Chapter 59
Into the Maw of the Beast
Erin’s group was finally brought to the headquarters of the Laughing Ogre clan. It was a very tall skyscraper with gold decorations, which told anyone who saw it that only wealthy and influential people were living in there. There were even two large gold statues of ogres with big grins on their faces on both sides of the front door. All of this was obviously a show by the gangsters who lived there that told the people around them just how wealthy and powerful they truly were.
As Erin and the others were forced out of the back of the truck they had been riding in, the redhead noticed a few people passing by merely glance at them before going back to their own business. It was clear that whatever the gangs, especially the big ones, did around here was not something that the people cared about and had most likely become a common occurrence. This meant that there was no outside help coming for them, such as police. Although, Erin wasn’t exactly sure if getting assisted by the law enforcement officers would be a good idea, seeing as how she and her friends were most likely wanted people.
Once they got inside, the group was taken to an elevator that brought them up to the top floor of the building. Durge was with them through the whole walk, along with Grazia. No one spoke at all during this and only moved in complete silence. Erin and her friends didn’t think that speaking up at this point would really help and could make things worse, while the gangsters didn’t have anything to say.
As soon as the elevator reached the top floor, the whole group stepped outside of the elevator and came to a large decorated door with a group of armed guards before it. The guards were all dressed in the Laughing Ogre outfits and were all armed. Upon seeing Durge and Grazia, one of the guards walked up to the door and knocked on it.
“Boss? Durge and your daughter are here,” the guard called out to the person behind the door. “They’re here with some of our guys and some people they’ve captured.”
“Good. I’ve been expecting them,” a voice on the other side answered. “You can send them in.”
The guard opened the door, allowing the whole group to get inside. As one would have expected, the room was decorated in a manner that showed the wealth of the one residing there. Expensive furniture and decorations, a cabinet full of the finest wines in the world, the biggest TV possible on the wall and a large window that allowed the occupant to stare down at the city below, like they were staring at insects crawling on the ground.
In the middle of the room was a large table that had an open bottle of wine along with a couple of plates with high quality food on them. Surrounding the table were four couches and a man was sitting on one of them, enjoying his luxurious meal, while a male elf was standing behind him.
Judging by the appearance of the man sitting on the couch, he was obviously the leader of the Laughing Ogre clan. He was wearing a coat similar to his underlings, as it had the same color and the same logo on the back. The only difference was that his coat was much longer, unlike the regular jackets the underlings wore, and it was also lined with white fur. There was a golden necklace wrapped around his neck with a large red ruby at the end of it. The man had a tattoo that covered the right side of his face, along with piercings on different places. His hair was shaven into a tall mohawk that was colored bright green.
The man behind the leader of the gang seemed to be a dark elf, but Erin wasn’t sure about it. From what she could remember about the lore, all elves were supposed to be beautiful no matter what, but this person was honestly quite ugly. His face seemed to be elongated and his nose was small and pushed up, making it look like he had the snout of a pig instead of an actual nose. His skin was also very pale, almost like a vampire, and his whole body was thin and looked extremely weak. He was wearing a regular uniform of the Laughing Ogre clan and he also had glasses.
image [https://i.ibb.co/yqDt88r/Ch-59-Pic-1.jpg]
However, while he might have looked weak, one look into this man’s eyes told you that he was not someone to be taken lightly. Behind his glasses laid a sharp and calculative gaze that was analyzing every little bit of information that they gathered. What this man lacked in strength was clearly made up for with intelligence.
“So… You’re the punks that apparently tried to screw over my little girl, huh?” the man who was the leader of the gang said as took a sip of his wine. “Either you guys are completely new here or you’ve got some massive balls. Honestly, I don’t know whether I should just kill you right here as a reward for having the guts to pull off something like that or if I should torture you all to death like we normally do.”
“Daddy, we can’t let them get away easily!” Grazia said as she walked up to her father and sat on one of the couches. “Guts or stupidity aside, these people tried to screw me over! We can’t let something like that go by without some form of punishment!”
“I know, honey. I know,” the gang leader said with a sigh. “I was just a bit impressed by them. It has been a while since anyone was crazy enough to actually try anything against us. It kind of got me a bit nostalgic about the old times, you know? Back when we used to cut people apart and send their body parts to enemy bases as warnings and all… Those were fun times indeed…”
Erin couldn’t help but sweat nervously. The man before them was talking about violent gang wars and killings like he was reminiscing about his time in high school. The thought of them being able to negotiate with these people was starting to look very unlikely.
