The Iron Serpent

Why was Tuomas here? What possible reason could he, of all people, have on this planet? He didn't know quite frankly but he had been given an order by the League and so he had no choice in the matter. Of course it was vague or rather he hadn't been told all the details. Well, that's not entirely true. He didn't entirely listen. This planet however, Tuomas had some liking too. They didn't deal with magic and rather focused on technology and their genius was high and their technological marvels could be seen around nearly every corner. The pirate grinned to himself as he moved down the street towards the location of his order, The Iron Serpent was an establishment of entertainment, the duelling ring entertainment which meant there was a bar. Which meant there was alcohol. Which meant, women. Perhaps this order wasn't all too bad; keep an eye on the nights fights, have some drinks and meet a cute lady.

The sun would be setting soon, maybe an hour or so at best guess which meant Tuomas had some time to spare before the fights began. It bothered him though that he'd be ordered to watch the fights. He was obviously missing something but wasn't sure what, either way he'd watch and see if anything happened between patrons. With a slight shrug, he kept walking and began to spot people heading in the same direction. Men and women wearing some more formal attire and even some children were being brought along, well whatever. Whilst Tuomas found it odd to bring children to a duelling ring it wasn't up to him to stop parents from doing so and he didn't really care much. He was sporting his usual attire as he wandered on up to the bouncer who was guarding the entry to this fine establishment to which Tuomas presented an ID and after some muttering and checking of the said ID, Tuomas was allowed in.

The inside was presented well and had it's own unique charm. Find wood and stone that came together to create a warm welcome but also add a style of upper class to it. By the looks of things the place may even be a hotel of sorts but as Tuomas wandered he discovered there was, no hotel. But there was a large restaurant and a bar or three. Screens were found in the bar rooms and restaurant and in most other places that showed the duelling ring. The ring itself was spacious and looked like a small Colosseum but no seats surrounded it. It appeared as though everyone watched from outside the arena or perhaps there was some VIP option to get up close and personal. The pirate made his way to a bar that had a sort of elegance to it and was full of fancy dressed people who would look much better in a masquerade ball. All eyes seemed to set on Tuomas as he walked into a place that apparently didn't welcome that easily. 'Screw 'em' Tuomas thought to himself and went right up to the bar and ordered himself a bottle of beer, he wasn't picky about which brand and he obtained one. He turned around and gave a gesture of cheers to those looking at him and took a sip as he smiled at the room.

The establishment was still relatively quiet for some time as they ordered drinks - a whiskey and margarita respectively - this of course being because the night was young. Well, night was a relative term considering they were underground, the ornamental and functional fires that lit Taryn during the day had not yet been entirely doused. The locals referred to it as sunset, but Leo scoffed at the concept, it was a dark mark on the natural phenomenon's name. Regardless, a figure soon stuck out among the gathering crowd, a man that although he wouldn't have batted an eye at were he down below his attire did not exactly match most of the patrons of the Iron Serpent, or at least in the particular section they were seated at. It was an occurrence becoming more and more common with time, Leo observed, for on a second glance a few other men seemed just a bit out of place, though not as much as the first, who was now toasting to the gathering eyes upon him.

"I feel like every time we go somewhere nice-ish it gets less and less formal," he turned back to Eris, not necessarily meaning to be antagonistic toward the man in the case he overheard but nevertheless stating his thoughts.

She shrugged, nail tracing the rim of her drink for a moment. "Sign of the times." Eris then tasted the sugar removed from the glass in a bored fashion, pointer finger lingering at her lower lip for some time. "Say, those fellows look a bit out of place, don't they?" she asked him, nodding downward in the direction of the dueling ring where a group of individuals wearing suits and masks conglomerated. Perhaps not out of the ordinary for the premium boxes just overhanging the circle, however they were interacting with a group of competitors instead of passively observing, briefcases in hand nonetheless.

Leo frowned, taking a sip of his beverage while the group went from duelist to duelist, though their words were inaudible from the distance they were at. "Last I checked this ring ran hard on the legal side of things. Without that knowledge I would think it to be a black market deal, or something," he muttered in response, catching the bartender briefly glancing over in their direction.

