A meeting of ill possibilities [Mission closed; Adam/Noah only]

Night, the moon was rising high in the sky few clouds blocked its rays upon the capitol city of the Zou Empire. The city’s streets were filled with red lanterns hanging from the homes and buildings. Couples walked the streets hand in hand, drunks hollered from the bars inside, and children ran about enjoying the humid air of the late spring season. The glitter of white ruhk could be noticed by those who were blessed with the power of magic filling the air tonight as the joy of these people were touching even the heart of Solomon. Though mixed with these white ruhk some as black as night also fluttered about clinging onto the ones that were slowly falling into depravity. One of these people in particular had a rather high amount following him as he walked through the streets, his name was Noah.

As the boy walked the streets his white, silk robe fluttered in the night breeze. He was happy for the time being. He had finally reached the capitol city and was getting to rest and enjoy its sights and sounds. The city was rather large, larger than Heliopaht’s but it seemed to be more spread out rather than compact so the two would most likely have similar population numbers. The city was tucked away in the mountains which gave it not only an excellent defense position but also a fantastic scenery. Small rivers ran along the road sides of the old, worn, cobble streets with different size and colored coy fish swimming through it. The street that Noah found himself in this evening was well known for its excellent bar scene, it seemed to be a place with spectacular discounts for foreigners but also a place where one could find a good show or two, depending on the type of show you were looking for.

Noah was rather tired, thirsty, and hungry after his long journey just getting to this city. He had not really rested much size getting off the boat, his bipolar disorder kept him awake most nights. His feet had begun to ache and his stomach was not going to keep letting him go without receiving some food first. He could cause some veggies to grow right here and now but opted for some meat since that would have the best amount of protein for him. He decided to enter one of the closer establishments. He was greeted and shown to the bar area where he would have to eat at. Not being one too particularly found of liquor he opted for a simple lemon mint tea and a main dish of some kind of grilled chicken and mushrooms. As he waited for his food he simple sat there playing with the toothpicks completely blocking out the noise and other people in the room focusing on his spinning of the two toothpicks in a gear like fashion.

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In the middle of a crowded bar rested a blonde young man, tall and lean. He wore a white dress shirt and black pants, with suspenders and a top hat. The man's name was Adam; he was in the bar for some nightly refreshment. Adam chatted with a few attractive women while sipping a glass of high-end wine, enjoying himself tremendously. He was rather bored of the lack of action which he had seen, though. The blonde scanned the room for anything that may be of interest. He placed his glass of wine on the table and told the girls he would be leaving- something had caught his eye.

It was behind the bar. There was a sign. He walked up- was it what he thought it was? Was the coliseum opening for the night?

Backtrack for a bit. The Zou empire is proud of its nobility and arts of warfare, but there is one main event which stands out the most- the Coliseum Challenge. During this event, tag teams of extremely skilled fighters sign up to challenge eachother, the winners leaving with big rewards.

Adam was interested now. He asked the bartender of the sign, and his belief was confirmed. Tonight there would be a battle- however, none of the girls who he was chatting with looked as though they fought for a living and could be of any assistance during a fight. (Except that one with the high heels- those hurt like hell if you get stepped on)

He scanned the nearby area for a potential partner. He caught a glimpse of a big, buff man with a mustache and a beard, but he was passed out on the floor. Then he saw a man in a white skin-tight uniform with a lightning bolt on it. He looked interesting- however, he was with another man with wings. He assumed they would be fighting together. Then he took notice of a boy calmly eating grilled chicken and mushrooms nearby. He had brown hair and wore robes of white. Adam approached him.

Good evening, sir. You see, the Zou Coliseum is opening up, and I need a tag team partner who is skilled at combat. Would you like to take the challenge by my side? Great awards await us if we emerge victorious.

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Small slices that was how Noah liked to eat his chicken. No point in stuffing in as much as he could in one go, how would he savor the taste that way? That was also a small philosophy he had in life as well, why rush things when dragging them out longer could satisfy you more. Noah was thinking like a poisoner or so it seemed to him in his mind when in actuality he had started to see himself more as a cruel god, the powers to bring about life or take it away were his, would that fact alone not classify him as a god? He had been enjoying his meal, it was simple and not very well done, but the taste of meat had filled his stomach after living off fruits and veggies the past few weeks. He was just about to put another bite into his mouth when a blonde haired lad approached him, why he was doing such a thing was unimportant to Noah at least for the time being.
 
“Good evening, sir. You see, the Zou Coliseum is opening up, and I need a tag team partner who is skilled at combat. Would you like to take the challenge by my side? Great awards await us if we emerge victorious.”
 
Noah placed his fork and knife down and causally turned to look at the man. What was this man thinking? Just coming up to some random stranger asking them to fight with him? Who did he think Noah was some barbarian? With a dull expression on his face he answered. “I do not think you realize that I am currently in the middle of my meal sir. Blood would not be a good condiment for this dish.” He spun back around and took that bite that he had just paused from eating. He had brushed the man off rather rudely he realized this but he was tired and not in any mood to deal with people that were looking to get themselves killed. Judging from him just talking to a stranger Noah had deduced that this guy must either be a fool or somebody so weak that he could not find a decent partner on his own and is now going around asking anybody that he can to join him in his fight. Noah was not one to be fodder just because some greenhorn had high ambitions.
 

