Movie Review - ROD: Read or Die (2001)

There's a lot of anime out there in the world.  There's folks out there that like their action, some that like their horror and some that love their pr0n (NOTE: I use the Internet term "pr0n" because it's hi-frickin'-larious) or as the Japanese call it, "hentai." I choose my anime carefully, and make sure that I leave certain anime to their own devices if its general presence gets too ridiculous like the stateside phenomenon of Dragon Ball Z/GT/Kai/LOL. Now don't get me wrong: I've geeked out to many an anime and DBZ is no exception. But when I see a grown-ass man in suit and tie whine like a child because the comic book store didn't have the latest bootleg Japanese tape, something is WRONG with the show's fanbase and it goes without saying that I RAN AWAY VERY FAST.
With that said, I wish to acknowledge a certain sect of people since neglected in the wake of the anime revolution of which this anime is subconsciously dedicated to: LIBRARIANS.

ROD: Read or Die follows the exploits of one Yomiko Readman (voiced by Rieko Miura/Kimberly Yates). This young woman is an avid reader and part-time school teacher. She's absent-minded, leaving post-its on the stacks of books in her apartment as reminders to be a productive member of society. While she may not seem like much other than a mousy bookworm on the outside, she harbors quite the interesting life.

As a member of the top-secret, world-spanning British Library Special Operations Division, Miss Readman holds the rank of their best agent. She also had the mental powers to control paper on a molecular level. By harnessing this miraculous skill, she can use the harmless scrap paper in the suitcase she totes everywhere as anything she wants. This has also eaned her the goofiest code name ever spoken: "The Paper". Miss Readman is informed by her dispatcher Joker (voiced by Hozumi Goda/Crispin Freeman) to track down and foil a plot to take over the world by a previously unknown party called "I-Jin". The other thing that is known about the case is a very rare book is involved-- and with that, Yomiko is on the case. Joker's not letting her out of HQ without assigning a partner, so "the Paper" now has to contend with the unflappable Nancy, codename "Miss Deep" (voiced by Michiko Neya/Amanda Winn Lee). Blessed with superior combat skills, intangibility and a fathomless bosom, Miss Deep and the Paper work together with an agency sniper commando named Drake (voiced by Masami Iwasaki/Jason Lee) to take down I-Jin's genetically altered versions of... historical and legendary figures? What kind of methamphetamine grab-bag is this?
Believe it or not, the first enemy they fight is based on French entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre (voiced by Junko Takeuchi/Douglas Rye), who rides into battle on a giant grasshopper. A serious case of WTF will grab your brain and not let go, especially if you're not up on academia. Many other important figures also pop up in the three episode OVA, who equally kick ass. But not as much as the music kicks ass.

Very much in the musically sharp style of 1970's action music, the opening music rocks. It's almost as if you look at the opening animation and just feel the city it shows you--I wouldn't be surprised if the neighborhood shown in the opening is none other than the Akihabara District in Tokyo, Japan. I'm probably wrong, but it would be an interesting touch. The bird's-eye view of the city isn't the cherry on top with this OVA, it's something far more affable to my sensibilities. The very idea that an introverted bookworm is the central protagonist to a three-part globetrotting action/adventure filled with over-the-top scenes AND wraps up with efforts to thwart a world domination plot goes against the grain. It damns the traditional hero with a flip of a page, teaches us all the power of books... and that "reading is fundamental".

Video Game Review - Terraria (2011 - PC/Windows)

I am a big fan of Toby "Tobuscus" Turner 's videos on YouTube.  He is very funny and makes videos one after another, seemingly without stopping.  At the time of this writing he is off at PAX 2011 doing live performances of his "Literal Trailers", but I went through his past video game clips and found some funny videos for PC like F.E.A.R. 3 and the game I am reviewing now, Terraria.
 Developed by Re-Logic, this game has been called "a 2D version of Minecraft".  I've read that in Game Informer Magazine and that's exactly the vibe I got when I looked at the game as Toby recorded his progress through the game.  I decided to play and I am hooked.  The sandbox design of the game and character customization are what I have been asking for for a very long time in almost every game I play.  I play Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach for character customization, but I have yet to invest in the hardware that would allow me the sandbox feel of Minecraft.  What I have done instead is further my complex to reshape the world as I see fit.

