Three

Fantasy Park, it was a completely different world in here than the world I lived in out there.

The nightlife in here was its whole own thing compared to the day. I was just standing within the gate, and I could see about a dozen different coloured lights flying around the place. They whizzed and danced around each other and hopped along the flowers.

I could hear the beats of hooves as a few centaurs ran around in the darkness. Off in the distance I heard an unearthly howl. It pierced my ears and rattled my brain.

It wasn’t just the obvious things you could see that made Fantasy Park different. It just had this strange feeling about it. Almost like the air had some kind of charge about it. A constant tingling could be felt all over my skin, causing my flesh to break out into goosebumps.

I walked along the brick road and headed in the direction of the place in here I was most familiar with. Once there, I could figure out where it was I needed to go. And also, I’d be able to hear any of the latest gossip going about Fantasy Park.

I pulled my coat tighter around me. The rain felt like it had gotten worse in here, but at least that bloody wind was gone. That’s the killer.

I made it to the pub without a hitch. For that to happen here was rare. Something nearly always happened here.

It wasn’t always the kind of thing that affected your safety, just something always happened in here. If nothing happened to you, you saw something or heard something. This place never slept.

The pub was an old building, the kind that had gone out of fashion back in Edge City. It was made of large, grey stone that varied in size. The windows were a thick glass that made people look funny as you looked through it. Also, coz they were so thick, they didn’t break every time some furniture was thrown at them. Or people.

A wooden sign hung above the door. On it was faded paint, a picture that was meant to look like a cauldron and the name of the pub written along the top. The Cracked Cauldron.

“Well, well. If it isn’t Vince Clay. Come to get your ass kicked again, have you?” The slow, deep voice took me my surprise. I had been so focused on what I needed to do that I forgot about the bouncer.

The bouncer would have to try really, really hard to go unseen. He stood around ten, maybe eleven feet tall. His arms and legs were like tree trunks, and he looked like he weighed about eight hundred pounds. His skin was pale, his teeth were black, and his breath just about knocked you out.

“Hello Bhodie. I don’t plan to get my ass kicked tonight. I’m here on official business. No drinking if I can help it.”

“That’s a shame. Its always entertaining when you go that far. Yer a funny little man Vince, make sure you stay that way. Grob’s in, like always.”

“Thanks Bhodie. Look, next time I put on a show, I’ll make sure you get front row tickets.”

“Make sure you do. Fighting rarely gets brought out here. I barely get to see anything.” Bhodie opened the massive door for me. The doors here had to be much larger than they were back home, what, with all the different sized creatures here.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I entered, it wasn’t too busy tonight. Meant it would be easier for me to talk to Grob.

The interior wasn’t too well lit. Floating candles that never seemed to drip wax were scattered about the pub around the ceiling. To one side was a huge fireplace, with some patchwork, leather, high back seats scattered around it. A grotesque looking bear’s head was mounted atop the fireplace. Much bigger than any bear I had ever seen.

Most of the furniture in here was a dark timber and the floor was the same grey stone that made up the walls. A few animal furs and patches of carpet covered the floor around the place.

The walls were decorated too. Various weapons were attached to the walls. I knew from experience that these were display only. They broke on impact over your head.

There was also a large, red tapestry that hung, uncovered, on one of the walls. The picture was that of the pub with a goblin standing out the front. Every now and then, the goblin moved. It would look around and sometimes even wave. Sometimes, it just pointed at the pub behind it, as though it were some kind of trophy.

I approached the stone and timber bar, and thankfully, nobody else was sitting here.

By the time I sat down, a metal jug was already sitting on the bar in front of me, full of a dark, frothy liquid. There was the faintest hint of chocolate coming from it.

“Evening there Grob. I won’t be making you too much trouble tonight, official business.”

The little goblin climbed up on a step and looked at me long and hard. Unlike most goblins, he proudly displayed his dark hair. It was pulled back in a tight ponytail, and he had sideburns to boot. They weren’t as impressive as my lambchops, but for a goblin, they were impressive.

He wore a long-sleeved shirt that looked like it must’ve been bright white at some point. To accent it all, he had a crimson red vest that had two big, brass buttons.

“Righto Vince, not a problem. What can I do for you?” He was wiping down a mug with a dish rag that definitely didn’t look clean.

“What do you know of the murder of a noble elvish woman’s fiancée, that happened tonight? He was a human, if that might help jog your memory.”

Grob looked around the pub to make sure nobody was listening intently.

“Yeah, I heard about it. His name was Heston. Heston Barclay.”

“Shit, gimme a sec.” I fumbled inside my coat and pulled out my little notebook. Thankfully it didn’t get wet. “What else do you know?”