Ratskull Tavern was buried at the end of a filthy alley and looked exactly how I'd expected it to on the inside. The entire place was worse than dingy, the door was half-broken, there wasn't a single clean table anywhere to be found, and it smelled like stale beer and piss. It was also patronized by the roughest people I'd ever seen in Reial, and with its long wooden bar that stretched the entire length of the place, it was barely wide enough for three people to stand side by side.

In the far back, a group of guys were playing some kind of gambling game. One of them had his hand on the table, and another was stabbing a dagger between his fingers. The others were all cheering, and with every stab, money changed hands.

"Daggerfist," Vral said. "It's fun."

When the stabber stabbed into the other guy's hand, the group of men erupted into laughter. Holding his hand up so everyone could see, the dagger was cleanly pierced between his thumb and index finger.

"I'll take your word for it."

"You should. I'm always right." Vral scanned the establishment and found an empty table in the corner. "I'm so ready for some good gragtul," Vral said as she plopped down on a stool. "Hey, Birt! Two bowls of the good shit over here! And give us some extra krasas on the side! I want it stinky!"

The bartender, an old frumpy-looking goblin woman with one white eye, looked up from the glass she was wiping with an absolutely filthy rag, squinted, then smiled a wide, gap-toothed smile. "Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes! Is that who I think it is?"

Vral pulled a dagger out of her pocket and, with a flick of her wrist, buried it beside a dozen others in the large taxidermied... thing that hung behind the bar. It looked like a raccoon beaver. "Miss me?"

The goblin shot off her barstool, causing her to disappear under the bar. A moment later, she waddled around the far side and made her way up the line, cracking jokes with each of her patrons as she went. Finally, she made it to us, grunted as she picked up her protruding gut and drooping chest, and sat on the stool next to me. Placing a hand on Vral's, she squeezed it tightly and said, "I thought you finally met the Dark Father, girlie."

If anyone else had touched her unprompted like that, they'd have ended up toothless and on the floor. But with Birt, Vral was nothing but smiles. "Nope! And I'm not about to let him have me. It'll take more than the Pit to take down this bitch."

"The Pit?" The old goblin scratched her chin. "Tu'vigh Gragul breskaya nu'thek, graguktak vesh malthen."

Vral cackled at what I could only assume was a joke in what I guessed was goblin. "Tell me how you really feel."

"It's good for you to hear it." Birt huffed. "You need to take care of yourself better, nu'thek."

My companion sighed. "I've been trying."

"Not hard enough."

"Still! Killed the old crew off when they fucked around."

"Good. Those losers were dead weight anyway."

Vral laughed. "Yeah, they were." She slapped my arm. "Found myself a meat shield."

Without looking at me, Birt said, "He's big."

"Yeah. Not only that, but he's good in a fight, too. And, get this," she placed her hand on mine, "He's dumb enough to care about me. He even saved my life. That's gotta count for something, right?"

That triggered something in the old goblin. Birt's eyes turned to me and slowly looked me over. Then, she grunted. "Not much to look at, but I can tell by the way he carries himself that he's dangerous."

"Pssh," Vral's hand squeezed mine. "He's a big softie."

"Soft isn't good."

"He's not too soft. You should see our third. She's the softest throat a blade could cut."

Birt looked at both of us. "Glad you finally found some good companions, nu'thek. Been a long time since you had a friend. Not since back when we lived in the—"

"I've never had a friend before." Vral's voice was hard as she cut off the old goblin. "I've only ever had you."

Birt's lips quirked. "You had one."

Vral frowned. "That was one-sided."

"It was what it was."

"It was what I said it—"

"What's your name, boy?" The old goblin's red eye shifted, focusing on mine.

"Al—"

"Too slow. Don't care." She perked up. "Have you proven yourself, child?"

"What does—"

Vral cut me off. "He beat me down real good. I stood no chance. Even with the Gragul Breskaya, I couldn't have beaten—"

Birt held up her hand, silencing Vral. "I wasn't asking you, girlie." Her eyes narrowed on mine. "Anyone could tell you're strong. But are you worthy of my nu'thek?"

"Nu'thek?"

She thrust a crooked thumb toward Vral. "Unwanted, useless daughter who's not mine."

"Ah." I always wondered if Vral's bluntness was all hers or a product of her culture. I was beginning to learn. "I think I am. I want to be."

