Chapter 148
Escape of Filth
Time seemed to slow down in Erin’s eyes as she watched the butler fall to the floor from the electric shock he had just received. Numerous questions were running through her mind at the speed of light, as she tried to make sense of the situation surrounding her.
Was the butler alive? Did the guards hear what happened? Was there still a chance for them to get out of this? And above all else, why had Stacey done that?
The scream of a nearby maid finally broke the redhead out of her stupor. Grabbing the hand of Stacey, she rushed towards the door, where Ryle and Durge were waiting for her.
“Hey, what the hell is going on over here!?” the female guard they had avoided earlier asked loudly, as she barged in through the door.
Seeing a potential threat appear, Ryle sprung into action. The other employees at first thought that she was going to apprehend the two maids that had attacked their colleague, but were shocked when she instead struck down the guard, kicking her with such force that her neck was broken.
This obviously didn’t mean that Erin and the others were safe at all. The other guards would soon be alerted to what was happening and would be swarming the place. They only needed to make it outside and they could then possibly get away from their pursuers. The door was now just within the reach of the redhead’s fingers.
Just as she was about to grab the doorknob, a large fist made of metal crashed through the door and nearly hit her. Erin was just barely able to jump back, while bringing Stacey with her. The now destroyed door left a hole that soon had numerous guards pour into the room.
“This isn’t good… Back to the main hall!” Erin said to Durge, who nodded.
With their original escape route now cut off from them, they had to regroup back at the hall in order to plan their next course of action. A couple of other guards had come towards the back area from the main hall, but Ryle had managed to push them back, allowing Erin, Durge and Stacey to get out of the room.
Once outside, Durge slammed the door shut and threw a nearby couch against it in order to block the doorway. It wouldn’t hold the guards for long, but they needed all the time they could get.
Seeing their friends come back from the back area after a huge commotion, Arkay and Zeldana knew that something had gone wrong. Knowing that they would need all of their strength in order to get through this, they joined up with Erin and the others.
With most of the group now gathered, Erin took a look around and saw guards run towards them from all sides. Soon about dozen guards were surrounding them, with more trying to break through the blockade that was preventing them from getting out of the back area.
“Call everybody over here!” one of the guards ordered. “Tell them that the assassins have come here, like Lord Golorath said!”
Hearing this sent a shock through Erin and her friends. If what the guard had said was true, then that would mean that this had been a trap all along. Golorath had sent his lady to this hotel in order to lure them out and then take them down. So far, it seemed like the trap was working.
“I’m trying to reach our people, but some of them aren’t answering!” another guard said while holding a radio. “I have no idea what’s going on with them!”
“If they only knew,” Zeldana said with a chuckle. “They’d probably want the same as well.”
What the elf was referring to was a certain incident that she had been preparing without anyone knowing. And right now, the fruits of her labor had come true.
While all the commotion caused by Erin and her friends was going on, the owner of the hotel, Goldjoy, was busy counting all of her profits. One of the greatest things about serving those who were in direct service under Overlord Golorath was that they were paid incredibly well. It was to the point that most of them were more than happy to throw money around without a care in the world. This meant that if one was careful enough, they could sell any of their basic products at least three times the normal price without worry, as these people were too busy trying to enjoy themselves to pay attention to the actual prices.
The way Goldjoy saw it, having a few incidents that left some of her staff injured or even dead was a small price to pay for such riches. After all, money makes the world go around and it was easy to look only at the positives, when you never had to deal with the negatives.
However, this time she would be coming face to face with an issue that couldn’t be solved by simply throwing around money. The door to her office was suddenly kicked open revealing several members of Golorath’s guard there. All of them had hazy looks in their eyes, like they were in some sort of a trance. Nevertheless, Goldjoy only cared about the money, so when guests with lots of it came around, she didn’t care what was going on with them as long as she could get her hands on their wealth.
“Good evening, gentlemen!” Goldjoy greeted the guards with a wide smile, after overcoming her initial shock. “What can I do for you good people?”
What the dwarf woman had expected to hear was some sort of a request, usually in the form of sending some of her better-looking employees to their rooms to entertain them. Instead, all she received was silence, as the guards slowly sauntered into her office, like a group of zombies.
