NT: Chapter 105

As we drank our drinks at the Bar, I couldn't help but notice the clientele that joined us was a touch demi-human. Not that this was a bad thing, mind you, but when most of the Demi-Humans that my current companions knew of tended to be Demons or at least have demon blood, you never could tell. In fact, Faith seemed to be bouncing on the balls of her feet as she sipped from a bottle of Heisler Beer, as she glared over at a robed Drinker further down the bar who was basically what you would get if you took a cat and made it humanoid. The Drinker seemed to be sipping a sickly-sweet-smelling drink out of a lavender bottle. My powers of Analysis told me that the drink was clearly narcotic, judging from the dilated pupils of the Cat-Man and the smell.

Regardless, I took a sip of my own beer, this one a Penn Pavel's Ale, and looked over at Xander, who had just put down the one beer he had said he was going to drink tonight, an old-fashioned bottle of something called Winkles Old Peculiar that Sucullus claimed he had to obtain 'from a timeline two skips to the left', which hurt my head just thinking about the temporal and dimensional mechanics. Xander gestured to Faith before cocking an eyebrow, prompting a rolling of the eyes from Oz, only for Willow to elbow him in the ribs with her left arm, her right holding onto a can of Buzz Cola. Giles, meanwhile, put down his mug of Elven Evermead and simply sighed, tapping Faith on the shoulder. Faith turned sharply to look at Giles, who just shook his head.

"No, Faith, you cannot start fights with random patrons." Sighed Giles.

"I wasn't gonna!" Protested Faith.

"Faith, you were practically vibrating in your seat." I pointed out.

"Was not!" Retorted Faith.

"Yeah, you kinda were." Insisted Xander.

"Besides, he's not doing anything right now. Just drinking." Added Oz.

"Plus, we don't even know if he's a Demon." Concurred Willow.

"M'aiq is no demon. M'aiq is M'aiq." Spoke up the Cat-Man from nearby.

It seemed our discussion drew his attention. I turned toward the Cat-Man, M'aiq, with an appraising eye. He had a bit of magic about him, but not enough to be considered a true Sorcerer of any description. If I had to guess, he utilized basic alchemy. Things like burn salves, painkillers, and the like, which we could make here on Modern Earth with tech but which tended to be the province of minor alchemists in various less advanced, more mystical dimensions. Of course, from the way his stance was, light on his feet, evenly balanced, and from the dagger at his waist, I was going to say he was likely more of a scout or thief than he was a Magic User.

"And what exactly is M'aiq when he's at home?" I questioned.

"M'aiq is Khajit. Khajit come from a land called Elsweyr on the Continent of Tamriel in the World of Nirn. Somehow, M'aiq does not think M'aiq is in Nirn anymore, though." Informed M'aiq.

"I do not believe we're on Earth any longer either. Something Fufluns said earlier about using the Hellmouth's Dimensional Energies to manifest this place between realities." Mused Giles.

"Like the Wood Between the Worlds from The Magician's Nephew?" Queried Willow.

"Narnia? Really?" Asked Oz.

"What's a Narnia?" Questioned Faith.

"A series of kids' Books with Christian Theming. Wills grew up Jewish, so reading that was an early form of Teenage Rebellion." Smirked Xander.

"It's a tad juvenile, but it does get the point across." Nodded Giles.

"Personally, I would have gone with something like Sigil or the Battle Nexus. Both of those actually exist." I muttered.

"Battle Nexus? What's that?" Queried Faith, immediately interested.

"Exactly what it sounds like. A Dimensional Nexus, whose main attraction is the giant fighting arena. There's a tournament held there every decade or so with competitors from a bunch of different realities. The next one should be coming up in the first week of January." I explained.

"M'aiq knows of an Arena in the Imperial City, but has never heard of this Battle Nexus." Frowned M'aiq.

"Wait, you said the Next Tournament in this Battle Nexus is coming up?" Asked Xander.

"Yeah." I confirmed.

"And are you gonna go?" Questioned Oz.

"I was planning to." I affirmed.

"What if we need your help with something?" Queried Willow.

"Time doesn't exactly flow the same between dimensions, you know. What's a three-day tournament in the Battle Nexus is just a day on Earth. I won't be gone long. Besides, you'll have Faith and Buffy to help you out if you need it." I pointed out.

"Two Slayers is probably overkill for anything short of an apocalypse." Mused Oz.

