An evil smile played across Tegol's face as he stared at the contents of the box presented to him by Stevak. "Let us return to the main headquarters where we can discuss the nature of this item further," he said, after closing the lid and handing the container back to the mage. The crimelord opened the door to the room and spoke briefly with Volen and Sparks, the thugs who had returned from depositing an unconscious Marz Nightcrawler in an adjacent room.
"Keep the boy under lock and key," Tegol instructed. He handed Volen the vial of black lotus before continuing to disperse his orders. "Pour a good dose of that down his throat and repeat the process every four hours. I want him addicted quickly."
Volen grinned wickedly as he stared at the hallucinogenic in his hand. Tegol's hand suddenly gripped his throat, making him forget his mirth. "Make sure you don't kill him with this crap," the crimelord said, "because if he dies, you'll be joining him in the afterlife. Do you understand that?"
Volen's eyes went wide. He nodded his understanding, and Tegol released his choke hold. "Be extremely careful with Nightcrawler. He's a lot smarter and stronger than you punks! Tie him up before you start the proceedings. I will return tonight to see how he is coming along. Now, get to work. "
Tegol watched while the two thugs entered the room next door, then made his way back to Stevak, who had opened a secret panel in the wall, hidden behind a floor length tapestry. A stairway was housed there that would take them all the way down to the cellar of the tavern and into another secret passageway that would open to a tunnel, leading to the main headquarters. Tegol was anxious to find out more about the contents of the box and how it might increase his power in the city of Bizmar.
Sparks laughed aloud as he looked upon the unconscious form of Marz Nightcrawler sprawled upon the bed. "He don't look so tough," he said.
"You're right!" Volen agreed, throwing aside the ropes he had planned to use to restrain the prisoner. "The two of us can handle that piece of scum with both hands tied behind our backs! Once we get a good amount of the lotus into him, he won't be so dangerous anymore!"
Both thugs bellowed with laughter as Sparks opened the youth's mouth and Volen poured nearly half the contents of the white powder onto his tongue. " Ain't that a little too much?" Sparks asked.
Volen merely shrugged. "If you're gonna fly you might as well go as high as you can, I always say!"
Marz heard muffled voices and incessant laughter as he slowly regained consciousness. An acrid taste on his tongue made him reflexively swallow before opening his eyes to see two men hovering over him. Years of survival instinct instantly took over and he lashed his fist into the face of one man while applying a vicious kick to the ribcage of the other. The thugs cried out in pain as they were taken totally off-guard by the now wide awake gang-leader. As they reached for the daggers at their belts, Marz lunged to his knees, grabbed the hair at the nape of the neck on each man and forcefully slammed their foreheads together. A double grunt was heard, then silence as Marz tossed his unconscious assailants to the floor.
He quickly jumped off the bed, only to have the room heave violently, throwing him to his knees upon the hardwood floor. Marz glanced at the thugs who lay nearby, only to see two giant, unmoving rats instead. Unsteadily, he rose to his feet, suddenly confused. Where am I? he wondered. He looked once again at the rats, who were now back to being the men he knocked out moments ago. For some reason, he found this amusing and began to laugh, while making his way to the doorway that appeared to be at least three city blocks away. Marz paused as the door vanished, only to be replaced by a solid wall of slithering snakes. The youth stared at the creatures, while his hand moved to unsheathe his sword. Finding himself weaponless, he walked down the length of the room that continued to move like a living, breathing entity. As he retrieved a sword from one of his downed assailants, his eyes fell upon a window, and a moment later he found himself in front of it, wondering how he had gotten there so quickly.
Marz's fist shattered the glass, and he laughed hysterically as he watched blood cover his hand. He stared at his injury, fascinated by the deep red color that began seeping into the sleeve of his tunic. A noise finally drew his attention back to the broken window. He glanced out to see all manner of giant bugs, and rodents walking alongside people on the street below. The urge to join them became overwhelming and he bolted out the opening, certain he would sprout wings and fly. He hit the ground hard, hearing a bone or two break, but not feeling any pain.
"Aw you alwight?" a voice asked. Marz's hand brushed at the dirt around him and he realized he was lying on his back in the street. Did I fall asleep here? he wondered briefly, before glancing at the face of an old man with a white beard and hair to match, who stood over him.
"You got lots of chi," the man said. "But you muss leawn how use it papeely if you want know how to fly." The stranger extended his arm, and Marz, seeing a thick tree branch before him, grabbed it and pulled himself to his feet. His left leg buckled beneath him, but the branch managed to keep him upright. "Whey you go?" the tree asked.
Marz blinked in surprise before he answered the tree that looked more like a man again. "I need to find Zime," he said, although he couldn't recall why he had to find the moneylender. Marz glanced around the area, and in a moment of lucidity, realized he was at the rear of the Jade and Jug tavern. "He's in that building," he told the mantree as he pulled himself away from it and tested his legs. His left one didn't seem to want to cooperate, but since the sword he once held in his hand was now a cane, he used it to help him hobble to the front of the building.
The old man followed behind the youth, whose aura was in complete disarray. The murky colors told him that the boy was operating under a heavy influence of drugs and that he might need aid in whatever it was that he was attempting to do. "I help you find this Zime," he said, rushing up beside the boy.
Marz turned his glazed eyes in the direction of the voice and now thought he saw the street urchin named, Josh. "All right, turd face," Marz answered. "Let's find him together then." Several minutes later, he entered the Jade and Jug tavern, with the old man at his side.
Six thugs rose from a table, shocked expressions on their faces. "You're suppose to be upstairs," one yelled out, before they all unsheathed swords. "Tegol wants him alive," another said, as the group slowly approached the man and the boy.
"I don't want Tegol," Marz quipped to the group of musicians he thought he saw before him. "Me and Josh here need to speak with Zime for some reason."
The old man prepared himself for the battle that he knew was about to begin.