Chapter Nine - Tavern Shenanigans

“Rejoice, good people of Slug Beach Town. We are blessed with the appearance of another American!” Aquastar declares. The gothic goldfish addresses the crowd.

The crowd replies back with cheers, claps, and whistles. I am pushed to the center of the crowd joining Aquastar and Clover. I turn multiple times facing all members of the crowd at one point or another. I am not used to being the center of attention. My head feels like its spinning.

“And what would your name be?” Clover asks.

“Gabriela.”

I had already told this name to Todrick. I don’t plan on changing my name because I quite like it still.

“Gabriela… What is that Atlantean, Taured?

No way, are they from a parallel Earth? I panic a bit. From confusion and shock.

“I’m just joking, lighten up. That is Hispanic. So Mexican, or some other Latin American culture. Maybe European, I don’t know Greek?”

“Yes, Mexican. Half-American like you say.”

“Ah yes, American. The way you say it, someone already told you we are in a different world. And the tone, you embrace it!”

No, no I don’t. I panic once again. Surely, not everyone that comes to this world is American. There must be some luck factor that everyone that must have gone along with the naming was already American in some way.

“You probably already know but I’m Aquastar, the monochrome goldfish. I represent the dichotomy of all forms of visual media. Or a yin-yang. And this here is Clover, the best blacksmith in town.” Aquastar formally introduces himself and Clover. Clover nods in agreement.

“I thought we could all talk in private. I have many questions.” I tried to whisper at first, but the noise wasn’t dying down. So I had to raise my voice to talk to the dynamic duo.

“Nonsense. Our chatter is their chatter.” Clover chimes in.

“Ok, so…” I start to speak but Aquastar raises his tiny fin.

He starts circling around me. Clover slides at the same pace on the opposite side perfectly encircling me. I am a tad intimidated, but it sounds like another fight is coming. I don’t know if my blood will boil first or if the adrenaline will kick in. Aquastar notices my tension and chuckles.

He interjects, “Ohoho, our Earthly sister. Nothing is free in our world, this world, or any other world for that matter. If you want information, you’ll have to challenge and win against us for such a staggering prize.”

“And if we win, you will tell us all the details of the past fifteen years on Earth. We are dying to know how much our planet has changed.” Clover added.

Fifteen years?!

“I- I mean. We can trade information.” I stammer.

“Where’s the fun in that? It is more fun to win something than it getting handed to you. Take for example poker. The feeling of winning $1000 will forever surpass the feeling of finding a lunch bag with $10,000.” Aquastar smugly proclaims.

“I still don’t agree with that analogy.”

“Yeah, me neither. Statistically speaking, you lose more money gambling no matter how much you win back.” I added.

“Ok sheesh, fine you two,” Aquastar spoke in a flustered tone before clearing his throat, “The point is we are gonna play a game to dictate a winner.”

“What type of game?” I ask sheepishly.

At this point, I’m more relaxed. When they first mentioned a challenge, I was afraid it was going to be something physically tolling. But if it’s a game, I might stand a chance. Aquastar raises his fins as if declaring victory. He roars, rather chirps. Clover crawled to another table while the crowd dispersed from her path. She cleared and claimed the table.

“Bring on the cups!” Clover commanded.

A bartender brought a glass and filled it to the brim with a strange lime green alcohol. The distinctive smell of alcohol mixed in with an unknown flavor left me stumped and curious. A second bartender brought another dozen cups and a barrel of alcohol. Even in this crowded room of a tavern, I could hear the swirling liquid inside shifting into a contained whirlpool.

Aquastar and Clover ‘sat’ on one side of the table while I was directed to sit opposite to them. The crowd resembling a stadium did not stop cheering. Clover morphed back into their human form looking a lot more feminine now, but still metallic. She had a captivating face that reminded me of Greek statues. She had morphed clothes on herself as well looking all modern, but still metallic. I’ll repeat it again, metallic.

The noise slowly died down, basically becoming non-existent. I nod up and down impressed by the theatric. Clover notices and smiles, “They know this is where it gets intense and silence is crucial.”

“Oh, like a chess tournament.”

“Eh, sure.”

I turn from my chair to see the crowd around me. They are eerily silent which reminds me of horror movie characters that just stand or sit and watch the protagonist’s every move never knowing if they will start chasing or not. A chill runs down my spine, but I’m pulled back to reality and Aquastar clears his throat again.

“This game is inspired by a battle I read in an 80s manga. We will take turns adding coins inside the full glass of liquid. The winning condition being that the liquid doesn’t spill over. You can add as many coins as you want per turn to ensure a concept of fairness over this turn by turn format. Additionally, there will be three challenges added and your magic is allowed. I will explain this in a second. Also, Clover and I will be playing together as a team. Any questions?” Aquastar said.

“Yes, so this is about surface tension?”

“Correct.”

“So how does the two person team function for you guys, do you get two lives or something?”

“My fins cannot hold physical items. So I am dependent on Clover to play for me and handle the coins. We play on one life altogether.”

“And with the addition of magic, he can assist or apply it to the challenge included in the game. Think of it as some sort of game within the game.” Clover said.

“The games within the game are a special rule to set us apart and to avoid getting copyrighted. They are limiters of sorts. The players get to choose the challenge. For example, I choose for all parties to chug a glass of this fine beer after the placement of a coin.” Aquastar swayed from side to side.

“And my challenge is that all parties carry and hold two pounds of weighted steel plates per coin placed. The third challenge is chosen by you, as long as it is entirely within our capabilities.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of rules. You’re gonna have to give me some time to think up a rule.” I nervously take a deep breath. Aquastar and Clover notice my uneasiness.

“I’ll tell you this, you have three advantages.” Aquastar says. “First, we’ll fully allow you to regenerate that missing arm. You are a lizard-human hybrid, and a health regeneration spell or potion will instantly grow it back. Albeit, only for 15 minutes or so before it falls off again and your body’s cells grow back the natural one.”

“Second, we have been drinking for a while. We might not be buzzed right now. But Aquastar’s rule is to mess with our cognitive functions. Alcohol affects everyone the same way here. If you already know about your inherent resistance skill, that won’t come in handy with this game.” Clover says.

I nod in understanding. With every new detail that these two give me, the more of an upper hand I seem to have. This game might be in the bag, but I can’t get too confident now.

“And third, and this one is important.” Aquastar says with a more serious tone. “We will tell you what our magic is. You don’t have to tell us yours, it makes the mystery much more mystifying, don’t you think?”

“Definitely.” I said, thinking back on the time Todrick revealed to me my species name. It wasn’t really a definitive answer, but the thrill is gone.

“I have [Select Gravitation].” Aquastar says.

What is that, like zero gravity? Is he using that to float right now?

A sack of coins floats in the air before slamming into the table. The metallic clinking and rough shape through the leather sac leave me wide-eyed at the amount inside.

“And I [Autonomous Nanotechnology].” Clover says.

Auto-what? Autobots?

Clover extends her hand and steel plates materialize and slide onto the table making a stack of perfect curved squares. They look like napkins or wedding plates where they serve you a meager slice of cake.

“And one of us is lying about our magic.” they both said grinning.

Wait, what was that?

The crowd gave one final roar at the revelation.