“G-Gentlemen? Is everything alright?” Goldjoy asked, now a bit worried over what was happening. “I’m sorry, but I cannot offer you my services, if you don’t speak up. Could you please tell me what you need? I promise to provide you to the best of my-”
“Where is she?” one of the guards asked in a slurring tone, like he was drunk.
“I’m sorry, where is who?” the dwarf woman asked. “Who are you-?”
“WHERE THE HELL IS SHE!?” the same guard now yelled in rage. He then proceeded to grab a nearby painting off a wall and smashing it into the floor. “I came here for a hot elf! Not some fat ugly dwarf!”
“S-Sir! That is highly inappropriate!” Goldjoy said, now utterly shocked and terrified. “I have no idea what you’re talking about! If you explain, then I might-!”
“WE DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR BULLSHIT HERE, FAT PIG!” another guard yelled, equally enraged, as he went to join his colleague in trashing the office. “That hottie told us to come here at this time, as there would be a good time, yet I see no sign that anything like that is going to happen! Do you know who we are!? Do you know what we can do!? DO YO KNOW WHO WE WORK FOR!?”
The other guards were just as enraged as the other two and cheered in agreement. They soon joined their two colleagues in causing havoc in the office, as all Goldjoy could do was stare in utter shock and horror, as her wealth was slowly but surely being destroyed.
What Goldjoy or the guards failed to realize was that Zeldana had tricked them through her act of flirting. The note she had provided with the guards had instructions that told them to go to Goldjoy’s office, after drinking the vial she had given them. The vial had a toxin in it that made the people affected by it unable to control their emotional state, along with a boost of strength. When they came to the realization that the person they had hoped to meet in the office wasn’t there, they flew into a blinding rage that had destructive consequences.
This had been Zeldana’s plan all along. Reduce the number of guards they would have to deal with, while also giving Goldjoy what she deserved.
“I wish I could see that whole scene with my own eyes,” Zeldana chuckled to herself, as she thought about what was most likely happening at Goldjoy’s office. “I’m sure it’s a fun time.”
“What the hell are you giggling about!? Can’t you see we’ve got a bit of an issue here!?” Erin asked angrily, as she grabbed a nearby chair to block a strike from a sword of one of the guards. “Would you mind and actually help out!?”
“You want me to help? Okay!” the elf said as she grabbed the front of the shirt of one of the guards and threw him towards the guard the redhead was fighting against, causing the two of them to collide with each other and fall to the floor. Before they could get up, a large and heavy desk from Goldjoy’s office fell on them. “There you go! Was that enough of a helping hand?”
“...How did you know that was going to happen?” Erin asked in disbelief over what she had just witnessed.
“That’s a trade secret,” Zeldana replied with a smug smile.
“I don’t think we can get through the front door!” Ryle yelled as she punched one of the guards. “We need to find another way out!”
“We also need to find Lex!” Durge added. “Anybody know where he is!?”
“He’s on the upper floor!” Erin replied. “He helped me get past some guards earlier! I’m sure he’s still there!”
“I guess that’s where we’re going then,” the orc said as he grabbed a nearby couch and threw it at some of the guards. This in turn created an opening for them to slip past the others. “Come on! Follow me!”
Following behind the orc’s lead, Ryle, Arkay and Zeldana got past the encircling guards. Erin was about to follow after them, but realized that something was missing. She looked behind her and saw Stacey standing still, seeming to have a panic attack or something similar. The redhead quickly rushed to her side and grabbed her hand in order to pull her after her.
However, this small moment was long enough to cut Erin off from the others, as it allowed the guards to surround her and Stacey again.
“You two are not getting out of here alive!” one of the guards threatened.
Erin cursed under her breath the mess she was in due to Stacey. Had her old friend not attacked the innocent butler that was only trying to comfort her, they would already be hiding in a safe place. Had she not frozen all of a sudden, they could have joined the others in escaping.
It was at that moment when she thought about Stacey that the redhead realized something important. She wasn’t just some random person that she was trying to save. This was the wife of Golorath, one of the Five Overlords himself. If she were to use that to her advantage, there might still be hope.
Erin took hold of Stacey and pulled her close. She also had a hidden knife in her skirt that she took out.
“Time for you to be useful,” the redhead whispered to her old friend, before swiftly taking off Stacey’s wig and placing her knife at her throat. “Listen here, you bastards! I’ve got Golorath’s wife here in my hands! If you guys don’t want anything bad to happen to her, I suggest you all back away right now!”