I've build castles and honeycombed the earth, I've laid flat the sand dunes and driven the water deep underground.  I've even spanned jungle valleys and the craters of the corrupted zones.  This I do in search of materials and even greater tools to aid in my quest to...not sure what the main goal is in the game, but they provide several bosses to fight via Summoning Altars.  You don't level up, but you can find extra hearts and mana stars to lessen the damage.  Trust me; you'll need 'em. 
There are several zones to explore (jungle, corrupted, desert, ocean, etc.), in addition to various hazards to encounter along the way (monsters, nature, etc.)--all within a customizable options menu that determines the size of the world on which you play at the outset.  Currently, I'm playing in a Small-sized world; Toby's playing in a Medium-sized world.  I can only imagine the madness that a Large-size world would be...

There so much to the game that I can't fit all of it into this article, but I will add this tidbit: I've heard rumors about a floating island in the game made of gold ore, but I'll have to test that theory out for myself.  Not unlike a rare nugget, Terraria gets a great recommendation from me.

RATING: 9/10

Cordoba Chronicles IV: Chapter 5

The shirtless Elven bard plucked a few strands on his guitar and began to yell over the din of the Egress Bar. “Hello, good patrons! Welcome to Egress Bar! I’ll be your bard tonight…” The crowd continued on in their revelry and conversation as if the bard wasn’t there. 

Another elf walked over to the bard, dressed in a leaf-themed outfit with a pair of bongos. Her short, feathered hair wobbled a bit when she leaned over and said, “Mar-val, maybe they don’t want to see this new girl tonight.”

“Ti-man,” Mar-val shot back, “this is the girl’s coming out! We can’t let her down! Besides, Donovan is paying us extra.”

“Ah,” said the enlightened elf. Ti-man got up on the stage and yelled “HEY!” at the top of her husky voice. When the crowd stopped dead, she said, “Thank you. Now, we’d like to show all you men a new girl who’s just joined our family here at Egress Bar. Please welcome our new girl…Rysa!”

As the curtain pulled back, a petite body slithered into view. Her hair was curly, stopping at ears adorned with simple blackwood hoop earrings. The yonic shape of the earrings was overly obtuse compared to the striking curves of the dancer who wore them along with a snakeskin string bikini. The tanned skin stretched over thin yet capable arms and legs gave off more than enough sex appeal for the already entranced crowd. The dancer’s smile was radiant as she surveyed the crowd in a quick glance with sultry gray-green eyes.

Many of the men who were there had seen this young lady before and considered her forbidden fruit. The fact that she was here—dancing at the Egress Bar—was a sign that there was a God. The dancer called Rysa began to shake and shimmy her way across the stage barefoot as the musicians Mar-val and Ti-man played their melody. She worked her way to the pole and used it as a prop in her dance, unaware of what it meant to the crowd. Rysa felt good to stretch the length of her body against the pole, slowly reaching down to the floor and letting the elves’ music take her to that place she knew when she felt her needs tugging at her body. She arched her back and finished the dance with a descending pirouette that let her fall to the stage floor.

The place erupted into applause at Rysa’s finale. The dancer looked up at the crowd and saw nothing but the faces of an entertained audience. It’s exactly how the Enigman Kitty described: the rush, the people, everything. Looking about as she pushed herself off the stage deck, she saw a familiar face—but while his hands may have been clapping, his face was stuck in an O of shock and surprise.

It’s that guy, the dancer thought with a smirk. She left the stage as the two musicians gathered up all the food and candy their basket allowed. Rysa worked her way past the grabbing, groping hands wanting their own personal encore and stopped at the man sitting at the bar who stared at her, unsure of what to say. She said the only thing that could have confirmed his suspicions of who Rysa was.

Through glossy lips she purred into his ear, “Hey, Rashad.”

“I-Inia?”

“Shh!” she said into his ear. “They call me Rysa here. Just use that name.” She sidled next to him at the bar and said, “It’s really good to see you here, Rashad. How’d you know tonight would be my coming out night?”

“I didn’t,” Rashad said as he took in Inia’s half-naked body on the stool next to him. “Wow.”

Inia cocked her head in mock confusion. “Hm?”

