Chapter 142
Bus from Hell
Having concluded their business with Ao, Erin and Arkay had quickly returned to their friends without any issues. The only strange thing they had to deal with was Ryle acting up once again, this time clinging to Arkay and giving Erin strangely hostile looks. The redhead herself had decided not to question it, chalking it up to whatever strange ideas the blonde had gotten this time. Not only that, but asking about it was surely going to just make things worse, so she decided to let it be and ignore it as much as she could.
With their whole group together again, Erin had proceeded to tell the others about the mission Rayleen had left them with. The fact that they would be taking part in a kidnapping had mixed reactions from the others.
Lexton and Zeldana seemed to be the most okay with idea, as they were more logical overall when compared to the others in the group. The way they saw it, it was a sound plan to target Golorath through someone who was important to him. After all, they were the underdogs going up against a much more powerful enemy, so they needed to utilize any and all advantages they could.
Ryle and Durge, on the other hand, were not so keen on the idea. Not only was the idea of kidnapping someone something that they just found hard to stomach, but the fact that they were going after a person that was essentially a non-combatant didn’t sit right with them either. At least knowing that the person they were targeting wouldn’t be subjected to any inhuman torture or violence of other kind made it easier for them to accept the job.
Having brought their whole group up to speed on what was ahead of them, their next move was to locate the place where the bus would come and pick them up. Thanks to the directions Ao had given them, the place was easily found. There were indeed large rocks with a graffiti of a large red cross painted on one of them, making their meeting point easy to find.
The only issue they now faced was hiding their van, as they all would be too busy with their mission to be left watching over it. Luckily, they managed to find a nearby cave that was uninhabited, where they could leave their vehicle. Thanks to Lexton, they were able to place some repellents at the entrance that would drive away most animals. He had also prepared two of his golems and left them there to guard the place. If everything went alright, they should be able to return before the two constructs ran out of time.
With all of their preparations ready, the only thing left to do was rest up for the mission they had next morning. This unfortunately was easier said than, especially for Ryle, as the stench coming from the repellents was making it difficult to sleep. The only one not bothered by the smell was Lexton, who had already gotten used to it.
Once morning came, the group got up early in order to catch up with the bus they were supposed to meet up with. They decided to take turns in looking out for the approaching vehicle, while the others made their final preparations for the mission.
Ryle was on watch duty, still trying to rub some of the sleep from her eyes, when she looked at the general direction through binoculars where the bus was supposed to come from, when she spotted something in the distance. Upon noticing the approaching object, she immediately focused on it, waiting for it to come closer so she could properly tell what it was. It didn’t take long for it to get close enough and reveal itself as the bus they had been waiting for.
“HEY, GUYS! I think it’s here!” the blonde called out to the others, who immediately got up and rushed to her side.
“Are you sure?” Erin asked, taking the binoculars. “Where did you see it?”
“Over there!” Ryle replied as she pointed at the direction. “I’m sure I saw it coming towards here!”
“Are you absolutely certain that what you saw was a bus?” Lexton asked. “This bus you saw wouldn’t have happened to have four legs instead of wheels?”
“Ha ha. You’re a real freaking comedian, Lex,” the blonde muttered angrily. “Why don’t you start a show and get on a stage? I’d love to throw something at you.”
“Well, the good news is that Ryle didn’t see it wrong. It is a bus,” Erin said, having found the vehicle the blonde had seen. “However, I think you forgot to mention something, Ryle.”
“Huh? What’s that?” the blonde asked.
“This small detail about a GIANT BEAST CHASING IT!” the redhead shouted. “Didn’t you actually see that or did you just feel like it wasn’t worth mentioning!?”
“Hey, I was focused on the bus, okay!? You can’t just expect me to notice every little thing!” Ryle argued. “Besides, that thing is probably so small that it was hidden behind the bus! That’s all!”
“I have to doubt that a bit, seeing as I can see that thing from here,” Durge pointed out, as he looked at where the bus was. “That thing is by no means small. Hell, the bus looks tiny next to it!”
“What do we do?” Arkay asked. “If they are killed by that monster, then I don’t think we can get inside!”
“...No other choice. We have to help them,” Erin said. “But taking that thing on isn’t going to be an easy feat.”
Having made her decision on helping the people in need, the redhead began to survey their surroundings for thing that they could use to their advantage in the oncoming battle. There wasn’t much in the environment itself that they could really use, as it was mostly empty badlands as far as they could see. There was just the cave they were using and the large rocks that had the marking on it for the meeting spot, but nothing else.