"Well, there's a way down." She gestured toward a small cast iron door nearby, a waitress descending down the narrow stairs encased within. He exhaled for a moment, eyes switching from following her gaze to back up at the menu board chalked behind the bar and then back again.

"Alright, just let me finish this," Leo replied, downing the rest of the whiskey. Eris did the same, and as the barkeep again brought his attention to them he offered a grin. "Don't worry, we'll be back." He offered a fistful of credits anyway, the employee quickly turning a blind eye to them.

Tuomas lent against the bar as he idly watched the room and occasionally the screens. A fight was about to begin it seemed, which was a bit odd but it was approaching the time of when they were to start and it seemed the place wanted to get people riled up with some early entertainment. The pirate, grinning, sipped from his beer bottle as his eyes stayed mostly on the screen at the opposite wall. The screens faded to black before exploding in a blue light and music as it switched to a top-down view of the coliseum. A lone man stood in the center on a raised circular platform, he wearing a dark green tuxedo and matching bowler hat, he appearing to be middle aged. The people that gathered around the ring began to hush as lights snapped to the lone man.

"That's... odd," Leo muttered as the dueling ring's lights began to dim, on the stage appearing two... gladiators? No weapons were held in their hands, what was this, a boxing match? Along with that, the announcer's words were bizarre, after all it was no special holiday or similar, or at least as far as he was aware. Then again, Elseima's culture was a bit far removed from the rest of the galaxy's, but Leo would have expected more spectacle in that case, perhaps even a festival in the city at large. As they made their way down both Leo and Eris's eyes were locked on the fight, as seemed to be the case with most other patrons and even the employees. They emitted no reaction, however, unlike the gasps and groans audible through the establishment. No, it was not until the battle concluded with one opponent thoroughly pounded in the dust did his eyes narrow, at this point them reaching the lower floor. "Is he...?"

Eris nodded. "Dead as a door nail," she remarked coldly, as reality fell across the arena. "Intriguing, if not the best business model." One of the suited men had begun to drag the corpse from the sand, blood trailing in its wake. Across the lower level, however, competitors seemed eager for a deadly spar, as briefcases continued to be passed about. They only got about two feet from the staircase, however, before Eris spun about, eyes locking with the man that had at that point made his way about halfway down the iron slats. Leo's gaze followed soon after, it was the same individual who had previously toasted to the wary eyes. Was he following them, or did they just have the same destination in mind? Without uttering a word, she turned back around, continuing into the crowd.

Leo lingered a moment longer, looking the man up and down. Tall, yes, with a physique to match, it would make far more sense for him to be a potential duelist than the spectator he had previously been posing as. "Looking to die in there, I see," he remarked, throwing his head toward the arena before he dropped the conversation, catching up to Eris. They stood out too much, however, in the new mass of heat and sweat, enough so that a waitress had begun to approach them, undoubtedly attempting to guide them back up toward the civilian area. Eris ducked out of the way behind a few hulking figures, grabbing Leo's hand and taking him with her.

"Time to change," she said, and within a moment both their outfits were replaced with simple black leathers, although her hair was still pinned up and his glasses still, unfortunately, on. With that they dove back into the fray, slowly making their way closer to the ring's central entrance.

First blood, now grotesque mutants, the night just kept getting better and better. At this point, the patrons above had fallen to a hushed silence, although some were beginning to panic, others attempting to find an exit from the establishment. While he had no way of knowing for certain, Leo predicted all escape routes had been jammed, for what nefarious purpose he didn't yet understand. Taking a glance up at the reserved boxes, although it was not more than that considering the horrendous angle, the elite individuals perched above seemed far less perturbed by the events playing out, even expectant, perhaps. A demonstration, yes, but to what end? By the intonation of the announcer, it seemed like the finale had yet to pass. What were they going to do, bring the entire dueling ring down upon them? The thought led to a sudden rise in his discomfort level, after all they were underground in a building that was in itself underground, but Leo's wits soon returned.