“Uh…I’m just looking at you, girl. I mean I knew you were hot,” confessed Rashad, “but not this hot. You put Mount Natrius to shame!”

“Yeah,” Inia said. “It helps in this job when you don’t have any, so it all works out.”

Rashad took another swig from his Fireflower special and said, “Speaking of jobs, I thought you were working at the Loom House.”

“The Loom House is my normal job,” she said. “More like a cover job. I use that job to earn money and keep a low profile with my Auntie. If she knew about THIS job, she’d kill me!” Inia began to fan herself and say, “Wow, I never really noticed how hot it gets in here with all these guys around.” She lifted her hair away from the tie that kept her bikini in place. Inia looked back at Rashad and said, “By the moons, I’m so tense after that dance. Can you massage my shoulders?”

Like a dumbass, Rashad asked, “I’m sorry, what’d you say?”

“Gimme a massage, please. I’ll pay you back.”

“OK” was the quickest answer he could muster. Inia shifted around on the stool so that her back faced Rashad. He placed his hands against her shoulders and began to rub. He leaned to the bar and called for the bartender.

“Yo,” Shuya answered. “What’s up Rysa?”

“Mmmmmm” was all Inia said with closed eyes.

Shuya looke over at Rashad and said, “Another Fireflower Special, sir?”

“Yeah,” Rashad said. “And a glass of water for…Rysa.”

“Hmm. Big spender.” Shuya went to work.

Both Inia and Rashad were getting into the massage when Cyan showed up. He had a bit of blood trickling from his mouth and a light scratch on his neck. Rashad had to ask upon seeing his co-worker, “What in the Hells happened to you?”

Inia opened her eyes and said playfully, “He’s been with Kitty.”

As if on cue, the Enigman cat-woman called Kitty sidled up to Cyan’s right side. She wore very short shorts, letting the rest of her body be seen au naturel. The Enigman regarded Rashad with keen yellow eyes and said to him, “Puppy love doesn’t last forever, human. Try a little bit of Kitty, baby.”

Cyan chirped up, “C’mon, twerp. It’ll change your life!” The Halfling reached around Kitty’s waist and gave her a squeeze. Kitty liked that and let him know by purring and running her rough tongue over his right cheek.

Witness to the entire scene, Rashad said, “NO THANK YOU.”

“Heh…humans,” was all Kitty said as she walked off with Cyan in tow, leaving Inia and Rashad behind to watch her twitching tail.

Movie Review - Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)

Snow Falling on Cedars is a movie that means so much to me, yet had absolutely nothing to do with my current situation when it was released. For one, I wasn't in a forbidden relationship and there was no open war fought on two fronts. But I can sympathize with the characters in the movie, given the theme of love in a world that will not have it, despite the gains made in society to facilitate it.

Based on the 1994 book of the same name, the movie is set in two time periods: around the middle of the Second World War and a period ten years later. Our two main characters are Ishmael (Ethan Hawke) and Hatsue (Yoki Kudo), two kids growing up in a small West Coast fishing town. They would grow up to be lovers, but they could never be together because Hatsue is Japanese-American and Ishmael is White. In their teens, World War II comes to America's doorstep. All Japanese-Americans had to report to internment camps due to their being a "homeland security risk" in the war against Japan. While Hatsue is placed in an internment camp, Ishmael joins the fight and finds himself in the Pacific Theater. It is this period where the young lovers are changed.
Hatsue meets her future husband Kazuo Miyamoto (Rick Yune), a man in her internment camp who is shipped out to the European Theater and returns. Ishmael loses his arm--and his love for Hatsue--at Iwo Jima. Yet something inside Ishmael still burns...

Fast forward to postwar America: people are still against Japanese-Americans. Sometimes out in the open and sometimes behind closed doors. It all comes to a head when the small fishing town where Ishmael grew up has a murder mystery. It seems a young fisherman was murdered. The only suspect is the last man to have a dispute with the young man's family: his friend Kazuo Miyamoto. The racism in town has got Hatsue and Kazuo's father Zenhichi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) worried that his son won't get a fair trial, even with the help of Nels Gudmunssen the defense lawyer (legendary actor Max von Sydow). Ishmael, now a newspaper reporter, has evidence that could clear Kazuo's name, but will the jilted love of Hatsue stop him from doing the right thing?

