"So I would have to say," the short human drawled holding out a fist. "White Haired Great Roc." He raised a solitary finger.

  "A respectable choice," the taller human said as he nursed his cup, full of a rather weak liquor.

  "Nine Hour Coweater," Eislock continued, raising another finger. "Slaughtering mantis, Nightware, and..." he paused for a while, before raising his other hand and lifting a single solitary finger. "A dragon."

  "What a boring answer," Banks stated. "It was fine up until the Slaughtering Mantis, but the Nightware is more bark than bite and dragon is just such a basic answer."

  "Alright, then what five creatures would you not want to run into on a night time stroll," Eislock asked raising his drink accusingly before taking a large swig.

  "Mist Breathing Wolf," he started thinking, his drinking companion acknowledging the choice. "Slaughtering Mantis," he acknowledged the good answer. "Skewnarian Lesser Plague Goat, River Eating Cockroach and...Sauronid, doesn't matter which species."

  "I've heard about the Skewnarian Plague Goats," Eislock said after a while. "Horrifying stuff. Is there a greater one?"

  "The greater one is completely immobile," he said. "I'm not worried about running into it."

  "Don't know the last two," Eislock admitted. "But if you're think they're worse than a dragon the I would probably explode myself before I even thought about fighting back. "Alright I've got a good one," he said. "If you were to be transported back to any time in history what time would you choose?"

  "You first," Banks said, not acknowledging the irony in the question.

  "The Galade Empire," the Nevadie said, causing the taller human's eye to twitch at the familiar words.

  "Why, they were very much a strong and cruel hierarchical society, you'd more likely end up a slave, then in any position of power," he stated.

  "Yes, but the architecture," the Nevadie said passionately. "Fabulous buildings all forged out of intricate metal, a system of temples entwined with the monarchy, but not directly ruled by a god. Arts, literature and sciences reinvented fresh every day. For all that the Empire was supposedly a bad place to live for the underclass, the number of things that they left us are indisputable. Including me, I guess." That was a very Nevadie answer. The people were almost stereotyped as foolhardy and reckless and while that was true, it didn't mean they were stupid. In fact their curiosity combined by a huge wealth of experience often led the pseudo-immortals to be very well learned. Far greater than average citizen throughout most ages.

  "Yeah, the Nevadie were one of the lines that came from the Old Empire," Banks said as if reminding himself. "Horrific experiments to increase the power of the Human Body, using Strange Elements as a mechanism to mutate humans. For a place known as the Empire of Man, they were sure eager to push the definition of humanity."

  "Well then, where would you go?" the Nevadie asked.

  "The Nursery," Banks admitted easily.

  "Never heard of it," Eislock admitted. "Very old or very obscure?"

  "Very old," Banks admitted. "Much older than Galade. An ancient society that mastered Runes to an extent that no other civilization today has come close to matching, until they were destroyed by their own success."

  "Tale as old as time," Eislock commiserated.

  "I'll drink to that," Banks said, tapping his now empty mug and watching as the waitress came over and took it. "So where would you go today? You know if you could go anywhere in the world."

  "Skullnexus," the Nevadie said immediately. "I've always wanted to head to that land of terror. I tried in a few past lives, but never even made it onto the shore."

  "That's a shame, my sister lives there," Bank said immediately. "Feel like I told you that already."

  "No, I definitely would have remembered if you told me," the Nevadie said, leaning forward, with increased interest. "Is she part of an expedition or a permanent resident."

  "Permanent resident," Banks said. "They're rare and dangerous, but there are a few semi-permanent 'cities' on Skullnexus. She's a bit of a hermit so she enjoys the time alone."

  "A bit of peace is nice now and again," the Nevadie admitted, before frowned. "A bit strange calling Skullnexus a peaceful place."

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  "Different people find different things stressful," Banks said smiling as a full mug was placed in front of him.

  "That's the truth," the shorter man said. "Hey any idea what the time is? Wanted to swing by and see if I could catch a bit of the old UE's speech."

  "It's a bit past the sixth hour, you've long missed the time it was supposed to be, friend," Banks said. "But it was cancelled anyway. Emperor didn't show up."

  "That's strange," the Nevadie said.

  "There are some rumors that he may be dead," Banks said.

  "That's terrifying," the Nevadie said, his tone taking on a more contemplative timbre. "The UE wasn't the most likeable person and I like a little chaos now and again, but if he's finally kicked it then things are about to get very hot very soon. I don't think the city might be safe anymore for people of a particular persuasion."

  "Anybody who is different you mean," Banks said sipping from his drink. "Unless you don't mind losing a life, I would suggest experiencing this from a fair distance."