Birt scoffed. "Life isn't about wanting, boy! It's about taking what you want!" Her eyes went wild, and her voice rose an octave. "You rip what you want from life's grasp and demand that it recognizes you, and only you, as the boss! You show it that it's yours and yours alone! And if life fights back, you scream to the heavens and fight with your entire soul! If someone tries to take what's yours, you fight for your life, for what is yours is your life!" She was screaming now. "And if you die, you die on your feet with your head held high!" Her hands rose to the sky. "THAT'S THE PATH ALL MORTALS WALK! THE WAY OF THE STRONG!" All at once, as if she hadn't just been screaming, her hands dropped, a soft cough escaped her lips, and she turned away from me and back toward Vral. "I don't approve."

"But Birt—"

Without hesitation or restraint, Birt backhanded Vral. "Don't talk back."

"Sorry..." Vral rubbed her cheek.

"There's only one way to settle this." The old goblin shot out of her chair and started waddling around her bar.

"Should we follow, or..."

Vral sighed. "She's a lot, but she—"

"Move your asses before I move them for you!"

As one, Vral and I shot up and headed to the far side of the bar, where Birt was placing rows of shot glasses.

Gesturing for us to sit, Birt pulled out a small clay jar, uncorked it, and began pouring a pitch-black liquid into each shot glass.

"Birt, I don't know if—"

"Are you challenging you're ka'dral?"

"No!" Vral held up her hands. "Of course not."

"Good girl." Birt continued pouring until all the shot glasses were full. There were four for each of us.

At least, I hoped that was how it was going to be split up. I was literally watching as the black stuff evaporated out of each glass. I was pretty sure it might kill me if I drank it. "What is—"

"Shut it." Birt shook her head. "You talk too much. Talk less, act more." Sliding three glasses to Vral, four to me, and keeping five for herself, Birt grabbed a glass, took a whiff, and threw it back in a single, clean movement. With a loud gulp, the liquid was gone, and she sighed. "That hits the spot."

A black steam escaped her lips with every word, and her breath smelled like lighter fluid and tar. My heart started pounding. "Maybe we should—"

"Drink it!" Vral hissed. Leaning closer, she whispered, "She won't accept you unless you prove yourself." Leaning back again, she said, "Don't be rude," and threw one of the shots back. The second the liquid touched her tongue, she gagged. With a shudder, she muscled the stuff down, groaned, and said, "So... good..." Then, she fell into a coughing fit.

Prove myself? I had no idea how doing shots was related, but if Birt was the gatekeeper to Vral's hand, then fuck it. In for a pound. "Birt, I'm going to take your nu'thek's hand, and there's not a damn thing you can do to stop me."

"That's more like it!" The old goblin's eyes were glowing. "Prove it!"

Taking two of the shot glasses, I threw one back, then the other... and immediately realized how fucked I was. Moonshine? More like sunshine. Starshine? No. Novashine. This shit was lethal.

***

When they said breskaya made you blind... I thought it was a joke...

Haha...

So funny...

Red bull gives you wings...

Tequila takes your clothes off...

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

But... no.

I was blind.

Like, actually blind.

"Bbhoy toyyy," Vral's voice was next to me, and I was pretty sure that was her arm wrapped around mine. "Y-you diddd itt..." Her lips pressed against my cheek. A waft of lighter fluid. "My... handsome... Sent—" she hiccuped. "Sent... inel." She giggled. Then, a groan. "I want... some... gragtul..." Her voice got louder. "Ka'drallll... Mommaaaa! I'm hungry!"

"It's almost done, dear!" Who was that? That couldn't be Birt. Too nice.

"But mommmaaa!"

If Vral wanted some gragtul, she was going to get some goddessdamned fucking gragtul. "Birt! BIRT! GRAGTUL!" I didn't know what that was, but Vral wanted it. And I wanted it, too. But Vral needed it. In her bones... And it was my job to give it to her.

Birt had screamed that at me when I struggled to muscle down my third shot. Right before I went blind. She said I had to be a real man. It was my job to set my foot down and make my own law. Otherwise, I'd get walked on. I had to be the boss.

"Coming!" Was that actually Birt's voice? She sounded so nice now. Kind. Like a sweet old grandma.

A moment later, something slid in front of me, and there was a clink of what sounded like silverware on a bowl. "Eat up, handsome! You deserve it."

"Hic..." Vral giggled again. "Did you... bring the... krasas?"

"Of course! I would never forget my nu'thek's favorite."

She sounded so freaking sweet!

Reaching out, I found a bowl of steaming something in front of me. Feeling around, I found a smaller bowl of cold something next to it. When I didn't find any silverware in the cold bowl, I poured the entire cold bowl into the hot one. "GRAGTUL! KRASAS!" Those were words.

