2.73 Wig Culture

Nolan stirred as the sunlight pouring through the Villa window reached his face. His legs were draped across Hedena's lap, his head planted firmly into Medena's thick thighs held the sisters captive, not that they were complaining. As if struck by a javelin, pain shot through his head the moment he opened his eyes.... Evidence of a good time strewn across the living room rekindled memories of the night before, someone was looking at him. He turned towards the fireplace, but it was only Atalon's Crystal Skull, as if mocking his mortality. He closed his eyes again, his body felt like lead...

         "Oh look, he’s coming around..."

         The stench of BloodWine breath was intoxicating, fighting a sudden wave of nausea Nolan braced himself for reality; he had to get up but he couldn't move. Hands fondling his hair only irritated him more, consciousness of the bodies he was intertwined with only crippled him farther; they did it to him again. The combination of BloodWine and Soloha was deadly, it just paralyzed his body, making him helpless every time.

         "I'm so glad Atalon finally came to his senses!" Medena cooed as she looped his silky strands through her fingers. "He'll be a real asset to the Crystal Program."

         "I think you should spawn with him yourself" Hedena pitched as she ran her hands down his legs, admiring his beautiful physique. Nolan was the closest they had ever come to mastering the quintessential Gen slave, he was one of the best models they had produced since the Origians. "Imagine the Ultimate Race you two could produce together?"

         The thought had crossed Medena's mind on more than one occasion, it wasn’t so simple as that, Hedena had no idea.

         "Nolan’s going to Ebar because he has the right look for the Wig Culture. We have reason to believe it's going to be extremely lucrative."

         Suddenly the Villa shook with violent force as a thundering roar rumbled throughout the unsuspecting city. Atalon rushed out onto the Villa balcony, gripped with fear, he glanced straight towards the pyramids.

         "Aquilla" Halios was close behind.

         Atalon couldn't see the site well enough from the balcony. "Have your dogs inspect the yard."

         "Right away! Your Honor!" Halios snapped to attention.

         "NOW" the king roared; it was a bad start to the day. "That reptile has to be ANNIHILATED! Once and for ALL!"

         Irritated by Aquilla's timing, hung over from Soloha and BloodWine, Halios made his way through the courtyard in search of Bell, dodging the intoxicated aribu and billowing wafts of smoke with growing disgust. The Grand Courtyard was unbearable even this time of day, beating drums and hollering chants, sweaty, stinky and louse-infested slaves bumping into him, completely unconscious of his royal presence were a bad start to the day, too. He didn't like how the Farewell Celebration was unfolding at all. Seton was right, the Soloha was obviously a big hit with the slaves but look at the fallout. It was a fire raging out of control rendering the most prized slaves little more than sweaty, stinky and louse-infested idiots. He spotted Bell hiding behind one of the tents doing what he did best. Bell was obviously troubled by the undercover operation, as he ought to be.

         Bell didn't miss Halios watching him either. From the corner of his eye he had spotted the General the moment he walked into the courtyard, he could see him approach and turned to salute just at the right time, feigning surprise.

         "Your Honor!"

         Halios cut to the chase, having to shout to be heard. "Did you hear the rumble?"

         "Rumble?" Bell hadn't heard or felt anything. "It's really loud down here."

         Halios waved his arm towards the entrance and Bell followed him out of the grounds.

         "We need to inspect the pyramid site" he explained as they escaped the drumming and made their way to Main St.

         Bell knew now what this was about. "Is it Aquilla again?" It was starting to dawn on him that the spate of attacks were quite serious, it was really bad timing, too. Was it just a coincidence? Did the evil beast know what they were up to?

         Halios didn't answer. He could sense the General's tension regarding the matter. Halios didn't have so say a word, in spite of the alcohol on his breath, he was obviously quite stressed by the Aquillan attacks.