Silence fell over the guards as the watched with wide eyes at the two women before them. Now that the wig was gone, they could recognize who it was.
“Hey… She ain’t lying,” one of the guards said. “That’s the boss’ lady alright!”
“Yeah… But what the hell is she doing with them?” another one asked. “Is she trying to escape or something?”
“Most likely,” a third one said. “It’s not like she ever really liked any of us. Much less the boss.”
The reaction to the reveal of her hostage’s identity didn’t sit well with Erin, as she was starting to get nervous. She had expected there to be panic and confusion among the guards. They should be lowering their weapons and backing away, trying their best to avoid upsetting her and thus harming the wife of their boss. Instead, there only seemed to be mild confusion and surprise among them.
“Hey, what the hell are you all mumbling about!?” the redhead asked loudly, trying to hide her nervousness. “If you don’t start backing away, I’ll kill her! Don’t you understand what’s going on here!?”
Instead of the guards complying with her orders, they simply smiled and chuckled. That wasn’t a good sign.
“Go ahead. Kill her if you want to. We don’t care,” one of the guards said. “Do you really think that bitch matters to Lord Golorath? Let alone any of us?”
“W-What!? How can you say that!?” Erin asked. “Isn’t she important to your boss!?”
“Not really,” the guard replied with a shrug. “We don’t know why, but the boss has basically used her as his personal toy for quite some time now. We always just assumed that she had some sort of history with him. However, the reason we are here was to lure you bunch out of hiding using her. Now that she has served her purpose, the boss told us that we are free to kill her, if that makes catching you all easier. Guess he got bored with his toy, huh?”
The guards erupted in laughter at the sorry state their opponents were caught in. By now, the barricade to the back area had been broken down and the guards came pouring from there. Erin and Stacey were now completely surrounded with nowhere to go.
Just as the redhead was starting to lose all hope, she felt a sudden change in the air, like it was starting to fill with electricity. The guards seemed to notice this, too, and soon found the source of it. Having seen the plight of his friend, Arkay had started to build up his most powerful magical attack and was now charging a huge amount of electricity in his hands. The guards quickly realized the danger the cat boy posed and tried to take him down before he was done charging up, but it was already too late.
Having finished his preparations, Arkay launched his attack at the guards. The massive ball of electricity flew at his enemies in a blinding flash of light, which was soon followed by a large explosion. By the time Erin could open her eye again, she saw the destruction Arkay’s attack had left behind. The floor and nearby furniture were scorched, and some of the guards that hadn’t been able to get out of the way had been killed. However, most of them were still alive, as they had either managed to avoid being hit completely or had managed to minimize the damage they took.
Even if most of the enemies were still alive, a new chance to escape had been provided to Erin and Stacey. An opportunity that the redhead was not going to let slip.
“This is our chance!” Erin said as she grabbed Stacey’s arm. “Come on!”
“NO! NO! WHAT IS ALL THIS!?” Stacey screamed, refusing to follow behind the redhead. “NONE OF THIS MAKES SENSE! WHAT ARE THESE PEOPLE!? HOW ARE THEY ABLE TO DO ALL THIS!? WHAT DOES-!?”
Stacey’s ramblings were cut off by Erin slapping her across the face without any restraint. She glared directly into her old friend’s eyes.
image [https://i.ibb.co/1GL2sYF/Ch-148-Pic-1.jpg]
“We don’t have time for this shit!” the redhead said angrily. “Now you can either follow me or get left behind! Which do you choose!?”
Stacey simply stared down as she followed after Erin without any further complaints.
Joining up with the others, the group was able to proceed to finding Lexton and making their escape. Arkay was now being carried by Ryle, as he had spent most of his energy in his attack. The guards were soon right behind them, as they headed towards where the elevators were.
“I hope we don’t have to wait for long!” Ryle said. “I doubt we can take on all of these guys!”
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“We’re not going to use the elevators!” Erin said. “We’ll be easy targets in them! We’re going to have to use the stairs!”
“Wait WHAT!?” the blonde shouted back. “The stairs!? All the way to the top floor!? Are you serious!?”
“YES I’M SERIOUS!” the redhead yelled back angrily. “Now are you going to put one foot before the other or keep bitching!?”
“...I-I’ll keep moving,” Ryle replied, having been taken aback by the angry reaction she had gotten from Erin, which the others also noticed.