"Do you face such things often?" Asked M'aiq.

"Two so far since I started High School." Informed Xander.

"Two and a half for me." I added.

"What do you mean a half? How can you deal with half an Apocalypse?" Questioned Willow.

"It's currently ongoing. I dealt with two of the guys behind it personally, but the rest is up to some other people." I shrugged.

"Besides, I'm not gonna be around for anything like that. If you're going to a big throwdown in a place called the Battle Nexus, I want in." Demanded Faith.

"We'll talk later." I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"What was that other place you mentioned? Sigil?" Questioned Willow.

"The City of Doors. It's an interdimensional city in one of the Outer Plains that connects to various places across the cosmos, not just other planes but dimensions as well." Informed Giles.

"Huh. Funky." Mused Oz.

"Kind of like this place. Case in point, our fuzzy friend over here." Opined Xander, gesturing at M'aiq.

"M'aiq is more sleek than fuzzy." Retorted M'aiq.

"Still. X has a point, I doubt this Tamriel Place is anywhere even close to here." Intoned Faith.

"M'aiq is just thankful to have Skooma to drink." Intoned M'aiq.

"Though that brings up another thought. What sort of facilities do you guys offer?" I queried, looking over at Sucullus.

"Anything that you might want. We're a full-service establishment. We would hardly be decent dieties if we couldn't furnish a nexus realm. There's a Marketplace, Fighting Pit, Casino, and multiple bars, each catering to different clientele." Explained Sucullus.

"Oh? What sort of Clientele?" Asked Giles.

"Well, there are those from more or less mystical and medieval worlds. Aegir runs a Tavern, the sort of which might be found in their home realities, planes, and dimensions. Then there are the futuristic types, those who you might think of as more or less science fiction-based. Baalshamin runs a tavern that has all the technology they're familiar with. Of course, we also get those from a more infernal, undead, or monstrous background. Camazotz runs a Blood Bar that caters to those sorts. As for the Fighting Pits, Casino, and Marketplace, those are the provenance of Bellona, Dola, and Ayizan, respectively." Informed Sucullus.

The names rang several bells for me as Sucullus spoke. Aegir was a Norse God, more of a Jotun, really, who had dominion over the Sea, but was worshipped primarily by the Norse as an Ale-Brewing God. Baalshamin, meanwhile, was a Canaanite God associated with the sky and the stars. Next up, Camazotz was a Mayan God, a bat-like deity whose domains were death, the night, and blood sacrifice. Bellona, meanwhile, was a Roman Goddess, similar to my Patron Janus, who had no true Greek Counterpart. She was a Goddess of Battle, though her auspice was narrower than that of Mars. At the same time, Dola was a Western Slavic God of the Wends and Polabians associated with Fate. Finally, Ayizan was a Loa, a Western African Yoruba Goddess of Commerce whose worship had been synchronized with Saint Clare as part of Haitian Vodou practices.

All of these Gods and Goddesses were fairly appropriate for the parts they played in the running of the Compass and Clock, though as I finished my Penn Pavel's ale and lit up a Red Apple Cigarette, I noticed that the dieties weren't what had drawn the attention of Willow, but the fact that they let Demons in at all. As an argument began to ensue with Giles and Xander trying to calm down Willow and Faith so they didn't march down to the Blood Bar, make a Scene, and get killed by Camazotz for it, I noticed M'aiq getting up to leave after paying with some odd-looking gold coins. He wasn't the only one, either, as the two patrons at the corner table, a Dwarven Warrior with a red beard, horned helm, and the image of a foaming mug emblazoned on his shield, and a Drow Elf in a green cloak with two scimitars, got up, throwing a few miscellaneous Gold Coins from the Dimension of Faerun onto the table they were seated at.

"C'mon, Elf. We ought to be gettin' back to the others." Scowled the Dwarf.

"Regis and Catti-Brie can handle themselves, Bruenor." Mused the Drow.

"It ain't them I'm worried about. My boy was eying the other Barbarian with the Dark Hair, sizing the Man up. That's a tavern brawl in the makin' or I'll be a shaved Yeti." Scowled the Dwarf, Bruenor.

"I suppose that might be for the best, then. Still, I would like to finish my drink first." Sighed the Drow.

"Now, Drizzt, afore Wulfgar gets in over his head. I don't like the look of the one he's been staring down. That Bugger's like to gut Wulfgar as lay him out." Scowled Bruenor.

