World of Taroo

by Jimmy Eriksson

  There was no sign of Chien, but they soon figured he was in a room upstairs as a door opened up and two of his men came out and stood guard. Tiger had found a hatch on the roof that could be opened, and he and Eesa slid in through it. They found themselves on the attic and could hear voices below. There were a lot of old chests in the room and a broken mirror. Eesa looked at a crack in the floor and lay down to have a look. He could see Chien and other men that looked like six business owners in the town sitting and drinking and there were about twenty of the similar men that were on the ship walking around and drinking. There were four girls walking around with very little clothes on and they were serving the business owners drinks. One of the men that ran the brothel slapped one of the girls for not bringing him enough ice so she fell on the floor. The others laughed, and she had to get up and get another drink for him.

  Tiger had found a couple of knives in a box, and they might come in handy, he thought and put them in his belt. There was nowhere else they could go as the stairs were guarded by many men that would raise the alarm. Tiger saw an opportunity to gain access to the room from another point in the room that had a few rotten floor boards due to rainwater dripping down on it. He could feel the boards only needed a heavy stomp and it would break. They decided to wait for Gon to make the move. Luma had seen a barrel of high alcohol drink standing under the stairs. He told Gon, and they agreed to get the attack going so Gon moved towards the barrel, and Luma stood next to a fire lamp.

  The men at the gambling table were so into the game they wouldn’t notice them doing anything and because no one else knew them, Gon could just walk straight up to the barrel and looked around one last time. Luma signalled that he was ready. Gon was strong and lifted the barrel right up. It was almost full and he took some steps to get speed and before anyone had noticed it was taken, Gon threw it towards the men and Luma threw the fire lamp. The barrel hit the wooden pillar and broke apart and as the alcohol came out, the fire lamp hit the barrel. The men that were quick enough looked back and saw a wave of fire coming towards them. They screamed as they were all hit with the burning liquid.

  Everyone turned their heads towards the men and panic started to set in for many. Gon flipped his cloak off and revealed himself and rushed up the stairs with Luma after. The two men came down with knives, but Gon struck one man in the stomach with his staff so he went down on his knees and then grabbed the next man and broke his neck. Gon’s pupil cut the other man down and then the men in the room with Chien were wondering what was going on down in the gambling and entertainment room. Gon kicked the door open and Chien could not believe his eyes and ordered his men to attack him. Before the men could come close, the ceiling from the other side of the room suddenly broke open and Tiger and Eesa appeared. Some of the men attacked them while most of the men took on Gon who was not holding back, he smashed his staff right over the head of the first man and then swept the leg with the staff on the next. Luma then entered and took on the men as well.

  Tiger and Eesa finished off the four men fast that attacked them and advanced. The business owners tried to leave but the way was blocked by the men fighting. Chien sounded the alarm by ringing a bell and soon, more men descended on the building. The girls in the room saw what was happening and huddled up in a corner. Eesa came up and told them to not worry and they would be out soon. There was chaos and three men then surrounded Chien to defend him. Gon and Tiger were having no problem to take the men out and then Eesa barred the door so it couldn’t be moved. There were some men on the outside banging on the door. The men lay spread out on the floor and many of them were dead.

  The business man that ran the brothel picked up a sword and demanded to be let out but got a bottle crashed over his head. It was the girl that received the slap from him. She kicked him on the side. Chien told the men to protect him but Tiger took them out one at a time and when Chien stood there by himself, Tiger grabbed him and threw him in front of Gon who lifted him and asked where Sophia was. Chien wondered how they were able to get there without the ship but Gon slapped him hard and repeated with a loud voice where was his daughter.

  The banging on the door behind Luma and Eesa had stopped and was then turning to voices that were trying to contain the fire as it was starting to get out of hand and they could feel the heat getting closer. Gon grabbed the shoulder on Chien and dislocated it. He screamed out in pain and said she was not there and he had already sold her to a man named Quarts. He dislocated the other arm and asked Chien where they were heading. Chien told him they were heading towards Redonia and Gon looked in his eyes and told him he should never have left the great city. He walked up to the bar and holding his throat so he had trouble breathing, he poured alcohol over his face and told one of the girls to give him a fire lamp. He then put Chien’s face on fire and threw him on the floor. He couldn’t put the fire out as his arms had been dislocated and buried his face in a dead man lying there. He finally got the fire out and moaned on the floor.

  Tiger opened the window and saw there were a lot of boxes outside that they could use to climb down. Eesa and Luma asked the girls to come with them and helped them to climb down. Before Gon left, he took another bottle and took a sip from it. He said Chien made a mistake to walk into the restaurant so many years ago and emptied the bottle’s content over him and once again lit him up. Chien could do nothing as he started to burn again and Gon grabbed a couple more bottles and emptied them over him as well. He screamed and Gon could also see the flames from underneath the floor were coming up. With a hard stomp with the leg, he broke the floor enough for Chien to slip through and he disappeared into the flames below.

  Gon climbed out the window where the businessmen were trying to get down and pushed them so they fell down. It was not very high up so Gon jumped from the top straight down. Well on the ground, more men came running, and they took anyone coming for them. Soon, no one dared to come close, and they decided to leave. The girls thanked them as they passed, and one of them stopped Gon and told him Quarts broke any girl down first before sending them out to work to destroy their spirit, and there was still time to save her. The building that Chien had was then fully lit and the focus then went to the next door buildings to not let the fire spread.

  They headed down to the dock and saw Chien’s ship anchored. They walked aboard, and the men that were on the ship tried to stop them but got thrown off right away. With no time to spare, they left for Redonia. The ship was full of supplies, and when Gon walked down to Chien’s private room he saw the Alumrylite stones were still in the chest. They sailed out of the mountain path leading out, and as they came out, they could see the sky was about to change to a lighter colour.