Chapter 149

  A Not So Clean Getaway

  Erin’s body crashed roughly against the trash beneath. The piles of garbage and sewage had luckily been soft enough that she didn’t suffer any severe injuries, but it still hurt a great deal. However, what was worse than the pain was easily the smell. Taking such a rough fall had forced her to stop holding her breath, which in turn caused her to take in the foul odors surrounding her. The assault on her nostrils almost caused the redhead to throw up, but she somehow managed to hold it in, even if only barely.

  With her landing done, Erin began to look for her companions, finding them rather fast. All of her friends were in different states of distress, handling their messy situation. Ryle seemed like she was either going to blow into anger or have a panic attack out of sheer disgust from being covered in the filth of the garbage pile. Durge and Zeldana didn’t seem all that happy either, but were able to control themselves and seemed to have just accepted their fates. Arkay looked like he was on the verge of tears, while Lexton seemed to be handling the whole thing relatively well. While the kobold obviously didn’t like it, he seemed to at least be able to deal with it a lot better than anybody else.

  “Seriously, we’ve faced giant monsters, armed soldiers, murderous thugs and assassins, yet this is going to break you all?” Lexton asked as he made his way through the muck and trash. “You guys need to get a serious reality check or something! This isn’t ideal, but it’s not that big of a deal!”

  “Oh, shut the hell up, ya scaly prick!” Ryle shouted angrily. “We’re covered in things that I don’t even want to imagine what they are and you’re just telling us to suck it up, like it’s nothing!? How the hell are you even so fine with this!? Is this just a normal daily thing for you or something!?”

  “Hey, it’s not like I love going through crap like this! I’m just mature enough to realize that in order for you to reach certain goals, you have to do things like this!” the kobold argued back. “Besides, you think this is bad? I’ve had to gather Rock Lizard piss and I’ll let you know that was no walk in the park at all! Compared to it, this is like going to luxurious bathhouse!”

  “I get what you mean, Lex. We should be more focused on the fact that we got out of there alive and that there are worse things out there for us to face,” Durge said with a sigh. “It’s just that… This still isn’t exactly a lovely experience, okay? Just let us be upset about it for now…”

  Erin managed a small smile from seeing that her friends were all alive and well, but just as she was about to feel relaxed, she realized something. She couldn’t see Stacey anywhere, despite her having gone down the pipe before her. The redhead began to worry if her old friend had landed on something that didn’t soften the blow, like with the others. Depending on what had happened to her, she could be seriously hurt or worse.

  After looking around desperately for her missing old friend, Erin found Stacey laying face down on the pile of muck. Seeing her in such a state immediately worried the redhead, because if she was unconscious, she could very well suffocate. Just as she began to ran towards her, Stacey slowly pushed herself up from the filthy ground.

  “Stacey, you’re okay!” Erin called out happily. “Thank God! I was starting to-”

  The redhead stopped in her tracks upon seeing the look on her old friend’s face. Beneath the muck and grime covering it, she could see Stacey’s eyes that were wide in horror. It was like she had just witnessed all of her worst nightmares in one single vision and was now trying to process it all.

  “Stacey? You okay?” Erin called out, but received no response. “Are you hurt or something? We can help you, if you’re injured. Just tell me what’s wrong.”

  There was still no response from Stacey. All she did was turn her gaze towards the redhead for a moment, before looking back to the ground. This was starting to seriously worry Erin, as she had no idea what might have happened. It was especially bad, since she herself wasn’t a medical professional at all, so she needed the assistance of someone more qualified. The problem with that was whether her old friend would be willing to accept the help of others, if how she had been acting was any indication.

  “We can’t stay here. Come on,” Erin said in a soft voice, as she helped Stacey on her feet. “We have to get out of here, before somebody comes looking for us. I promise that things will get better from now on.”

  “...Can you really promise that?” Stacey suddenly asked. “What I’ve been through so far hasn’t really convinced me.”

  The redhead wanted to argue, but held it in. Getting upset with the person she had been trying to save wasn’t going to make things better now. They needed to focus on finding a place to hide and getting in contact with Ao or someone else in the service of Rayleen.

