Moira watched Aldrin drape the newly made Ghoul in his cloak, Delena's Veil, to hide the new ghastly appearance. The man named Ty would definitely know something would be amiss, but luckily he was charmed to look the other way. However, the others who noticed the big Orc walk in would see this thing come out would undoubtedly question. She just hoped that they were going to be drunk enough to not care.

Aldrin patted the Ghoul on the shoulder. "Try not to draw too much attention to yourself and do not eat anyone. Please," he told the Ghoul. It gave a grunt in response, and whether it was from agreement or displeasure, it assented, something Aldrin was thankful for. "Come on then," he said, standing back to see the Ghoul hidden by his cloak.

"What's the plan if things go to shit?" Moira asked, keeping a cautious eye on the Ghoul. Its unblinking gaze and animalistic speech sent shivers down her spine and raised goosebumps along her skin.

Aldrin shrugged, earning a snort from Evie. "He doesn't have one," Evie chided with a smirk.

Moira's eye twitched as she realized she was going to be in a constant shitshow the longer she was around them. "I don't like not having a plan for one. For two, do you believe your Ghoul can handle a Minotaur? And for three, what if Skarra catches wind of what that thing is?" she fired off, listing them on her fingers.

Aldrin nodded along. "All valid questions, much to which I do not have an answer to. I just adapt to what comes," he grinned, which didn't ease Moira's fears.

Evie chortled. "Sometimes I don't like how he does things either, but I can't say that he doesn't get results when necessary."

The Ghoul shuffled, sniffing the air, smacking its lips hungrily, making everyone peer at the creature. "I hunger…" it complained, sliding its pale greyish tongue across its teeth then snapped its gaze back to Moira, who took a cautious step back.

"Control. It." She said through gritted teeth to Aldrin, her hand itching for her daggers she intended to summon from her Inventory.

Aldrin waved her off dismissively. "He's fine. He won't hurt you as long as I'm around."

Moira scoffed, "Yeah, and that's the problem! What happens when you aren't around?" she shot back.

Evie placed a hand on her shoulder to ease away the tension, then looked at Aldrin and the eight-foot Ghoul. "Assure her. Please, she's not used to this or desensitized. Just a few days ago she didn't even know Vampires were still around," she pleaded with Aldrin.

Aldrin looked at Moira and slightly dipped his head. "I am sorry. She is right," he turned to the Ghoul, "Under no circumstances will you harm her and anyone I say unless told so."

The Ghoul Baron slid its eerie green glowing green eyes to Aldrin. "If the master insists, this one will do so," it said and with an unnaturally graceful movement, bowed to Aldrin.

Aldrin frowned. "Definitely don't do that around mixed company either, and stop calling me master, please. It makes me feel wrong."

The Ghoul Baron rose and blinked one eye at a time. "Are you not… Master?" it asked slowly, tasting the phrase as if it would strike back at it.

Aldrin pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just call me by my name, please."

m

"Yes, Master," It said.

"No, Aldrin is my name." He scolded.

The Ghoul Baron frowned, but it turned out to look more menacing and angry than confused. "Is that not master?"

"Stop," Evie chuckled. "You're going to go around in circles with it."

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Aldrin groaned, "Just put the hood on and stay silent. I'll communicate with you telepathically if I need to tell you something." He told the Ghoul Baron then walked towards the door with the hooded Ghoul behind him. Moira took a wide step away from the two or as much as the room allowed.

Evie opened the door for them, where Ty stood nearby. Seeing them reemerge, he strolled over with a drink in hand. "Ready, Jace?" he asked Aldrin with a predatory grin and greed filling his eyes as he looked at the now hooded figure. "Oh, what happened?" he asked, then leaned in closer. "Is this for dramatic effect?"

"Something like that," Aldrin gave him a tight-lipped smile.

Ty nodded and beckoned for them to follow him through the crowd. Aldrin saw that there weren't any Dark Elves among them like he had seen the night before. However, most of them were drunk off their asses as they cheered at the two combatants, a Dwarf and a Human, within the ring. The Human was cradling an arm that bled profusely. Aldrin tsked and shook his head at the display. He was about to say something when he heard a loud crash behind him. Ty and Aldrin turned to see Evie pinning a Human man to the table. His face was mushed as she snarled at him, her Giantese tattoos faintly glowing as she released a tiny amount of her Giant Strength. She grabbed his other arm, bringing it up behind his back, forming the classic chicken wing hold. The man squealed and squirmed as he struggled to be released.