However, an idea came to her, when she noticed the cracks in the ground.
“Lex, how many of your golems do you have at the ready?” Erin asked.
“More than enough,” the kobold answered. “Why?”
“I think I’ve got a plan,” the redhead explained. “Just how small of a space can those things fit into? And how complex commands can they follow?”
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Micah was currently regretting all of the choices he had made in his life. He had come from a rather poor background, which closed a lot of opportunities for his future. Outside of becoming a criminal, his only options had been to either work years in some low pay job while hoping for better opportunities to come along or to join the military. The promises of a much better salary and numerous benefits had immediately caught his attention, so the choice had become very easy. Besides, all the major wars were long over. What was the worst thing that could happen?
Had he known that he would end up joining a faction within the military that was planning to overthrow one of the Five Overlords himself, Micah would have chosen the slow and boring life of a working man.
It wasn’t that he was loyal to Golorath at all. In fact, much like most of the population, he hated him quite a bit. Issue was that he never wanted to actually challenge the guy in any way at all. There were numerous examples of people that had tried it and it didn’t end well for them. All he wanted to do was keep his head down and do his best to enjoy life.
Unfortunately, one day he had gotten lost in the barracks while looking for the bathroom and ended up in a secret meeting held between Rayleen’s people, who were part of the rebellion that she was planning. He had luckily been able to avoid immediate death by bluffing his way out of the situation, claiming that he had been aware of their true colors for some time and wanted to join. This had led to a life on the edge, where one wrong move could end up getting him killed by either people loyal to Golorath or those loyal to Rayleen.
Micah had thought that he would finally be able to relax, when he was assigned to take up the role of a simple bus driver in Graven Hills. While he knew that this would be part of a bigger plan, he could at least stay far away enough to avoid any possible fallout from what was going to happen.
However, even if his job was safe in theory, it didn’t mean that it absolutely was so. He had forgotten to pay attention to something very important. The badlands he was driving through were home to many beasts and could attack at any moment. And just like that, on the last day he was supposed to play the role of a driver, something did come attack him. A giant scorpion had burst out from the ground and proceeded to chase him.
So far, Micah had been able to avoid the monster for the most part, although the back of the bus still ended up with a lot of holes from the scorpion’s stinger. But he knew that driving this fast would end up destroying the engine, leaving him and everybody else as snacks for the monster. They needed a miracle now in order to survive.
Almost as if summoned by his thoughts, something suddenly smashed against the windshield, leaving purple sludge on it. Before Micah could do anything to get rid of it, the sludge began to move, forming a text before his eyes.
DRIVE PAST THE CAVE TO THE RIGHT
Seeing as this was so far the only thing that could possibly help him, Micah decided to follow the directions given to him. Steering towards the cave, he hoped that whatever or whoever had given him the instructions would actually be able to save him.
Just as he went past the cave, something happened to the scorpion following after him. All of a sudden, something that looked like dark purple slime came from out of the ground and took hold of the monster’s legs, forcing it to a stop. The creature let out an enraged screech, as it struggled to free itself.
However, before it could do so, people appeared from the cave to slay it.
One person used a whip to ensnare the scorpion’s tail, stopping it from using its stinger. This was quickly followed by a redheaded woman wielding a sword that had flames surrounding it to come and cut off the stinger, thus taking away the beast’s main weapon. The scorpion screeched from pain and was finally able to free itself from the slime that had covered its legs. Now that it was free, it turned its attention to the two people that had taken its tail from it. Just as it was about to attack them, a powerful bolt of lightning came from the cave and hit it, leaving it in a stunned state from the shock. Finally, two more people emerged from hiding to put the finishing touches on the creature. The first one threw what seemed to be knives into the scorpion’s eyes, blinding it and keeping it distracted from the last attacker. The last person was a large orc, who jumped on the scorpion’s back and smashed it on the head with a hammer that seemed to shoot flames from the back. This last blow was so powerful that it completely crushed the creature’s head and brain, killing it instantly.
image [https://i.ibb.co/GpCK09Q/Ch-142-Pic-1.jpg]
With the threat now gone, Micah was able to finally ease up on the gas and come to a stop. Realizing that these were more than likely the people Rayleen had wanted him to meet up with, he climbed out of the vehicle and ran over to meet and thank them.
“Hey!” Micah said happily as he waved to his saviors, getting their attention. “You guys just saved my life! Thank you!”
