Chapter 30
An Unexpected Offer
It was safe to say that things weren’t going well for Erin and her friends. After being scammed by Lexton, most of their funds had been lost and there didn’t seem to be a good way for them to make it back. The fight pit was currently closed, since Ryle put a good amount of their fighters in the infirmary, which also meant that there was no way for them to go and gamble on the fights either.
The trio had tried to go into bounty hunting, but that hadn’t worked out as well as they had thought. It quickly became clear that Ryle’s previous success as a bounty hunter had been mostly due to the assistance from her brother, who could gather all sorts of information through his connections. Without the help of Zeke, the group couldn’t gather information as effectively at all, not to mention cheaply. Erin and Ryle had tried a couple of times to catch some bounties by listening to rumors and asking people questions, but that only got them mostly useless info, if not just absolute lies. To make matters worse, they were sometimes forced to pay for such things, which further hurt their financial situation.
Arkay had tried to step in and help by suggesting that he would go back to stealing or he could sell some of his belongings to Luxley, but that idea was quickly shot down by both Erin and Ryle. Neither of the two women were willing to see the cat boy put himself in any danger for their sake, so they refused to even consider such ideas.
To say the least, the group was in some very dire financial troubles and the longer they couldn’t find a solution, the worse it would get. Costs like food and other necessities were slowly but steadily draining the remains of their finances, and it wouldn’t take long until they were completely out of money.
The trio was currently sitting at their room in a rather sketchy motel. It was definitely a place you didn’t want to stay at, unless you were completely desperate. And these three were in that state.
“This freaking sucks,” Ryle grumbled as she sat on a rather worn-out and dirty couch that was in their motel room. “Why did they have to close the fight pit? I’m tired of eating canned beans and sleeping on a tiny bed that’s not even fit for a goddamn dollhouse.”
“Hey, we can’t really go splurging on five star hotels here, now can we? Besides, you don’t need to tell me about how small the bed is, as I share it with you,” Erin said with a glare aimed at the blonde. “It’s bad enough that you kick the crap out of me while asleep, but you turn the whole bedroom into a gas chamber! Could you cut down on the beans, by the way!?”
“Well, if there was something else that was worth eating, maybe I would!” Ryle yelled back, glaring at the redhead. “Unfortunately, the only thing we can afford is canned food and the only canned food I’m willing to stomach is beans! Unless you can pull steaks or something out of your ass, I don’t see this being fixed anytime soon!”
The two women glared at each, while Arkay was standing nervously at the side. He was hoping to find some way to stop the hostility that was currently taking over his friends.
“Umm… I know it’s not much, but I could swap sleeping arrangements with one of you, if it helps?” the cat boy suggested. “I’ve been sleeping on the couch by myself for now, so if either of you wants to have it, you can switch with me.”
Ryle immediately perked up at the suggestion, but was cut off by Erin before she could speak.
“Arnie, you’re a real sweetheart and we love you, but I cannot in good conscience allow that,” the redhead said with a sigh, causing Ryle to seethe with anger. “If you sleep in the same bed with Ryle, I’m afraid of what might happen to you.”
“I… I’m not sure what you mean by that, but alright,” Arkay said innocently, not understanding the meaning behind Erin’s words. “But if it’s not okay with Ms. Ryle, how about you and I share the bed? That way Ms. Ryle can have the couch all for herself.”
The redhead already knew without even looking that her blonde friend was furious at the mere thought of what the cat boy had just suggested. Still, she glanced at Ryle to find her glaring at her with enough murderous intent to scare even the worst serial killers.
“Again, I appreciate that you wish to help, but I’m afraid I must decline again,” Erin said with a sigh. “If we were to do that, I’m not sure I’d wake up the next morning.”
image [https://i.ibb.co/W6LMHJq/Ch-30-Pic-1.jpg]
Arkay was once again left confused over what the redhead was saying, but let it go as the situation seemed to have calmed down finally. Their original issue of lacking finances still remained, though, which meant that they had to get back to work on it.
“So, either one of you got any ideas as to how we can get us some cash? Cause I don’t have any,” Ryle stated bluntly. “At this point, I’d be willing to sell my own clothes, if it meant we’d get some decent money out of it.”
“You know, I’m pretty sure Luxley would be willing to pay for mine, if you-” Arkay began to say, only to get cut off.
“NO,” came the stern reply from both Erin and Ryle simultaneously.
“Arnie, we’ve been through this already. We are NOT going to let you put yourself through whatever disturbing ideas that woman might have for you, no matter how much money she might offer,” Erin explained with a sigh. “Your safety and well-being is far more important for us.”
“Yeah! Don’t you worry yourself over this little cash issue we have! I’m sure we’ll come up with something that will make us rich!” Ryle said with a grin. “Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if the solution to our problems was right around the corner!”
