Chapter 101
To The Caves
With their business concluded at the Black Market, Erin’s group, along with Skeets, were now heading back to where Durge and Zeldana were waiting for them. Their new ratfolk companion was wearing a cloak that covered most of his body and face in order to hide his identity. He explained that there were people in the city who wouldn’t be too happy to see him walking around and would do their best to cause bodily harm to him. This was enough of an explanation for Erin, but Lexton still had his suspicions of the rat man.
It didn’t take too long for them to return to where they were staying and were soon knocking on the door of the room, where the rest of their group was staying at. Durge opened the door to let them in.
“Finally! I was starting to get so bored that I was about to rush over there myself!” Zeldana complained. “What took you guys so long!?”
“Hey, it’s not like we were on a trip to the arcade or anything like that! We were doing some actual work over there!” Ryle shouted back at the elf. “And let me tell you, this whole thing wasn’t exactly fun! Next time something like this comes up, I’ll be glad to let you take my place!”
“Oh really? Not fun, you say?” Erin asked sarcastically. “And what about those boys who asked you to go to their establishment? You sure seemed to be more than happy to pay them a visit.”
“I WAS JUST TRYING TO SUPPORT A LOCAL BUSINESS! HOW IS THAT A BAD THING!?” the blonde yelled back with an embarrassed blush on her face. “Anyway, can we finally stop it with these stupid disguises!? I wanna put my hair back the way it’s supposed to be!”
“Yes, you can. We are no longer in the need of keeping up the whole act,” the redhead said with a sigh. “And thank God for that… I’m not sure I could have stomached another inquiry about our “relationship” or anything attached to it!”
“Wait… You two are not a couple?” Skeets asked. “Or one that’s on the brink of breaking up?”
“Hell no! I like boys! Not girls!” Ryle shouted. “Besides, even if I was into chicks, do you really think I would be together with someone like Erin?”
“...And what is THAT supposed to mean?” Erin asked with a slight glare directed at the blonde.
“I’m just saying that you don’t turn me on!” Ryle answered. “How is that so hard to understand!?”
“Oh, it’s not so hard to understand at all! In fact, I completely understand!” the redhead said angrily. “And that’s because I feel the same way about YOU! By the time you open your mouth, any hint of romanticism disappears right away! Or as you’d like to say, I get turned OFF!”
“What did you just say!?” the blonde asked angrily.
At this point, Arkay was forced to step between the two women in order to keep them from fighting with each other. As this was happening, Durge, Zeldana and Skeets were staring at their arguing companions with wide eyes.
“...Sheesh! What the hell happened over there to put these two in such a foul mood!?” Durge wondered out loud.
“I don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out!” Zeldana said with a wicked chuckle. “I bet it’s going to be hilarious!”
“I take it that this isn’t exactly a normal occurrence in your group then?” Skeets asked.
“No. Those two are usually the best of friends, besides the minor argument here and there,” Durge explained. “Oh, by the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
“Yes?” the rat man said in response.
“Just who the hell are you exactly?” the orc asked bluntly. “Last time I checked, you haven’t been traveling with us and nobody ever mentioned any ratfolk that they knew. So who are you and why are you here?”
“Ah! You don’t need to worry about him, Durge!” Erin quickly said, realizing that not all in their group were aware of their newly hired guide. “That guy is Skeets. He will be our guide through the caves.”
“Our guide?” the orc asked to which the redhead nodded. “I’m guessing that getting a map didn’t work out so well then… Anyways, where did you get this guy exactly?”
“Like you said, our efforts in getting a map didn’t work out, so we decided to go for the next best thing. We were given a reference from the information store that let us hide one of their inmates to help us out,” Erin explained. “Skeets here has worked for a transportation company that used to do deliveries using the caves. These included Gotzmeyer’s base as well, which is why we ended up hiring him.”
“Hold up! Did you just say that this guy was an inmate at the prison?” Durge asked.
“Uhh… Yes? Is something wrong with that?” the redhead asked.
“You’ve hired an actual criminal to guide us through caves filled with whatever ungodly dangers possible and you’re asking what’s wrong with that?” the orc said sarcastically. “Do I really need to explain to you what the issue is?”
“Hey, I understand what you’re saying, but we didn’t really have any other choice!” Erin argued. “A map was way too expensive, so we had to pick a guide instead! This was the only way for us to get to Gotzmeyer’s base! Or would you have preferred for us to go there completely blind!?”
“I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that trusting someone we don’t know anything about that has a criminal background isn’t exactly a smart choice!” Durge argued back. “I mean, do you even know what he did that got him in prison in the first place?”
“Well… no, we don’t. Apparently, there was some sort of a rule that wouldn’t allow such things to be discussed,” the redhead said awkwardly. “However, are you really in any place to complain about someone’s shady past? Weren’t you part of the Laughing Ogre when we met you?”
“Laughing Ogre!? That’s quite the group you were part of!” Skeets said out of shock. “Are you sure that I’m the one any of you should be worried about?”