The idea that there's this love story with history being used as a backdrop for a murder mystery is absolutely brilliant. I can't think as to why I went to see this movie... Wait! I think I know why: back then I had CRAZY yellow fever.
I was all about the Asian hotties. Hell, I used to rationalize that I admired the minimalistic beauty of the Asian woman as a man AND as a graphic designer. I used to say, in reference to the Asian woman, that God did so much to create a beautiful woman by doing very little. In many ways, I still feel the same but definitely not as strongly as I did during the time I saw this movie. When this movie ended, I cried quiet tears. I cried for the happiness and sadness of the characters. Most of all, I cried in recognition of Ishmael's silent battle fought to quell the feelings in his heart for Hatsue and to uphold a pillar of the newsman's existence: the truth.

Here be an excellent movie.

Video Game Review - Culdcept (2003 - Sony Playtation2)

There was a time, before Yu-Gi-Oh, when a collectible card game captured the socially disenfranchised youth of America with a magic wholly unrelated to the bond between a boy and his electric rat. Before that, another game made a point about how capitalism rocks the world through the mighty power of the thimble. For the record, I love the former and hate the latter of the two games described. The mish-mash of the two games, Culdcept, is an even-handed merger of the two.

From what's gleaned in the opening animation, the game employs grand artwork from some Japanese fantasy artists to tell the story of the goddess Culdra and her book Culdcept--translated as "the book of creation" in some language. There's some bullshit about how people on the world she lords over used the cards in the book (those people are called Cepters) to wage wars and, if they get the entire book, can become a GOD.

Cue the plot: There's a rogue Cepter called Geminigh going about destroying all the worlds previously created by other Cepters, prompting Culdra to send her magic cane (it talks!) to search for the Chosen One™ who will defeat the evil Geminigh. Naturally, that person is you.

With a cast of characters sure to make you laugh (by their trash talk and animated sprites alone), Culdcept ain't nothin' but the love child of Magic: the Gathering and Monopoly. Whether you win or lose, you get cards (spells, artifacts and creatures with perks like First Strike and a better version of Magic's Banding called Support). The lands on the Monopoly-like game board (with permutations) provide you with the magic needed to cast, but it needs to be occupied, much like the little green houses in Monopoly. When a chain of lands of the same element is obtained, the price of the lands goes up and the person who stops on your land must pay in magic. If they can't pay, they've got to sacrifice their lands or stocks until they can pay and be in the black while achieving a set number of gross or total magic.

Speaking of black, this game is a lot like Magic: The Gathering, but is missing the black mana of swamps and artifact creatures. Where Magic's white mana is now yellow and representative of wind, both the artifact and black creatures are mixed into a color category called Neutral. Hardly a compromise, considering that black cards are not neutral in any way.

Culdcept can get real cheap on you sometimes; you'll start out good and lose it all. Other times you'll have no creature cards--this game's 'Mulligan'--and have to walk the board discarding until you inevitably come out on top. This is an example of the game's many virtues. Culdcept allows you to have up to 10 different books of cards to battle with, giving you the opportunity to alter the 50 card deck you have or to switch between decks you've created. The game keeps stats on your battles and allows you to fight Cepters you've already beaten in Story Mode (one of 4 modes of play) for practice AND more cards to complete the entire collection. You can even trade cards via the Import/Export option with PS2 Memory cards. It's almost as though they thought of everything; sadly, they didn't. This game has one real problem: the game option 'Suspend". Suspend is the game's version of Battle Save or QuickSave, but not really. While those features in other games just stop the game to be resumed at a later time, Suspend does that and fucks you over by not giving you cards, gallery images or medals whether you win or lose. This can be a problem when you have interruptions that requre you to leave the house, barring your wanton waste of electricity.

Ultimately, this game is awesome and damn-near perfect, but only for those with nothing better to do during the summer. If you do choose to buy or rent it, prepare to surprise yourself by the speed you'll learn the game of Culdcept.