Before the man would have a chance to get far if he decided to walk away at Noah’s brash statement the brown haired boy turned around. Lucky for the blonde boy Noah had a bad trait and that was to never be bored and to seek his own powers limits which was something that this guy was offering. He grabbed his staff that was resting next to him and stood up from the seat. He started walking away from the plate without paying passing the blonde hair boy. “Well I guess I can lead you a hand, lets go. Oh and don’t forget to pay my tab. You can consider it a small price to pay for my assistance.”

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Adam tossed a small sack of jewels towards the counter upon which the boy was eating his food. Hopefully that covered any expenses. He then caught up to the brown-haired boy. This kid was rather rude- of course, he had no idea that Adam was a prince, but still- rude, indeed. However, the blonde was in no position to judge, for he knew nothing of his fighting partner's past. He caught up with the kid, attempting to hopefully develop somewhat of a more positive image of himself.

I suppose I was a bit brash earlier- I never even got to introduce myself. My name is Adam Yuan-Zu. I apologize for interrupting your meal. What might your name be?

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The man quickly paid for Noah’s meal, which was nice since he really did not have too much money on him anyways. Noah only took a few steps before the man caught up to him, he seemed to be a bit eager which was never a bad thing, well sometimes it was but at the moment it seemed like no harm in it. He apologized for his brash invitation, an act that Noah was not expecting in all honesty. His name seemed to be Adam Yuan-Zu… Yuan Zu..Yuan Zu, Noah knew he had heard of that name somewhere but where but where was just out of his grasp… It was going to bug the young mage until he figured it out. He was rather curious what kind of man this Adam was though, would he be a coward that turned tails and ran away during the battle? If so than Noah might have to put him down himself…

“Okay Adam now you said you needed a partner for some arena like thing? Where exactly is this place if you do not mind divulging that bit of information.” The bar was getting more and more crowded, Noah would be happy to leave there soon. The boy did mention riches awaited him though so he was rather curious on how much money he could walk away with, his coffers were running rather low and he would like to stay somewhere nice tonight. Being on the road for a long time made a man yearn for a nice soft down feathered bed.


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Oh, but of course. That must have slipped my mind, my friend. The man behind the bar should know. The arena is huge, you know- just about every pub in the city has some kind of secret entryway to get there. Anyhow, I suppose we'd better get going- it starts soon, and I wish to do more than spectate this time.

Adam walked up to the bartender and asked about the tournament. Upon giving him his name, the tender quivered in awe.

"Prince Adam? Participating in the grand battle royale? Why, this is an amazing honor! However- you need a partner."

Adam gestured towards the boy who he had selected. He did not know his name yet.

"Ah, I see," croaked the bartender. "Is this your choice? What might your name be?"

Indeed- what is your name? We haven't properly introduced ourselves yet.

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” Oh, but of course. That must have slipped my mind, my friend. The man behind the bar should know. The arena is huge, you know- just about every pub in the city has some kind of secret entryway to get there. Anyhow, I suppose we'd better get going- it starts soon, and I wish to do more than spectate this time.”

Well this was sounding more and more like that man in Heliopaht that discovered Noah in the Black Temple. That fight was..fun, short but fun. If this was anything like that then Noah would enjoy himself a bit plus maybe stretch his magical strengths. It had been a long time since anything even gave him the slightest bit of problem when it came to a fight. Adam turned around and started to walk towards the bar tender, Noah followed him not wanting to waste any more time. Adam muttered his name to the bar tender and the man’s face went slightly pale, something that caused Noah to pay attention more. In a quiver of a voice the bar tender spoke back. "Prince Adam? Participating in the grand battle royale? Why, this is an amazing honor! However- you need a partner."

Prince? Is this man serious? That boy’s last name did sound familiar and now the idea of the leader held the same last name seemed to bring back Noah’s knowledge on the Zou’s fearsome Emperor. Why would somebody who could whip their own butt with golden tissue paper want to get their hands dirty in a fight like these unless he had something to prove? The bar tender’s attention seemed to be brought to Noah. He took a step forward and gave a rather sour look due to him still mulling over what the heck a prince was doing here and way he would pick Noah. “Noah Ramos from Heliopaht. A mage by nature but a priest by trade, though not a very proper priest. My family is one of the oldest in Heliopaht or the world for that matter, we are charged with the task of running the Black Pyramid in the Desert of Lost Souls. But enough of small talk I believe you said there would be a chance to make some money.” He gave Adam a glance at that, he was ready to see what a prince was made of, especially the prince of a nation that was known to be the most blood thirsty and power hungry in the world.

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Indeed, Indeed. We have money to make and foes to beat down. Let us not waste more time with pointless banter and smalltalk and instead focus more on the grandeur of battle!

Noah gave Adam an odd glance.

Adam could tell from the glance this "Noah" gave him that he meant business. This was good. Business... was good. The bartender took them into the back and down a set of narrow stairs- they walked down said stairs for about 5 minutes before they saw a door.

Upon passing through, the pair of fighters were met with the most amazing establishment they'd ever seen.

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