At that moment, there was a sudden knock on the door. The three companions froze still for a couple of seconds, as they all stared at the door with slightly widened eyes. After that, Erin and Arkay turned their gazes to Erin, who just looked dumbfounded.
“...Okay, to be fair, I said that it would be around the corner and not right behind the door,” the blonde said. “Did one of you order pizza or something?”
“With what money?” Erin asked in a slightly sarcastic tone, before turning her attention back to the door and taking out her pistol. “Let’s be careful. It could be Lune’s people for all we know.”
Ryle and Arkay nodded in response as they both got ready in case a fight would break out. The blonde got behind Erin, ready to jump in and assist her friend if someone was going to try attacking them. Meanwhile, the cat boy readied a firebolt in his right hand. While he didn’t have much in terms of offensive skills, he had a couple of tricks up his sleeve to help him in tricky situations.
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With silent steps, Erin moved up to the floor and pressed herself against the wall next to it in case whoever was on the other side would start shooting. She got her pistol at the ready, before speaking up.
“Who is it?” the redhead asked.
“A wise man bearing gifts to the terminally stupid that live here,” a rather familiar tone said in an overly sarcastic tone. “Would you just open the damn door? I’d like to get inside, before somebody mugs me.”
A surprised expression came over Erin’s face, as she recognized who it was on the other side of the door. She looked at her friends and saw that they were equally surprised, even if Ryle’s expression had a hint of growing anger on it. Seeing no visible complaints from her companions, the redhead opened the door to reveal Lexton standing there with an annoyed look on his face.
“About time you opened. I was starting to wonder if you all had suddenly died or something,” the kobold complained as he entered the room and took off his coat. “Honestly, are you like this with all of your visitors? No wonder you don’t have any other friends.”
“YOU SCALY LITTLE FUCKER! YOU’VE GOT SOME BALLS COMING OVER HERE!” Ryle yelled angrily as she tried to make her way over to Lexton in order to beat him senseless. It was only thanks to Erin and Arkay holding her back that this didn’t happen. “YOU BETTER GIVE US BACK THE MONEY YOU SCREWED FROM US OR I’LL KICK YOUR ASS ALL OVER THE DAMN CITY!”
“...What an elegant and classy individual. Just like I remember you being,” Lexton said sarcastically, not at all threatened by the blonde woman. “I do hope that your more intelligent friends will be able to calm you down, as I highly doubt you want the local residents to pay attention to us.”
“Ryle, cut it out! Killing him isn’t going to help us out at all!” Erin said sternly to the blonde, who seemed to calm down at least somewhat. “We should see for now what he wants with us. It can’t make things any worse than they already are.”
“So you’re just gonna ignore how he screwed us over!?” Ryle asked angrily. “That’s not how I do things!”
“Neither do I, but we’re only going to hear him out for now,” the redhead explained. “No saying what happens after that.”
A moment later, the group was waiting for their new guest to speak, as he sitting on the only chair in the room. Ryle and Arkay were sitting on the couch while Erin was leaning on a wall. All three had their eyes on Lexton, as they were looking out for him to do anything even remotely suspicious. They all knew the kobold had plenty of tricks up his sleeves, so they couldn’t be too careful.
“So, what exactly brings you here?” Erin asked, breaking the silence. “I do not mean to sound rude or anything, but you do realize that we aren’t exactly on good terms with you after scamming us. I honestly can’t think of a single reason as to why you’d want to speak with us.”
“Your confusion is understandable, but I assure you that I have a good reason to be here,” Lexton answered, before taking something out of his pocket. “However, first things first. I believe that this should help convince you that I am not here to make enemies.”
Before the redhead could ask what he meant, the kobold a small stack of money to her. She looked through it and her eyes went wide with realization that this was the same amount he had scammed from them.
“It’s the money you took from us!” Erin said, surprising her two friends. “But why would you give it back to us? You told us yourself that there was nothing we could do against you.”
“Like I said, this is just to show you that I’m not here to be your enemy,” Lexton answered. “The reason for this is that it seems we both have similar goals and I would like to offer my assistance to your little group.”
Silence fell over the room, as Erin’s group could only stare at the kobold with wide eyes. Having him come over to them was already a big enough surprise, but for him to not only return the money he scammed from them but also offer assistance was beyond all of their expectations.
“SAY WHAT!? I CALL BULLSHIT!” Ryle yelled as she stood up, breaking the silence. “Guys, don’t listen to this scaly asshole! There’s no way he’s actually offering to joing our group! I’m sure what he really wants is to screw us over for some quick cash or something!”
“If money was my goal, don’t you think there would be a better way for me to achieve it?” Lexton asked in a slightly angry tone. “Also, let me make one thing clear right away. I am NOT joining your little idiot group. I’m only interested in sharing the same goal, so once that is done, it’s back to the way things were from the start.”