“You shut your mouth. It wasn’t like I joined them out of a desire to work for them or anything like that,” Durge said as he glared at the rat man. “Besides, isn’t that kind of a pointless argument, Erin? Yeah, I might have worked for bad people, but I didn’t join you guys right from them, did I? I only joined after I had proven that I was a trustworthy guy by fighting alongside you all. And even before that, I tried to save Arkay at the risk of my own life. I think I deserve to be looked at with a bit more favorable eyes than some guy you picked up from prison!”
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“Look, I get what you’re saying and I’m sorry for bringing such a thing up,” Erin apologized, feeling ashamed of herself over how she had just acted. “But the fact of the matter is that we need some way to get to Gotzmeyer and we couldn’t get a map! A guide was the only viable option for us and he was the best option out of all the guides!”
“I suppose that’s true… Still, I wish this hadn’t been brought on us so suddenly,” the orc said with a sigh. “I’m going to trust your judgment, though.”
“Thank you, Durge,” the redhead said with a smile, although she could swear that she heard Lexton scoff in her arms, still in his baby form.
With the dispute between Erin and Durge solved, Zeldana decided to put her attention on the newcomer. Walking up to their ratfolk guide, the elf gave an intense stare at him, which somewhat intimidated Skeets a bit.
“I-Is something the matter?” the rat man asked in a worried tone.
“...Have I seen you somewhere before?” Zeldana asked. “There’s something familiar about you that I just can’t put my finger on.”
“I’m sure you’re mistaken, miss!” Skeets said as he attempted to laugh it off. “I would certainly remember it, if I had ever met someone like you in my life!”
However, despite his claims, the elf simply kept staring at him, causing the rat man to start sweating under the intense attention given to him.
“Zel, would you leave the poor guy alone?” Erin asked. “Sorry about that, Skeets. She has a hobby of messing around with people.”
“...Yes! I’m sure it’s nothing after all!” Zeldana suddenly said with a laugh. “I guess I really got you mistaken with somebody else! Hope you weren’t offended or anything like that!”
“T-That’s okay… These things happen,” Skeets said as he let out a sigh of relief.
“Anyways, I should probably introduce our group to you, seeing as you’ll be working with us,” Erin said. “You already met me in prison. My name is Erin.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” the rat man said as he gave a polite bow in return.
“Likewise. Next, you’ve already met Ryle and Arkay,” the redhead said as she pointed at her two companions. “Ryle is one of our two top fighters and Arkay is our magician.”
“The way I see it, I’m the biggest top fighter here!” Ryle boasted with a big grin.
“Sure you are…” Erin said with a sigh. “As you can see, she has a bit of a hotheaded personality. She’s still a nice person, once you get to properly know her.”
“I see,” Skeets replied.
“The big guy there is Durge. He’s our other top fighter,” the redhead said pointing at the orc. “The elf next to him is Zeldana. She’s our medic, so if you get hurt, go to her.”
“I’ll be in your care then,” the rat man said to the elf, who gave him a somewhat disturbing smile that scared him.
“And lastly, here’s- OW!” Erin began to say, only for Lexton to suddenly pull her hair painfully.
“Waa! Waa! Waa!” the kobold said, keeping up with his current disguise.
“Sorry about that! I need to leave for a moment!” the redhead said awkwardly while trying to hide her anger. “It seems like the BABY needs something! AGAIN!”
Erin made her way to the bathroom in their room, leaving the others confused. The ones who were aware of Lexton’s real appearance couldn’t help but wonder what was up with their kobold companion.
“Any idea what that was about?” Durge asked, looking at the people who had gone with Erin to the Black Market.
“None at all,” Ryle said with a shrug, as Arkay shook his head.
“I mean, it’s a baby. They can suddenly just act up like that due to a number of reasons,” Skeets said. “What is so weird about that?”
The blonde was about to reply, but Durge beat her to it.
“Oh, it’s just that the baby is often a lot calmer!” the orc quickly lied, having just realized that Lexton was trying to hide his real identity. “Isn’t that right guys!?”
Ryle, Arkay and Zeldana seemed to pick up on Durge’s intentions and gave affirming nods in response. Skeets was still left confused by their overall behavior, though.
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Back with Erin, she had gotten into the bathroom and was now glaring at Lexton, angered by what he had just done.
“Lex, what is wrong with you!?” the redhead hissed at the kobold. “You act all offended over having to play the part of a baby, yet here you are still keeping up the act! Do you want to be a baby or not!?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I want to get out of this larva mode as soon as possible,” Lexton replied. “However, I think it’s for the better if we keep it up for now, so that your new friend doesn’t know what I am actually.”
“What the-? Why do you need to-?” Erin began to ask, only for her to realize what the kobold was implying. “Is this still about how you didn’t trust Skeets from back when we were first introduced to him?”
