Chapter 16: OH MY DAHLING, glowing is a bad sign as usual.

Standing dramatically in the entrance was a being around the size of a child, with coppery skin. It wore soot covered boots, and charred pelts held in place by a reddish-brown belt that was oddly pristine. This being also appeared to be headless. It was not headless, but rather its head was located somewhere other than what one from a more simple dimension would think of.

In a hand that had only two triangular fingers with no nails, along with a triangular thumb, there was a what looked at first like a hammer. It was the head of this denizen locked into some manner of cunning(for a given level of cunning) stick with a hoop on the end, a hoopstick if you will. This head was shaped like a bullet, but eyeless and with teeth not covered by any lips, stuck in an eternal grin.

But even if an explodahead had lips, not grinning would be out of the question. Yes! It was an explodahead, a denizen feared not for the nigh-invincibility of its body and ability to explode its head(afterwards growing a new head) but its love of explosions, and the recklessness and thoughtlessness of this combined with pretty much being invincible. Most didn’t really understand why other beings were ‘shy’ of explosions.

A hush had fallen over the gambling den at the arrival of the explodahead in the midst of dramatics. Habi and Golbassy had both read about explodaheads, and they feared them, for apart from being beings frequently unbound from regular reasoning (when you can explode your head, everything looks like a problem that can be solved via explosions, besides, explosions are fun), Habi was of cloth, and liable to burn and while she would not burn as easily as regular clothes, it would not at all be pleasant to say the least.

If explosions are generally the primary love of all sound minded(for explodaheads) explodaheads, then dramatics are the secondary love. Really everyone was really fortunate that the explodahead hadn’t just blown through the den as a more dynamic dramatic entry.

The explodahead just stood there, grinning from his hoopstick. To those more versed in the ways of those that see without eyes, it was clear that the brazen exploder was looking about the den for someone or something. It began to get a bit awkward, it was also clear to those that knew, that the explodahead was not finding what he was looking for.

Golbassy and Habi’s minds raced. Who had sent an explodahead after them? Was it Golbassy’s father? Was it the murderer? An explodahead sent to silence her? Who was it? Gordon? Gail? Gilgamush? Golbassy again wondered why it was her that had been targeted, was it simply the murderer framing the one he or she could think of? Was there something deeper?

It was as this tense awkwardness of waiting for one man to find what he was looking for dragged on that everyone’s attention was drawn to the companion of the explodahead.

It was a dog.

“THIS was the ferocious presence that chased us?” Habi gasped in disbelief.

In particular it was a dog in the shape of a pill, and was coloured green on one half and purple on the other. Naturally it was a pilldog, best known for horking up empowering green balls when given belly rubs. They are as a rule, completely harmless apart from the denizens and creatures that are attracted by the benefits of their pills. This one however, had a the focused fierce aura of a hunting dog, even if she did have a bit of a goofy look on her face as her tongue lolled about and she sniffed the air expectantly.

Hammer opened his mouth to speak, prompting Golbassy and Habi to panic and shout out over him.

“MY MINIONS, ATTACK HIM!” They commanded as one.

Golbassy and Habi in their panic commanded in just the right tone and volume. Those susceptible to being minions couldn’t help but obey such a authoritative voice. Minionism is a serious condition. Really.

Now while those weak in that fashion acted, the vaguely stronger willed began to join in the impromptu lynch mob that was forming and advancing on the explodahead. In a chain reaction the slightly stronger willed continued to join those weaker than them as they did not want to be left out.

Then everyone else began betting on the outcome of the situation. It was a den filled with gamblers after all. Eadam and his crew actually managed to form around Golbassy and Habi, well away from the explodahead.

“HOW DID YOU DO THAT?” Shouted Mama Viggs, her flabber being ghasted. “*ahem* some of those were my minions!”

“Doesn’t matter, hurry and tell us about the Niard if you want your book” Habi and Golbassy said.

“WHAT? The niard? You mean that cloaked impostor that was trying to cheat all the den’s money awa… wait, you said us? You aren’t a regular shewpog, are you?”

“DOESN’T MATTER!” Golbassy and Habi hissed.

