Returning to his room, Thames quickly climbed into bed, but sleep continued to evade him.
I shouldn't have trailed him... I ruined it. Who knows when we'll find him again??
As similar thoughts raced through his mind, he gradually felt his eyelids become heavier and heavier, until eventually he was forcefully brought to the realm of sleep.
***
Thames finding Renny was not something Ode expect, and him trailing Renny was something he viewed outside the realm of possibility, but against all his beliefs he had done both. And ended up getting captured.
Atop a clocktower, Ode sat staring into the sky illuminated by the moon, stars twinkling around it.
Renny being in Lino was another thing he thought impossible, but he was likely still lurking.
As he continued to think under the moon, the thought that Renny could be planning something for the upcoming magic conference dawned on him.
A wicked smile spread across his face as he looked down at the bustling night city, then he stood up, and stepped off the tower.
"[Jumpspace.]"
Flying down the side of the clocktower, he vanished from existence in a bright, fantastical flash of golden light, drawing the attention of many.
Stars fixed in the sky twinkled as Ode reappeared in an alley connected to a poorly maintained street.
In a dramatic fashion, he stretched, then knocked on the steel door directly in front of him, the peephole sliding open.
"How're the stars?"
A gravely, deep voice asked through the door.
"Twinkling in song!"
He responded automatically, joy filling his words.
After a few moments, the peephole shut and the person on the other side opened the heavy door slowly, revealing a large room full of people.
The doorkeeper was a demon, but much different from Lin.
He was tall yet skinny and wore a simple white linen shirt tucked into black pants. He had slicked back black hair with two horns protruding from his hairline, curling into swirls. His skin was a mixture of crimson and grey, and his eyes were black.
The room itself, full of people of different races from demons to elves, had a couple of tables and a bar towards the back, similar to a tavern. There was heavy smoke overlapping the stone floor, and it smelled of ash and liquor.
"Gin in?"
Ode asked, looking at the demon.
"Just past the bar, Ode."
He responded, maintaining his gravelly voice.
Nodding, Ode walked around the groups discussing topics over drinks and cards and headed towards the bar.
At the bar was an elvish woman, dressed in a loose black suit, and polishing glasses. Noticing Ode, she pressed something under the bar and the wall to the left of the bar opened up.
"Thanks, Kay."
"Mhmmm."
Walking past the bar and into the secret room, the wall went down behind Ode.
Inside the room, similar in size to the previous one, was a long table with twelve chairs, and along the walls were various paintings that dated back to the Godly Era.
At the end of the table sat a large, hulking human man that was counted up bills. He wore an unbuttoned white shirt revealing his hairy chest. His hands were covered in golden rings encrusted with different gemstones and around his neck was a gold chain. Messy unwashed brown hair covered his face.
This was Gin Viola, leader of the Lino Underbelly, and worldclass magician.
Noticing Ode, he set the bills onto the table and moved his hair from his face, revealing his greed filled brown eyes.
"Ode! If it isn't Ode Yule!"
His voice, deep and full of authority, shook the paintings as a woman walked to the other side of the table.
She was a taller elf and wore a short tight dress. Fine gold bracelets covered either of her arms and linked together, and she had gold jewelry covering her pointed ears.
Pulling out the chair for Ode, he sat down facing Gin.
The woman quickly left to the main area afterwards, leaving Gin and Ode in the room alone.
"So, Ode! What's the best hunta of the association want with me?"
He laughed heartedly as he leaned back in his large chair.
"Nothin' strange! Just gotta know if ya heard anything 'bout Renny."
Ode also leaned back in his chair, scratching his nose as he waited for Gin's response.
"Renny? That fool? What haven't I heard???"
An unusual laugh followed as Gin thought to himself.
"Heard he's gatherin' people! You of all people should know what's comin' up, Ode."
Ode nodded along then spoke.
"He's still in Lino, right?"
"Who knows where that godless man's at? Not me! Not me at all."
Ceasing the scratching, a smile stretched across Ode's face as he pointed at Gin.
"You know I could take ya in whenever I want, Gin. It's best if ya just tell me where he's at."
"Could you now? Lotta nerve, Ode. If ya try to fight me, we'd knock out 'least a quarter of Lino!" Gin continued to laugh. "And even if ya did catch me, I'd be outta custody in a week tops!"
Ode just shook his head as he dropped his hand.
"That's a lot of confidence, Gin. Care to test it?"
Getting up abruptly, golden sparks flickered around Ode's body.
In response, Gin cracked his knuckles, and the sweet scent of money flooded both of their noses.
"Renny stopped by... Ode. You know what he told me?"
Confusion drew over Ode's once confident face.
"Told me he was usherin' in a new era! Can ya believe that?!?"
"He's lying as always. We both know the association wouldn't stand by."
The air stood still as the sparks of gold intensified around Ode.
"I believe him, Ode! And I bet you do too!! The age of the tower is drawing to an end...!"
Money, once scattered along the ground, began to fly around Gin as he pointed right at Ode.
"Tell me, Ode, where'll you stand at the change of the era?!" A wicked smile stretched across the big man's grimy face. "It would be best if ya didn't get swallowed up by the flow of time!"
With that, the energy emerging from both magicians subsiding, the floating bills slowly falling to the ground.
"He's a fool. You said it yourself."
Turning away from Gin, he left the room, entering back into the merry bar.
"Leaving already Ode?"
An alluring sweet voice called out to him, it was the elvish bartender, Kay.
"Yep! Ya know I got a job to do!"
With a bright welcoming smile, he left the bar and walked down the alleyway, with Lin standing against a nearby wall, waiting for him.
"Learn anything?"
She asked, turning towards the street.
"He's still here. Still trying to bring change."
Lin nodded towards him as they both entered the barren street illuminated by faint streetlamps.
It was dirty and poorly maintained. One of many streets which were forgotten by the city as Gin Viola went untouched.
Under the bright moon, the duo continued down the street, letting the darkness of the night take them as they began the search for Renny.
***
Thames found himself submerged in cold water, the intense flow of what he assumed to be the ocean pushed against him, guiding him as he quickly found resistance futile.
Help! S-someone! Please!
The sense of panic quickly overtook him, but he never felt himself grasping for air despite being fully overtaken. A soft light of the moon flickered through the water, shining down on him.
The moon... Oh moon.
Eventually, the tides pushed him upwards, allowing him to breakthrough the ocean and begin to float at the surface.
"Gah!" He gasped for air.
Underneath the moon of his dreams, the unfamiliar scent of saltwater beckoned to him once again, and he looked around, but it was only chaotic ocean for as far as he could see.
Shit...
Suddenly, he felt the water raise him up quickly and then drop him further in, sucking him up into the flow of the ocean.
Looking up as he descended further into the ocean, the moon quickly vanished, being replaced by bundles of bright stars, all flickering different colors.
Beautiful...
He found himself admitting as he sank deeper and deeper, darkness eventually replacing his vision.