“Are you ready for a show that’s never seen before?” The DJ asked everyone.

  The crowd erupted in loud yelling, all of it muffled by each individual voice, making an unrecognizable sound, all except for Kenneth, who sat back and watched.

  “Love the sound of that; now give it up for destiny!”

  Emerging from the back, a hooded figure wearing a robe with patterns of constellations and an hourglass at the center walked out on stage.

  Coming to a stop at the edge, swirling lights gathered on the figure, and in a moment of silence, she tore off her robe. Underneath, she had a strong, muscular, shiny body with not a flaw in sight as her scales glittered in the light, all except for her jet black thong.

  ‘Second time in a strip club, and I’m a forty-year-old man,’ Kenneth audibly sighed while the crowd cheered.

  As the thumping music began to play, Destiny began showing off her body, moving seductively for the crowd, swinging her tail around, sweeping up the dollar bills with slight finesse.

  Going down on her knees, she spread her legs wide, the thin fabric barely acting as a covering. The men devolved into screaming monkeys, throwing more money up on the stage.

  Truthfully, Kenneth couldn’t see the appeal; maybe gay men would find her more alluring, but not him.

  As the song slowed down a bit, it was time for the finale as a Sil, somehow wearing a pink thong, stepped out carrying a coconut.

  “Alright, gentlemen of the audience with child support payments, this next one is for you,” The DJ announced. “Destiny’s special performance of the Nutcracker!”

  She took the coconut and sat down at the edge of the stage. With her feet dangling she rubbed it against her body, the fine short hairs tickling her scales while she softly hissed. However she was not the only one to go down as she teasingly lowered the hardshell fruite between her thighs.

  A few men, way too eager, got closer, but still kept a slight distance.

  Placing her hands on the stage, she leaned slightly back, pressing her hips forward and flexing, the small, vaguely hidden muscles fully exposed as the music rose higher and higher.

  Everyone was teetering on the edge, hearts pounding in sync with the music, and then a crack.

  Destiny snapped her head back, and as the coconut exploded, the water trapped inside drenched her lower half and the closest men, the beat dropping at the same instant.

  With roaring cheers, the crowd showered her with money.

  ‘What a waste of a good coconut,’ Kenneth thought.

  “Alright, gentlemen, give Destiny a round of applause and welcome our next lovely lady you all have no chance of getting with!” The DJ yelled into the microphone as Destiny was making her exit backstage. “You know her, you hate her! Give it up for JASHA!”

  In an instant, all light and sound disappeared. For a moment it looked like there’d been a blackout, but no man made a sound either convicing him it was part of the show. And before Kenenth could start to wonder what was in store it started.

  The sound of ‘clicking’ and ‘clacking’ of heels filled the hot air as red lights along the stage lit up in tandem with her steps, barely illuminating her figure.

  As she came to the end, utter silence once more returned, and then…

  “I hear you guys are pathetic. How about I whip you into shape?” Suddenly, the crack of a whip filled the air, as the music and lights came back on in booming flashing might, revealing Jasha to be in a dominatrix outfit.

  She scanned the room, barely looking at any one man while they showered her with money, yet no amount changed the expression she was wearing. A stuck-up one that intensified as her gaze landed on Kenneth. “Why don’t you come backstage?”

  “Guess Jasha has chosen her unlucky man; what a shame for the rest of you!”

  One would think this would have stopped the men from showering her with money, but on the contrary, they threw more and more money, competing for her attention.

  One man, when he ran out, opted to take a little from the stage to throw; however, that only gave him a hard strike from Jasha’s whip. Yet, instead of writhing in pain, the man enjoyed it with the crowd cheering, a portion of the men electing to do the same.

  “Cracks” of the whip rang out over the loud music, each man falling to the ground cackling, while to Jasha, it must have been like swatting flies until each and every one was down.

  With her work done, she blew a kiss to the crowd and walked off stage.

  Though the only thing Kenneth could really pay attention to was her high heels, and how she was wearing them seemed to defy all logic. As did his sudden appearance in front of the backstage door to her room.

  ‘Might as well get this over with,’ he internally sighed, going inside.

  “Finally,” Jasha said, swirling around in her makeup chair, her whip in hand.

  The room was filled with lavish pink girlish furniture contrasted by a dozen mannequins wearing gimp outfits. “If you brought me here to be whipped, then you might as well let me wake up.”

  “Ah, don’t blame me for the outfit and the script,” Jasha shrugged. “It’s the owner who writes that god-awful stuff, but I won’t disappoint you… Who knows the night is still young.”