  Erin soon joined up with the others, who had now gathered together. Upon seeing her bring Stacey along with her, they immediately took note of her obviously distressed mental state and became worried.

  “Hey, Erin, is she okay?” Ryle asked. “I get that this isn’t exactly an ideal place to land on, but she looks like she lived through real life horror movie!”

  “She’s fine! It’s just… This day has been a lot for her to take in,” the redhead quickly explained. “I mean, just moments ago she was Golorath’s personal plaything and now she had to go through our crazy escape that led to a mountain of crap. It’s not what most people would see as an easy day, you know?”

  “That might be so, but she does seem to be acting a bit too tense,” Zeldana said as she moved in to take a closer look at Stacey. “She didn’t hit her head or anything like that? If there was some sort of head trauma, I can-”

  The elf was cut off, as Stacey suddenly pushed her away and made her fall to the ground. The others, especially Erin, were shocked by this.

  “Hey, what’s the big idea, asshole!?” Zeldana asked angrily. “I was just trying to help you and this is how you act!? Talk about ungrateful!”

  “S-S-Shut up! I didn’t ask for your help!” Stacey shouted while looking down at the elf. “I don’t want your filthy hands touching me at all! You hear me!?”

  “Wow. Who knew that Golorath’s lady was a total bitch!?” Zeldana asked sarcastically as she got up. “Serves me right for trying to give a helping hand…”

  “To be fair, we would have done the same thing most likely,” Ryle said. “Although, we at least know you well enough to do so.”

  While the others were talking among themselves, Erin decided to have a private chat with Stacey.

  “What are you doing!? Can’t you even accept help from others!?” the redhead whispered angrily. “Is it too much to ask that you show at least the most basic human decency!?”

  “Why should I!? They’re not human!” Stacey whispered back. “Why should I treat them any differently than Gabe or any of the other freaks!?”

  “Maybe because they helped you escape!? Did you ever think of that!?” Erin asked. “Had it not been for them, you would still be-”

  “I DON’T CARE!” Stacey suddenly screamed as loud as she could, getting the attention of the others. “Why should I care about anyone or anything in this hell!? All I’ve gotten is pain and suffering from everything there is and you want me to be thankful!? For what!? For almost getting me killed by your freak friends and getting thrown into a pile of shit!? IS THAT WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO THANK YOU FOR!?”

  Erin was taken aback by Stacey’s sudden outburst and she turned to look at how her friends had reacted to it. She saw how the others were staring at them in anger and confusion.

  “Erin, what the hell is wrong with her?” Durge asked. “I get that this hasn’t been the most pleasant of experiences, but we just saved her from the clutches of Golorath’s guard! I think that deserves at least some gratitude!”

  “Yeah, and why the hell is she calling us freaks!?” Ryle asked. “The way I see it, she’s the closest to being a freak with how she’s been acting all mental ever since we got into contact with her!”

  “Look, guys, I get that what she just said was a bit much, but let’s not get hasty, okay!?” Erin pleaded her friends awkwardly, as she stepped between them and Stacey, hoping to defuse the situation. “We’ve all had a long and rough day. Let’s just focus on getting our job done and resting up. I’m sure we’ll all feel much better after that.”

  “...Fine. But you keep her in line, okay?” Ryle asked in a threatening tone. “I don’t know about the others, but if she keeps acting up, I’m not going to keep myself in check. Got it?”

  “I completely understand!” the redhead replied. “I’ll make sure she won’t cause us any other issues!”

  “I sincerely hope you do,” Lexton said as he glared at Stacey. “Those who only make enemies around them don’t tend to live too long.”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The others began to walk away from the garbage pile and towards the surrounding slums. Erin took this opportunity to give her old friend one more warning.

  “You heard that, right!? They are not keen on you and are more than willing to hurt you, because of all of your bullshit!” the redhead whispered angrily. “From now on, don’t say anything to them and just keep to yourself, okay!? I won’t be able to protect you forever, especially when you go around pissing people off!”

  “...Sure, but I’m not going to like it,” Stacey replied. “Just keep those freaks away from me and everything should be fine.”

