. They were both looking at him.
"Are you new around here? You don't look familiar… especially with that sword at your side."
Evryn glanced down at his sword, sheathed and attached to his pants, then back at the two men. Rubbing the back of his head, he gave an awkward smile.
"Yeah… I am new here. I saw how cool this place looked and thought, 'Why not come check it out?'"
Both men gave him a skeptical look.
Don't tell me they aren't buying it…
"Well, welcome… I guess. But I hope you saw that there's a no weapons policy in this building."
There's a no weapons… what?
"Uh… can you elaborate?"
"There's a sign out front that says no weapons allowed," the red-haired man snickered.
How did I not notice that… Evryn felt like he was about to die inside. Not only was he mad at himself for missing the sign, but also because he had made himself look stupid in front of these people.
"Yeah, dude. You should probably go put that sword of yours up before the guards get you."
Evryn gulped. Not only am I in trouble… these guys are making fun of me!
The orange-haired man pointed to the far-left corner of the room with his index finger, gesturing toward a hallway.
"Over there is where you're supposed to place your weapons. You're lucky we started talking to you, or you'd be in deep trouble."
Evryn forced a smile. "Thanks."
He stood up and headed toward the direction the man had pointed.
As Evryn walked away, the men burst into snickers. The orange-haired man wiped a tear from his eye, laughing.
"Oh man, that guy's an idiot!"
"Tell me about it. And he actually believed you, haha."
Evryn made his way past the bar and the stage where the creatures were still playing.
As he entered the hallway, dim yellowish lights lined the walls, covered by white panels that softened their glow.
Evryn walked deeper into the corridor, the sounds of chatter and music gradually fading behind him.
This feels off… His brow furrowed as his instincts kicked in. Why would they make us place our weapons this far away from everyone?
Slowly, Evryn lowered his left hand toward the hilt of his sword.
"Ev!"
Evryn spun around to see Razek speed-walking toward him.
"Razek, I told you to stay at the stool."
"I know, but I saw you walking back here… and those guys you were talking to started laughing after you left."
Evryn's eye twitched. I was fooled… how dare they!
He facepalmed, frustration washing over him. I can't believe I fell for that…
"Did you at least get any information about the Black Suns?"
Evryn's eyes widened, and he cracked. "You can't just say stuff like that out loud!"
"Hey! What are you two doing back here?"
A sharp voice echoed from deeper within the hallway.