Ch. 124: To The Hell''s Gateway


    "You''rete!" Hissed Arman the fourth ruler of the serpentine tribe as he stood at the border of his tribe wearing a dark cloaks, his eyes beaming with disgust.


    "You didn''t exactly specify on a time reptile." I responded more colder than he did me.


    I wore a ck jacket and trouser, and white sneakers. Maybe I did want to go with a bit of style today, and I hade alone this time. I wasrgely confident that I could handle the threat at hand alone and that was not just small talk since I had been training a lot since I got back.


    "So whats the n?" I asked and watched Arman looked at me with empty eyes. "You do have one right?"


    Arman nodded reluctantly. It made me wonder what the buildup of suspense was for. "We will be traveling to the ck market known as Death''s Gaper, it''s quite a bit of a distance from here. At the outskirts of the city and nearing the wilderness of Chakra. An ideal ce out of our jurisdiction."


    "I don''t suppose we''ll trek the whole way then?" I made a bit of a snide remark but he did not take it as lightly. "I don''t like this any more than you do but you better start talking some sense before I lose it."


    He looked away at the expanse of his tribe and said. "We will use the hell''s gateway." He paused for a long while as if expecting his words to have a huge impact on me but unfailingly so, it did not. I had no idea what he was implying from the knowledge I had umted in my past life.


    "as you know, the hell''s gateway shares a connection to the main gates of the underworld itself and allows one to transport between locations easily but it can only me operated by sorcery."


    I tucked my hands away in my pockets. "And I am guessing you are not a sorcerer."


    I noticed the flicker of rage and disappointment in his eyes. "No, I am not. The nearest hell''s gateway is within the vige and it might cost a bit to get to the ck market."


    "And why is that?" I asked.


    My eyes went up to the sky a world of purple and peach coloured clouds swirling around. "The ck market is not an easy ce to get ess to. And the old hag is a work of trouble."


    He turned and slithered down to the vige known as the tribe of the serpentine, he did not give me a gesture to follow along. Not that I needed one anyway, I walked after him in slow cautious steps, my eyes gazing in each direction and catching the medieval house settings. The interactions between the characters, some of them taking quick nces at me mostly the men and guards.


    The little snake children took even longer stares at me.


    I felt totally immersed in the new world setting and smiled a bit, Arman caught me smiling and held his eyes there before looking away. "The first thing we are going to do at the ck market is get you a cap, we can''t have you blowing our cover anyway."


    I looked at the strands of blue hair hanging down before my eyes and muttered. "Oh? I guess I do stand out a bit. So do I camn you prince Arman or king Arman?"


    "Whichever suites you, we don''t hold such titles here as you people do." He said with disgust as he slithered deeper into the vige.


    A part of me did not feel pressured in the least while another part felt wary that a trap would spring up at any moment.


    "It''s odd how I expected the underworld to be one body but in fact it turned out to be a body of different cultures. But this is even more fun." He did not respond to me. "So what do you know about ck amber?"


    I sensed a bit of resentment in the prince''s voice as he spoke. "It''s the oil of darkness, a dangerous substance birthed by war and hatred. It entered into the body and corrupts it, slowly eating away at the soul till it corrupts it fully, even with a strong soul, it''s only a matter of time."


    "You seem to have some experience with it." I hinted.


    He raised his head and said. "Of course, it took my father from me."


    The rest of the walk was came to an abrupt end as we stopped before a small hut, not a stone building like the rest just a small simple hut. There was a sign hanging on it that read, "CLOSED FOR TODAY, COME TOMORROW."


    Arman hissed with rage as he tore down the sign and slithered into the hut. "That old hag, always one for tricks."


    I followed him and entered my hut, behold my eyes beamed wide in awe at the sight before me. I was sure I had entered a hut but instead I was in a huge shop the size of a duplex, shelves with strange bottled liquids and organs such as eyeballs and testicles. I swear I would have barfed had I not gained a unique tolerance for such things. "Wow!" I exhaled in amazement.


    Arman stopped and looked over at me with confusion. "To think even you is astoundeded by the wonders of sorcery, I thought you would have seen it all."


    I smiled genuinely which caused him to frown even deeper. "It''s definitely now bad, why do you seem unhappy about it?"


    "We came here for a job not so sightsee." He hissed again.


    I held a bold face and looked over at him and said nothing.


    If only he knew what was going on in my mind now he would be on his knees begging. But an old croaking voice interrupted us, "What malice I senseing from over here, the proimed lord of the underworld and the young ruler after the serpentine that yed his father. Personal vendettas really crack up my funny bone."


    I watched as the old hag who was apparently also a serpentine slithered to us under the light of the torches hung up on the wall that bled blue me. In the full light she did not look like an old hag at all, infact she looked like a twenty year old with her long green haired and wearing a crop top that left very little imagination to the goods she carried upfront.


    She was a thing of beauty, it made me remember one of my goals. To meet a siren but that was still a future goal.


    If she looked this beautiful and young then why did she sound so old.


    "Sorry!" She croaked as she coughed repeatedly and then spoke again. "There, much better. I was choking on the bones of the rat I was savouring. Swamp rats sure are delectable in red stew and mashed brains."


    Aside from her voice that sounded very much like that of an angel, she was a full blooded demon. What sort of meal was that?


    She staggered and almost crashed into Arman who merely slithered out of the way. She giggled nervously and said. "Whoopsie me, I have unsteady feet. Damned hell''s I don''t have feet." She snorted andughed.


    I think I understood what Arman meant by what he said, that she was one for tricks. "Hey old hag, what''s up with you now? You said you would help."


    She red at him in rage. "Oh did I? I think I might have said that but even if I did, I would determine when I would help you. Is that how you givepelling demands to you well trusted followers?"


    "Why you!" Arman gnashed his teeth.


    I took a step forward and said. "I hear you can get us to the ck market, what''s your price?" That''s it, no one could resist the temptation of a nk cheque.


    She looked at me and chuckled to hard that I was starting to feel like an idiot, I would have hit her if her voice did not have that melodious tone that was not as good as Aphrodite''s but standing out in terms of pitch.


    "To think the lord of the underworld himself is suffering from the ink of death. I wonder how you managed to fracture your soul like that but it''s barely keeping the poison at bay." She sneered at me.


    Arman''s eyes shed at me. "You''re poisoned too? How?"


    Poisoned too? Did that mean, Arman was also poisoned.


    The old hag started to slither around me as if inspecting me like a new trophy on a disy cab. Her voice low and erotic. "Funny thing here, two rulers afflicted with the same problem in my shop. One seeking revenge and the other possibly seeking a cure. I am caught in the middle of it all."


    I said calmly as she roped her snake tail around me, it was very long. Compared to the others she looked more human with her too half but the lower half was as long as an anocandas, seeing a snake up close made my face feel all itchy. "Are you going to help us or not?" I asked.


    She brought her face closer to mine as she leader over, the top of her breasts giving a gloss glow in the gas light. "Sure thing deary, right after a drink."


    And again sliding off track, it was starting to be an habit in this world now toe up with unnecessary excuses when I''m on a major progression."


    "This wasn''t the deal!" Arman boomed with rage, losing his demeanor for once which was a good change.


    "Darling! The Lord Hades is here, a five star client so I am fucking going to have as much fun as I can with him. It''s not like I''ll ever get a better customer in this damn ce again." She reached out her snake-like tongue and licked my face. "Maybe we''ll even share a bed together you and me, it''s been a while since I exercised my feminine pleasure to the max."


    Did a snake just lick me and profess to wanting me on her bed? Why would I sleep with a snake?


    Arman screamed out in rage. "You damn skank!"