Book 4: Chapter 11
As we stepped through the doors of the Golden Spire, it felt as if I’d been instantly transported back home again. It wasn’t that the place looked the same as the Golden Spire back in Jurin, far from it actually. The place was huge for one, more like a dining hall than a bar and there had to be over a company worth of soldiers already inside. What was instantly familiar, however, was the atmosphere.
Lively music played in the backdrop, competing with the loud and raucous laughter and conversation filling the air. Haze filled the air as well in the form of Qi herbs being smoked in chalices and pipes. A large banner hung from the rafters of the ceiling, with bold characters in Yee.
“Welcome Home 566!th”
It was an amazing sight to see, especially with how many infantrymen were eating, drinking and carousing. Both Hein and I got pats on the back and bows of respect as we waded through the masses of half-drunk soldiers and pushed-to-the-max wait staff.
I nudged Hein and smiled. “See, nothing to worry about. No street thug assholes are going to find their way in here.”
“Let’s get to the officer’s mess,” Hein said. “It’s upstairs.”
As we continued to push through the crowd, I ran into my own platoon who were taking up most of the room at the bar. At first, I thought they were hogging up all the space, but then I saw they were buying drinks for everyone, passing bottles of wine back through the crowd behind them.
Juk Sui and Dim Wei greeted me with half drunken salutes and laughs.
“What took you so long to get here, commander?” Juk Sui said. “Were you trying to avoid buying us drinks?”