  She smugly smirked while caressing the whip.

  “So what made you come out of the rabbit hole? Last we spoke, well, you know.”

  “Indeed.” She rubbed her chest. “I have been busy with my own stuff. The crowd always wants more.”

  “Cut the shit and get to the point!” Kenneth snapped.

  “I figured you for a bleeding heart in both the literal and figurative sense of the word; what a shame that’s going to get people killed,” she said with fake sadness. “I mean, what is your plan?”

  He made a fist, “For now, I'm only gathering information; there's nothing concrete yet.”

  “Is all of this just an excuse you tell yourself? That you will save everyone, and then what will you leave?” Jasha questioned, swaying her head from side to side. “Trafka won’t leave you. He’s too proud for that, and Nokuji and her new little lackey won’t let you go. You are too valuable.”

  “I'm not valuable, not when I’m done, when I’ve found and taught them how to make medicine, and they have my knowledge written down. At that point, my need to be there won’t be their greatest concern,” Kenneth angrily told her.

  She looked at him bemusedly and got up from her chair. “Let’s say that is what happens, and they won’t just turn around and kill you for this; what, then, how will you even escape? You don’t have that all-important bag, you don’t know if all the slaves have the courage to escape, and when could you even try it, when all your work is done, in what, a month, a year, or ten?”

  “I will figure it out; I have to,” Kenneth told her.

  “When?! When you are grey and old?!” She yelled, cracking the whip in the air to emphasize her point.

  However, before Kenneth could answer, one of the gimp mannequins suddenly fell over and moved like a person.

  “Oh dear,” Jasha said more calmly with an undertone of anger, slowly striding over to the person and stepping on his back, with her heel digging in. “I ordered you to stand still, not fall over, it seems I have to—“

  Distracted, she only noticed Kenneth leaving when he opened the door.

  “Chair!” She yelled at the man in the gimp suit, who suddenly crawled around her as she sat down on him. “And where do you think you are going?”

  “To the buffet, I know it's probably a gamble with the eggs, but I don’t really care.”

  “Like you don’t really care to answer me?”

  He stopped and turned around. “If it’ll make you shut up.”

  The gimp suddenly unzipped his mouth, “Geez, old timer, you make it sound like she doesn’t have a point by asking you.”

  In a split second, Jasha cracked the whip down on his ass. “I told you not to speak.”

  Shock clearly coursed through his body, but still, his early-twenties self rezipped his mask.

  “So you took your relationship to its natural conclusion, I see,” he said, barely hiding his annoyance.

  “Despite how it appears, we are doing quite well,” she said smugly. “Today is simply my turn to be on top. Tomorrow, he’s sure to pay me back, and I must admit your prime is something to be admired.”

  “People have tried to kill me, and still, your voice is the most painful thing I have to deal with,” Kenneth sighed.

  “I’ll stop speaking as long as you answer me.”

  I don’t know how long all of it is going to take. I don’t know when I’ll escape or by what precise method, and I don’t know everything else. All I know is that I'm working on it. I’ll find a way. I’ll find out where my bag is, and I’ll get everyone out.”

  Jasha’s smile widened as she opened her mouth.

  “I hope you’ve all told your wallets you love them, for after tonight, they’ll be dead and buried. Now, by popular demand, give it up for JASHA!!!”

  Her smile faded as her head swayed from side to side, and she “tsked!” Clearly a bit annoyed, she wrapped her whip around his earlier twenties self's neck and walked out of the room, tugging on the leash. “I can’t wait to see how it turns out.”

  Walking back out on stage, the crowd cheered, but all of it, the roaring, the music faded in favor of hissing and people talking.

  “I can’t believe we have to watch over him now, of all times.”

  “Speak louder; I didn't hear you the first fifty times.”

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  “Don’t you agree?”

  “Yes, but we volunteered to watch over him. It’s our own fault for not thinking it through.”

  The arguing had been loud enough to wake him, though it wasn't the first thing that caught his attention, as a hand rubbed against his stomach underneath his clothes.

  It wasn’t a hard guess who was spooning him: “ Nokamber, keep your hands to yourself.”

  At the mention of her name, she froze and retracted her hand, rolling onto her back.

  Tired and exhausted, he sat up and looked back at Nokamber, who dazily held her hand over her open mouth, his accumulated sweat dripping down. “Rich man gets to bathe in salt.”

