The Viligante takes a break. (OPEN)

[Whiteshadow]

"Damn!" one of the men swore in amazement as the experiment polished off his tenth bottle. They really were stupid, Eternium thought to himself. Not only had the experiment attracted a good sized crowd with this display, but now the men around him were betting and actually paying for his drinks, just to see how long he could go. What they didn't know is that if he truely wanted to, the experiment could drink as much as he wanted and not get even the least bit drunk. It came handy in situations like this, when one was tight of purse.

"Hey barkeep," He said to the wide-eyed man across the counter. "You got anything stronger than this stuff? I can't even feel a buzz." Eternium waved the empty bottle in front of the man's astounded face.

"B-but that's the second best we've got..." the man blubbered. Never before had he seen such a spectacle in his entire life. Usually after the third one of this brand his customers were out or stumbling drunks, but this albino...he was completely sober and wanting for more!

"C'mon, there has to be something here worthwhile." the experiment almost laughed.

The barkeep thought for a second, then reached down behind the counter and placed a huge bottle of what seemed to be a bubbling red wine. However, as soon as the experiment and the men read the label on the bottle, all of them, including Eternium, gasped out loud.

It was Firewhisky, one of the strongest substances known to all mankind. A mixture of dragon blood, good old whiskey and several different exotic oils and spices, they combined to make a delicacy that made even a absolved man's mouth water.

And boy, were the mouths of men watering. Everyone seemed focused upon that single bottle, as if their entire existence lead up to this moment. "Got three bottles of this stuff..." the bartender explained, pretending to casually wipe the counter. "...but its rather expensive."

Immediately Eternium's mind went to his purse, and he felt slightly crestfallen. That is, until a big man supporting the albino spoke up. "Who cares? I'm wealthy enough, and I'd personally like to see how far this guy can go, even standing up to stuff like that." The man clapped Eternium on the back.

"So i'll pay for all three bottles, if you don't mind. And--" He broke off in mid sentance to hold everyone's attention. "--I have a bit of a wager for all of you. If this here man can drink all three of this whiskey and walk out of here on two feet, then all drinks are on me for the rest of the night!"

A great cheer went up.

"However, if he can't, you all will have to pay double the price that go for drinks normally. Agreed?"

A silence ensued, until one man stood up and shouted, "Aye, i'll take you up on that!" and several others followed his example one by one.

Eternium grinned at the look on the bartender's face and grabbed the huge bottle of firewhisky. This was gonna be one hell of a night.

[Nachende]

"Hey, Ji, there's a guy gonna take down three bottles o' firewhiskey!" The Obnoxious One was suddenly leaning too-far over the table, disrupting chips and cards and poker faces. Jiala shifted back with a twitch. So that was what all those drunkards were hooting about? Some damned fresh new punk with a hard gut and a thick head?

"That's good shit," she growled, shoving the kid's head back before rearranging her cards. The dealer must've rigged her hand again. "Ya don't waste firewhiskey on bets."

"Yah, but if he does it, everyone gets free drinks rest o' th' night!"

Jiala was immediately elbowing her way to the front of the crowd. "C'mon, punk, chug it!" she barked with a toothy grin, then clamped the back of Eternium's chair and slammed a fist on the table. Chug it all or get a poker chip stuffed down your throat. She leaned over and shot him a crooked smirk behind scraggled strands of platinum hair.

[Elijah_Morendale]

"Look at this moron!" Nadia watched the man with cloud-white hair with intense curiosity while I brooded to myself over a pair of jacks. "You think he'll make it? I mean, seriously... That's some heavy shit he's gotta' down."

Yeah, uh huh, whatever. I was too busy trying to work up a decent bluff to care. Besides, with all the hooting and hollering going on inside the Peaceful Promenade, I could nail my eyes shut and fill my ears with ice and still know exactly what was going on. I slammed some cards on the table, disrupting the delicate stack job of my chips. "Three, please."

