Loki straggled behind as though weighed down with reluctance in the wake of Acacius Blade's unsightly swagger. Beggers parted on either side of the walkway, snivelling in miserable tongues and cupping the air with their rotten hands. A pale fog had closed in and engulfed the jutting docks; the lights of ships floated in the haze like eerie beacons while ghostly shadows swam briefly into view before slipping back into the thick white shroud. When they reached the end of the creaking gangway, they found themselves flanked by armed gamorreans who grunted at the exuberant stranger and poked their weapons at a gaggle of scantily clad women hugging a street corner.
"Ah! Thank you, my good man... Gamorrean... Gamorreman... Argh! Ha ha ha!"
Acacius clapped the sour-faced alien on the shoulder and paraded off across the street. The boy skulked behind him as best he could, since skulking was not in his nature, and made no eye contact with any of the thugs or women. He saw a lot of legs as they passed by and tried to ignore the slew of lewd propositions aimed at the tall stranger in the expensive clothes. Acacius stopped so suddenly Loki almost crashed into him, the leather of his boot squeaked as he spun on his heel to address one of the street walkers.
"You! Yes, you will do!" he said, prodding a lecherous finger at a short robust thing with blue skin and scarlet hair, she wore a gold dress which put on display all six of her plump breasts. She giggled and her fleshy folds jiggled.
"Tell me, fine wench, where's your best watering hole?"
He draped an arm around her and they sashayed off with Loki in tow. They walked for some time, the boy scowled at the sing-song way in which the new friends talked, and when they laughed it rang in the plunging chasms and echoed from soaring city wall to soaring city wall. When they crossed any one of the myriad rickety walkways, they clung to the railings on either side, cautious not to be swept into the void by the moaning wind or sucked off their feet into oblivion by the speeders which raced through the shimmering streets.
To the boy's relief, the sound of the flirting strangers was finally drowned out and replaced by the thrashing, clanging, singing, banging heartbeat of downtown. The laughter of hoarse voices and the clamor of drunken merriment spilled into the street. The trio stopped dead in the sickly glow of a flickering sign outside the loudest cantina they had come across, the woman grinned and tugged at the captain's hand. Loki looked up, the sign read:
The Bridegroom Saloon
He took a deep breath then followed them inside.
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