  “I haven’t taken a bath,” he told her as his gaze shifted to Kolu. Despite the heat, he was sleeping calmly.

  “Is it my turn now?”

  “No, it was my turn.”

  “Keep it down, would you? I’ve heard enough of you all complaining,” Kenneth groaned, all of their voices sounding the same.

  “Even Black Beak is tired of your complaining,” Noksap said.

  Visibly frustrated, Nokemera snapped at Kenneth, “Shut your snout; we are here because of you, instead of being out there with everyone else when Ki is at her fullest!”

  “Is it the swingers' party already?” Kenneth retorted. “Why don’t you go?”

  “We made a commitment to keep an eye on you,” Nokemera said in an imperious tone.

  “And you have to do that in here?”

  The room suddenly fell silent as all four of them looked at one another, and four lightbulbs simultaneously went off above their heads. Instantly, they were very eager, quickly trying to get Kenneth outside, all the commotion waking Kolu.

  “Wha..?” He yawned, sitting up before flopping back down.

  “Kolu, I’ll be going out for a bit, you just sleep tight,” Kenneth said calmly.

  “No, I’m coming too,” he protested, sitting up slumped with both eyes closed.

  Kenneth gently put him back down, “You need your sleep. Don’t worry; I’ll be back before you know it.”

  “Don’t leave like father…”

  “…I won’t, I promise,” he said, though he wasn’t sure he heard him or even realized what he’d said, as he promptly fell back asleep, whereafter Kenneth got on his feet and stepped outside.

  All of the ladies were rather happy leading the way; most of them seemed to have almost forgotten they were supposed to be watching him, well, all except Nokamber.

  The streets were more lively than usual, filled with people from down below wandering around in groups. It was a bit unusual since most of them didn’t venture up most of the time. Among them were a few familiar faces, like the blacksmiths, Nokkrick, and even Nokhavadoo, who was selling toys for the event, even Nokiolite, and Nokkibai, who seemed to be heading in a different direction than most others.

  He wasn’t sure where exactly they were all heading, but it seemed everyone slowly began converging toward the great pyramid, the glowing crystal on top acting like a beacon.

  Like moths to the flame, the crowd gathered around, though Nokamber kept him in the back and off to the side, “Don’t let the Lord see you. She isn’t as flexible as we are.”

  “Whatever floats your boat,” Kenneth agreed.

  It seemed like the next step of the traditional swingers party was about to begin as Nokuji made an appearance wearing that white coat with a golden embroidery hand pattern and the hood pulled up.

  “Huh… those clothes,” Kenneth muttered to himself as he couldn’t help but think they looked a bit tight on her as opposed to her daughter.

  “You’ve seen them before?” Nokamber questioned. “They are her mothers, the former commanders. She always wore them during the full moon and, some other times… said all of it was in honor of Ki. It’s good that the commander wanted to keep the tradition alive.”

  Slowly, Nokuji raised her hands, and everyone mirrored the gesture. Then, as one, everyone banged both of them against their chest, creating one loud bang that echoed out all around them.

  With her arms spread wide, Nokuji spoke to everyone. “And thus the time has come once more. Di is at her fullest and barest, signaling the beginning of our long-held tradition in honor of not only her, but the many other gods. In these times, it’s of utmost importance that we loudly give our prayer. Now join me and let Di, the goddess and ‘Layer’ of the moon, mother of Utoku, who spread the pieces of his cracked egg across Sikia’s domain and filled it with the light in the dark that guides our way. Pray loudly and let them hear us above.”

  As one, they knelt down and with Nokuji leading the rhythm beat on their chest, while, to Kenneth’s slight surprise, drummers to the side beat loudly for all to hear.

  All of it reminded Kenneth of when Nokfeka had taught Nokstella about how to pray to the stars and moon, but it also filled him with a bit of dread cause now he couldn’t help but wonder what exactly she had taught her.

  The loud beating continued for a while, growing in intensity and the rhythm in complexity in a strange way, it almost reminded him of an egg beginning to hatch. All of it culminated in a fast-paced drum solo that, as it had started, came to an abrupt end with both hands loudly banging on the chest.

  Soon, everyone rose. “May this prayer be resonant and rise to the heavens! But as above, it must be below. Now, it is time to honor the other gods, Lorizo and Amito! Choose to whom you’ll wet the sands with and offer your prayer in love and with life!”

  Aside from a bit of cultural strangeness, Kenneth couldn’t help but think that was rather profound and a bit moving. However, it would be a cold day in hell when he willingly entered an orgy.