At that moment, the lynch mob pounced on the explodahead. He seemed unfamiliar with lynching and wasn’t quite sure what to do. He couldn’t figure out who to hit or explode first. Thus he was buried under a pile of bodies.

“OH MY DAHLING, you are far too suspect, hmm, a shewpog, come to think of it, I’ve heard a few rumours”

There was laughter, and then an explosion, gamblers and den staffers went flying everywhere crashing into the various attractions. The explodahead arose from the mayhem, slotting a newly grown head into his hoopstick, forming his hammer anew.

“DUDES AND DUDETTES! Seriously? It’ll take more than that to down me, Hammer!”

The morale of the lynch mob managed not to fall too low, and more denizens practically flung themselves at Hammer the coppery explodahead. Hammer just took up battering them away with his hammer.

*nieeeegh*

“This is all your fault Davis!” Eadam accused Davis the mean turnip.

“My fault? Mine? What about all you you, we could have slipped away right when we led her into this gambling den. Wait, why didn’t I leave you guys behind and go myself?”

“Awwww, Davis actually loves us after all, can’t bear to leave us to our fate alone” Sachs teased.

“What no! Whatever, anyway lets slip out in this chao…” Davis’ words died in his mouth.

Golbassy and Habi were floating, Habi in bird of prey imitation form, Golbassy’s eyes glowing.

“I vote we stay here!” Alfreed blubbered in fear.

“Vote? What are you talking about, we never even thought about leaving, right?” B2T protested.

“No intentions of betraying our new and terrifying mistress” Heed confirmed.

“None at all” Hood added.

Mobby put a hand to her beak, frowning in thought.

“I’m confused, are we staying with the freakishly strong shewpog or not?”

The rest of the gang quickly hushed her up.

“YOU LED AN EXPLODAHEAD TO MY LOVELY MAUVE BEANBAG! YOU HORRID BAG OF FUR!” Mama Viggs screeched.

She pulled out a sapphire sceptre clearly intending Golbassy and Habi some ill. Then her eyes went wide, and her head and limbs disappeared into her body, which became altogether quite stony. This was an ability that blokkits have, as natural defences go, it was a pretty good one.

Golbassy, Habi and the press ganged gang turned to see what had prompted this reaction from Mama Viggs.

Hammer was glowing brown, having eaten a pill from the pilldog.

“He is glowing! GLOWING” Alfreed shrieked.

“Well, that is never a good sign!” Sachs remarked.

The lynch mob was drawing the same conclusion, collectively they were pretty down about one person being able to fend them back.

“A MASSIVE REWARD FOR WHOEVER BRINGS ME HIS HEA… FOR WHOEVER DEFEATS THE EXPLODAHEAD!” Golbassy and Habi shouted desperately though they had no intention of giving any such reward.

Still the mob didn’t know that and surged back into action, with such rationalizations such as that since they had started they had to keep at it, after all, there was a fat reward too. In reality, in most cases, no investment in a continued fight with an explodahead was a good idea.

Golbassy and Habi grabbed the stony and kind of oddly round cube that Mama Viggs was.

“Look, the sooner you talk about the Niard, the sooner I’ll be gone and sooner the explodahead will follow after me!”

The cube remained still for a while. Then Mama Viggs popped back to normal.

“UGH. FIIIIIINE” She whined.

“The cloaked cheater has been hitting all the gambling dens, a few of them have even had to shut down. The biggest den in town, The Spinning Gem Top, decided they’d send out a challenge to the guy, it is a total trap, you’d best hurry if you want to find him, since there is no way he is actually the Niard, Dahling”

Golbassy and Habi sighed, descending to the ground. Golbassy muttered into Habi.

“Finally, what I wanted.”

They turned to Eadam and his crew.

“Right you lot, follow me!”

“HEY WAIT, WHAT ABOUT MY BOOK?” Mama Viggs cried out after them as they escaped out the back of the den.

“You have terrible taste!” Golbassy called back.

Mama Viggs fumed, though quickly turned back to her stony cube form as an explosion ripped through the den.

Hammer continued to fight against the lynch mob until he got tired of fighting and decided to just blow the place up. The well stocked bar helped with that.

However, quite a bit before that event, Golbassy, Habi and the gang’s flight did not go unnoticed.