And with that, the Drow, Drizzt, and the Dwarf, Bruenor, left for the corridor full of doors, likely on their way to wherever Aegir's Tavern was. I turned toward the ongoing argument among my companions, took a deep drag off my Cigarette, and stubbed it out before turning to Sucullus again. The Gallic God of Brewing nodded at me, polishing a glass that had an odd-looking red and black flag with the badge of crossed spanners over a gear emblazoned on the center of it. I frowned at seeing that, and gestured to the glass.

"What's that flag?" I questioned.

"This? It's from another, even further distant reality, three jumps in the opposite direction from where I got the Winkles Old Peculiar from. A country there on the Black Sea, the Socialist Republic of Morskoj, manufactures these as cheap trade goods." Shrugged Sucullus.

"Interesting. I wonder, can you point me to the Arena?" I queried, before taking another drag on my cigarette.

"Why? Fancy taking a crack at the fighting pit there?" Asked Sucullus.

"Could be." I nodded, exhaling smoke.

"If you're gonna do that, then you may want to stop and place a bet with the bookie at Dola's Casino. Better yet, if you're that confident, stop in at Barter's Exchange Store in Ayizan's Bazaar and give him a tip on who to place bets on. Barter will give you anything you might want if he can make a successful bet. The odds are gonna be stacked in the favor of the Daily Champion Team, so if you give him a sure bet, you should be good there." Answered Sucullus.

"Any idea who the Champion Team today is?" I questioned.

"Korg, Son of Rel'gak, Kad Bralor, and Nak'an'uub." Responded Sucullus.

"Interesting names." I mused, taking another drag on my cigarette.

"None of them are from around here. Korg is from a nearby reality, around a hop diagonally up and to the left from here. Kad is a Mandalorian from a similar reality, a hop diagonally down and to the right, while Nak'an'uub is from a reality two hops forward from here. They're all geared with sci-fi things, and two of them are aliens, a Klingon and a Yautja, respectively. No magic, but that doesn't mean they aren't dangerous." Explained Sucullus.

"Wait, a Klingon? Like from Xander's Star Trek Program?" I queried, exhaling.

"You'll find that a lot of things that seem fictional to you are real in other realities. That's just the nature of how the greater cosmos works." Informed Sucullus.

"Fair enough. Why are you helping me, though?" I asked, taking one last drag on my cigarette.

"Trust me, with what's coming for this reality in the next few years? You'll need whatever help you can get." Intoned Sucullus.

"That sounds ominous. Are you talking about this coming year's apocalypse?" I questioned, exhaling.

"Not just that. Mortal Kombat is also coming up, the tenth tournament since the Great Kung Lao's defeat. If your Earth loses this one, it's game over. There are other things as well. The Go'auld are stirring out in space, a hornet's nest kicked over by the Special Forces there. More than that, too." Grunted Sucullus.

"Damn, it sounds like I might want to step things up, then, huh?" I queried.

"You just might at that." Intoned Sucullus.

As he said that, he slid over an ashtray from the Brick, which was apparently a bar and restaurant in Cicely, Alaska, at least according to the logo on the ashtray. I stubbed out my cigarette in the ashtray provided and slid a couple of hundred-dollar bills over to Sucullus, before standing. Then I made my way out, much to the confused glances of everyone else, though they quickly went back to their arguments over whether or not to storm Camazotz's blood bar. Surprisingly, Oz tagged along with me.

"Can't say what I think without upsetting Willow." He explained.

"Got it. Well, we need to find Fufluns. I'm gonna be heading to Ayizan's Marketplace to see a man about a bet, then I'm headed to the Arena." I nodded.

"I'm right here." Came the Voice of Fufluns.

I turned to find the young Psychopomp stepping out of a nearby doorway. With a frown, I peered into the doorway before it closed fully, getting a glimpse of what looked to be an odd white void with a giant steel doorway carved with the image of the Sephirotic Tree of Life. I thought I saw an odd being there as well who seemed to be made up entirely of negative space, but the door closed before I could get more than a glimpse. There were spots in my eyes from even just that much, and I was forced to quickly blink my vision clear, Oz frowning as he saw that.

"You all right?" He asked.

"I'm ok. What was that place?" I questioned, looking over at Fufluns.

"That's not a place for mortals. The Door of Truth can't be bypassed by any means while traveling to that specific reality. Even our doors can't do it. I would put it out of your mind, though. You won't be going to the reality beyond the Door of Truth unless you sacrifice part of yourself to do so." Answered Fufluns.