  Of course, he was the only one here who would think that, as everyone mingled together, most were already heading below. And in the meantime, her gal pals had all but disappeared, except for Nokoojab, who approached.

  “Where are the others?”

  “About that, Nokemera got to talking with one of her friends, and they don’t mind welcoming us inside,” Nokoojab explained.

  “Really. That cute one will be there, won’t he?” Nokamber said dreamily.

  “I don’t think so, but someone needs to watch Black Beak. If word gets out, we are in trouble, and since you are already—“

  “Wait, hold up—“

  “Thank you!” she said, running off, leaving Nokamber stunned.

  “A bit cold of them,” Kenneth couldn't help but let out in a bit of a comforting manner.

  She looked back at him, “You want to pray together?”

  Whether it was out of desperation or general intrigue, Kenneth couldn’t tell, not that it mattered since his answer was the same, “no.”

  Down in the dumps, her scales turned lighter but not quite white, but only for a moment as someone approached, Nokhavadoo’s smooth voice saying, “Alone, I see how sad.”

  “I was with someone else,” she nervously tried to explain, immediately brightening a little more.

  “I see… still sad, however,” Nokhavadoo said, handing her the last toy he was carrying. “Everyone needs a bit of fun, but don’t worry, it’s a gift.”

  He turned to leave, his slender tail brushing up against her arm, her scales darkening with every second. As the short physical connection was separated, she let go of the glowing sex toy and grabbed hold of his tail, yanking him back by it, trapping his body in her tight grip. “What makes you think I’ll let you leave?”

  The scene was one that, on the onset, looked completely wrong to Kenneth, but Nokhavadoo didn’t look or sound panicked as his smooth voice remained unchanged, excited if anything. “Shall we pray right here?”

  With a mix of gleeful and sternness in her voice, Nokamber demanded, “Now come with me.”

  “Ohh… gladly,” He replied as Nokamber let the way holding him by his tail and completely forgetting about Kenenth.

  ‘Huh… was that… flirting or intimidation?’ Kenneth wondered, standing in the shadows.

  The idea of sneaking off had crossed his mind, but ultimately, he’d decided against it, and never had he expected the reverse to happen.

  Well, now he’d have a chance to take a look around without anyone to watch over his back every second.

  He felt free in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. With the streets vacant and everyone below, he was free to wander more or less wherever he pleased, and with that in mind, it was a perfect time to locate his bag.

  Nokuji always handed it off to Split and then back with her daily reports of what he’d been up to. Most likely, that meant it was in her home inside the Great Pyramid. With a calm stride, he basically waltzed inside.

  “You...”

  Hearing a sudden voice, Kenneth almost leaped to the side, trying to get out of sight, hitting the edge of the doorway before he hid inside the shadows. It was only after he realized the voice hadn’t been directed at him.

  “...You were saying?”

  “Thought I heard something. You know any way to pass the time?”

  “Watch for intruders.”

  “The only ones who are doing any intruding are down below. No one ever tries anything. How about we play overflow?”

  “I’ll get the rocks.”

  ‘That could have ended badly,’ Kenneth thought as he sneaked away, making sure not to make a sound. ‘Of course, there would still be guards posted to important places. However, if that were the case, where could I even go? Maybe going around people’s homes and seeing if there’s something interesting could be interesting. I could go to my workshop and see about some of the poisons... god, I’m thinking of work again.

  Maybe… Maybe now’s a time to talk with Thristy, see if I can get him onboard. Of course, it’ll be a gamble, but it always has been.”

  He made his way toward the slave pen, but just as he was getting close, he spotted a lumbering figure he instantly knew couldn’t be Thirsty. Ducking down to avoid getting spotted, Kenneth moved away.

  ‘So that’s the slave master. Guess they keep watch here at a night like this,’ Kenneth thought. ‘Great, that throws that entire plan out the window. Maybe I should try to look through people's houses… or… maybe I could take a look elsewhere.’

  His gaze shifted upward.

  Though there probably were some guards acting as lookouts, it would be a good chance to get a look inside the walls at all that machinery with no one being the wiser, and even if he was caught, it wasn’t as though they were going to kill him.

  Probably a slap on the wrist for him and those four.

  With a golden opportunity like this that he could not squander, Kenneth made it his mission to get a closer look at the internal machinery inside the wall; however, before he made it that far, something caught his eye.