         "Atalon's being very careless at a time like this" the General eventually unloaded as they approached the site, catching Bell by surprise. Halios never shared negative opinions of the king, was there unrest in the upper echelons of the Atlan Empire? He wanted to ask but didn't dare.

         Halios unlocked the gate and led him inside. The construction of the war bunkers was finally complete, the yard was looking somewhat organized, most of the machinery and equipment was already stored away and the cleanup had begun for the big event. Under the glow of the moon, they could see a huddle of Nefilim and Security Guards gathered at the base of the Royal Residence. They hurried across the yard.

         "Look!" RaKu pointed to the gaping hole beneath the pyramid, the ground had collapsed into a dark cavern below, into an Aquillan tunnel, there was no doubt!

         Halios shook his head, deeply troubled by what he saw, it seemed like Aquilla had made a fresh attack and the timing couldn't have been worse, these attacks had to be calculated. There was only one conclusion. Aquilla knew.

         "I knew that Nolan was under qualified for the job!" He lost his calm. "I warned Atalon about him and he ignored me. Now look!"

         Once again Bell was surprised by Halios' nasty name dropping. Nolan too? Were things with Nolan less stable than he realized? Halios even held clenched fists, rage was covertly pumping through his veins, the General was really mad, at whom? Who knew?

         Halios paced the edge of the fresh chasm, assessing the damage. He kicked a loosened rock into the depths, counting the seconds till it hit rock bottom. 

         "That's going to cost a fortune to fill. Ha!" His frown broke open into smile. "Ha-haaa! What a Useless Idiot that boy is! King of Ebar! What a joke!"

         Now Bell was really wondering about things he did not know, pieces of information were criss-crossing in strange ways, normally a level-headed stable mindset, he was feeling burdened by a troubled mind as they headed back towards the gates. Was the truth coming out that Halios had to deal with incompetence at the highest level?

         King of Ebar? Who? Nolan? He reflected back upon his effortless rise to power. Had he risen too fast too soon? Incompetent due to being punted up the ladder instead of having to climb the rungs? Was Halios hinting at a vacancy arising? The time to break additional news seemed ripe. Although it pained him to rat on his friend, it was his duty by Blood Oath to share intel with only the gods, it was one of the Three Rules of the Firmary.

         "I've been investigating Nolan myself, Your Honor" he eased into the disclosure choosing his words carefully.

         "You've been investigating Nolan?" Halios frowned.

         "Yes, Your Honor" Bell paused to reconsider, briefly. "It seems the aribu have discovered whatever it was that made us trip out at the lab."

         "What?" Halios paused. "What's that got to do with Nolan?"

         "Someone is selling it in the courtyard and smoking it, I recognized the smell."

         "Selling what?"

         "Soloha. The stuff came from the Gora lab! It's a medification! They're smoking it recreationally!!!"

         Halios stiffened. "What's the drug scene got to do with Nolan? Nolan's up at the Villa, wasted off the drug himself!"

         Obviously Halios knew about the Soloha, but Halios hadn't been there at the lab explosion. "I caught his friend Josh selling the stuff to the aribu in the courtyard."

         "So?" Halios was all ears.

         "So... Only Nolan could have told him about it" he explained. "Josh doesn't have any other connections above the line, the only gods he knows are Malodon, Dell and Dion, and I can't see either of them moonlighting with Josh."

         Halios studied the lines of concern embedded in Bell's face, surprised by his bold confession, his intelligent observations and loyalty to the Firmary over his friend. It was notable.

         "Josh…" He rubbed his chin, recollecting. "I know Josh... Young merchant from the Tabloids... Love troubles… You say he works for Malodon?"

          "Yes, Your Honor!" Bell confirmed.

         "I want you to keep your eye on him" Halios ordered. "On both of them."

         "Yes, Your Honor!" Bell snapped in salute.

         "Just don't let me catch you in the courtyard again. There's to be no military presence at the party. Atalon's rule."

         "Yes, Your Honor!"