Chapter 159
A Bad Smell
Having received their instructions from Ao, Erin and her group traveled for a couple of days in order to reach a town called Gasrick. It was located relatively close to High Rock Peak, where Golorath of the Five Overlords lived. It was there that they would meet either Rayleen herself or one of her closest associates in order to receive their next assignment.
The town was known for being a location of large gas reserves that was their main export. Geysers of gas could be seen erupting all around the town’s vicinity and even the regular streets had cracks in them that spewed fumes from them. This made the town rather wealthy, as its natural resources were often sought after for different industries.
However, while the town was essentially a treasure chest of natural resources, it also made it a very difficult place to live in. Due to the gases that often covered the whole area, the residents there required gas masks on their faces whenever they went outside and every building needed to be fitted with powerful air purifiers in order to prevent the fumes from causing issues. It wasn’t uncommon for entire households to suddenly perish from complications caused by gases that managed to seep in due to a faulty purifier.
Because of this, a lot of travelers would prefer to avoid the town as much as possible, since visiting it would bring unnecessary risks to your health. Even a good number of those who worked there chose to live in a different city or town and just traveled there for work, no matter how long it might take them.
While others saw all of these issues as reasons to get away from the town, they made the town the perfect place for meetings that required privacy. Most people would be too busy trying to make their way indoors to listen to any suspicious conversations and the buildings were made as airtight as possible to avoid any leaks, which in turn made it more difficult to eavesdrop on the occupants.
Having parked their van at a hotel that they would be staying at, Erin and her companions walked down the main street of the town, looking at the place they would be staying at. All of them were wearing gas masks that they had bought from a store located outside the town, leaving it unaffected by the natural gases Gasrick was famous for.
Upon entering the town, a lot of them had been forced to give up some of the equipment they had, such as firearms, at the entrance. This was because of all the gases that would spill over the town. A good amount of them were flammable, so the town had strict rules in place to avoid any ignitions from happening.
Erin wasn’t too worried, as she still had at least a couple of knives that she could defend herself with and some of her friends knew how to handle themselves unarmed. This still left Lexton and Arkay defenseless, but the redhead was sure that they could defend the two of them.
“Man, and I had thought I had seen some of the most depressing places in the world. This one easily takes the cake in that category,” Erin said as she observed her surroundings and the very few local residents they saw. “How could anybody live in this place?”
“I don’t think the people living here really had a choice in the matter,” Lexton said. “From what I’ve seen, a lot of people simply try to make the best of what they can have, which is probably the case with these people. At that point, it’s more about how they can make the place livable.”
“Even if that’s the case, I don’t think these people have succeeded!” Ryle complained with a disgusted look on her face. “This whole place smells like somebody took the nastiest fart and it spread everywhere!”
“That’s such delightful imagination from you, Ryle. Please never change,” the kobold said sarcastically.
“Hey, all I’m saying is that this place reeks!” the blonde said. “I mean, I get that there are people who have no choice but to live in the worst conditions, but what kind of a downtrodden absolute loser you gotta be for you to live in this dump!?”
Ryle was about to continue her rant, only for her to see several of her companions furiously pointing at something behind her. Wondering what they wanted her to notice, the blonde turned around and came face to face with a local man, who was wearing a gas mask similar to her.
The man looked like he had seen better days, as he had a tired look on his face and a slouched posture. His eyes were bloodshot and yellow, and his skin was a sickly gray color. Erin and the others could only wonder if the environment had something to do with his appearance, seeing as he was a human and such things shouldn’t have been normal. His hair reached his shoulder and seemed to be dirty, but that could have just seemed like it due to his overall appearance. His clothes were simple and tattered, and he had an old top hat on his head.
image [https://i.ibb.co/g3kdG8t/Ch-159-Pic-1.jpg]
“Oh shit! I didn’t see you-!” Ryle began to say in a panic, only to stop herself in order to properly explain herself. “Look, I’m sorry about what I said, okay? It’s just that we’re new here and-”
“Nah, no need to apologize. You kind of described me accurately,” the man said in a tired and low voice. “The only reason I live here is because I got into all sorts of trouble back home. This was pretty much the only place for me to go to.”
