Originally Posted by First Place - Seito

Skull Pub

Summary: It’s hard being the only sane person in the room.

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Seika wasn’t quite sure what to make of the situations really. She couldn’t explain why she at Skull Pub at this hour of the night either. It was all very strange. Speaking of strange…

“Why are we dressed as pirates?”

“Because it’s fun?” was the response from her best friend Hotaru. Seika stared at her. Hotaru smiled. “That and the rules of the pub say you can’t come in unless you’re dressed as a pirate!”

Seika looked around. It was true. The patrons of the pub were dressed in the oddest fashion, with eye patches, gold chains and bright colored rags. Did that fellow have a parrot sitting on his head?

“Alright fine. I’ll accept why we’re dressed pirates, but why are we at a pub?” Seika demanded. Her voice dropped into a low hiss. “What do you think people will think if it was discovered their Queen, the most powerful magic user in all of Chess.” Seika pause her sentence look behind her spotting Kai in the corner. “And the King was at a pub, getting drunk?”

Hotaru picked up her drink from the counter and swished it before taking a sip. “Oh relax. No one is going to notice us. If they do and have a problem with it, they should try doing my job for a day,” she said with a snort. “On the brink of war, politics and a bunch of elders who haven’t approved of me since I took the throne nearly ten years ago at the age of 16,” she muttered to herself. “I should fire the lot.”

Seika resisted the urge to slam her head into the counter. “And if someone tries to attack you or the castle?”

“Shinki is watching the castle along with everyone else who is too young to drink or simply didn’t want to come. The castle is fine. As for someone attacking me, well that’s why you’re here my dear knight.”

Seika opened her mouth to reply before a guy wearing a blue bandana came up to them and swung his arms around their shoulders. “Hello lassies. Why don’t we –“

He was cut off when he found a tiny dagger pressed against his throat by Seika. “I wouldn’t do that,” Hotaru said in a sing-song voice. “She doesn’t like guys hitting on her.”

Wisely and quickly the guy disappeared back into the masses of people of the pub.

“Relax Seika,” Hotaru ordered. “It’s just one night.”

Seika snorted. “Please, the last time you said that, I woke up with pink hair. The time before that, the entire castle was covered in soap, the time before that every single piece of food disappeared from the kitchen, the time before that the entire water supply was turned into orange juice, the time before that—“

“That wasn’t my fault!” Hotaru interrupted. “You know darn well Raikiri was the one who filled the castle with soap, turn the water into juice and made the food disappear, I never did figure that out, and Ita, your fiancée is the one who dyed your hair pink.” She gestured to two men at the end of the counter standing near Kai. The black hair man who was juggling balls of fire and clearly drunk was Ita while the silver hair one was Raikiri, encouraging him on and just as drunk. “Ita is lucky fire magic is fairly common otherwise our so called cover would have been blow ages ago.”

Seika twitched and made a mental note to sentence her fiancée to sleep on the couch for the next two months.

“That’s not the point,” Seika hissed. “The only reason why Ita did that was because Raikiri got him drunk. Do you remember why Raikiri got Ita drunk in the first place? Why the hell the soap appeared, the food disappeared and the water turned to juice in the first place?”

“Raikiri found some hooch,” Hotaru replied instantly. Then she stopped and slowly the pieces of the puzzles clicked into place.

“Oh.”

“Exactly,” Seika hissed. “So what do you think is going to happen when Raikiri get drunk enough?”

Hotaru’s eyes widen. Then she picked up her glass, drowned down the rest of the clear liquid and then asked, “Is it too late to run?”

“BOOM!!”

Seika snarled. “I AM NOT PAYING FOR THAT!”

Originally Posted by Second Place - Saravi Boo

"The Legend of the Golden Hooch"

Long ago, a girl named Amy eked out a mundane existence as a barmaid, at a pub called the Salty Wench. The retired sailor who owned the bar had taken her in as a child and she'd worked for him ever since.

Amy was eighteen when the old man showed up. He chose a table in a darkened corner and faced the door. He had a scar from his hairline to his chin, his eyes watched the room nervously, and he walked with a pronounced limp. Months passed and he became a frequent customer.

He kept to himself, and Amy had long ceased to wonder about him when everything changed. It was a typical night; the old man had just settled into his corner, customers were pouring in as she took his order. Suddenly, his black eyes went wide and he lurched to his feet with surprising speed. Before Amy could react, he caught her arm and pulled her in close.