"I suggest you not do that again," she growled, pressing down harder. The man's friends moved to intervene, but Moira had her daggers pressing against the throat of one and the stomach of the other.

Aldrin gave a questioning look when Evie caught his eye, but she only shook her head. The man relented and apologized, and Evie released him, but not before kicking out the leg of his chair. Moira pulled back her daggers as the man's friends came to help him up. They sneered at the two women but dared not ‌move.

Ty only chuckled and tapped Aldrin's shoulder to get him moving again. The Ghoul followed behind, letting the ladies pass in front of it so it would bring up the rear. The Ghoul, however, lingered, staring at the group, committing their faces to memory. Aldrin shot a glance over his shoulder, nudging for the Ghoul to follow, and it reluctantly did.

"Where's Skarra?" Aldrin shouted over the roars of the crowd to Ty.

Ty halfway turned, looking back, "She won't show until the last fight of the night, so we've got some time to kill as your friend there," he jutted his head towards the hooded figure. "Makes his way through the brackets."

Aldrin nodded as Ty turned back around, weaving them closer to the entrance of the fighting pit. They got close, passing a wooden barricade that separated the pit from the crowd, reaching the entrance where two gang members stood guard. They greeted Ty as he whispered something, then they looked back at Aldrin and then at the hooded figure.

Ty came back and threw an arm around Aldrin. "You, my friend, are going to make me rich! I bumped someone else for you so his fight is next."

"Do not turn anybody and do not eat them. Maim if you must, kill if necessary, but above all of those, try to only incapacitate. We aren't here to feed into their rituals of whatever god they worship." Aldrin telepathically told his Ghoul Baron.

The Ghoul Baron in question stepped up beside Aldrin and Ty, slightly hunching over so. "Your wish is my command, master." It responded verbally, surprising Ty as he looked up into the hood of the being. What Ty saw made his blood freeze and go pale, forcing him to take a fumbling step back as Aldrin felt the domination of his mind unraveling.

Aldrin discreetly gripped Ty by the arm before he could go any further, forcing Ty's deep brown eye to snap to Aldrin's faintly glowing green ones. "Calm yourself. He is one of our friends," Aldrin layered onto the diminishing strand of domination. Ty tried to blink, but Aldrin's Willpower was stronger, forcing Ty's mind to accept new false memories of the Orc turned Ghoul.

With the crisis averted, Ty quickly went back to being friendly, but within Aldrin's mind he realized that an enthrallment can easily break if there is something to be fearful of he did not account for. He would have to be detailed and careful with his enthrallments going forward. Although he was thrilled to figure out a limitation of his ability, his attention was brought back to an announcer within the fighting pit. Two gang members dragged the body of a Dwarf, who had his head bashed in, and clamped chains back onto the neck of the Human whose arm was still bleeding.

The announcer, a Night Goblin, stood in the middle of the blood and sand fighting pit and cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen! I welcome you to our esteemed establishment! There has been a change in the lineup!" The Night Goblin paused, letting the crowd work itself into an excited frenzy. "We have a special request — the Gauntlet Brawl with the last fight being against one of our Minotaurs!" The announcer Night Goblin shouted, raising its arms up as the crowd erupted into cheering roars.

Aldrin, Evie, and Moira looked around. Moira felt uneasy knowing full well what the fighters would be facing, but when she looked at Evie and Aldrin, they only held soft smiles, as if already knowing the outcome. It was enough to send her stomach into flips at the threat of the unknown. Then she peered at the hooded Ghoul Baron and broke out into a cold sweat.

"Whose the announcer? He's decent," Moira heard Aldrin ask Ty when she shuffled closer.

Ty turned to him with a wide smile of his own. "One of Skarra's inner circle, Bohr the Dzkad."

Moira heard, and her head snapped back to the animalistic-looking Goblin. Evie saw this and frowned. "You know him?" she leaned close, speaking low enough for only them to hear.

"Someone Skarra trusts to find anything she needs, including her enemies," she replied, never taking her eyes off the Night Goblin that stood in the middle with a feral grin, feeding off the crowd's energy as they continued to cheer and chant.

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