  “I don’t care whether you like it or not. Just do it,” Erin said back, before following after her friends with Stacey following behind.

  As they walked through the slums, a lot of eyes turned towards them due to their appearance. It wasn’t everyday that people dressed up as servants from the upper parts would come down to their level, after all. Erin had expected them to get attacked like she and Arkay had been earlier, but much to her surprise, nothing like that really happened. The redhead guessed that this was due to the fact that while they were dressed in the clothing of well-paid servants, the fact that all of them were covered in filth threw them off. The people around them most likely assumed that they had been unqualified employees that got tossed out from the upper parts right into the garbage itself. There was really no point in mugging such people.

  After walking around the slums for some time, they came upon a person dressed in rags waving to them. Both Erin and Arkay immediately recognized him as Ao.

  “Well, you guys sure are a sight to behold!” Ao said with a laugh as he jogged over to the group. “Did you all perhaps try out some type of a mud bath while you were in there?”

  “Very funny… It’s in good taste to make fun of the people who just helped you out big time,” Erin said sarcastically. “Anyways, we accomplished the mission. We got the person you wanted.”

  “Really? But where-?” the dark-haired man began to ask, only to stop upon recognizing Stacey among the group. “Oh, there she is! I almost didn’t recognize her! Because of the maid outfit and all the crap covering her. Was that latter part also part of the disguise?”

  “...Yes. We actually decided to cover ourselves in all of this in order to disguise ourselves as walking piles of shit!” the redhead said angrily. “Now can we get along with our deal!?”

  “Well, you’re no fun at all!” Ao said unhappily. “But I suppose you’re right. Business before pleasure and all that. I’ve got a safe place not too far from here. Follow me, but not too close. You guys kind of stink.”

  Erin and the others couldn’t help but groan a bit, before following after the dark-haired man, who led them through the labyrinth-like alleyways of the slums. They soon came to a large shack that looked just like any other home in the area. However, once the door was opened and you saw inside, you could tell that it wasn’t like any other place in the slums.

  The firs thing Erin and the others noticed was the warmth. Hastily built shacks that made up most of the buildings had large gaps in every place, which allowed cold winds to blow right through. The interior itself was also made out of proper materials with the hands of expert craftsmen. All the trash that covered the walls on the outside were just put there in order to mask it. Not only were the basic structures well-made and the heating used, but there were also numerous modern facilities that one wouldn’t expect to find in a slum like this. There was a proper kitchen, comfortable furniture and even a bathroom. One could only wonder how such a thing could be built in the middle of a slum, yet no one seemed to have found it.

  “I know it’s not much, but make yourselves comfortable,” Ao said as he went to sit on a couch. “You can also use the bathroom to clean yourselves, which I really hope you do. In fact, I demand it. Go clean yourselves up.”

  “Just out of curiosity, how many can fit there?” Erin asked. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful or anything like that, but I doubt it’s going to fit all of us.”

  “Good point. I’d say it can fit two people. Three if you really squeeze in there,” the dark-haired man replied, before taking a look at Durge. “Although, I think big guy over there might have to go solo.”

  “Alright, you guys take turns in using the bathroom,” the redhead said to her friends. “I’ll go last with our extra here.”

  “What!?” Stacey shrieked. “You can’t possibly-!”

  Erin didn’t say anything at all to shut up her old friend. She simply gave her a look that instantly told Stacey to be quiet or else. The message went through to her and she instantly clamped up.

  As the others were busy deciding the order they would go and use the bathroom, Ao got a chance to finally talk to Erin about the person they had supposedly kidnapped.

  “I gotta say, I’m a bit surprised that you got her here without really doing anything to her,” the dark-haired man said. “How did you manage to get her to be so compliant? Did you threaten her in some manner or bribe her? I mean, it sounds unbelievable, but then again she’s following you around without being restrained at all.”

  “No. The truth is… a lot more simple than that,” Erin said with a sigh. “And I hate to bring you bad news, but I doubt that you’ll be able to use her like you thought you would be able to.”

  “Huh? What do you mean?” Ao asked.

