The Hidden Treasure of Darfor

  ***

  Saleek certainly has a gift for understatement, thought Patrick as he took another swig from his bottle of sandakk.

  It tasted almost nothing like the beers he used to drink back on his home world. About the only similarity between the two was that they were both carbonated. The sandakk he was drinking was a deep crimson in colour, and was slightly more viscous than most drinks that the human was used to. It also had a peculiar sweetness to it and an intriguing aftertaste. In spite of this, it was a very satisfying beverage and the more Patrick drank, the more he began to like it. At his insistence, Patrick had paid for the first round of drinks, although Saleek had taken some convincing initially. The human put down his sandakk on a nearby table and looked around. The bar was noisy and full of patrons. Most were drinking and chatting, but a few were gathered around triangular shaped tables towards the back of the room, playing a game of alien origin which Patrick recognised as Yollunvass. He didn’t know all the intricacies of the game as it wasn’t very popular back on the human colonies but he knew the basic rules. It was a pastime that encouraged gambling and in drinking establishments such as this, it was an unspoken rule that you had to bet credits when you were playing others. Or anything else that you could wager. He could see one alien pushing a load of credits into the middle of the table, signifying his bet for this round, and all the other aliens around the table displayed various expressions of frustration and disappointment in response.

  Those guys really need to work on their poker faces, thought Patrick idly.

  He had considered bailing when Saleek had suggested moving to ‘somewhere quieter’. Alarm bells started ringing in his head and he considered the possibility that the spiky alien was about to try something, but in the end, nothing happened. Plus, it wasn’t exactly quiet in the bar. Or the streets leading to it. It appeared that nowhere was truly quiet on Nexus One – every street, every back alley, every shop, every bar, every restaurant was teeming with people. In fairness, it was the most heavily populated of the core worlds and it was the capital planet for the whole star system, so it was to be expected. Patrick felt reasonably safe as long as there were plenty of other people around, so he kept going. Also, it turned out that Saleek really did know the best spots to eat and drink around the city. The food, while visually unappealing, was delicious, as was the local ‘beer’.

  I could get used to eating and drinking like this, thought Patrick as he took one more swig from his bottle.

  He didn’t feel homesick in the slightest. In fact, as time went on, he was enjoying himself more and more. Perhaps it was partly the alcohol, but it was mostly the ever-present energy and enthusiasm of his “guide”, Saleek. After eating, it seemed as if the lyan was even more energetic, more bubbly and more jokey than before, if that was even possible. Patrick sank into his comfortable chair and relaxed his muscles, exhaling as he did so. It was then that Saleek returned to the table with more bottles, these ones containing a bright blue liquid instead of the red ones that they had both been drinking.

  ‘Hey man, you ready for round two?’ he asked, grinning.

  He plonked the bottles down on the table, spilling a few drops of blue liquid as he did so.

  ‘Already? But I’ve barely finished this one!’ Patrick half-protested, but he wasn’t really serious.

  It turned out that the crimson coloured Sandakks were pretty strong, and the alcohol was already starting to insidiously affect him. He began to relax more and, as anyone who has ever been drunk will know, he began to think that trying absolutely anything was a good idea, no matter how foolish it might seem with hindsight. In short, it made him extremely suggestible and Saleek kept a close eye on how much Patrick was drinking. For every drink that the lyan had, he made sure the human had consumed two or three. Within an hour or so, the drinks were flowing freely and before long, Patrick forgot he even had a hotel room to get to. Or that he had a bag containing his belongings. In fact, he had almost forgotten why he had left his home planet and come to Nexus One in the first place, such was his state of inebriation.

  ‘Man, I could so get used to this!’ exclaimed Patrick, grinning like a Cheshire cat who had just found a winning lottery ticket. He took a long swig from the bottle (this one containing a purplish liquid) and when he was done, he slammed down the empty container onto the table, which was littered with empty glasses and bottles. Saleek slowly sipped a small glass of colourless liquid which smelled faintly of paint stripper.

  As he put the glass down onto the table, he said, ‘Well, now I think we’ve tried just about every single type of sandakk there is! I gotta hand it to ya, buddy. You humans sure can drink!’

  ‘Damn right we can!’ came the slightly slurred reply.

  Patrick automatically reached for another bottle, but as he pressed it to his lips and knocked his head back, he realised that it was empty. He grunted in annoyance and put the empty container back on the table.

  ‘So listen,’ said Saleek. ‘I’ve shown you the food and drink of some the finer eating establishments this side of Nexus One. Are you up for a little sight-seeing tour tomorrow? Maybe a visit to an historical site? Or perhaps an archaeological dig? I can show you really amazing things you know, there are some brilliant spots for tourists round here.’

  At this point, if Saleek had said it was a good idea for Patrick to give him all his worldly possessions in exchange for some magic beans, the human would have thought it was the offer of the century. Groggily, Patrick looked at Saleek and smiled broadly.

  ‘That sounds awesome, man! I’m totally there! Let’s do it!’

  ‘Excellent! Well, I’ll make the arrangements and sort everything out. Trust me, you’re gonna have a great time here on Nexus One,’ said Saleek, moving to stand up.

  ‘You goin’ for the next round?’ inquired Patrick, barely managing to stay in his seat as he fished around in his pockets for some loose credits.

  ‘I think we’d better be getting you back to your hotel, buddy. C’mon, I’ll give you a hand,’ said Saleek as he helped Patrick stand up.

  Chapter 3