Movie Review - Shuang-Qi-Zhen daoke (1992)

I picked this up at Blockbuster in the Martial Arts section, even though it would fit much better in the Foreign section. I say that because Swordsmen in Double Flag Town doesn't have the copious amount of swordplay that most martial arts movies have and that doing so would be giving Blockbuster too much credit. Enough about the rental company, here's a movie about the Chinese West that took place around 71, no 81 years ago...
Upon his deathbed, old man Hai told his young son Hai Ge (Gao Wei) that he was betrothed as a baby to a girl in Double Flag Town. She's got a mole on her butt and her father is a lame man. Armed with the information and a trusty pair of daggers, Hai Ge sets out across the Gobi Desert to find the town. Along the way he crosses the path of Desert Eagle (Wang Gang), a self-proclaimed champion of the people. They part ways as Hai Ge approaches  Double Flag. He meets his father-in-law Lame Man (Chiang Jiang) under the worst circumstances and makes a fool of himself in front of his bride, Hao Mei (Zhao Mana). Once everything is straightened out, Hai Ge starts to work at Mr. Hao's restaurant. Even if Hai Ge gets no respect, it's a living, until bandits come to town.
These bandits are under the command of the Lethal Swordsman (Sun Haiying), and they want a little fun. That fun comes in the shape of trying to rape Hao Mei. Quick with the daggers, Hai Ge makes short work of the offender. Sadly, the offender is not just any bandit--he's the Lethal Swordsman's brother. This is sure to bring the wrath of the Lethal Swordsman down on Double Flag Town, so the townies ask for Hai Ge's help, but expect to be wiped out in a bloodbath. Their fear is justified; Hai Ge is barely 15 years old.

This movie is an award-winning film in its native China and across the globe, winning six awards over three years from different countries. To quote the back of the DVD case, it's a style that can be describes as "Sergio Leone meets Hiroshi Teshigahara". I can understand the Sergio Leone reference, but I'll have to take the time to watch a Teshigahara film to truly appreciate the sentiment. Nonetheless, it can get bloody, but not so crazy that the fighting overshadows the story. It probably won't grab the imagination of most martial arts fans because of the lack of fighting, so I should recommend this film migrate to the foreign film section, where its merits would be appreciated.

Video Game Review - Shining in the Darkness (1991 - Sega Genesis)

Role-playing games weren't big in my neighborhood or in my school growing up. If they were, no one was about to tell another dude that they played a game and leveled up their main guy to level XX and got all the items and keys to... by now, the person listening would've stopped listening and you'd be labeled a geek/herb/nerd/oreo/sellout/inarticulate insult here. Times have changed and the average person will only be mildly interested in the tales of your fighting dragons and the usual love story built-in to an RPG. Some things have not changed in the march of time and remain in place to this day, namely the dungeon crawl.

The game Shining in the Darkness was not the first to do the dungeon crawl; It's only one of many. It does bear the distinction of being the first RPG in Sega's "Shining" Series, created by the SONIC team. The game was set up in a first-person format and sets the history for the meat of the "Shining" Series, Shining Force and its sequels. The stories of the "Shining" Series are always told in hindsight by a visible narrator, who manages your save file by REMEMBERING where they left off in telling the tale. For Shining in the Darkness, an old man tells us tales of long ago. In memoriam, we live the life of our main character and his course to defeat the evil eminating from a nearby tower. We are also introduced to other characters: your partners Pyra (a whip-wielding wizardess) and Milo (a cudgeling clergyman), and the requisite royals with the notable but goofy court wizard Melvin, who ends up possessed by the evil in the tower to become the arch-nemesis of the light, Dark Sol.

The game is alright, but the lack of free (read: diagonal) movement hinders it a lot. The weapons you can make are built of standard stuff, such as Mithril, and cursed ore known as Dark Matter. The Dark Matter
weapons are strong but have their consequences to using them. Which is why I try NOT to use them; make do with what you got. The magic is sub-par for the abilities of the Sega Genesis in those years, but they
can be forgiven. With only 3 characters(counting yourself) to fight with on a regular basis and the occasional helper, this game only serves as a history lesson as to who Dark Sol is and the history of the world of the
"Shining" Series.