"No thanks, I think I'm all right." I refused.

"Ditto." Added Oz.

"Now, I believe you were headed to Ayizan's Marketplace?" Queried Fufluns.

"I was, and then to Bellona's Arena." I confirmed.

"Oh? Looking to try your hand in the Arena, eh?" Asked Fufluns.

"Definitely. I need to practice fighting enemies from other realities and dimensions if I'm going to go to the Battle Nexus Tournament this year." I affirmed.

"This is a good place for that. As for you, you may want to check out the range. The Arena is more than just a gladiatorial pit, after all. Contests of Martial Skill are also present. You look like you might be a contender to break the most recent target-shooting record. There is a prize for that. I believe the latest one was set by Colton White when we stopped in Empire City, New Mexico, in a Reality three hops behind this one." Informed Fufluns.

"Neat." Mused Oz.

"We need to stop at the Marketplace first, though." I reminded.

"Very well. Follow me." Intoned Fufluns.

And with that, Oz and I made our way following Fufluns through the Corridor of Doors and around several corners. This place was definitely bigger on the inside. As we walked, Fufluns led us to a door that seemed carved of some sort of grayish-green stone chased in bronze. As he tapped twice on the doorway, it opened, revealing a set of stairs down into a massive marketplace. Monumental architecture of columns, archways, and walls lined a flagstone-paved road. Stalls lined the street, with merchants hawking various wares, ranging from potions to clothing to spices and more. Shops were set into the various walls, with signs in dozens of languages, many of which I didn't understand, some of which clearly weren't human or even humanoid. As colorful awnings of dyed silk fluttered in the breeze of the artificial night sky. As we descended, I noticed one person, one being, looking down on it all.

An African Woman in white and blue silks, her face lined with liquid silver as if the metal had been used as tattoo ink. Her headdress was made of the same white and blue silk, though her earrings and necklace were made of opal and mithril. In one hand, she held a palm front, and in the other, a reed stylus. I knew at once that this was Ayizan, Loa of the Marketplace, in her element, overseeing the commerce of her Bazaar. It was probably best to tread carefully here so as not to offend her. As Oz and I descended the first few steps into the Marketplace, Fufluns nodded to us from the doorway.

"I will be here when you wish to return." He said, before the door closed behind us.

"Come on, let's head down and find this Barter and his Exchange Shop I was told to go to." I intoned.

"Right behind you." Nodded Oz.

Then, we descended down into the heart of Ayizan's Marketplace Proper, ready to try and bargain for an advantage with a Man named Barter. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. As you guys can see, we've got crossover stuff that isn't from the nineties in this one, in keeping with the theme of the Compass and Clock taking in elements from anytime and anywhere. We've got stuff from both the eighties and the two-thousands in this chapter. There's going to be more of that going forward as well. I'm planning on a healthy mix of such elements and other nineties crossover stuff throughout this little mini-arc, which is still going to be at least a couple more chapters.

Other nineties stuff in this chapter includes mentions of the Mortal Kombat Tournament and the Great Kung Lao from Mortal Kombat, The Battle Nexus and Battle Nexus Tournament from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sigil and Evermead from Second Edition Dungeons and Dragons, Penn Pavel's Ale and Heisler Beer from That Seventies Show, Buzz Cola from The Simpsons, Winkles Old Peculiar from Discworld, the Goa'uld from Stargate, the Brick Resturaunt and Cecily Alaska From Northern Exposure, and Red Apple Cigarettes from the works of Quentin Tarantino. Everything else from the nineties is from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Eighties stuff in this chapter includes Bruenor Battlehammer and Drizzt Do'urden from the Drizzt Novels by RA Salvatore, the Yautja from Predator, Barter from DC Comics, and Klingons from Star Trek TNG. Two Thousands Stuff in this Chapter includes M'aiq the Liar, Skooma, and the Nirn Stuff from the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Mandalorians from the Star Wars EU Novels and Comics of the two thousands, the Socialist Republic of Morskoj from Chromehounds, the Door of Truth from Fullmetal Alchemist, and Colton White from Gun.

At any rate, the next chapter will include the meeting with Barter and our first look at Bellona's Arena, including the Champion Team and Oz's test of skill on the Range. I'll also have a number of images out before then as well.

Stay tuned. . .