Once they had made it to the stairs, Erin threw a vial that Lexton had prepared for her before their mission had started. The contents of the vial exploded into flames, blocking the doorway completely. This would buy them some time, as they began to run up the stairs.
However, it was still a long way for them to go, as the top floor was not something that they could reach quick, no matter how fast they ran. Erin knew that they needed to be smart in order to survive.
The guards had finally managed to get one of their members that knew how use ice magic to put out the fire and continue pursuing the assassins. Once they were at the stairs, they noticed one of the floors above to have a cloud of smoke. Wanting to know what this meant, one of the more nimble and acrobatic members of the guards jumped up to the smoke and began to investigate it. Through the smoke, he saw that there was a door leading to the rooms on that floor.
“Hey! They went through here!” the guard called out to his colleagues. “They must be hiding somewhere around here!”
All the other guards soon followed after him and spread throughout the floor, checking every possible room and other hiding place there was. It wouldn’t take them long until they had checked every possible place there.
What the guards failed to realize was that this had been nothing more than a distraction. Erin knew that by simply running they were not going to lose their pursuers, so they needed to do something more clever. Her plan had been very simple, as it required to detonate a smoke bomb at one of the floors and leaving a door open, thus leaving behind the idea that they had gone through there. In actuality, they had rushed to the floor above that one and laid down on the floor. Once they had heard the last of the guards go to the wrong floor, they could proceed upwards.
“Alright. That should keep them bust for some time,” Erin whispered to the others. “Let’s move a couple more floors up. That should put enough space between us and those guys.”
The others simply nodded in response and followed behind the redhead, as they sneaked their way upwards. After getting two floors further, they went through the door that led to the actual floor itself.
“So what now?” Ryle asked. “It won’t be long until those goons will be running over here.”
“Now, we just use this,” Erin replied, as she called the elevator over. “Hopefully they won’t realize what we’re doing, but this will take us to the top floor faster.”
As they waited for the elevator to come down, they began to hear sounds coming from the staircase. It seemed like the guards had realized they had been fooled and were now moving to the other floors. So far, it seemed like they were just at the floor below them, but would soon move up to where they were.
Erin and the others looked nervously at the elevator, watching the number go down as it moved towards them. They could also hear footsteps coming up the stairs. It was only a matter of time now before they were found out and the guards would come flooding in.
Just as one of the guards was about to reach the door, the elevator’s door opened, allowing Erin and the others to get inside. The redhead immediately pressed on the button that sent them to the top floor.
However, even if they hadn’t been seen, the guards did see the elevator going up. This information was quickly shared with their colleagues, who sprung into action. The top floor already had some guards posted there, who were soon joined by some of the faster members of their troop that quickly went up the staircase. Soon rifles, pistols and other firearms were pointed at the elevator in anticipation of the people that would emerge from within.
The elevator soon reached the top floor, but its door opened to reveal nothing. The guards looked at each other in confusion, wondering where the assassins had actually gone.
“Where the hell are they?” one of the guards asked. “Who sends and empty elevator up? It makes no sense!”
“...Not unless they wanted us to think they were coming here,” another guard said as his eyes went wide with realization. “They sent this here as a distraction! They must still be on the lower floors somewhere!”
While most of the guards rushed to the staircase to search the floors below, a couple of them went to the elevator, hoping to use it in order to get to the bottom floor fast. However, when they pressed the button to make the machine move, nothing happened. It was like the whole thing was frozen in place.
“They must have done something to sabotage it,” one of the guards said. “Let’s go to the other one!”
As soon as the guards had left the elevator, Erin and her friends seemed to appear out of nowhere, pressed up against the walls. Once they heard the last of the guards leave, they let out a sigh of relief.
“That was a close one… Nice job, Arnie,” Erin said with a smile to the cat boy. “If it hadn’t been for your invisibility spell and technomancer, we would have been caught now.”
“It’s… nothing,” Arkay replied with a weak smile. “I just hope that you won’t need me to do anymore such tricks… I’m completely spent…”
“Don’t worry. We’ll carry it from here,” Ryle said with a big grin. “Like how I’m carrying you right now!”
“We should get going and try to find Lex,” Durge said. “The sooner we get together, the sooner we can get out of here. Where was the last place you saw him, Erin?”