“I am terribly sorry that you had to go through such things. I’d also like to apologize for the things my friend said, as they were uncalled for,” Erin said, walking up to the man and pushing Ryle’s head down so that she was now bowing down. “I know this might seem unreasonable, seeing as how our first meeting with you has started, but could you offer us with any directions? I’m sure you’ve already guessed that we’re newcomers and could use some help.”
“I don’t mind at all,” the man replied with a smile hidden behind his mask. “Do you perhaps need directions? I can tell you where pretty much any place that is worth visiting here is.”
“I doubt it’s a high number,” Ryle said, earning a smack to the back of the head from Erin.
“So where exactly do you need to go?” the man asked. “Did you already have a destination in mind or were you hoping to have a tour of the town?”
“No need for a tour. We are simply here on business,” Erin said as she took out the piece of paper Ao had given her. “Could you take us to a bar by the name of The Gassy Miner? We are supposed to meet with someone there.”
“...Of course I can. Everybody in this town knows that place,” the man replied after a small pause. “But, my dear lady, that bar is known for attracting all sorts of outlaws, ruffians and other shady characters. You wouldn’t be up to no good, would you?”
“Uhh… N-No! Of course not!” the redhead replied awkwardly. “Like I said, we are new in this town, so we don’t really know anything about it! We were just told to go there to meet the person we are looking for! That’s all!”
“...If you say so,” the man said as he turned around and began to walk. “Anyways, it’s not too far from here. Just follow me and we should be there in just a couple of minutes.”
As the group began to follow behind their guide, Lexton walked up to Erin in order to whisper to her.
“That was really smooth, Erin,” the kobold said sarcastically. “I’m sure he totally believed you.”
“Oh, shut up,” the redhead whispered back. “I’d like to see you do better when put under sudden pressure like that!”
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The sickly man, who had introduced himself as Sloan, led Erin and her group to a part of the town that somehow looked even worse than what they had seen so far. A lot of the surrounding buildings seemed to have been abandoned and were showing signs of neglect. There seemed to be even fewer people living in the area, as there were no people walking around and it was completely silent. It also looked like the town itself had given up on the place, as a lot of the streetlights were broken and trash was covering the streets. To make matters worse, the gases that spewed over there seemed to be thicker, making it difficult to see.
“Geeze! And I thought we had already seen the worst of it!” Ryle said as she tried to see through the gases surrounding them. “How could this place actually get worse somehow!?”
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“Ryle, behave yourself!” Erin said angrily. “Remember that we have a local resident with us!”
“There’s no need to worry about offending me. Pretty much everybody who lives here is more than willing to admit just how awful this town is,” Sloan said casually. “You especially won’t hear anyone defending this part of town. Even the very few people that like living in this town hate this place.”
“Might I ask how it got this bad?” Durge asked. “From what I heard, the buildings in the town were specifically built in a way that would allow the residents to live here safely. Shouldn’t that apply to this area, too?”
“You can do as much as you want in order to make something safe, but you will never be completely safe,” the sickly-looking guide said. “Even with all the strict regulations in place and all the technology available, there are still cases of families either suffocating or poisoning in their homes. Cases like that are far worse here, as the amount of gases is much higher. Even when your home does have a leak of gas, you could still possibly save yourself, if you manage to notice it soon enough. Here, however, that is much harder, as the amount of gas that even the tiniest of leaks gives you is massive.”
“In other words, this place became too toxic for people to live in?” Lexton asked. “Seems like a waste of materials…”
“It’s very difficult to build around these parts, due to the underground gas deposits. Before anything can be built, there has to be a very lengthy analysis done to ensure it is safe,” Sloan explained. “Pretty much all the places that one can build upon have been used. This place was no different in that regard. At first, people thought that they could get used to it, but reality proved to be much harsher.”
“Does anyone even live here anymore?” Erin asked. “There doesn’t seem to be much liveliness around here.”
“Some people still do, although they aren’t exactly doing it because they want to. It’s mostly those who are in such financial troubles that they can’t afford to live in the better parts,” the sickly-looking guide explained. “And then there’s of course those with questionable lifestyles that simply wish to stay out of sight.”
“...We are not criminals, okay?” the redhead said.
“Never said you were. Just telling you about the history and makeup of our town,” Sloan said with a shrug. “Just so you know, the more you try to deny something, the more it gives the impression that the opposite is the truth. I just wanted to point that out.”