They didn't necessarily have a stake in the situation at hand, not up until that moment, but like everyone else at The Iron Serpent they were trapped. The easiest way to get past such, of course, would be to break past whatever barricade they had set up, but that would only be a temporary solution, and to be honest he was a bit morbidly curious about how exactly the display would pan out. Leo had witnessed far worse abominations before, most certainly, but that fact that someone would willingly sign up for such a transformation, and they certainly seemed willing, fascinated him. What they had gained in muscle mass, after all, they had lost in speed and reflexes, that much was painfully obvious as his gaze lingered on the fight for a few moments longer.

It was Eris's words that pulled him away from the bars, back into the ebbing crowd. "Should we go and see if we can talk to someone in charge?" she asked, though her phrasing made it sound like it was merely an idea thrown out into the chaos.

"At this point, it probably wouldn't hurt," Leo replied, shrugging. With that they weaved through the masses, seeking to find an employee of some kind. Their answer came in the form of a waitress who seemed to have been about to duck into a back room, but before she could do so he cleared his throat, addressing her. "Madam, you wouldn't happen to know the purveyor of these sorts of... goods," he paused, gesturing back toward the stadium for a moment, "would you?" The woman seemed to stumble over her words a little bit, as if unsure how to respond.

"If you do, please inform him or her that they have a potential customer. Pardon the attire," Leo glanced down for a moment, "a suit was garnering a little too much attention in this crowd." Of course, nearly every word he spoke was a lie, he had no interest in whatever steroids, magic, or otherwise had twisted the men, and he doubted any future spectacle would be of any value to him beyond being something to observe for a few moments. If at all possible he preferred to negotiate before breaking out into force, however, as it tended to reveal certain things that threats were not quite as effective at extracting. All the while Eris stood at his side, evaluating the woman and their surroundings as a whole.

Whatever mutation the two men had gone through apparently meant their time was limited, as seen by the rapid expiration of one of the combatants. Leo wasn't surprised in the slightest at the outcome, after all one couldn't simply enlarge the human body by scientific means without taking into account surface area to volume ratio, but the fact that whatever display the arena had become hadn't bothered to test their exhibits beforehand, that struck him as a bit odd. Or perhaps their specialty was more so providing gruesome forms of entertainment than acting as an auction house, although given the sudden repulsion of many guests even on the lower level Leo doubted that was the case.

He didn't exactly share the sentiment, it was an impassive response that crossed his visage at least in regards to any sort of sympathy. If anything, he fell into the category of morbid intrigue, both in reference to the purpose of the exhibitions and their actual content. Nevertheless, his attention was turned away from the ring and back to the task of unraveling the machinations of the Iron Serpent, another fascinating challenge. While addressing the waitress the same man Leo had spoken to earlier seemed to have found his way back to them, was he following them? That certainly didn't bode well, especially when they were more or less trapped in the establishment. Immediately Leo's guard rose, although there was no outward sign of it. Perhaps it was merely coincidence, yes, or that he was really just curious as to what their intent was. Then again, the man was making a fool of himself attempting to flirt with the waitress, who undoubtedly received similar comments all night long, so Leo doubted whether or not he posed any true danger.

Regardless, he had spoken in deceit, and thus was keen to stick to it. "I'm intrigued as to what other curiosities they might offer," Leo replied, an amused chuckle evident in his tone. As they conversed the waitress stepped away; he hoped she was informing someone of a potential deal rather than calling security, although he supposed either could be efficient in getting them out of the bar, so long as the aforementioned guards didn't believe lethal force was an acceptable form of suppression. Which, given the displays of the dueling ring, wasn't an unlikely supposition. His hypothesis would have to be confirmed or denied at a later date, however, as the waitress soon returned, gesturing in the direction of a dark hallway, previously unnoticed. Two burly men stood watch on either side of it, cuing him in on the fact that it likely led to a more private wing of the building.

With a nod, Leo began to follow after the woman, Eris beside him as her voice dropped to mutter. "That went better than expected."

"Well, it's a possibility we're being led to whatever death chambers they undoubtedly have lurking around," he answered, prompting Eris to roll her eyes.

"That also wouldn't be a particularly profitable business model."