March of the Mystics

“Technically, I was surrounded but I could still see my exit,” Gala Goda grabbed his cocktail and took a swig. For hours he regaled the other patrons with stories of his heroics to satiate his ego. “Y’all know how expensive the Jade Flower of Maz is, right? I just want to make sure I’m making it very clear, this was a big get. It’s probably the most valuable treasure I’ve ever held. I mean, there’s a whole group of us who were after it, so it’s not like most of the rubbish relics I usually stumble across. This is a legendary artifact from the start of time! Well anyways, they went to tackle me and I booked it!” “You have to use that there revolver?” Lheni asked, pointing at the pistol on his hip. She was an elderly wrinkle of a woman who spent her life at bars. Gala remembered meeting her before, but she had no recollection of him or her life in general. “This thing?” Gala showed off the pistol. “Nah, it’s junk. Never shoots where I want it to.” He stashed it back into the holster. His father gave him the gun when he was ten and it was junk back then too. The chamber housed eight bullets, but the trigger often malfunctioned. “Thankfully, as I left, the calvary arrived. They fought ‘em off while I made my daring escape. It couldn’t have worked out better…for me.” The Happy Hooligan Tavern dilapidated over the years, yet was still one of Gala’s favorite spots. It was a fun but dangerous atmosphere that smelled of sawdust. The massive tree stump bar was nicer than expected and sat dozens. The whole place was covered in wood and ready to light ablaze with the faintest spark. Gala was in his forties but claimed he looked younger. He had a great full head of shaggy hair, which he was very proud of. His white skin was often covered in dirt and his face hid behind a five o’clock shadow. Small scars covered his person, the most noticeable being on his chin. He wouldn’t admit it, but his body usually ached for taking too many tumbles and spending too many nights at the bar. He typically wore an old, broken in, yellow leather jacket. White outlined the straps and pockets. Underneath was a dirty safari shirt with the top few buttons undone exposing a small cluster of chest hair. On the left side of his belt hung a whip. His pistol was holstered on his right. His blue jeans were a darker shade with few rips around the ankles. His red shoes were a hybrid sneaker and hiking boot. They were flexible yet sturdy and currently his favorite possession. The bartender, Link, walked over with more drinks. “He tell you about how he survived the Battle of the Omega Soldiers ?” She gave a mischievous smile as she dispersed their next round. The bars other patron, Khurl, perked up when he heard mention of the battle. A little older than Gala, he had seen his share of war. Those memories are what led him to the bar. That’s where he was during the Battle of the Omega Soldier, which ironically, saved his life. Every soldier there either died or became terminally ill. “He wasn’t there,” Khurl snarled. “Yes, I kinda was,” Gala told him with the first sip of his new drink. “You run when the going got tough?” “Hey, I wasn’t there for that fight, man. I was there collecting the Ruins of McGrath . A war happened to break out around me! Those omega soldiers were something else, I tell ya. If I hadn’t found a gassed up motor-bike, I would have never made it.” “You didn’t even try and help them!” Khurl screamed in Gala’s face. “Do you really think if I had chipped in then the outcome would have been any different? It was a slaughter! There was nothing I could do. All I could do was survive and get out…and bring along the super valuable artifact I went there for. Sold it for quite a bit, by the way.” Gala raised his glass in honor of the sale. “That’s not what a real man would have done.” “Don’t have to call me a real man, but you can call me alive.” Gala toasted a second time. “What brings you to Civis today?” Link asked. Gala spent the better part of a year traveling out to this metropolis known as, Civis. Before arriving, he gathered maps and codes from his various contacts. It was not an easy feat, the codes in particular sett him back weeks. In an ideal world, he would have arrived months ago. But now, with just a few days to spare, he had everything he needed. “Ever hear of the Diamond of Farrokh ?” Gala asked Link. “Not familiar with it. Where you gotta go for that?” “You know the Pimar Temple out in Streawberige Field?” Link’s face dropped as her eyes went wide. “You know a Sauros haunts there, right?” She knew Gala well enough to know that wouldn’t deter him. “That’s just a myth,” Gala dismissed her with a bat of his hand, even though others had warned him of the same. Lheni knew the horror the lurked in the temples shadows. “My cousin was killed by that beast. We were kids playing there, not knowing any better. Had to have been eighteen feet tall back then. Probably twenty five feet now. Only a fool would go down there willingly.” “Hey, if I survived the Battle of the Omega Soldier, then I think I can survive one Sauros,” the fool replied. “This diamond must be pretty expensive,” Link said. “Eh, it’s not worth that much.” “Oh no,” she bemoaned. “You’re getting this thing to impress a woman, ain’t ya?” “Oh Link….” Gala shook his head with a smirk. “Everything I do is to impress a woman.”