There was no answer from the dealer, or anyone else at the table for that matter. They were too engrossed in the impending firewhisky binge to care about the game. Hell, one of them, the platinum blond girl, left the table to go encourage his idiotic behavior. After several seconds of waiting, I picked up the deck of cards off the table and nonchalantly dealt myself a royal flush, my cheating going unnoticed. I'll push everyone all in, and that'll teach the bastards.

My imaginary friend began hopping with anticipation. "Ooh! Did you hear that? If this sumbitch does it, we all get free drinks for the rest of the night!"

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." I picked up a chip out of the pot and flicked it at the dealer. He twitched, finally giving me some attention. "You. I'm all set."

"No new cards?"

"No new cards."

He smiled. "Must be mighty confident in your hand, eh?"

I smiled back. He had no idea.

[Whiteshadow]

Eternium smiled at the platinum-haired girl. She had spunk. He liked that. Hell, even in this confident state he found her attractive, her small form appealing to the experiment.

But that could wait. Now, he had three bottles of firewhisky in front of him, goddamit, and he wasn't going to waste 'em. "Oh babe, you have no idea." He winked, and immediately popped the cork on the first drink and began chugging it.

It felt like fire going down his throat. A sweet, cool fire that both liquidized and melted his organs as it traveled through his body, making a path down to his stomach. And while he was immune to the effects of alcohol, he could see why this stuff was a delicacy not to be taken lightly.

Any other man would have been out drunk at the first swig.

Eternium gobbled the fiery liquid down like there was no tommorow, careful not to spill any, not from his white coat but for the fact that it tasted so good a single drop would be wasteful. When he was finished with the huge bottle, he slammed the glass down on the table and roared with laughter.

"Daaaaaaaaamn!" he yelled, and continued laughing. "That is some strong shit! You have GOT to get me another one of those!"

He gave the platinum haired girl another sly wink. "Another chug, perhaps?"

[Nachende]

Jiala simply could not understand why the rest of the players were still lazing in their seats, noses buried in the cards. Especially when the new punk just downed an entire bottle of firewhiskey.

There was silence for an eternity, broken only by Boy Wonder's mockery of The Great Firewhiskey. Jiala, still leaning invasively into Eternium's personal space, stared at the pale man with thin lips and a twitch in her eye. Something was wrong. He was .... fine. A snarling rage clawed its way up her throat, and, with rigid hands, she swiped the now-empty bottle and sniffed; a cool fire billowed into her sinuses and down her throat. She licked the mouth of the bottle, and her mouth tingled pleasantly with the familiar needles of shock. It was firewhiskey, all right.

In a growling fit, she slammed the bottle on the table and clung to it for balance, her hair strewn about her reddened face like an injured tiger. Even she couldn't handle a whole shot of firewhiskey at once, and this guy -- She glared into his face, searching hard for signs of drunkenness. When she found none, a slow grin crept up her face. This ... was amusing. There was still time to wait for him to cower, vomiting, in the corner. She wrapped her fingers around the neck of the second cool bottle and, wordlessly, eyes mocking, pressed it ceremoniously on the table before Eternium.

[Whiteshadow]

Eternium watched the girl's face turn a bright red and he chuckled. Obviously she must have been betting against him, he thought to himself. Well, she was in for a shock.

She took the courtesy of placing the next bottle of firewhisky down before him, and he wasn't shocked by the way she mocked him with her eyes. Apparently, she didn't expect him to be able to survive a second round.

"Thank you, my dear." He said with a polite, easy tone, although his eyes mocked her own. "I would have gotten it my self, but as you can see..." he gestured over to the bartender, who had fainted in shock as Eternium had downed the first.

He looked around himself at the cheering crowd. Ah yes, this was a fun night. The man who had sworn to pay for the drinks was laughing as he gobbled down one of own drinks and he patted Eternium on the back. "Well done!" He sputtered, still laughing. "Only two more to go, now!"

Eternium smiled wickedly as he popped the cork on the second. "Ah yes. Only." And then, in one swift movement, he began downing the bottle as if his life depended on it.

