He was wearing a dark colored suit with a black brimmed hat. He had dark, murky green skin and a thick powerful tail wrapped around his legs. His eyes were a piercing golden hue and his large rows of teeth surrounded his mouth, contorting into a wicked smile. The creature was smoking a large cigar of some kind that was filling the air with a putrid black haze unlike the rest of the residence. His smooth voice sounded aloud, "He he he, welcome back. I didn't think I would see the Warlock of Devila dragging around a brat in Gamula. What brings you here aye?" Even as he spoke, I could feel an unprecedented aura around this man… He was strong. Taking into account what the pig man had mentioned, I was trying to avert my gaze from him. Unfortunately, it seemed that I was tricked.
Before Nightingale could respond to the Crocodilian man, he spoke to me in a menacing voice. "Aye BRAT. Don't you think it's rude not to meet the gaze of someone you're meeting for the first time? Is there something you're afraid to look at?" Before I knew it, this beast was standing right before me with his crooked smile right in front of my face. He was fast! I didn't even catch his movement, he got to me before I could even react. Nightingale on the other hand, had immediately placed his hand on the chest of the man stopping him from inching any closer to me. I lifted my gaze and looked him dead in the eyes with a fierce stare. I was not afraid. If I was to face beings even more powerful than this in the future, I shouldn't have averted my gaze. Nightingale finally responded to the man as the putrid smoke began wafting into my face as he exhaled. "You'd better stop there, Smiles." Nightingale's tone was serious, but I could tell that he was trying to avoid any kind of conflict. Nightingale was definitely strong, so I had to assume he was doing this in order to protect me… I didn't like that feeling. "I'm looking right at your ugly mug, you got a problem with that?" I said angrily. The man named Smiles simply scoffed and said, "Ha! You got some balls kid. Out of courtesy for the Warlock, I'll let it slide." He said as he turned and slowly walked back to his chair. He kept referring to Nightingale as the "Warlock" , something I had not heard before now. I'll have to ask him about it later to know what it means. Nightingale then spoke up again, "We're here for supplies, Smiles. I need two bottles of Gone water and some information. I'll pay you or trade you. The choice is yours." He said in an indifferent voice. It was clear that Nightingale had dealt with this man, Smiles before… But he definitely was not on friendly terms. I was also really interested in whatever this "gone water" was. It sounded like some kind of weird potion like the one Jewel had given me. Smiles seemed to like Nightingale's proposition. "Hmmmm I do quite enjoy the herbs you provided me before. They have the most intoxicating aroma." He said with a deep inhale of his cigar. His words made me wonder if the disgusting cigar smoke that filled the air had actually come from Nightingale. Smiles continued on, "Although I did enjoy the herbs you provided me last time, you know full well that gone water is worth far more. It's not only pricey, it's hard to come by. You'd think since your brother created it you'd have an unlimited supply. I guess he values it more than brotherhood aye? Heh heh." Hearing Smiles' words seemed to piss off Nightingale, but it was clear that he was holding back his aggravation. He wasn't the only one who was ticked off. If someone spoke of my family like that, I wouldn't let it slide. So I chimed in when I shouldn't have, "What's it to you anyways frog breath? Are you gonna make a deal with us or not?" I said in a condescending tone. I realized after I had said it, that I may have gone too far. Smiles was not amused with my remark, and went into a rage. "Did you just say… FROG?" At a blinding speed, his massive tail whipped towards me. Nightingale shouted out, "SMILES STOP!" But it was too late. The tail slammed into me with a strong enough force to lift me off my feet and send me flying into the wall. All I could do was raise up my left arm to try and protect myself, but that wasn't enough. When the tail struck my arm, I intensely felt my bones being crushed upon impact. Then when I hit the wall, not only was the wind knocked out of me, but I felt several more bones break and blood began flowing out of my mouth. The wall was completely demolished from the weight and speed of my body, and sent a plume of debris into the air. Despite being in immense pain, I did not lose consciousness. Instead, I felt my rage boiling and the divine power inside of me began to fester. As my ability activated, I could feel the broken bones in my body begin repairing themselves. They were restructuring and realigning at an alarming speed. I stood up from the ground as my bones were jutting and cracking back into place. As if a miracle had occurred, I began laughing aloud. Not only had my broken bones just healed themselves, but they felt even stronger and sturdier than before. "Hahaha, alright… You got one, now I get one." I said as I spit blood from my mouth onto the floor. However, not wanting this confrontation to devolve any further, Nightingale intervened and stepped between us. The intense rage that Nightingale was emitting was more than evident. The aura he was giving off was enough to make me shudder. "THATS QUITE ENOUGH. The boy said some harsh words, but you've taken it too far Smiles. If you wish to pursue this any further I'll just kill you here and now." Nightingale said while exuding pure killing intent. The Crocodilian man was unamused. "Hah, I see you don't fear my backer aye? That's a mistake and you know it, Warlock. The king will not be pleased if his trusted advisor is harmed. Besides that, you think I'd want to do business with you and this runt after displaying such disrespect? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM OR NOT!? I am Smiles! The trade smith and boss of the Gamula trade market. If I wanted, I could bar you from this place for the rest of time. So, what words do you have for me now, Warlock?" Smiles said with a deadly gaze. I was pissed off at his words and inadvertently shouted, "WHAT!?" But Nightingale cut me off. "Shut up Ivan!" He said as he looked at me angrily. Damnit, I must have really made him mad… He continued, "In good faith, I'll give you double the herbs and I'll throw in an artifact. That should be an even trade right?" Nightingale said with a grim look. Smiles seemed like he got everything he was hoping for based on the look he made. Smiles was obviously arrogant and thought he could get away with anything based on this "king" backer he spoke of… "Hmph, well I suppose if you're going to twist my arm like that… I guess we could make a deal heh heh." Smiles said with a devilish grin. "So what information do you want? You already know that I have nothing to do with the beast blood trade that goes on here." Smiles said with another inhale of his cigar. "No, I don't care about the beast blood anymore. What's done is done. Those people could never revert back anyways unless the monkey king suddenly wanted to make his appearance again. What I am looking for is a lead for a group that was involved in some breather unsavory business here in Gamula. They had an entire prison system within the maze that they were using to incarcerate children. I'm sure you know full well that if you were found to be involved with such characters… You would be pursued and captured by the knights of Morland post haste. Now if you have any information about this group, then it would be best for you to give it up. I won't involve you in it any further. Just tell me what you know." Nightingale said as he took a chair from the side of the room and placed it in front of Smiles to sit down. Honestly, if this conversation revealed that Smiles was involved with that man Parro in any way, then I don't think I could withhold my rage. I knew this Crocodile man was strong, but I don't think that even he would be enough to stop me…