Cordoba Chronicles IV: Chapter 4

It had been a week since Rashad started working for Jollum and the Black Spade Construction Company. The ad had been true to its word: long hours and good pay for it. Sometimes the days were too long, but at least he was paid for the longer days just the same. He was able to eat and pay the innkeeper of the Stonesthrow Inn for his room and board. While he was taking care of his business, he was making fast friends with his co-workers.

The sun beat down the shoulders of the construction workers as the sun rose higher in the sky. Rashad began to think of what he’d do tonight. He didn’t know if he was gonna go straight to sleep, eat dinner or what. He just wanted the day to be done with. While he helped Wyle hammer nails into the frame of the structure, the carpenter asked him “So, where you from?”

“A small town called Miniga, in North Cordoba. You?”

Wyle answered, “I’m from Rashomar City.”

“I’ve only been there,” Rashad remembered, “once.”

“Ah. I’ve never been to Miniga. What’s it like?”

“Well, we—“ Rashad started. He was stopped by what he saw just outside the gates of the work site. Inia was headed into Moira’s Loom House, dressed in an ankle-length dress with long sleeves. Her hair had been pulled back into a bun that rested on the back of her bronze neck. Her trademark blue cloak and gold clasp flared up as she hurried into the Loom House.

“Not a chance. Not in a million years,” Wyle said as he caught what Rashad was looking at.

“You mean Inia? What do you mean by that?”

“You’re looking at her again, Rashad. That’s the Benefactor’s niece. You can’t get next to that, and it’s not for a lack of the girl trying.”

“I know, man,” Rashad said and then added, “That’s how I GOT this job.”

“That’s really great,” Wyle said, “but don’t think just because you got this job on account of her AND the fact that she likes you is any reason to believe that you two will get together. Hand me some nails.”

“Just you wait, man,” Rashad said. He felt a mischievous spark rising in his heart, a spark he hadn’t experienced since he was a kid. “I’m so in there, I’m gonna—“

“Wyle! Rashad!” came Jollum’s yell across the construction yard. “You two working or what?”

Both answered “Yes, sir”. Wyle turned to Rashad and said in a low voice, “Told you to hand me some nails, man! Gimme those…” The carpenter snatched the nails from Rashad and said, “We can take as long as we want on this project, so long as we work. So we can work and talk, man.”

Rashad nodded and Wyle continued, “So, what’s up with you tonight?"

“I don’t know, man. Sleep or something, you know.”

“Me and the guys are headed to Egress Bar tonight,” Wyle said. “You’re welcome to join us for a night of wine and women, man. Love to have you.”

Egress Bar, Rashad thought. Probably don’t have enough money—oh, wait, these people barter, they have no damned money—so he said, “How are we gonna pay for that stuff?”

“Don’t worry about it, man. Jollum’s got us covered.”

“The foreman?” Rashad asked. “What’s he got to do with Egress Bar?”

“GUYS!” Jollum yelled across the yard. “WORK!!!”

“Okay,” they yelled back and Wyle said, “At quitting time, we’re all headed for the Egress Bar.”

Rashad nodded in understanding and went to go help Barcrab with his loads. As he walked over to the Enigman, he couldn’t help but ask himself how they were gonna pay the barkeeper.

He could easily see the items in his hand in the fading rays of the sun, its form barreling down the southern sky to return the next day. What Rashad couldn’t see was the purpose of these hard chocolate candies would serve tonight in the Egress Bar. “Women love candy” Wyle explained. “We’ve got lots of that, so we’re good for the night, baby!”

The four construction workers Cyan, Rashad, Wyle and Barcrab the Enigman made their way to the Egress Bar. The structure was lit up with strange lights and didn’t seem very inviting. The big dude with the slick white hair and the axe didn’t seem very friendly either. Despite the unfriendly demeanor, the bouncer smiled when Wyle approached. His smile showed a tongue piercing when Wyle gave him a handshake of greeting. “’Sup, man? How’s things been?”

“They’re goin’ alright, Donovan,” Wyle said. “We’re gonna get that shipment of slate sometime this week. Looking forward to it.”

“I see.” A puff of frost escaped Donovan’s lips as he said, “Come on in and enjoy yourselves, gents.” He stepped aside to let Cyan, Wyle and Barcrab through, but stopped when Rashad tried to enter. “Who’s this? Is he with you guys?”