“Now… Back to the topic at hand,” the gang leader said, having stopped reminiscing about the old times. “Anyways, I should probably introduce myself now, so you guys at least know who you’re dealing with. The name’s Grandall. I’m the leader of the Laughing Ogre clan and the person you tried to screw over was my one and only daughter, Grazia. You can probably see why I’m a bit upset with you guys over what you did, right? Now, if you guys have anything at all that would make me not kill you all in horrible ways, I’m curious to hear it.”
“Actually, boss, the kobold here actually has an interesting proposal,” Durge said, stepping forward. “He has actually offered his services for us in exchange for his companions.”
Upon hearing that Lexton had given them an offer, Grandall simply glanced at the kobold with a raised eyebrow. However, the dark elf behind him seemed to be at least a bit more curious, as his gaze implied that he wanted to hear this offer.
“Durge, what is a kobold supposed to offer us?” the gang leader asked with a sigh. “If you’re telling me that scrawny lizard is supposed to become a skilled fighter among us, I need to ask you to quit with the jokes and stick to being an enforcer.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“That’s not what he was offering. What he has are some special skills that I’m sure our group would have use for,” the orc explained. “He told me that he has skills in alchemy and enchanting, which could prove very useful to us. In fact, we-”
“Durge, please, stop talking,” Grandall said as he was gently rubbing his temples, like he was trying to ease up a headache. “Who told you that you were put here to even think about such things? Last time I checked, the only thing we want from you is to smash things with that hammer of yours and not a goddamn single other thing, right? Why the hell would an enforcer, who is nothing but muscle for our business, consider such things? Is that your job?”
“Apologies, sir,” Durge said with a frown on his face and a slight growl in his voice. He was clearly unhappy with the treatment he was getting. “I was just trying to say that-”
“Don’t. Say. Anything. Okay?” the gang leader said, almost like he was speaking to a child, clearly mocking the orc further. “People like me and other smart people will do the thinking and talking. You just wait until we tell you to break something or someone and you do that. Got it? Is that simple enough for you or do you need me to write you instructions? I’ll use colorful crayons, if that makes it easier for you.”
Durge decided to simply stay silent as he stepped back, not wanting to face any more mockery. Erin could hear him clenching hist fists and gritting his teeth out of anger.
“Anyways, back to the business at hand with the people who are actually supposed to talk about it,” Grandall said as he turned his attention to the prisoners again. “So, what should we do with you people? What method of torture would you guys like to get killed with? We’ve got quite the selection for you to choose from.”
“Just a moment, sir,” the dark elf behind the gang leader said. “I think we should take Durge’s offer into consideration. We could use someone with skills in alchemy and enchanting. Maybe we should take a moment to hear more about this?”
“...Driz, did I ask for your opinion?” Grandall asked as he glared at the dark elf. “If I want to hear your opinion, I’ll ask for it. Got it?”
“But sir! We should at least-!”
“Driz. I’m warning you. Quiet down. NOW.”
The elven man, seeing as how his boss wasn’t going to listen to him, decided to stay quiet. He knew better than to anger Grandall.
“Seriously, what the hell is wrong with today? Everyone is trying to either screw me over or step over my authority,” the gang leader said with a frustrated sigh. “Anyways, even if the kobold over there had some impressive skills in alchemy or whatever, do we even need his help? We are the number one gang in town and we’ve got more than enough money and power than we know what to do with. Why should we take a risk in employing some lizard that tried to screw over my daughter, thus screwing over my gang itself? The way I see it, we can only lose by employing such a person. Might as well just get rid of him, while trying to have fun with it? The only question is how to do it…”
“Oh! How about we put these people into our games, daddy?” Grazia asked excitedly. “Not only will it be more fun, but we can also earn a bit on the side.”
“Hmmm… I suppose that would be good,” Grandall said thoughtfully. “We have been having issues in getting contestants.”
The gang leader looked at Erin’s group and noticed that they were both worried and confused. It seemed like he would need to explain what he meant.
“I see that you guys are pretty new around here,” Grandall said as he grabbed a remote control for the large TV in the room and pointed it at the screen. “Let me show you what we’re talking about.”
The TV was turned on and the screen began to show something that looked like a game show on it. Erin remembered having seen shows like it from time to time back in her world.
However, it didn’t take long for the show to turn into something that she had never seen before and it horrified her.