“It was right here in this hallway,” the redhead replied as she looked around for the kobold. “He drew the ire of a couple of guards, so that I could get past them. Poor guy got roughed up big time, though… I hope he’s okay.”
“Don’t worry. That little guy is a lot tougher than most would ever think,” Zeldana said. “Besides, even if he’s badly hurt, I can just fix him!”
“...I’m not sure he’d like that,” Durge said.
“Whatever his condition is, we need to find him and fast!” Erin said as she stepped out of the elevator. “Come on! We don’t have all day!”
“Sure, but is she going to be okay?” Zeldana asked while pointing at Stacey, who looked like she was on the verge of having another nervous breakdown. Her body was trembling, her eyes were wide and unfocused, and her face was completely pale. “She looks like she’s going to pass out or something.”
“Oh… She just needs to catch her breath. She probably isn’t used to this type of action the same way we are,” the redhead said as she walked back to Stacey and grabbed her hand. “You guys go first. I’ll bring her along and try to calm her down.”
The others looked at each other before shrugging and walking away. Erin managed to get her old friend out of the elevator and into the hallway. Once her companions had gotten ahead of them, she turned her attention to Stacey.
“Okay, what the hell is wrong with you!? Are trying to get us all killed!?” the redhead asked in an angry whisper. “You’ve been acting up throughout this whole escape! If you don’t get your act together, we will all be killed because of you! Got it!?”
“H-How can you be so calm with those… those… those freaks!?” Stacey asked in a trembling whisper. “Can’t you see what they look like!? Or what they can do!? How can you be so calm around them!?”
“...Okay. I’m going to ask you nicely to NEVER refer to those guys in such a way, because they’re my friends,” Erin said, holding back her anger as best as she could. “In case you haven’t noticed, they’re risking their lives to save YOU. How about you show them some respect and gratitude? It won’t kill you.”
“Respect? You expect me to respect these… these things!? They’re just like all the others that served Porky Gabe! How could I ever respect them!?” Stacey hissed. “And why the hell do you even consider them your friends!? Have you gone crazy!? You’re just like-!”
Stacey’s rant was cut short by the redhead, who grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her close, so that she could glare straight into her old friend’s eyes. The look in Erin’s eyes was something that terrified Stacey to her core.
“I’ve had enough of your shit and whining! From now on, you keep your damn mouth shut unless I tell you it’s okay for you to talk! Got it!?” the redhead whispered angrily. “Be thankful that none of my friends heard that little rant of yours, because I doubt they’d take too kindly to it! Now get moving, before I have to drag you out of here!”
Stacey only nodded meekly, as she followed behind Erin. Yet while the two of them thought that no one else had heard their talk, there was someone who had. That was none other than Zeldana, who gave a suspicious look to them.
“I don’t see Lex anywhere. Think he went inside one of the rooms?” Durge asked. “If that’s the case, it will take us a while to find him. There’s quite a few places that he could hide himself.”
“Unless we look for clues that could lead us to him,” Ryle said as she noticed some blood on the floor, close to what seemed like stains of different spilled liquids. “This has his scent all over it. I’m guessing these other stains were also caused by him? They smell like alcohol.”
“Yeah, it’s him alright,” Erin said. “When the two guards approached us, he used a cart filled with drinks to distract them. It’s also what led to him getting beaten up…”
“Damn… I know I’ve wanted to give him a good one more than just a few times, but judging by these stains, these guys went way overboard!” the blonde said as she inspected the blood. “The amount of blood left here tells me that this wasn’t just some light beating he received.”
“Do you think he’s hurt bad?” Arkay asked, worried over the kobold’s well-being.
“Hard to say… I can tell that what he went through was a lot of pain, though,” Ryle said, before sniffing the floor a bit more and noticing something else. “And I think I might have found something else that’s worth worrying over.”
“What is it?” Erin asked.
“Lex’s scent has the scent of someone else mixed with it as well,” the blonde answered. “I can’t tell who it is, though, as I don’t recognize it. Could be trouble, though.”
“I think it’s safe to assume that,” the redhead said with a frown. “Can you follow the scent?”
“I sure can. Doesn’t seem like they were planning to leave this floor,” Ryle replied as she began to sniff after the trail left behind. “Come on. I think we can find Lex.”