  Erin went on to explain to the dark-haired man the true nature of the relationship between Golorath and Stacey. How she wasn’t his wife or lover or anything like that. She was just another unfortunate victim suffering under the Overlord’s tyranny from simply getting on his bad side. She even told him about how the guards had been told to not care at all, if she were to be harmed or even killed. There was no attachment from Golorath to Stacey at all.

  In other words, she was completely useless to Rayleen as a hostage.

  After the redhead had finished telling her tale to Ao, the dark-haired man had a contemplating look on his face as he thought about what he had just learned. All things considered, the revelation of Stacey’s real role with the Overlord must have come as quite a shock to him.

  “...Well, this is certainly concerning,” Ao finally said, after thinking things through for a moment. “This basically means that all the effort and resources we placed on this plan have gone to waste completely. The only good thing about this is that we used you guys for this job. Otherwise they might have connected this case to us and that would bring its own problems. No offense.”

  “None taken. But what are you going to do now?” Erin asked. “Your whole plan has basically been destroyed.”

  “Isn’t that the million credit question… I wish I knew what we can do in this mess,” the dark-haired man said with a sigh as he rubbed his eyes. “Not only are we pretty much back to square one when it comes to finding a weakness to use against Golorath, but this has also put us at risk. Even if it isn’t completely obvious that we were the ones behind this operation, Golorath must know that there are people in his inner circle that are now after his head. The fact that his supposed wife was here was something that wasn’t exactly public news. Only the people at the hotel and within his own people knew about this. He is certainly going to start looking a lot closer at those under his direct service now.”

  “What do you mean this was only known by his inner circle?” the redhead asked. “Weren’t you guys able to get her picture because she made a public appearance in the first place?”

  “How the hell is going to Graven Hills a public appearance?” Ao asked sarcastically. “This a place of relaxation for the ultra wealthy. Do you think they want everyday regular people to know what they’re up to? The only reason any of our guys even really knew about our little mutual friend there was because they were deep within the inner circles of the Overlord himself! But now that you’ve told me that the whole thing was a set up, it must mean that he has gotten whiff of us. He could be looking towards purging his ranks any day now…”

  “I’m not sure if that’s entirely the case, though,” Erin said. “The thing is that Golorath has been after us for quite some time now. He has even sent his personal assassins after us. I feel like this was a ploy to lure us out of hiding and catch us in one go.”

  “That does make sense, somewhat. It’s true that he has been going after you with pretty much everything he has. That’s kind of how the boss got interested in you all in the first place,” the dark-haired man said thoughtfully. “However, that doesn’t explain why you would go after his lady specifically. So far, you’ve only targeted high-ranking officials within the military. Isn’t going after his woman a bit too much?”

  “Umm… W-Wouldn’t it be more strange if I wasn’t going after her?” the redhead asked. “After all, she was potentially the love of my sworn enemy. In order to hurt him as much as possible, shouldn’t I target her as well?”

  Stacey gave Erin a shocked look to which the redheaded responded to by looking back at her with pleading eyes. While she understood that what she had just said must have sounded bad to her old friend, she needed it in order to keep up the act. There was no way Erin could risk letting someone like Ao know the true connection between them and the Five Overlords.

  “That would be fair enough, except you are not acting like some bloodthirsty murderer in search of revenge at all,” the dark-haired man pointed out. “If that was the case, she wouldn’t be here at all, would she? No, because you would have killed her the moment you got the chance.”

  The redhead realized that she might have just been caught in her lies. There indeed was no real logical explanation as to why she would be drawn into a trap involving Stacey. There had to be a much deeper reason for this to be the case, but Erin didn’t have any believable explanation for it. Not unless she told the truth and risked earning herself the wrath of not just Ao, but everyone belong to Rayleen’s faction. Even if they wouldn’t feel a grudge towards her over what she had indirectly done to their world, they could still see her as a strategic opportunity to use against the Five Overlords.

  “Well, whatever the reason might be, I doubt it really matters,” Ao suddenly said with a shrug. “What we really need to focus on right now is how we’re going to move from here. Considering how Golorath must now be aware of the fact that there are traitors among his people, we cannot go doing anything too wild for now.”