On the screen, they watched as a group of contestants dressed in orange jumpsuits were running through what looked like an obstacle course. The obstacles, though, were not something that anyone would have liked to run through, as they ranged from moving blades, pools of acid, bloodthirsty beasts and other lethal contraptions. The people that failed to avoid them were cut apart, impaled, burned or torn apart while screaming in pain.
Erin could feel the color drain from her face, as she realized just what she and her friends would be facing soon.
“Lovely, isn’t it?” Grandall asked with a smirk, as he looked at the expressions on the faces of his prisoners. “This is one of our best sources of income. Our competitors have to play these types of games and try to make it to the end alive. Not only that, but our viewers get to gamble on the results as well. The people watching get entertainment, the people competing get a chance to survive and we get to make money! Everybody wins! Aren’t we just the nicest?”
“...I’m going to guess that our participation is mandatory?” Erin asked.
“Not at all! Not at all!” the gang leader replied with a chuckle. “You do have a choice. It’s just that your other option isn’t exactly the greatest. Either you take part in our show or you get killed right away. So what do you choose?”
The members of Erin’s group were all obviously scared and worried over their situation. All of them were thinking of their chances at making it through such trials and it didn’t look good for any of them. The gangsters, with the exception of Driz, seemed to notice their internal plight and took great enjoyment from it, judging by the smiles on their faces.
However, while Grandall, Grazia and their thugs were enjoying the despair their prisoners were in, there was at least one person who didn’t take pleasure in it. That was Durge, who decided to speak up again, despite his boss not liking it.
“Mind if I ask something, boss?” the orc asked, getting everyone’s attention on him. “Can we simply let this one go?”
Durge asked this question while pointing at Arkay, surprising everyone in the room.
“Durge, what did I tell you about thinking and talking?” Grandall asked in an angry tone, clearly upset with the orc. “What does it take to get it through your thick skull that I do not expect you to think or even talk? Do I need to glue your damn mouth shut or something so that you’ll finally understand!?”
“I know what you’ve said, but I need to speak up about this,” Durge began to explain. “I get that we need to punish those who try to mess with us, even if it’s a small thing like this, as we need to save face and make it clear that we are not to be taken lightly. However, while I can see the others deserving this punishment, I think punishing the kid is too much. Let him at least go. I doubt he’s a threat of any kind.”
“Really now? And may I ask why should we even consider letting him go?” the gang leader asked as he glared at the orc. “Like you said, we have to show people that we are not to be messed with, yet you’re telling me to let someone that did so go free? Don’t tell me that this is some stupid warrior tribe’s code of honor crap.”
“You know that I’ve forsaken that long before I joined your group,” the orc said with a frown. “I just think that harming a child is going too far. In fact, it might even get people to resent us and start conspiring against us. I it would be best to play it safe than risk having countless people talking about us angrily in secret, sharpening their knives for the opportunity to use them against us.”
“Really? And just what are you going to do with the kid, even if we decide to go grant your request?” Grazia asked with a cocky smirk. “You know well enough that he will only end up dead in some alleyway with his body covered in trash. Unless you are going to keep and raise him yourself?”
“I know how tough it is out there. That’s why I’ll first make sure that he gets somewhere, where he can have a fresh start,” Durge replied. “All I’m asking for is that we show at least a bit of decency-”
“Watch your damn mouth, Durge!” Grandall yelled angrily. “You’re the last person to talk to any of us about any goddamn decency! Learn your damn place already and shut the hell up!”
“...My apologies,” the orc said with a frown.
“While I don’t fully agree with what he said, I do think it would be a waste to kill the cute kitty in the games,” Grazia said, turning her attention to her father. “How about you give him to me, daddy? I feel like I could get a lot of good use out of him.”
Erin, Ryle and Lexton tensed up simultaneously and glared at Grazia. They knew even without being told that whatever she had planned for their friend was probably worse than whatever he would face in their sick games.
“Right… Your last pet expired not too long ago, huh?” Grandall said as he leaned back in his couch in thought. “Still, people like him do bring in quite a few viewers. At least in certain events. I’ll have to think about that a bit. For now, let’s lock these people up, until I come to a final decision.”
With the gang leader making his decision, Erin and her group were taken out of the room and escorted to the jail cells at the bottom of the building. The redhead and others could only wonder what was in store for them.
However, there was something that no one noticed, which was the stern look on Durge’s face. The orc clearly had something on his mind, but no one knew what.