“You mean Rashad? Yeah, he’s cool with us” Wyle said over his shoulder.

“Ah. Welcome to the Egress Bar, friend.”

“Thanks,” Rashad said. As he passed by Donovan, he took note of the man’s axe. It was crafted from a single piece of ice and both edges reflected the interior lighting in them. “Nice axe,” he said.

Donovan turned with a raised eyebrow and said “What?”

“Your axe. It’s very well made.”

“Right” the ice mage said. “Axe. Thanks.”

Rashad turned and followed his coworkers into a door at the back. The four of them descended a stairwell that spouted boisterous laughter and yells of carousal. Wyle pulled open the door at the bottom and the foursome entered the real Egress Bar. Rashad had to adjust his eyes to the sudden burst of colored light that assaulted his eyes and he had to shout over the yelling in the bar from the groups of patrons near the stage. He leaned over to Wyle and yelled, “What the hell is all this stuff?”

“Egress Bar, baby! We’re gonna get drunk and we’re gonna get our dance on and we’re gonna get next to some girls and have a damn good time!”

“Second that motion,” Cyan shouted as he watched a sleek Enigman cat-woman strut past and twitch her tail in his direction. “I’ll see you chumps later!”

As Cyan followed the cat-woman about, a little voice squealed “WY-LIEEE!”

“Hey baby, what’s up, Zappa?” Wyle shouted as Rashad turned to see whose voice this was. Rashad looked and saw that Zappa was a rather short yet bubbly Halfling waitress. She had her hair pulled away from her sideburns with a bandanna and also wore different sized shawls to cover her hairy body. The girl has a great smile plastered on her face as she hugged Wyle tightly.

“By the moons, Wyle! I haven’t seen you in a long time! Good to see you!” Zappa put down her tray on the bar and shouted, “What’s up, Barcrab?”

“NOTHING,” the Enigman said in a speaking voice loud enough to be heard over the din. “JUST WORKING. SAME OLD THING.”

“I hear you, boy.” Zappa looked over at Rashad, shouting, “Who’s Mister Silent here?”

“That’s my buddy, Rashad,” Wyle shouted over the other conversations. “He’s new at the site for the town hall. Go say hey.” Zappa nodded and moved to Rashad’s seat at the bar and spoke as loudly as she could without yelling.

“Hey sweetie, I’m Zappa. You need anything?”

“No, thanks,” Rashad said. He didn’t know what it was about Zappa that turned him off, but he wasn’t receptive to her false charms. He turned away from the waitress and looked to the bartender for his drinks. “Hey bartender,” he shouted over the noise.

The bartender got up from the lower shelves and walked over. She had long black hair that covered the right side of her face and spilled down to her lizard-skin vest. Her intense eyes studied Rashad briefly before she shouted, “Pick your poison, man.”

“Fireflower Special. Can you do it?”

“You bet, baby. Let Shuya take care of you,” the bartender shot back with a wink. She then turned around and produced a Fireflower Special. “One Fireflower Special, baby.”

“Wow! That was quick!” Rashad exclaimed. As he reached for the glass, Shuya pulled it away.

“This one isn’t yours, buddy. He ordered one too.” She pushed the glass off to Rashad’s left and a large red claw stopped it. Barcrab put the glass to his mandibles and drank deeply of the vermilion liquid, all the while staring down Rashad hard with his eyestalks. Rashad whirled around in his seat and looked over the Egress Bar.

 

The bar itself was much larger than the bar upstairs. The walls were carved with relief pictures of birds painted white against backgrounds painted blue, stretching all the way from the stage to the emergency exit at the back and back up to the bar. The carvings swirled in the orange light and ruddy shadow of the burning braziers and the occasional flash of soft blue magical light from one of the holes in the ceiling. Each flash showed the patrons clearly in its light; an Enigman here, a Halfling there. Rashad turned back to the bar to see Shuya approaching with his Fireflower Special. He pulled the pepper away from the lip of the glass and took a swig, feeling the familiar draft race down his throat. It burned a little, just like it should and he thanked Shuya with a hard candy. Turning back to the action with Fireflower in hand, Rashad’s eyes passed over the stage and he saw a shirtless Elven bard tuning his guitar on the steps of the stage.

Looks like a show, Rashad thought.