  “What do you want us to do?” Erin asked as she mentally let out a sigh of relief.

  “First, I obviously want you all to clean yourselves. I don’t want to go through another meeting with you, where I have to worry about losing my lunch,” the dark-haired man replied. “Besides that, I think you guys need to just pack up your stuff and go into hiding. When the boss wants to get in touch with you, she’ll find a way. Trust me.”

  “Okay, but what about her?” the redhead asked while pointing at Stacey. “Are you going to just let her go, since she isn’t any use to you?”

  “Not yet, I’m afraid,” Ao replied. “Even if what you’ve said about her is true, we still need to confirm it for ourselves. You can’t be too careful in this business and there are lies everywhere.”

  “You… You aren’t going to torture her, are you?” Erin asked uncomfortably, causing Stacey to look at her and the dark-haired man with wide shocked eyes. “There isn’t anything you’re going to get out of here, even if you go that far. Nothing that’s going to be useful to you, at least.”

  “That is going to depend on her cooperation,” Ao answered. “We only move from simple interrogation to torture when it’s necessary. As long as she gives us what we wants and works with us, we won’t have any need to harm her at all.”

  “That might pose a problem. It seems that she has suffered a lot of mental scars from her time with Golorath,” the redhead explained. “She seems to be fearful of practically everyone and will lash out in a panic, if you get too close to her. In all honesty, I was only barely able to her to work with me.”

  “That could be a problem. Not just for us, but for her, too. I doubt I need to explain why,” the dark-haired man said thoughtfully. “You wouldn’t happen to have a suggestion as to what we can do?”

  “...How about it if I stay by her side during the interrogation?” Erin suggested after thinking about it for a moment. “I could help her stay calm, as you go and ask your questions from her.”

  “I suppose that could work… I still have to ask about it from the boss first,” Ao said, thinking over the proposal. “However, I must make this very clear that you are not to influence her answers or prevent us from doing our job. Got it? The moment you so much as give the inkling of an appearance that you’re trying to get in our way, your life is as good as over.”

  “I understand,” the redhead said without any hesitation, despite the risks she was facing. “I will make sure to stay in my place and not get between you and your goals.”

  “Great! Then we have an agreement!” the dark-haired man said happily, changing the mood completely. “Isn’t it so nice when we can just talk things out, like the mature grown-ups we’re supposed to be? No need for any senseless violence or other thuggish behavior!”

  Erin wanted to point out that Ao had been threatening her quite a bit during their negotiation, which in itself was quite the violent and thuggish act, but knew better than to bring it up. No good would come out of antagonizing the man before her.

  “I feel the same way,” the redhead said as she gave a polite bow. “Hopefully we can continue to be on good terms in the future.”

  “I agree with that thought! Why have enemies, when you can have friends, right? Life is so much more fun that way!” the dark-haired man said happily. “Now, could you two please go to the bathroom already? I don’t want any of you to sit on my furniture or floor, until you have thoroughly scrubbed yourselves of any crap you’ve brought on you. Besides, I fear you’ll soon start leaving the stench here permanently and then this place will have to be burned down.”

  “Okay! Okay! I get that we smell bad! That has been established already!” Erin said angrily, having grown frustrated over the continuing remarks on the subject. “Hey, guys! How is it going with the baths!?”

  “Well… I’m afraid it’s not going well,” Lexton replied, still covered in filth. “You see, we decided to play rock-paper-scissors in order to decide who got to use the bathroom first. Durge ended up as the winner and… He kind of ran into some issues.”

  “Issues? What kind of issues can there be in going to a bathroom to wash yourself?” the redhead asked.

  “Turns out that the room was a bit… small,” the kobold explained. “Because of that, he-”

  “His fat ass got stuck in the doorway and he can’t get out!” Zeldana yelled. “Is there any soap or butter or some other lotion we can put on this guy, so we can pull him out already!?”

  “Hey, I’m not fat! I’m built up with muscle!” Durge shouted at the elf. “Although… I could use some help over here…”

  Erin groaned as her troubles seemed to be only increasing at every moment.