Chapter 139
Graven Hills
After a long drive, the group had finally arrived at their destination of Graven Hills. They had stopped at a location close to the city in order to survey it from afar. Erin stepped out of their vehicle and took out her binoculars and began to look it over.
The outskirts of the city were rather bleak, to say the least. Just from a glance, she could tell that the buildings were hastily constructed shacks that could be easily broken down. They were mostly made out of rusted metal sheets and other garbage that the residents had gotten their hands on.
Speaking of garbage, there was a lot of trash piling up on the sides of the slums that surrounded the city. Erin even managed to catch sight of someone dumping more trash from the side of the upper parts of the city.
When it came to the residents, it didn’t look all that much better. The people were dirty and dressed in rags. Many looked like they were malnourished, sick or both. There were also a lot of people with missing limbs and other visible injuries. It didn’t take a genius to guess who was responsible for the damages caused to these people.
In contrast to the outskirts, the upper parts of the city that were located on top of the hills seemed clean and pristine. Even if there were high walls separating the two parts of the city, the higher buildings that reached above them were more than enough to tell you about the difference in wealth and status when it came to the different residents.
“Different place, same crap,” Erin mumbled to herself, thinking back to her time in Grand Ravine, where a similar structure had been put in place. “Any idea how we should proceed? The letter we got didn’t tell us more than to come here.”
“Honestly? No clue,” Durge said with a shrug. “I’m certain some of Rayleen’s people are waiting for us there, but finding them will be tough. I doubt they’ll simply walk around announcing their presence, but they’ll probably be in disguise, too.”
“They could already be aware of us,” Lexton suggested. “After all, they should be waiting for us, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a lookout somewhere.”
“But are they waiting for us to come to them or are we supposed to wait for them? That’s the big question,” Zeldana pointed out. “Neither option seems all that great.”
“Well, whatever the case is, we need to decide on some sort of action we take,” Erin stated. “So what exactly are our options?”
“I suggest we stay here and wait for them to contact us,” Lexton said. “Simply looking for them without a clue is not going to get us anywhere, as we don’t even know if they’re hiding in the slums or the higher parts. Not only that, but considering how we are dressed a lot better than your average slum resident, I’m sure we’ll be targeted by thieves and thugs the second we step in there. I’d also like to keep and eye on our van and belongings, so they won’t get stolen.”
“While I see your points, Lex, I have to disagree. We should go in there to look for our contacts,” Durge said. “Rayleen isn’t someone you want to keep waiting for too long, even if we are dealing with just her underlings. I’m sure they’ll find us, once we go there. Not only that, but a few thugs is nothing compared to what we have faced in our travels.”
“Even if we can take on some thugs face to face, do you think they’ll simply fight us like that? They could ambush us, as they know that place better than any of us!” the kobold pointed out. “Not only that, but you’re forgetting the fact that our belongings would still be left unprotected, which is something they would definitely use to their own good.”
“I’m not saying we should leave our van completely. All I’m saying is that at least one of us needs to go there and look for Rayleen’s people,” the orc argued. “The way I see it, two or three of us should go to the city, while the others stay here and guard the van. That way, we can look for our contact without any worries.”
“Well, whatever the case is, I believe the decision comes down to our leader,” Zeldana said before turning towards Erin. “What do you say?”
“...Hang on! Since when was I the leader!?” the redhead asked. “I don’t remember there being a vote or anything like that to decide this!”
The others glanced at each other with surprised looks, before looking back at Erin.
“I mean… I thought it was obvious you were the leader,” Durge said while scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “After all, aren’t you the one who put this group together in the first place?”
“Y-Yeah! I know I’m here because I’ve been following you, Erin!” Arkay said with a smile. “Back when we left Moonstone, I followed behind you, because I knew I could trust your judgment and wanted to help you! I don’t see anyone else more fitting to be leader than you!”
“Even if I’m way more intelligent, leadership isn’t about just smarts. It’s about guiding others in the right path and inspiring them to keep going,” Lexton said with a shrug. “And out of all of these people? I’d say you’re the only one who can do that job.”