"He impresses me more and more. Not many humans enjoy krasas."

"He's a-a-a real... man..." Vral's head rested on my shoulder. I could tell. It was Vral shaped.

"Eat, girl."

"Okay..." Vral leaned away. A moment later, she was slurping something up.

"Krasas is... my favorite." Picking up my entire steaming bowl, I placed the rim on my lips and started drinking.

It was possibly the best thing I'd ever eaten.

Savory.

Rich.

Kind of gamey.

Fruit?

But also, stinky. Like good cheese. The kind Tristan loved. The hard, stinky shit that she finally convinced me to love. I'd been wrong back then. Soft cheese was shit. Hard cheese was life.

And the noodles... So chewy. Like udon, but... meaty?

"Humans don't usually like our food. Especially the fermented stuff. I'm impressed."

I'll show you, Granny. Pulling the bowl away from my lips, I felt a noodle nearly slip out. Slurping it up, it slapped my chin before I sucked it into my mouth. "I'm not just... any human. I'm the... Hero of the Pit." I suppressed a burp. "You've never seen... anyone like me."

"It's true!" Vral pressed her head into my arm. "You should have seen him! He was all whoosh, and then, pow! Slash!"

"That's the pride one needs to survive this world!" Granny approved! "And she supports you. This is what I wanted to see!"

Vral hiccuped, then sobbed. "He... He gave me his hand, Momma... but... that whore... she ruined our moment..."

"There are other moments, my dear."

"I'll make it up to you," I found her hand and squeezed. "I'll try twice as hard... next time... I'll beat you until you're half dead."

"NO!" I felt a finger press against my lips. "Just... special. Make it special."

"Special... I can do that..."

Vral giggled. "Good boy." She kissed my cheek. "Tristan said... I'm older... stronger... more confident... so I'm first..."

"First what?"

"First, uh... HIC!"

"You okay?"

"Yeah... First.. uh... velán... I think."

"Velán?"

"No idea... but I like it..."

"Me too..."

Another hand that wasn't Vral's found mine. "I approve of this one, nu'thek."

***

"If you flinch, you lose." The one-eyed, bearded dwarf's eye was locked on mine.

"Do you think I'm a bitch?" Bring it. I slapped my bare hand onto the table.

"We're about to find out, now aren't we?" He pressed his hand into my wrist, locking my hand against the table, and pulled out a long dagger.

***

Birt was wrapping my hand in gauze. "Fourteen stabs. And not a one pierced through completely. I'm impressed. You're made of steel, Alex."

I grinned. "Iron."

"Iron?"

"I'm made of Iron." Iron was stronger than steel, right? "That's my name."

"He's the Iron Sentinel!" Vral chirped beside me, her arm wrapping around mine.

"Hold on, now," One of the guys said from the stabby stabby table. "Who are you again?"

I puffed my chest up. "The Iron Sentinel. Hero of the Pit. Badass motherfucker from another world. You heard of me?"

The dwarf looked me up and down, then cracked a grin. "Yeah. I sure have." He turned and nodded to the others. "Boys, let's show the Sentinel what happens to heroes around here."

The rest of the table stood up.

"Don't make me second wind." I'd do it.

"Oh, you'll do more than that, Sentinel."

***

"Here's to the Sentinel!" Fartaz shouted as he threw back a shot of not breskaya.

"To the Sentinel!" His crew shouted as they threw back theirs.

"Guys, guys, I'm only one man!" I pointed at Vral. "If you're going to drink to me, you absolutely have to drink to the deadliest goblin this side of the Great Tower!"

Vral leapt onto the bar and struck a heroic stance. "Praise me, peasants!"

The men all chuckled, and at least two dropped to their knees, bowed, and started shouting. "We're not worthy!"

"Know your place, losers!" Vral struck a pose and flexed her arms.

In the corner, Birt was smiling ear to ear.

***

"Don't be a stranger, now!" The old goblin was waving as we left her tavern.

"We'll be back soon!" I waved back and saw that Birt was pleased with my response. It took a few hours and more than one bowl of gragtul, but I could see again, and my head was far more clear... even if I was still slammered. I could barely walk three steps without stumbling. Also, I had almost no memory of the last few hours, but what I did remember was embarrassing.

Vral was blushing beside me, and she was stumbling twice as badly. "Birt likes you."

Yeah. She only said it thirty times. "I like her, too."

Vral looked up at me and smiled. "You still want to play with me tonight?"

I laughed. "Hell yeah! You still up for more?"

"I'm always up for more..." The goblin stumbled into me.