"Help me, girl." He whispered harshly, glancing towards the door. "They've found me. Damn their hides. I'm so close....help me get clear of them."

Amy glanced towards the door and spotted several burly men bearing well-used weapons and grim expressions. They hadn't yet been spotted, so Amy ducked under the old man's arm and started towards the kitchen door.

Just as they slipped out, she heard someone yell. All pretense of stealth abandoned, she and the old man took off as fast as he could run. With Amy for a crutch, he managed a respectable pace. He directed her through the city to a cave by the sea shore. Sounds of pursuit had faded, the men not being as familiar with the city as their quarry.

The old man limped over and pulled a satchel of supplies out from behind a boulder. "Come on, girl." He lit a torch and set off into the cave.

Amy took one last look out at the darkening sky before following the older man into the pitch black caves. It soon became obvious that this was where he'd spent most of his time since his arrival in the small city. He walked purposefully through the maze of caverns. Amy noticed the remains of a number of sprung traps and once they had to cross a plank set over a gaping pit.

"Where are we going?" She finally asked, grimacing as her voice echoed through the passageways.

"I've found it. They say it's a myth, but it's not."

"Found what?" Amy asked, beginning to wonder if she was following a madman.

"The Golden Hooch, girl." The old man grinned back over his shoulder. "The Hooch can make you young and healthy forever with a single sip, but if you ever drink another the spell will be broken."

Amy nodded, she'd heard the story but she'd always assumed it was just a legend. "You think it's here?" She asked incredulously.

"I know it is. It's there..." He stopped walking as they reached a sheer stone wall and pointed upwards. High in the wall was a small depression and the torchlight flashed off something gold, securely nestled on the rock shelf. "I just can't get to it." He admitted. "Can you?"

Amy peered at the faintly glittering jug. The ground below the niche was littered with debris from the old man's attempts to carve better footholds into the rock face, but there were some crevices she could use. She tied her skirt up to knee length. Blushing at the immodesty of showing her bloomers, she started up the rock wall.

It was a grueling climb, but at last her fingers touched the gold handle. "Catch." She shouted, pulling the jug from it's position.

She felt a stinging pain in her hand and the jug tumbled from suddenly nerveless fingers. She dimly heard the man yell that he had it, just as the numbness reached her other hand and she followed the treasure to the ground. Merciful blackness claimed her before she hit the stone floor.

Amy came to feeling wonderful. "How?" She asked in bewilderment. "There was a trap...and I fell..."

The old man grinned, "The Hooch works." He explained, lifting the jug and preparing to drink.

Suddenly, a shot pierced the thin gold jug and caught the old man in the chest. Amy screamed and lunged for him, as the precious Hooch spilled out onto the floor unheeded. A second shot hit her in the stomach but the wound healed in seconds.

Amy grabbed the broken jug and peered inside. There was barely a swallow left, but it might be enough to save him...or enough to give her back her normal life. She blinked at the thought, hesitating for just a moment.

Decision made, she poured the golden liquid into the dying man's mouth. Nothing happened. She could hear the men from the pub approaching and she turned to face them. "Leave me alone!" She yelled, fighting back tears. The Hooch was gone and it hadn't saved the old man. Now she would be alone forever.

"You'd best listen to the lady, lads." A voice said over her shoulder.

Amy spun and gaped. Where the old man had lain, a grinning young one stood, wielding a pair of flintlock pistols. Gone was the scar and his gait was smooth as he stepped around her, but the eyes were the same sharp black.

Within moments the shooting ended. The three pirates lay dead, and the two immortals stood in awkward silence.

The man spoke first. "My name's Jason." He said gruffly, extending his hand. "Thought you'd wanna know."

Amy blinked and took the proffered hand. "I'm Amy." She mumbled. "What should we do now?"

"Well, I suppose we'd best stick together, right?"

Relieved, Amy nodded.

The two of them made their way out of the cave. 'I won't be alone anymore,' she thought, giving Jason's warm, calloused hand a squeeze. She found herself smiling brightly as he returned the gesture. Maybe eternity wouldn't be so bad.

The End

Originally Posted by Third Place - Dystopia

Author has asked me not to show the story.