Following behind the blonde, the group soon came to the bathing area. Knowing that their friend was there, injured and possibly captured, everybody got ready for a fight. Erin went in first, opening the door slowly and carefully, so that she could see if there was an ambush waiting for them on the other side. With the entrance clear, the redhead quickly went inside, followed by the others.
“Can you pick up the scent again?” Erin asked Ryle.
“No can do. There are too many different smells here for me to pick up on just his,” the blonde answered. “We’re going to have to search this place completely.”
“I can assure you that there’s no need for that, miss,” a somewhat familiar voice suddenly called out to the group, grabbing their attention. “Ever since we heard the commotion from downstairs, we were worried that we might not see any of you. Glad to see that we didn’t need to worry too much.”
Erin and the others turned to where the voice had come from and saw Holmstrom, the head butler at the hotel, standing there. Despite everything that had happened, the butler still carried himself in the same dignified manner as he had previously, like he wasn’t bothered at all by what had been happening.
“YOU!? Why are you here!?” the redhead asked in surprise. “And what was that you just said!? Do you know where our friend is!? If so, then where is he and is he fine!?”
“Calm down, miss. Calm down. No good will come to you, if you try to rush things,” Holmstrom said in a calm tone. “As for your many questions, I think it’s best we start with your companion. I doubt you’ll be able to truly calm yourselves, until you see him. Now please, follow me.”
Erin looked at her friends, who all simply shrugged in response, with the exception of Stacey, who was still just trembling on her own. It seemed like no one among them had any better ideas, so they would just have to follow the butler and hope that he wasn’t leading them to a trap.
Fortunately, they weren’t led to a trap of any kind at all and were actually brought to the sauna. There they found Elvafay, the head maid, treating Lexton’s injuries.
“Lex! You’re okay!” Erin said happily as she tried to run over to the kobold in order to hug him, but Holmstrom stopped her.
“I’m sorry that I have to break your reunion, miss, but I’m afraid he isn’t in the best shape right now,” the butler said. “When we found him, he had been injured pretty badly and had suffered quite a bit of internal damage. I fear that if you were to hug him, you might aggravate his wounds further. I know this must sound harsh, but I must ask you to be very careful with him for some time.”
“It’s alright. As long as he’s okay, I’m more than happy,” the redhead said with a smile, before turning her attention to Lexton. “How are you holding up, Lex?”
“Meh. I’ve been better, but I’ll live,” the kobold said with a shrug as he smirked. “This isn’t the first beating I’ve taken from people way bigger than me. Besides, once we get back to our van, I’ll be able to cook up a healing potion that will fix me up right away.”
“As much as I am happy to hear that, I must ask you to treat this with more seriousness. Your injuries aren’t light by any means and could get worse, if not treated correctly,” Elvafay said in a slightly stern tone. “I recommend that you seek out the help of a medical professional as soon as possible. Either a doctor or a healer.”
“That won’t be a problem! We have one among ourselves already!” Erin said happily. “Once we get the chance, Zeldana should be able to fix Lexton’s body without any issues!”
Hearing the redhead’s declaration caused mixed reactions among them. Most of them turned pale, such as with Ryle, Lexton, Arkay and Durge. Holmstrom and Elvafay simply looked surprised, while Zeldana grinned widely over the prospect of getting to play with someone soon.
image [https://i.ibb.co/1LGtGqJ/Ch-148-Pic-2.jpg]
“Uhh… That’s alright, Erin. I don’t think there’s any need for that,” Lexton said, terrified over the treatment he would get from their elf companion. “In fact, I feel just fine! No need for any kind of medical treatment at all!”
“Sir, I’ve treated numerous injured bodies in my life and I can tell that you are far from fine!” Elvafay said in a scolding tone. “I don’t care if you’re scared of doctors or whatever else it may be, it is in the best of interest of you and your companions to get you the medical help that you need as fast as possible! There should be no further discussions on the subject and you should only focus on taking care of yourself in the best possible manner!”
“B-B-But you don’t understand!” the kobold cried out. “She’s-!”
“Lex, I get that you don’t have the best impression of Zeldana. That is completely understandable. I mean, I certainly don’t think highly of her for multiple reasons,” Erin said while ignoring the elf’s mock hurt expression. “However, if there is one thing that she can do, it’s healing people. We need your help very much and you have no idea how much we rely on you. For the sake of us all, please do what you need to do to get better as fast as possible. Okay?”