Erin felt like kicking herself for being so adamant on denying the nature of their work. Just as she was thinking this, she felt a painful kick to her shin from Lexton.
“Lex, what the hell!?” the redhead whispered angrily. “What was that for!?”
“If you don’t want us getting exposed, how about you just keep your mouth shut for now!?” the kobold whispered back in an equally angry tone. “Seriously, the way you keep trying to convince this guy that we aren’t criminals, you might as well pull out a megaphone and tell the whole neighborhood what we have been up to!”
“I get it! I get it!” Erin said. “I just don’t like being compared to actual criminals, okay? We are not trying to do anything horrible. We’re trying to save the world, you know?”
“That might be the case, but we don’t know anything about this guy! For all we know, he could be leading us to a trap right now! He could be a bounty hunter, a hired killer or even one of the assassins we’ve had to deal with!” Lexton explained. “Remember that one person’s hero is another person’s villain.”
The redhead nodded and they continued to follow Sloan, as he led them through the town. They eventually came to a building that had a sign hanging over the entrance that read “The Gassy Miner.” The building itself didn’t look much better than the others around it, except for the fact that there were actual lights coming out of the windows.
“Here’s your place,” Sloan said. “If you don’t mind, I’ll be taking my leave now. I have no interest in venturing further inside this establishment and I wish to spend as little time as possible around these parts anyways.”
“Understandable,” Erin said with a smile hidden behind her mask. “Thank you for your help.”
The sickly-looking man tipped his hat to the group, before walking past them. As he was leaving, Ryle took notice of something that she hadn’t been able to do before due to the gases blocking her senses. There was something strange that was setting off alarm bells in her mind, but she was unable to figure out what it was exactly.
“Something wrong?” Durge asked, having noticed the blonde acting strangely.
“...No,” Ryle replied after thinking about it for a moment. “I think I was just overthinking things.”
Going through the front door, the group came to a small confined space before the entrance. They all managed only barely to fit in it and tried to open the door before them, only for it to remain closed. Once the front door behind them was closed, they could hear it locking itself automatically. Just as some of them were starting to get worried, they heard the sound of ventilation turn on and felt air being sucked up from above. After this was done, some sort of a disinfectant was sprayed from above.
“I see. So that’s how they do it,” Lexton said to himself thoughtfully. “I was wondering how they were going to handle this.”
“What are you talking about, Lex!?” Ryle asked, still somewhat panicking over what was happening. “How can you be so calm when we’re locked in a box and getting sprayed!?”
“Because there’s nothing to be worried about,” the kobold said with irritation clear in his voice. “Think about it for a second. The outside of this place is filled with potentially toxic gas. If you were to start a business or even own a home in these parts, how would you avoid getting gas into your building if the front door is opened? They need to have a system that gets rid of it every time someone gets inside!”
“...Now I get it,” Erin said, thinking it over. “The door was locked, so there would be no more gas coming inside. After that, the ventilation sucked up what had spilled into this room and now we’re getting disinfected so that we won’t carry with us indoors. Is that what’s going on?”
“Glad to see somebody here uses their brains,” Lexton said. “To answer your question, yes. That is exactly what’s going on. This is basically just a cleaning up process that ensures the safety of those who are inside. Once it’s done, we’ll be allowed to go inside, too.”
“Well, they could have given us a damn warning!” Ryle shouted. “I almost pissed myself when the weird white gas started coming from above! I thought they were trying to poison us or something!”
“You do realize that you’re wearing a gas mask, right?” the kobold asked bluntly. “As long as you’re wearing it, you shouldn’t have to worry about any gas they might dump on us.”
“Maybe that’s the case, but how the hell should I know that this isn’t some sort of a super gas that goes through masks or can affect you even when you wear one!?” the blonde argued. “Hell, with some of the stuff you’ve made, I’m surprised you haven’t prepared something like that already!”
“...What an intriguing idea,” Lexton said, thinking about the idea of developing a more dangerous poison gas for his arsenal. “Challenge accepted.”
The way the kobold showed genuine interest and even excitement towards the idea sent chills down the spines of the others. Erin turned to glare Ryle, as she was the one who had given him the idea in the first place.
“Now look at what you did!” the redhead said. “Would you mind and NOT motivate him to disturbing things that might be considered war crimes!?”