“While I don’t have any big words of encouragement to give you, I’ll just say that you always felt like the leader of the group. After all, you’re the one who basically recruited me,” Zeldana said with a shrug. “But if you don’t want the job, I can always-”
“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Durge, Lexton and Arkay shouted at the elf at the same time.
“...Your loss,” Zeldana mumbled. “Still, I do agree with the others. You’re the best fit to lead us all, so I’d say you should take the title officially. At least so that we don’t have to question who really has the position in the future.”
Erin looked at her friends and saw that they were all completely serious. They wanted her to take up the duty of leadership among them. While the responsibility felt very heavy on her, the confidence that the others had told her that she could do this.
“Thank you all very much. I’ll be proud to take up the job of leader among us. At least until a better person is found to fill the duty,” Erin said with a smile as she bowed her head.
“Come on, don’t say stuff like that!” Zeldana said with a sigh as she rolled her eyes. “As the boss, you need to show at least some level of guts and determination! If you’re questioning yourself constantly, what kind of a message will that send to the rest of us!? Grow some balls, will you!?”
“I’ll… see what I can do,” the redhead said awkwardly, not really liking the way the elf had worded that. She then realized that there was one member of the group who hadn’t voiced their opinion on the matter. “Wait a second… What about Ryle? What does she think about this?”
“She doesn’t seem to be thinking much about anything,” Lexton said with a frustrated sigh. “Just look for yourself.”
Erin looked over to the back of the van and saw Ryle glued to their new video game console. It was obvious that everything they had been talking about just now had not even registered in her mind, as she was too focused on whatever game she was playing.
“RYLE!” Erin called out to the blonde angrily, causing her to snap out of her haze and turn towards the others. “How long have you been playing with that thing!?”
“Oh, come on! It hasn’t been all that long!” Ryle said, trying to brush the accusation aside. “I’ve only been at it ever since I got it set up…”
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“That’s been several hours! It’s not healthy!” the redhead said angrily. “You better turn off that thing right now and come join the rest of us! Got it!?”
“Okay! Okay! No need to yell!” the blonde said as she turned off the console and walked up to the others. “So what’s the big deal now? What are we discussing now?”
“To get you back on the map with everybody else, we were just talking about how we’re going to proceed in contacting Rayleen’s underlings,” Lexton explained with a frown on his face. “We also just confirmed who the leader of our group is, in case you’re interested.”
“Isn’t that easy? Of course that’s Erin!” Ryle stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I wouldn’t have ever taken even a single step to follow any of you guys! With the exception of Arnie, of course, but that’s a different thing.”
“...Thanks for the vote of confidence, I suppose,” Erin muttered as she rolled her eye. “Anyways, the two ways we can go about contacting Rayleen’s people is either by going to look for them in the city or by waiting for them to come to us. Do you have any thoughts on this?”
“Well…”
“Thoughts that are NOT affected by the game console,” the redhead clarified.
“Hey, it wasn’t affecting my thoughts!...Much,” Ryle quickly said. “Anyways, I personally would go look for them, as simply staying put won’t get us anywhere. But since we have no idea where to even look for them, waiting might be the smart option.”
“Wow. Even the complete moron agrees with what I’ve said,” Lexton said smugly. “Perhaps you all should listen to me more often?”
“...On second thought, I’d like to take back what I just said,” the blonde said as she glared at the kobold.
“Alright! Let’s not get into another childish argument over here!” Erin quickly shouted. “I’ve heard a good amount of strong support for the idea of staying here, with some good points brought towards also going to the city. The way I see it, our best course of action is to leave most of our group here, while the others go investigate the place. With any luck, we should be able to get into contact with Rayleen’s underlings.”
“Are you sure about that?” Lexton asked. “Even with our full group, there isn’t any guarantee that we’ll be able to get back safely. The chances of getting back will only get worse with less people. Like I told you, they might not be as threatening as what we’ve faced so far, but they can have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves.”
“We’ll only be there for about two hours. If we can’t get in touch with the people we’re looking by then, we’ll get back quickly,” the redhead stated. “However, since I know the risks of something like this, I am not going to force anybody to do this. I’ll pick those who come along only from those who are willing to go along with me. Any volunteers?”