It seemed to taste even better to the warrior. He could feel it energize him, its liquid fire easing his bones and clearing his head. Shit...he thought to himself as the last droplet sank down into his throat. I could live on this stuff.

Setting the empty bottle before him, he gave the platinum haired girl a wide smile. "Care to check that one as well?" he said, and winked roguishly.

[Elijah_Morendale]

Of course, the remaining people at my table were too distracted by the man's drinking spree to give a damn about the poker hand, so I was able to get them to push all in without much of a hassle. Consequentially, they were pissed when they found out that I had a royal flush and that I had jacked all of their hard earned gold. With my questionable techniques masked by my smile, I snatched their gold and stuffed it into the leather pouch where I kept my own.

"Thank you gents, but it's past my bedtime. Maybe we'll do this again next week?"

As I walked away from the grumbling patrons, Nadia tugged on my jacket. "Hey. I've got an idea." I looked over, her eyes were locked on the oddly dressed man who thought he was a hot shot with the bottle.

The noise from the spectacle high enough where I could freely talk to my imaginary friend out loud without worry of strange looks. "No. I'm done listening to you for the night."

"No, seriously... Firewhiskey's gonna' take a lot out of a man like him, no matter how indestructible he thinks he is. What if you laid some money down on a drinking contest?"

I already knew where she was going with this. "I can't drink much. I know this, you know this."

She knocked me upside the head with a translucent hand. "You're completely missing the point, dipshit. After three bottles of that crap plus whatever else he's had tonight, he'll be out in no time! Meanwhile, you can sip your drinks easily while he passes out cold! That's the quickest cash that you'll ever earn, standing right on the other side of this crowd!"

As much as I hate to admit it, Nadia was right. I was feeling a little bit lucky after dealing myself the winning hand unnoticed in poker, what's another little game to get me a quick buck? I snaked my way through the crowd, stopping at the front to observe my next opponent.

[Nachende]

Jiala's grin faded, and her eyes slitted uncertainly as she stared at the white-haired wonder. She could accept, now, that this guy was some kind of freak and was immune to liquor somehow. She'd seen crazier shit than that. Now, she only wondered how his stomach and bladder were actually holding all this liquid, on top of the alcohol he'd downed earlier. The smile on his face only served to make her uneasy. Didn't he know that showing off his ability like this, while it might get him a handful of gold now, would keep anyone from ever challenging him to a drinking contest again? Not to mention he was completely wasting so much wonderful liquor that should otherwise be savored. And that guy...

She squinted at the grinning man who stood behind the drinker -- the one, she supposed, who would be buying all the drinks if this guy succeeded. He seemed awfully happy about the fact that he would soon be shilling out money for a night of drinks for gods know how many people. Something wasn't right. Maybe she was just paranoid as usual, but she didn't think anyone was getting any drinks tonight. That, or Mister Moneybags had an ulterior motive that had everything to do with this weird guy. She knew what it was like to be used and betrayed.

Jiala frowned and quietly sat on the edge of the table next to Eternium, then glared at the now-empty bottle a moment before she tipped it over her mouth, downing the last couple drops. The fire was soothing.

"We all know you'll do it," she hissed in a low voice, peering at Eternium meaningfully. Her eyes lifted to the grinning man behind him, then back again as she leaned close. "But is it worth it?" Double price for the drinks wasn't something she was concerned about; she didn't much feel like drinking anymore.

[Whiteshadow]

Sorry I haven't posted yet, but I was typing here earlier when the internet here went haywire. I'll have post up by tommorow at the latest. Oh, and be prepared: its going to be action packed.

Edit: Excuse me for the wait, I've been writing a post to this on my own but for some reason it does not seem satisfactory to me. I'll have the revised post up ASAP.

[Taskmienster]

This thread has been sitting since before the beginning of this year (2009). Since no response has been made to create activity I am going to be moving this. If you would like it to be reopened please feel free to PM myself or another admin and they will be able to move it for you back to the Peaceful Promenade.