“So you want something that we also want then?” Erin asked to which the kobold nodded. “While I am curious about this sudden proposition, I can’t help but wonder what you’re-”
“Okay, let’s cut the bullshit right here,” Lexton said, having grown tired of beating around the bush and just wanting to get to point. “I know you three are after General Lune’s life. I want in.”
“...Okay, that settles it!” Ryle yelled angrily as she started to make her way to the kobold. “I can tell what this guy is planning now! He plans to sell us to Lune in order to get a hefty reward for himself! Let’s squash his ass before he talks!”
The blonde woman would have most likely gone through with her threat, had it not been for Erin stepping in front of her and preventing her from doing so.
“Hold up, Ryle! I get why you’re angry and suspicious, but we shouldn’t jump to such conclusions yet,” the redhead said. “I hate to admit it, but we honestly don’t have anything better going for us right now. We desperately need resources and help, if we want to take out Lune. So let’s hear what Lexton has to offer and then make our decision.”
“...Fine,” Ryle said in a bitter tone as she went to sit back on the couch. “Just know that if he does anything even remotely suspicious, I’m turning him into a handbag or something, so we can sell his ass for some extra cash.”
“How scary,” Lexton said sarcastically. “I’m just shaking in my scales over here. I mean, who wouldn’t be terrified over threats made by someone whose ass they’ve already kicked?”
“Let’s cut this out on both sides, okay!?” Erin quickly said, as she noticed Ryle getting furious over the kobold’s comment. “Now, you said you wanted to assist us in getting revenge against General Lune, correct? Mind telling us how you found out about what our goal here was?”
“Let’s see… I did this thing called LISTENING, as you three were walking out of my store,” Lexton said in a tone that was dripping with sarcasm. “Seriously, do you three have any idea what could have happened to you? You were lucky that it was me who heard your conversation. Had it been someone else, they could have sold you out to Lune for a fat reward.”
“I… We didn’t think about that,” the redhead said with an embarrassed blush on her face. “I suppose we have a lot to learn still…”
“Understatement of the century, ladies and gentlemen,” the kobold said as he shook his head slightly. “Luckily for the three of you, I’m available as a teacher to show you how to survive in this place. And it comes at a low price of simply making an alliance over mutual interests! Now, if that doesn’t sound like a great deal, I have no idea what is wrong with you.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I think we’ll pass on that,” Ryle said as she continued to glare at Lexton. “We have done well so far, so I doubt we’re in any real need of your help.”
“Oh yes! You’re obviously doing incredible for a small pack of morons that have zero idea what the hell they’re doing!” the kobold shot back at the blonde. “I do honestly think it’s amazing that you all have managed to survive this long! I’ve known you three for less than a week and in that time, I’ve managed to kick the shit out of your strongest fighter, scam you out of most of your money, find out about your true goals that would easily get you arrested and managed to find where you are hiding without any trouble. Was that all or did I miss anything?”
“...I’m gonna put my foot up your ass, you scaly little-”
“Ryle, stop it!” Erin said to her friend, before looking back at Lexton. “I can see your point, but I do have to ask one thing. What is it that you can offer to us? While you do seem to have some powerful golems at your use, I do have to wonder if that is all.”
“Lady, the golems you’ve seen me use so far are just the tip of the iceberg of the things I can offer for your group,” Lexton replied with a smirk. “As you can probably guess, I have many different tools for numerous uses that I can lend to you. Not only that, but I have the skills to make them as well, so any gear you need can be made for you by myself, saving you in costs. If that wasn’t enough for you, I know how to handle deals of any kind. With me by your side, you don’t have to worry about paying too much ever again and I can sniff out the best possible deals out there. How does that sound?”
“Like crap,” came Ryle’s bitter response, but the blonde was quickly silenced with a single look from Erin, who was done with her antics.
“I see no reason to turn down your offer. If you’re willing to offer us your assistance, we’ll be happy to have you,” the redhead said to the kobold, who got up from his seat and walked up to her, offering a hand to seal the deal. “However, before we close this deal, I do have to point out that what we are doing is extremely dangerous. If you go along with us, there’s a good chance you might end up on a wanted list or dead. Are you sure you’re willing to go through with this?”
“I know this doesn’t mean much coming from me, but I’ve never been more certain of anything in my whole life,” Lexton said in a serious tone that was devoid of any jokes or sarcasm. “We may not be all best buddies nor am I willing to take any bullets for any of you, but to see Lune pay for the things he has done? That I am willing to die for.”
Seeing the kobold’s resolve, Erin shook his hand, marking the start of the alliance. The redhead couldn’t quite explain how nor could she make any sense of it herself, but somehow she felt like she had just made one of the best decisions of her life and had made a truly dependable ally.
image [https://i.ibb.co/84HgMDf/Ch-30-Pic-2.jpg]