“Come on, Erin, you don’t need to ask that!” Ryle said with a small grin. “You know well enough that we’re all more than willing to go with you! Hell, after all the crazy crap we’ve already gone through, this is like a walk in the park!”
The redhead looked over her friends and could tell by their eyes that they were all in agreement with what the blonde had said. They were all more than willing to go with her to whatever dangers laid ahead of them in Graven Hills.
Now all she needed to do was select somebody to go along with her. Each of them had their positives and negatives, so it wasn’t an easy decision.
Ryle was one of the best fighters and was also very strong and fast as well. Having her come along would provide Erin with someone who could fight through pretty much anything that could be thrown at them. The biggest problem was that the blonde was quite reckless and hotheaded, which could get them into bigger problems.
Arkay was skilled at sneaking around thanks to his experience as a thief and invisibility spell. Not only that, but his magical abilities were especially useful, whether it was the technomancer ability or his combat spells. However, he was also one of the physically weaker members of their group, so he would need to be protected.
Lexton wasn’t exactly a combatant, but could provide a lot of support with all the equipment he was carrying around. The kobold’s greatest asset, however, was his analytical mind, as he could see through scams and other such things with ease. It still didn’t take away how he was the physically weakest among them, even when compared to Arkay.
Durge was an absolute powerhouse when it came to fighting. Not only that, but he was a very calm and collected individual, unlike Ryle. He might not have had the speed and agility of the blonde, but he made up for it in unrivaled strength, which would allow him to get through any obstacle. He was, however, very ready to sacrifice himself for others, which didn’t sit well with Erin.
Lastly, Zeldana had some good combat skills and a good amount of wisdom as well. Problem was that Erin could never be too certain with the elf. She was a complete wildcard with what she would say and do. Not to mention, her main role was to be the healer of the group, so bringing her into combat wasn’t exactly the best choice.
Taking into consideration what they were going into and what they were trying to accomplish, Erin came to a decision.
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“A-Are you sure about this?” Arkay asked awkwardly, as he followed Erin to Graven Hills. “I mean… I’m not saying that I want to go back or anything. I’m more than willing to go through with this, like I said. I’m just a bit confused as to why you chose me out of everybody else.”
After thinking about it, the redhead had chosen the cat boy as her partner for going to the city in order to look for Rayleen’s underlings. She had decided not to take anybody else along, as she figured that their mission in Graven Hills was simple inspection and it would be better to leave more people to guard what was essentially their base. As for why she chose Arkay specifically, there were reasons for that.
“You shouldn’t be like that, Arnie. You’re acting like you were the worst possible option for me to pick, when in fact that’s far from the truth,” Erin said with a smile. “I simply went with the option that I thought would be the best for this particular occasion.”
“R-Really?” the cat boy asked, completely surprised. “That… That sounds great, but… how was I the best option? I mean, wouldn’t Ryle or Durge be better, since they’re much better at fighting?”
“They might be better at fighting, but I am not looking towards getting into combat, so that’s not a strong point to affect my choice,” the redhead explained. “Besides, their personalities are not exactly fitting for this. Durge has a tendency to put others before him, which worries me that he might try to sacrifice himself for the sake of us. That’s something I’d like to avoid. And Ryle… Well, let’s just say that she isn’t exactly one for subtlety and finesse.”
“...Fair enough,” Arkay said. “What about Lexton and Zeldana, though? Those two are probably the smartest among us.”
“While that is true, Lex is more fitting for seeing through questionable business deals and other scams. I’m not sure if this is exactly according to his specialties, especially when we don’t have much of a choice in doing whatever Rayleen wants us to do,” Erin explained. “As for Zeldana… Well… I kind of want to have some time away from her right now…”
The cat boy assumed that the redhead was referring to Zeldana’s more disturbing or annoying antics, whether it was her methods in regards to medical treatment or her pranks. However, the reason Erin wanted to stay away from the elf for now was because of the things she knew about her personal life. The redhead didn’t want to deal with emotionally draining baggage for now.
“But… while I see why you didn’t choose the others, what made you choose me?” Arkay asked. “What makes me the best option for this?”