"Going up!" I reached down, grabbed her hips, and picked her up. A moment later, she was on my shoulders.

She giggled. "I like how you manhandle me."

"Yeah? Well, just wait until..." I bit my tongue. She wasn't Tristan. We hadn't crossed that bridge. "Until later."

She glared at me, her eyes hazy. "No, fuck that. Until what?"

"Until..." What could I cover with?

"Until you put me in my place?" Her eyes shone in the moonlight.

"Until I show you what you are to me."

"I can't wait." Her voice was husky.

"There he is!" A voice shouted behind us."

"The goblin's here, too!" Another voice said.

"Who the fuck is that?" I was so tired of people interrupting my good moments.

"Fucking losers..." Vral pushed off my head and landed behind me. "I didn't believe her when she said it, but she always says there's not a moment of fucking peace with you." As I turned, Vral brandished her hidden daggers. "I said she was nuts. I owe her an apology."

When my eyes focused, I saw that there were at least ten guys behind us, weapons drawn. "You guys sure this is a good idea?" I reached for my sword and shield, but neither was there. "You know who we are, right?"

"Yeah. Dead. That's who."

I laughed. "Do your best." Holding my fists up, I readied myself.

"We got lucky they don't have their gear," The snot-nosed fuck who was obviously their leader said as he stepped forward, longsword drawn. "Don't hold back, or you're dead, boys."

"Want a knife?" Vral asked.

"Nah. You keep them. I'll be fine." I took a deep breath and focused, doing my best to clear my hazy vision.

"I can't wait to tell Tris about this tomorrow."

I laughed. "Yeah. But who'll be the winner?"

"Me, obviously."

"You sure?"

"Get them!" The men charged.

I stepped in front of Vral. "You can sit this one out."

"Fuck you." She vanished. An instant later, a guy screamed.

The others rushed forward, surrounded me, pulled back, and swung.

[Iron Skin]

A dozen strikes rained down on me and bounced off.

"Bitches." They had no idea what they were in for.

***

"It'd been a while since we fucked people up." Vral was washing the drops of blood off her arms in a fountain we'd found in the middle of the street. "That was fun."

"Yeah, I agree. We did good." She'd won that round, taking down a few more than I did, but the next time, I'd have my gear. "Glad the guards showed up when they did, though. We'd have killed those fucks if they hadn't."

"So?"

I laughed. "You're so right. Fuck 'em." That discomfort with the coldness I'd fallen into whispered at the edge of my mind, but I ignored it.

She laughed as she cleaned the rest of the grime off. When I'd finished, too, she stood and pointed to a nearby alley, one that led back to Boradan's Lodge. "That one's as good as any."

"Sounds good." We marched forward, into the alley, and snaked our way back to the inn that would be our home for the night.

As we made our way through the alleys, she was quiet for a while. Then, when we entered a particularly dark alley, she said, "Hey, Alex?"

I looked down at her. "What's up?"

She was smiling up at me, her green skin sparkling like stars as it reflected the rays of... this world didn't have a sun. What did the moon reflect? "I just..."

"What is it, Vral?"

"I had a great night."

"Me too."

Stepping closer, she said, "I like spending time with you."

I leaned back against the alley's wall. "I do too."

Her eyes lowered, and she shifted. "I can't..." She huffed, "I can't imagine my life without you."

My eyes met hers. "You're not going anywhere." I'd learned from Birt. When Vral was playing Daggerfist, I'd gotten screamed at to be more commanding. More confident. I realized that she'd been coaching me. And I listened.

That made her laugh. "I like you're confidence. It's hot." She moved closer. "Alex, I—"

Without a single thought, my hand shot out, my fingers wrapped around her neck, and I pulled her to me. Then, her lips were on mine.

Hungry.

Wanting.

Desperate.

I could feel her chest heaving. Could feel the softness of her skin. Could feel her breasts pressed against my skin. She didn't hold back. Every part of her melted into me.

All at once, she tried to pull away, tried to speak. "But—"

"Just act." I pulled her lips back to mine.

She rested for a moment longer, then growled, bit my lower lip, and launched herself into my arms, her arms wrapping around my neck, her legs around my chest.

Grabbing a handful of hair, I pulled her head aside and bit her neck.

"Ugh! So good," She breathed. "Is this where—"

"Shut up." I pulled her lips back to mine, then felt for the strings that held her too-small top in place. The knot was complicated. Too complicated.

"Tear it."

Without hesitation, I tore apart the leather that separated her breasts from my palms.

"Fucking yes!" She hissed in my ear. "Show me what I am to you... Prove it!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.