Lexton wanted to argue against the redhead’s request, but seeing the pleading look in her eyes shattered whatever resistance he had. Not only that, but the logical part of his mind told him that the sensible thing to do was to simply suck it up and let Zeldana treat him, no matter how much the mere thought terrified him.
“...Alright, Erin. I’ll let her treat me,” the kobold said with a defeated sigh. “Just don’t let this become a regular thing.”
“Sure! Whatever you say!” the redhead replied happily. “Now that we’re all together again, I think we need to get back to getting out of here.”
“Before we do that, I would like to ask something first,” Durge said as he turned to look at the butler and maid duo. “Why exactly are you two helping us? You should know by now that we are enemies of the Five Overlords. If you’re found out, you’ll be lucky to get away with just an execution. Not only that, but this hotel will surely suffer as well.”
“It is exactly because you are enemies of the Five Overlords that we are doing this,” Holmstrom replied. “We knew pretty much right away that you were working with someone opposing them the moment you all arrived here. After all, there’s no other reason for the infamous Madam Zeldana to be here.”
The others turned their surprised gazes at their elf companion, who looked just as surprised.
“Hey, don’t look at me! I’ve never even met these two!” Zeldana quickly said. “I honestly have no idea how they were able to recognize me!”
“We’re not surprised that you don’t recognize us, but we certainly recognize you,” Elvafay said with a giggle. “You see, the two of us were part of the resistance back in the day and anybody who took part in it knew Madam Zeldana and the other Five Heroes. We watched you from afar quite a bit, so we immediately realized who you were.”
“...Oh! That explains!” the elf said as a smug smile rose on her face. “Yeah, I was quite the deal back in the day! It’s no wonder that I would have such loyal fans among some of the people that fought on the same side as me!”
Zeldana was expecting sounds of awe to come from her companions, only to receive silence. When she looked at them, the elf saw how they were all staring at her with questionable looks on their faces.
“And just what the hell is up with you guys!?” Zeldana asked angrily. “Don’t you believe that I’m a big deal or something!?”
“Nah, we totally believe that about you,” Erin said. “It’s just that… She referred to you as a “hero.” How the hell did that happen?”
“What!? How is that so strange!?” the elf asked. “What about me makes it unbelievable that I’d be a hero!?”
“If you can spare a few hours, I can make a list,” Ryle said bluntly.
“Oh, screw you all!” Zeldana shouted before turning away and pouting.
Both Holmstrom and Elvafay were completely confused over the interaction between Zeldana and the others. It wasn’t something they had expected.
“...I take it that your time with her has not been… ideal?” Holmstrom asked awkwardly.
“You have NO idea,” Erin replied. “Still, we are happy for the help, no matter what the reason. But even if we are traveling with Zeldana, was that really a good enough reason to help us out? I mean, you don’t even know who we are actually working for.”
“Whoever it is, they are more than likely better than the Overlords,” Holmstrom explained. “If you want proof, just look at Graven Hills itself. I’m sure you all saw just how rotten it is. It’s even worse for us, as we were born and raised here. We both remember how it all used to look, before the Overlords came and ruined everything. Now it has become nothing more than a tainted playground meant for the rich and powerful, while the actual residents live off by whatever trash is thrown at them.”
“If it’s so bad, why would you work for one of the people that helps keep it that way?” Ryle asked. “That doesn’t make sense to me.”
“Are you telling us to simply fight, even if there was no hope of winning?” Elvafay asked. “That’s something the Five Heroes always told us to not do. Sacrificing yourself for a cause might seem all heroic, but if it doesn’t have any positive effects, then it is ultimately meaningless. In fact, when it was clear that the resistance had lost the war, we were told not to waste our lives in such a manner. Instead, we went into hiding and found new lives, never forgetting what we wanted and waited for opportunities to rise in order to strike back.”
Erin and the others were surprised by the dedication the two elves were showing. For years, they had simply been waiting silently for an opportunity to perform their duties as members of the resistance, no matter what they had to go through in order to see it come their way. One could only imagine the hardships they had to go through and how often they had to grit their teeth out of frustration.
Holmstrom took notice of the looks of amazement that the group before him had on their faces and couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.