“Simple. It’s your skills and personality,” Erin replied. “You’re skilled at keeping yourself silent and moving around. Not to mention, your magical skills are also something that I could use in this. Especially your technomancer ability and the invisibility spell. In case we need to move without being seen or if there are any machinery we need to get past, you’re the best option for that. Not only that, but I know that you won’t get us into any unnecessary trouble since you’re much more careful than the others.”
“I see… I’ll make sure not to disappoint you,” the cat boy said with a look of resolve in his eyes.
“I know you won’t,” the redhead replied with a smile.
“Although, one thing still confuses me,” Arkay said. “When you picked me, most of the others seemed to be understanding and accepting, except for Ryle. For some reason, she seemed very disappointed and upset. Did she really want to come here that bad?”
“...I don’t think that’s why she was upset,” Erin muttered, knowing fully well why the blonde wasn’t happy.
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Meanwhile with the others, they were all relaxing as they watched over their van. Durge and Zeldana had decided to step outside in order to take in some fresh air and stretch their limbs a bit, while Lexton was looking over notes and schematics he had been making for new things to build.
However, there was someone who couldn’t relax. That was none other than Ryle, who kept pacing back and forth, looking towards the direction Erin and Arkay had gone to every now and then.
“Ryle, could you calm down a bit? You’re going to give yourself a heart attack at the rate you’re going!” Durge said with a sigh, having grown tired of the blonde’s antics. “Why don’t you try to do something to take your mind off Erin and Arnie for now?”
“How could I ever do something like that!?” Ryle asked, like the idea had been a horrible insult. “My Arnie is in there, going through whatever possible horrors that city could hold within! And where am I? Up here, not able to do a damn thing to help, if things go wrong!”
“Ignoring the somewhat disturbing “my Arnie” comment you made, you do realize you’re panicking over nothing, right? It’s not like he’s going to a faraway battlefield to fight some war, he’s just doing a bit of recon work! All they’re trying to do is get noticed by Rayleen’s people, who we are working with!” Lexton said in a frustrated tone. “Besides, Erin is with him, so he should be in good hands.”
“Oh sure! There’s definitely nothing to worry about with the thugs that serve a lunatic warlord, who are hiding out in the shittiest slum known to the world!” the blonde ranted angrily. “And as for Erin, I’m not sure if that isn’t something I should be worrying about…”
This last comment got the attention of the others, who looked at each other for a moment, before turning their attention back to Ryle.
“Care to explain that last part a bit?” Durge asked.
“Think about it! Why would she choose just Arnie and not take anybody else with her, despite the risks!? The answer is obviously that she wanted to get alone with him in order to use some vile seduction tactics!” Ryle ranted, before shouting towards the direction of their wayward companions. “ARNIE, DON’T FALL FOR HER SCHEMES! YOU’RE TOO GOOD FOR HER!”
“...I think that description fits YOU much better,” Lexton muttered.
However, while Lexton and Durge were not amused by the blonde’s antics, Zeldana had a mischievous grin on her face. The elf had an idea that would provide her with a lot more amusement.
“You know what? Maybe your theory has some truth to it,” Zeldana said causing Ryle’s ears to perk up. “Back when I was with Erin at the amusement park, I could tell that she really wanted to go with Arnie, but you beat her to it. I think I even saw her looking in his direction when we were driving here.”
The blonde’s enraged scream could be heard for miles.
“Why did you have to go and do that!?” Lexton asked angrily. “Now she’s going to be even more insufferable than normal!”
“I know! It’s funny, isn’t it!?” Zeldana replied while laughing.
“...You’re a twisted freak, you know that?” Durge asked.
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Back with Erin and Arkay, the cat boy’s ears twitched a bit, as they caught a weird sound.
“Did you hear something?” Arkay asked. “It sounded like the roar of some kind of beast.”
“Best ignore it for now. It wasn’t all that close to us, so I doubt we’ll have to deal with it anyways,” Erin replied quickly, before mumbling to herself. “What got into her now?”
image [https://i.ibb.co/zPmx1MN/Ch-139-Pic-1.jpg]