“Would you look at that? The blind person finally hit the mark,” Lexton said sarcastically. “Of course this is about that! I refuse to trust that guy, until he gives me a damn good reason to! And before he does, I want to keep any advantage I may have against him! Okay!?”
“...You’re freaking paranoid, Lex,” the redhead said with a sigh.
“Hey, it has kept me alive so far, hasn’t it?” the kobold said. “The way I see it, it still works for me more times than not, so why drop it?”
Not wanting to have another argument, Erin relented and decided to play along with Lexton’s scheme. She soon returned to the others, who immediately had their eyes on her.
“Sorry about that. The little one here had some diaper issues that needed to be taken care of,” the redhead explained, intentionally irritating the kobold in her arms. “Anyways, this here is Lexton. We picked him up along the way, as he had been abandoned by his parents.”
“Hang on… You’re bringing a baby along with you to a dangerous place like the caves outside the city? Not to mention Gotzmeyer’s base?” Skeets asked. “That doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
“Well, we tried to find a place for him, but all the orphanages and potential foster parents weren’t exactly trustworthy enough to handle a special child like him,” Erin explained. “Besides, he has become such a big part of our group now that it would be hard to let go of him now.”
“...Alright. If you say so,” the rat man said. “It seems to me that you’ve just personally gotten attached to the little guy.”
“Oh, trust me. If we could dump him off somewhere, we would have done so ages ago,” Ryle said. “Problem is that no one wants a shitty brat like him.”
“Woah! What the hell!?” Skeets said in shock. “I get that babies can be a handful, but is that really called for!? What kind of a person talks about an innocent child like that!?”
“What? But I was just-” the blonde tried to explain only to get cut off.
“Yeah, Ryle! What is wrong with you!?” Erin asked, acting shocked and outraged. “This child needs us, so we have to be there for him! If you just opened up your heart, you’d know how wonderful having him around truly is!”
Having been completely taken by surprise by the sudden outbursts from both Skeets and Erin, Ryle struggled to find words to counter what was said to her. She also looked around at the other people in the room for support, only for them to look away as they didn’t want to get involved in the argument at all.
The blonde eventually gave up and simply apologized for what she had said. However, what was worse for her was that Lexton seemed to have a very smug smirk on his face, which angered her greatly.
After introducing their group to Skeets, Erin decided to go over what they had learned back at the Black Market and what their plan so far was. Using Skeets as a guide, they were going to make their way to Gotzmeyer’s base, where they would then use one of the supply trucks to get inside. Once there, they would confront the warlord himself and take him down.
“While I know this isn’t exactly the most detailed or refined of plans, it’s still the best we’ve got. Besides, once we’re there, I’m sure we can gather more information in order to make adjustments to it,” Erin finished off her explanation to the group. “Are there any questions?”
“Well, I do have one,” Durge asked. “How do we know for sure that our new friend here won’t just abandon us in the middle of all of this and just run away? If he knows how to get around the caves, this would be the perfect chance for him to escape.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. As long as I have this on me, I’m not going anywhere,” Skeets said as he showed the collar around his neck. “All you need to do is press the button on the remote and I’m getting zapped so had that I won’t even consider running, let alone actually do it.”
“I see. That’s a nice insurance to have with us,” the orc said. “By the way, where is that remote?”
“Oh, I have it right-” Erin began to say, only for her to see Lexton holding it.
Without any warning, the kobold pressed on the button, causing the collar on Skeets to give him the electrical shock he had told them about. The rat man screamed in pain, before falling to the floor with smoke rising from his body.
image [https://i.ibb.co/JR8bgxW/Ch-101-Pic-1.jpg]
The overall reaction from everybody was a mixture of shock and horror, with the exception of two. Lexton, who had caused the whole thing on purpose, and Zeldana, who was roaring with laughter.
“LEX!” Erin screamed angrily, as she snatched the remote away from the kobold. “Bad baby! That’s a very bad baby!”
“Uhh… You okay over there?” Durge asked as he watched Skeets struggle to get back up.
“I… I’m fine. The warden doesn’t want his merchandise to dies from something like this, after all. It was just extremely painful,” the rat man said as was able to stand up. He glanced at Lexton and could have sworn that the baby kobold had an evil grin on his face as he stared at him. “...Just try to keep that remote away from the baby, okay? You can probably tell that it’s not a toy.”
“I-I’m so sorry! I don’t know what’s gotten into him!” Erin apologized desperately. “He’s normally so well-behaved that I wouldn’t have expected him to do anything like this!”
“...Yeah, I’m sure he’s a little saint,” Skeets said while giving a slight glare at the kobold.
After the little “accident,” the rest of the meeting went in a much calmer manner. Skeets gave them a brief explanation on how the cave system worked and that they still needed to go get some materials, before they could go to their new journey. Once that was done, the whole group got their gear together and headed to the caves.
Erin and her companions were looking towards facing one of the Western Continent’s three warlords, Gotzmeyer. However, unknown to them was that they would be facing two other threats. One chasing after them and another from within their group.