“How was I supposed to know he would take it like that!?” the blonde asked. “Besides, like I said earlier, I’m surprised that he doesn’t have it already!”
“Give me a couple of days. I’ll have that fixed soon enough,” Lexton said reassuringly.
“I WAS JUST KIDDING!” Ryle yelled.
Just as the arguing was about to heat up, the cleaning up process had come to an end. They could hear the door before them unlock, allowing them to finally enter the bar.
Once inside the The Gassy Miner, the group was treated to a sight of what a bar in the bad part of Gasrick looked like on the inside. To say the least, it wasn’t anymore uplifting than anything they had seen on the outside. The bar was dimly lit, making it hard to see really anything. They could tell that there were people there, but due to the darkness covering them it was next to impossible to make out any details on them. Silence hung over the place, as barely anybody was talking at all and those who were did so in whispers. Slow jazz music was playing in the background, adding to the depressing air that hung about.
The only properly lit area was the bar itself, where an old orc with gray hair was cleaning glasses while waiting for customers to come over. Erin knew from the instructions she had been given that they would need to ask the bartender to lead them to their contact, so she walked up to the bar. The elderly orc was quick to take notice of the redhead and got his customer service front up.
“What may I get for you, miss?” the bartender asked politely, even though there was no smile on his face. Erin assumed that this was due to the overall atmosphere of the town itself.
“Hello, good sir,” the redhead greeted the old orc. “My companions and I came here looking for certain associates of ours. They said they would be waiting for us here. You wouldn’t happen to know where they are?”
“...Well, there certainly is someone that fits that description,” the bartender said with a frown, before looking towards a corner of the bar. “See that guy sitting over there on his own?”
Erin turned her gaze towards where the elderly orc had pointed and saw a lone man wearing a dark cloak sitting at a table in the farthest corner. Unlike every other customer, he didn’t have a drink in his hands and was simply staring down at the table.
image [https://i.ibb.co/0cJY7QQ/Ch-159-Pic-2.jpg]
“That guy has been coming here for the last few days, asking about people that are supposed to meet him,” the bartender explained. “It’s bad enough that the bastard doesn’t actually buy anything, but he even smells horrible. If it wasn’t for the fact that the laws around here prevent me from throwing him out without a good reason, he would have gotten a swift kick in the ass already.”
“I see… I’m sorry to hear that,” the redhead said somewhat awkwardly. “I’m sure he won’t be bothering you any longer, once his business with us will be done. Thank you for your help.”
“Just get him out of here. I’m getting sick of washing away the smell he leaves behind,” the bartender said. “And if you really want to thank me, how about at least one of your friends buy something for once!?”
Erin ignored the angry comment from the old orc and went back to her friends. She quickly got them informed on who they were meeting and led them over to the man sitting by himself.
The redhead was about to greet the man, but the smell that came off him stopped her in her tracks. The bartender hadn’t been exaggerating, when he had said that the guy before her had a terrible stench to him. Glancing over at the others, she could tell that they had picked up on this rather displeasing quality, too.
“H-Hello,” Erin greeted the man, struggling through the stench that was burning her nostrils. “I believe you’ve been waiting for us.”
The man turned to look at the new arrivals, giving them a better look of himself. His appearance came off as a surprise, as he looked just like Sloan. Much like their guide, the man had bloodshot and yellow eyes and his skin was sickly gray. Either both men were related or they were affected by the same issues that made them look that way.
“Oh, hello there,” the man greeted the group with a smile, showing both missing and rotting teeth. “Glad that you got over here finally. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“So we heard,” Erin said, disgusted by the man before her, but trying to not let it show.
However, there was someone who didn’t bother hiding their disgust with him, which was Ryle. The blonde openly gagged from the smell.
“Ryle!” the redhead said sternly. “Have some manners!”
“Sure, I’m sorry and all that, but do you and a guy named Sloan perhaps work at the same place or something?” the blonde asked.
“I’m afraid that I don’t know anyone by that name,” the man replied. “Why do you ask?”
“You and that guy have the same smell.”
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Not too far from the bar, Sloan was walking down an alley, when his body began to suddenly break apart. Limbs and other parts began to fall to the ground, until he was no longer able to keep himself up and fell down, too.
“Oh dear… Looks like one of my puppets fell apart,” a person hiding in the alley said with a sigh. “No matter. I can always just make more...”