  "But the company is so good," Eislock said raising his mug.

  "I'll drink to that," Banks stated clinking his mug together. He brought his mug to his lips, before the doors burst open and a squad of soldiers stepped into the room, a Golden Guard following placidly behind them.

  "Attention," the lead guard said, a bulky man with a large bedraggled moustache. "Have any of you seen this man?" He raised a wanted poster featuring a handsome young man with an impish look and purple striped hair. There was a bit of silence, nobody wanted to be the one to speak up. Despite the general niceness of this city, there was still nevertheless some wariness towards the guards. "He is suspected to be a member of the rebels and he was spotted recently at this tavern. We do not believe anybody here is deliberately harboring him, but if we later find that anybody was aware, but didn't report for whichever reason, they will be in serious trouble."

  "Goddamit," Banks whispered to himself. Despite his desire to relax and avoid any of the messes, he had found himself smack bang in the middle of it. He couldn't even slip out now because it would make him look suspicious. Scowling he took another sip of his drink as the tavernkeeper, eager to prove they were not in collusion with the alleged rebel went to take a closer look. The rotund man after a few seconds of examining the photo, and a few more of reexamining the photo with his glasses on his face made a sudden exclamation.

  "I have seen him before," he said in a deep baritone. "Never forget a face. We put him up on third floor fifth room. He was very insistent you see. He said, he wanted a room with a view. I was a bit suspicious, at that you see, because there's not much of a view around these parts."

  "When last did you see him," the guard said, deadly serious.

  "Well he checked in two days ago," the tavernkeeper said, humming. "I can't remember if they left the room. It's been so busy of late, barely had time to lift my head."

  "Your candor is appreciated," the guardsmen said, looking back at his troops. "Alright, we are going up there to check on our target. Nobody is to leave until we return. If you leave, we will take it as if you are an accomplice to the rebel. Do you understand?" He didn't wait for a reply, as he immediately proceeded up the stairs.

  "Your theory is sounding more and more likely by the minute," the Nevadie said. "Think I might skip town after this. "What are your plans."

  "Unfortunately, I can't skip," Banks admitted. Even if he were to leave at this point the time loop would just throw him back until the end, unless his survival would lead to the loop ending naturally. He had too little information to decide one way or another at this point of time, and so he sipped his drink in silence.

  "How long do you think they will take to search the room?" Eislock asked suddenly.

  "It depends," Banks responded. "Is he still there? Are they getting into a fight? Are they conducting a proper search? I doubt it will take too long. They seen like soldiers not detectives. Most likely they will confirm if he's here or not and then call in an investigator."

  "No, I'm just a bit peckish and I'm wondering if I should order something to eat," Eislock said. "The alternative is that I go to the market and see what they've got there."

  "Well what do you feel like?" Banks asked. "A tavern like this probably does something like stew or soup. Something heavy."

  "Good point," Eislock said. "I actually feel like___"

  His words nearly finished as the next second a massive explosion tore through the building collapsing the ceiling and crushing down on them both.

  -3 seconds

  Banks grabbed his new friend, his light body, proving very little problem and dove under the table a second before the roof collapsed. For a few seconds the two lay there covered in dust, surrounded by garbage, and yet under the enduring aegis of a very well made table. All around them the sounds of screaming, groaning and crying. Banks tried to move some of the debris only to find it resisted, and so he gave up and wiggled to try to find the most comfortable position.

  "I was going to say, that I would like something with a bit more bang," Eislock stated. "I hope I didn't jinx it."

  "You would have to be a very powerful magician indeed to speak an explosion into being," Banks lampooned trying to get himself comfortable.

  "Well my cousin could do that," Eislock stated. "I'm just hoping that I got less from his side of the family. I think I can almost get...free." His last words were said as he pulled himself through the debris. "I think you can get through there."

  "Firstly, you're Nevadie, so naturally smaller than me," Banks started. "Secondly, because I haven't been exercising in a while I've grown fat. I'm just going to nap here until something pulls me from the rubble."

  "I guess I can ask that Golden Guard," Eislock said. "Looks like at least it survived the explosion. Didn't even scratch the paint."

  "The Golden Emperor sure knew how to build them," Banks agreed.

  "Yeah. he did," Eislock said. "Hey Mister, my friends trapped beneath the rubble do you think you can help. Wow you really are a big one, yes he's just under there. What do you want to shake hands. Alright I'll sha___" His words were cut off with a bright flash of light and Banks turned his head from his resting spot to see the bottom half of his new friend collapse to the ground. Behind him the Golden Guard shook before it turned it's hand towards him and blasted the spot at which he was trapped.