The two of them walked through the city that was lit by strange lanterns. Grizz pointed out how the lanterns have been ever since he was born and they seemed to burn on throughout the entire night and extinguish themselves during the day, seemingly burning on forever through some weird magic, though Orou didn’t see any traces of spirits in the lanterns.

The city grew busier as night approached, many beastmen were dead-drunk already and even more were heading into the various gambling houses and casinos that were scattered all throughout the city. Several guards were scattered haphazardly all over the city, but there were nearly not enough guards for the amount of beastmen that were causing trouble over here. In fact, Orou saw some of the guards holding bottles of alcohol in their hands, joining in with the rest of the merry troublemakers.

Grizz seemed like he was used to this kind of scene as he ignored everyone that was around him, heading straight towards the Moonhall casino. He didn’t seem to be stressed about the upcoming confrontation with Nim, it was as if he had forgotten it already. He gave a small blood crystal to the lady that was peddling various fruits and vegetables in a cart, grabbing two apples and offering one to Orou. Orou sceptically bit into it and once he found out that it was pretty sweet, he devoured it in one bite.

They made their way to the Moonhall casino and instead of turning around and going back to their hideout, Grizz turned to the casino and started walking closer to it. Two beastmen stood by the door, blocking several of the beastmen from entering, but Grizz simply waltzed past them and pushed open the door. The beastmen didn’t seem to react to Grizz doing so and immediately, Orou heard cries of protest from the beastmen that were blocked from entering.

Orou hesitantly followed Grizz inside of the casino, only to find himself awestruck by the things around him. It was packed with beastmen walking around with drinks, talking and socializing with each other. Shouts and cries could be heard in equal volume from the tables with playing cards and dice, beastmen in blue suits were dealing out cards while beastmen in black suits were watching over the game. At one point, Orou saw a beastman playing cards cry out in joy, only for him to let out a growl a moment later. A beastman in a black suit used force to subdue him and he was thrown out of the casino, his earnings still remaining on the table.

Grizz walked past the bar that was serving drinks and the tables with cards and dice and walked past several beastmen stationed at the stairs who either stopped or allowed certain people to walk upstairs. After a few glances exchanged between the beastmen, they allowed Grizz and Orou to pass, though Grizz didn’t spare them a single glance. The second floor was a lot more refined and a lot calmer than the first floor, around fifty people sat by various tables and discussed matters in whispers and making various deals with each other.

Grizz ordered something that was called “pyre whiskey”, a drink that still had flames dancing on the surface of the liquid. Taking a single shot of it, Grizz started walking to the very back, eyeing a particular group of beastmen playing a card game, wagering a sapphire crystal that Orou instantly recognised.

The four of them looked up at Grizz and a beastman with a long, striped neck greeted him. “We’ve been wondering when you would come. Would you like to play a game of cards?” A soothing voice invited Grizz to play, to which he responded by sitting down onto an empty chair and the long-necked beastman dealing out cards to him.

“Do we have the governor on our side? A lot of things would go smoother if the governor could make an announcement,” the long-necked beastman offered a cigar to Grizz, to which he simply shook his head and looked at the cards he had been dealt. He was silent for a few seconds before he answered: “Yes, I’ve convinced her to speak on the behalf of Kris 3 days later but she won’t involve herself in any other way. We will have to do the rest of the work.”

The long-necked beastman took a whiff of the cigar and set down a couple of the cards face-down. The remaining three beastmen were staring at their cards, looking slightly nervous about something as Grizz’s gaze swept over them. “I can trust you to fulfill your end of the bargain, can I not? A lot of things are at stake here and I can guarantee that if you help Kris get settled in, you can maintain your position and gain a lot.”

“You can expect Nim to be here on the third day, as we’ve discussed earlier. I won’t do the dirty deed myself, I don’t want Nim’s blood on my hands as I’m already risking the reputation of Moonhall casino for this.” Another puff of the cigar and the long-necked beastman took the sapphire crystal in his hands, seemingly busy with inspecting it.

“Another thing, I expect for the down-payment to be delivered to me before the three day period ends, you know I don’t like to make deals simply basing them off of empty promises.” The beastman put down the crystal and looked expectantly at Grizz, the remaining beastmen lifted their heads sightly on the mention of down-payment, no longer being as timid as before. Grizz sighed and rummaged through his backpack before pulling out a small pouch and tossing it over at the long-necked beastman. The three beastmen’s eyes immediately snapped to the pouch, but the long-necked beastman gave the three of them a threatening glance and they unwillingly relented.

“How many are on our side and how many need to be dealt with?” After receiving his payment, the long-necked beastman nonchalantly grabbed a dagger from below the table and placed it down on the table, his eyes meeting Grizz’s.

“I’ll provide a full-fledged list tomorrow. There are certain individuals that will come to our side when Nim’s gone, but there’s also those that will try to resist when he dies. Pass the list to the guild and make sure that at the end of the third day, they’re all taken care of.” Grizz looked over to the dagger and said that with an unsavory smile on his face. He listed several beastmen whose names Orou didn’t recognise and the expressions of the three beastmen drastically changed, going pale and looking around for something.

Grizz finished the game and the long-necked beastman pocketed the sapphire crystal even though Grizz won in the end. Both of them gave knowing glances at each other before Grizz stood up and turned around, saying to the long-necked beastman: “Say hello to Mallady for me when you meet her. A shame she couldn’t be persuaded to join us, it didn’t have to end this way you see.”

He gave a nod and Orou stared at the beastman for a few more seconds. All four of them interestedly stared back at him, as if seeing him for the first time. Orou wondered about what history Grizz had with this place before quickly catching back up with Grizz, just in time to hear Grizz sigh as he looked outside the window at the crescent moon, muttering: “What a shame,” to himself

“Sometimes, I want to simply enjoy a life without all of this intrigue and pretending I have to do and relax, let down my facade. It’s great that I have someone to talk to, even if you might not understand what I’m feeling and can’t reply to me.” Grizz looked at Orou before sighing once more and starting to make his way down the stairs.

“As soon as all of this is done, I’m retiring and going back to live with Lyra. If you want, you can join us, though I doubt that you would want that kind of life.” Orou truly pondered over Grizz’s proposition and eventually, he decided to postpone the decision. He had so much more to learn and so much more to experience, but Orou also liked spendings days in peace and quiet. As he exited the Moonhall casino, he stared up at the sky and wondered about what he wanted to do.