“No problem,” Erin said. “Although, aren’t you forgetting about your passengers?”
“My wha-? Oh, right! Thanks for saving their lives as well! I guess…” the bus driver said. “Anyways, were you perhaps sent here by a certain special person?”
“You mean Ray-?” the redhead began to ask, but was cut off by Micah.
“Shhh! Don’t say that name out loud!” the bus driver said as he looked around in a panic. “Did anybody hear that!?”
“...Are the people you’re traveling with perhaps NOT part of your special group?” Lexton asked as he walked up to Erin and Micah with the others following behind.
“Those guys in the bus? Nah! They’re completely aware of what’s going on,” Micah replied. “But you never know who might be listening, so it’s always best to be as cautious as possible.”
Erin and her friends looked at each other, all questioning the bus driver’s behavior.
“Do you perhaps have health issues related to stress and paranoia?” Zeldana asked.
“How did you know?” Micah asked in return as he took a bottle of pills out of his pocket and popped a couple of them in his mouth.
“Just a lucky guess,” the elf said as she rolled her eyes.
“So, ignoring the more disturbing things we’ve been through right now, did you have outfits and equipment for us with you?” Erin asked. “Should we be getting changed right now?”
“Yeah, they’re in the back of the bus,” Micah replied. “They’re all in suitcases designated to each of you.”
“Alright. Thanks,” the redhead said. “Guess we might as well go and get changed then.”
Erin and her friends moved inside the bus and headed to the back. As they did so, they were greeted and thanked by the other passengers on the bus, who were happy over having their lives saved. Once at the back, they found six large suitcases, each with a white note on top of them.
“So any idea which belongs to who?” Ryle asked. “They all look rather similar on the outsides.”
“My guess is that it’s written on those notes. I’m sure if we look at them, we’ll be able to tell who gets which one,” Erin said as she grabbed one of the suitcases. “...For example, I think this one is mine.”
“What makes you say that?” Durge asked.
“The fact that it says “The idiot leader with the red hair,” the redhead said as she showed the suitcase to the others, showing that it indeed had said text on it. “I fail to see who else this could be meant for.”
Much like with Erin, each one of them had a rather special description that designated one of the suitcases to them. The texts were less than flattering to say the least.
“Ugly brute orc,” Durge read the text on his suitcase with a frown on his face. “That’s a bit uncalled for…”
“You think you’ve got it bad!? Mine says “The brainless blonde!” Ryle said angrily as she glared at the insulting text. “Who the hell wrote these!?”
“I think I have an idea, but I still need to hear the others before I can confirm it,” Erin said as she turned to the other members of their group. “What do yours say?”
“Psycho doctor elf,” Zeldana replied with a shrug. “I mean, it’s not all that wrong, but…”
“Mine says “Useless kitty brat…” Arkay said in sad voice. “Am I really useless?”
“Oh, Arnie! Of course not!” Ryle said as she went to hug the cat boy. “Don’t care about the mean bag! Just come into my arms and-”
The blonde was roughly shoved away by Erin, who turned her attention to their youngest member.
“Arnie, listen to me. There is no way you’d actually be useless. Remember, you were the one who saved us, when we were stuck in that death game of the Laughing Ogre. You saved us from burning to death in Gotzmeyer’s base. And you’ve always assisted us in combat with your magic skills plenty of times,” the redhead said. “If anything, you should take this as a motivation to prove the person who wrote that to be completely wrong, okay? Knowing you, I’m sure you’ll be able to do it sooner, rather than later.”
“Y-You really think so?” Arkay asked to which Erin nodded. “...Alright! I’ll make you guys proud to have me with you!”
“We already are,” the redhead said as she gently patted the cat boy’s head with a smile on her face. She then turned her attention to the last member of their group. “What about you, Lex? I have this weird feeling that yours isn’t at all a negative description.”
“How did you know? Mine says “The sexy and intellectual kobold” on it,” Lexton said. “While I am obviously flattered, I’d like it if they were more focused on my cultured and intelligent side. Not that I have any issues with being complimented for my looks or anything, I just find it less remarkable about myself.”
“...Goddamn Izra,” Erin mumbled as she rolled her eye. “Anyways, suit up, guys. We’ve got a job ahead of us and we need to be dressed for the part.”
Putting on their disguises provided by Rayleen’s people, Erin and the others got ready for their mission of infiltrating the upper parts of Graven Hills and kidnapping Golorath’s supposed wife.
Little did they know that their mission was far from what they were expecting.