“Well, even if we say that, there have been a lot of times that we thought that we should simply give up and try to live out our lives in silence,” Holmstrom said. “After all, we’ve lived like this for years with no signs of any kind of signs that the resistance we were once part of was ever going to come back to life. It was only thanks to us seeing Madam Zeldana that we decided to act now.”
The way the butler described themselves reminded Erin of Ryan and Holly back when she had first come into this world. The grizzled assassin had told her that the only reason he had taken her in had been just due to the fact that she had shown the will to resist the control of the Five Overlords. She had to wonder just how many similar people were out there, waiting for a sign to start resisting against their oppressors?
“Whatever your reason may be, we are grateful for the help,” Erin said. “We still need some help, though. Do you have any ideas as to how we can get out of here quietly? Some sort of a secret escape route meant for emergencies or anything similar?”
“I’m afraid there are no such things,” Holmstrom replied. “However, your friend apparently knows a way out of here. In fact, when we picked him up, he asked us to bring him here, as he told us that you all would most likely need to come here soon.”
“Really? But why would-?” the redhead began to ask, only for her eye to go wide upon realizing what Lexton had in mind. She turned to look at him to see him giving a cocky smirk, confirming her fears. “Lex… Please don’t tell me…”
“What’s the matter? I thought you were in the need of an escape route?” Lexton asked in a mocking tone. “Or is it that you cannot use something, unless it’s completely squeaky clean with some scented candled and flowers spread over it? I’m so sorry that I focus on survival, instead of how fancy something is! I failed to recognize your sophisticated tastes!”
“Erin, he isn’t talking about what I think he’s talking about, is he?” Zeldana asked, already fearing the answer. “Please tell me it’s not that…”
“I’m afraid it is,” the redhead replied with a deep sigh. “We need to go through the sewage pipes.”
Ryle, Arkay and Durge were all showing how displeased they were with the idea, as well. Unfortunately, they didn’t have all that many options at hand, so they would have to take what they could get.
“Escaping through the sewage pipes? Of course! What a brilliant idea!” Holmstrom said happily, earning strange looks from Erin’s group, except for Lexton, who simply looked smug. “That’s not something any of the guards would think of checking and it leads directly to the outer parts of the city! In other words, it’s a perfect escape! Simply brilliant! As one would think of the legendary Madam Zeldana herself!”
“...Excuse me, pal, but I’m the one who came up with the idea!” Lexton said angrily, no longer having an arrogant look on his face. “How about you send some of that praise towards me!?”
“While I do see that you are an intelligent individual, this is Madam Zeldana’s team and she chose you to be a part of it, correct?” the butler asked in return. “In that case, the praise belongs to her, as she was the one who scouted the correct talent for your mission!”
“There is so much wrong with what you just said,” the kobold said unhappily. “But I know when not to continue a pointless argument, so just go with that idea, if you like it so much.”
Erin, Ryle, Arkay and Durge couldn’t help but chuckle among themselves over seeing Lexton get put down in such a manner. However, Zeldana was not laughing. In fact, the elf looked even more mortified than before.
“You guys do realize that we have no room to laugh, right?” Zeldana asked her chuckling companions. “Thanks to those two having such a high opinion of me now, I have to go through with Lex’s escape through the poo plan! And that means you guys have to go through with it, as well!”
All smiles immediately disappeared from the faces of the others, upon realizing this. While Lexton was still upset over not getting the praise he deserved, he was at least satisfied to see that the others wouldn’t get to just laugh at his expense.
With their escape plan set, Lexton led the others to the pipe he had mentioned in their meeting and opened it. The pipe was more than large enough to fit all of them, as long as they went one by one. There was a current of water running through it, carrying all sorts of filth that no one would want to imagine in their worst nightmares, if the smell was any indication.
“I must say, your dedication to the resistance is quite something to admire, if you’re willing to go through even this,” Holmstrom said while pinching his nose. “You are truly a hero above others, Madam Zeldana.”
“Yeah… She truly is a great one,” Erin muttered as she and some of the others shot the elf glares.
“Before you go, Madam Zeldana, can I ask for one thing?” Elvafay suddenly said as she took out a pen and a notepad. “Can I get your autograph?”
“...Sure,” the elf said awkwardly, as she took the writing tools from the maid. “How could I refuse such a loyal fan?”
With that, one by one Erin and the others slid down the pipe while holding their breaths, hoping to that what they were doing would truly lead to safety. If not, one could only wonder what sort of fury would be unleashed.