  One of the streams, unlike the others, was moving much more rapidly. He decided to take a look at the gate, discovering both where the water originated and where it exited, and when he flashed some light down under the water, he found that both gates were partly open.

  ‘They are below water, but with them open like this, it could function as an escape route to sneak out,’ Kenneth began to wonder. ‘But it begs the question, why are only those to open? Maybe I can look for an answer inside.’

  Now that he was going to a place where he knew there were people, his ascension upward was carried out with a bit more caution than when he’d been strolling around down the street. His clothes helped him stay hidden in the shadows, which he could find anywhere.

  Yet even so, he wasn’t sure how much he had to rely on them since, as far as he could see, there was practically no one acting as a lookout, not a soul in sight.

  ‘How strange they have guards on me and the pyramid, but not the wall, with two gates open. Are they just dumb or confident,’ Kenneth wondered as, with no one around, he stood up and looked out over the swamp. ‘Strange how deadly places like that can be beautiful.’

  For the first time, this place had been cast in a new light, one that enhanced the darkness and the more subtle details and colder color, giving it an entirely new look and feel, not necessarily in contrast with how it looked during the day.

  Having taken in the view and still with no guards in sight, Kenneth began looking around. While he hadn’t seen one up top the few times he’d been up here, he knew there had to be a way inside if the blacksmiths had to design pieces to fix the machinery inside.

  It was a bit nerve-racking walking around in the dark, knowing that at any moment, a guard could suddenly yell out at him to “STOP RIGHT THERE,” followed by who knows what else. Yet it didn’t stop him in the slightest as he walked a good distance on top of the wall and eventually found his way inside. A set of stairs leading down.

  If guards weren't on top, they would most likely be down there. As a precaution, he took off his shoes and slowly went down.

  Without his shoes, his approach was a great deal harder to hear. The trade-off was that his feet were now incredibly cold, but he could live with that.

  There wasn’t much light aside from a couple of crystals here and there above some racks with weaponry that could easily be grabbed along with what looked like simple armor, and still, no one was in sight.

  He slowly moved through the corridor, listening intently for any warning sounds, but there were none. Aside from his presence, this place was dead silent.

  Eventually, he felt a small breeze predominantly near his feet. As he went further ahead, he reached the rolling bucket contraption, with moonlight coming through the hole in the ceiling. Ahead was a wall with a narrow hallway to the side that probably led right beside the open area with the golden gate.

  ‘Not much machinery so far,’ Kenneth thought as he looked around the walls, barren of anything. ‘There should be some stuff for the machinery that opened the gate. There could be a divider with the wall. Perhaps there is a door somewhere leading behind it. I could search for it, but the longer I spent here, the higher the likelihood of my being discovered. Regardless, I need to go further down and have a look at the actual gates first.’

  Slowly, he descended the interior of the wall, going down and down, yet still, there was no one in sight or sound. Little by little, the temperature began to rise as he passed different floors, each serving a different purpose: armory, storage, and barracks.

  The lack of guards filled him with slightly more concern than the presence of some in here. It made him sweat, or perhaps it was just the rising heat that made the air lukewarm.

  The idea that he’d reached the bottom floor cemented itself rather quickly, as he noticed the floor he was entering was easily twice the height of any other. Aside from that, he could spot exposed machinery.

  It was complex, in a manner of speaking.

  Nothing high-tech, but more akin to something of simple complexity, the kind you could easily understand at a glance, but also the kind that would take countless hours of work to get working.

  He had about reached the last step of the stairs when the continuous sound of running water caught his attention.

  “Aghurth...”

  He almost had a heart attack at how much it caught him off guard. It was faint and sounded like an amalgamation of different sounds.

  ‘Could be the guards; I have to be extra quiet now,’ He cautiously thought, moving toward the sound of running water.

  If nothing else, at least seeing how the machine looked could possibly give him some idea, as a bit ahead he noticed, just like he theorized, a water wheel made of gold, with similar parts, few of which were made from gold, lined the wall or hung connectedly in the air.

  ‘Wow. I gotta say they know their stuff,’ Kenneth thought, taking it all in as he noticed something near one of the walls, or more precisely, that something was missing. ‘Could that be why the gates are open--‘

  In his haste to get a closer look, he was completely caught off guard when he ran into something hard and, unfortunately, not made of metal or stone.

  As he fell to the ground, even in the dim light present, he could all but clearly see Nokkibai suddenly appear, staring wide-eyed at him, and her teacher, Nokiolite, appearing right next to her, staring down at him.

  ‘Oh shit.’