Chapter 31
The fireball was painful, but the fact that we were able to expose a cult in the city made it worth it. We still have no idea why there was a cult here but hopefully, Okayu and the guards could figure this out. After that incident, we decided to take it easy once more. That left me alone again, with everyone else doing their own thing. Other than Towa, who finally went back to her own home. It was a house like any other house. Yet, her house had a basement. I wasn't allowed down there, so I presumed that it was where she kept her… where she kept the bad stuff. I probably didn't want to know what's down there. Instead, I decided to visit the nearest guardhouse, where I discovered something interesting. I was directed to a training house where you can pay a trainer to teach you stuff but if you don't need any training, you can make use of the training dummies there. And that's what I did. A week passed and strange enough, Towa came to see us on the evening of the seventh day, while we were at Farun's tavern.
"Hello. Do you need anything, Towa?" asked Subaru inquisitively.
"I suppose the lot of you have been trying to find out more of this cult," she said as she took a seat after pulling a chair from another table, pushing Matsuri and Rushia aside.
"Well, I shouldn't really be saying this, but since you were crucial in finding this out..." stated Okayu, the others listening intently, "The guard conducted several raids on the houses. Most of them were correct. After going through the documents and scouting out the places, of course. True enough, the real name of this Dire Lord still eludes us. I don't even know if we are making a dent in the cult as we don't know how big it is."
"Cults like these would be following an elemental prince, a demon lord or an archdevil," the young necromancer interjected, as if repeating a fact straight from a book. Turning to the half-devil, she asked, "Know something, don't you?"
The one in question smirked and stated, "Some. After gaining some insight, the cult is led by a powerful being. I wasn't told who or what, but it aims to overthrow the king and take the kingdom for itself." She then lost the smirk and continued, "The mysterious artefact I was rooting for in the ruins? It was claimed by the cult. The kobolds and that half-black dragon? Also linked to the cult."
"A dragon cult… sounds difficult..." muttered the fighter.
"...I can't join you..." muttered the scout softly.
"Eh? Why?" the former asked.
"Luna has finished her dealings here in the capital," she informed them with a tinge of pink on her cheeks, "She is getting ready to leave tomorrow morning... to report back to her father. I… She invited me to come along with her. I want to go."
The table fell silent. Subaru then grinned, "Huh, well, I can't stop you. It sounds like a chance of a lifetime and you should definitely go with her."
"Thanks!" replied Matsuri cheerfully, also relieved that her leaving was taken well.
"Right, while this started on a serious note, why not end with a little celebration for Matsuri?" suggested the fighter with a grin, "Order what you want. It's all on me."
"Here's your food, ladies," said the waitress as she served them amidst the cheers, "Need anything else?"
"Well, actually..."
"Well, I guess this is it," said Matsuri. The party, minus Towa and Okayu, had gathered outside the ambassador's house to send the scout off. The minotaur was busy helping the other servants put the luggage on the carriage and the luggage cart, her stuff included.
"Yeah. It's been nice working together with you," affirmed Subaru as she handed over a small bag to her, "Here. You've been with us since the swamp. I think I owe you some."
"Oh, nice! Thanks!" the former replied with a grin, shaking the bag and hearing the tinkle of gold pieces. Then, she admitted, "I also enjoyed adventuring with you. With all of you. Maybe one day, you can come over to Luna's kingdom and explore there."
"Oh? I do hope you can be our tour guide," chimed in Choco.
"No problem! I am your ever-reliable guide, Matsuri Natsuiro!" she exclaimed with a salute and a grin.
"Matsuri-cha, we are leaving now, Luna says," called out the princess as she took a moment to peek out of the carriage.
"Okay!" returned the scout. Turning back to the party, she waved as she said, "Goodbye. Hope to see you in the future."
They waved back and called out their goodbyes as she jumped into the carriage before it was driven away.
"I wish her happiness," stated Choco, "Now, what shall we do now?"
"We still have that cult we need to chase down," replied Subaru with a frown as they walked down the road, heading back to Okayu's house, "At least the princess has left. We can focus on taking down this cult."
"Let's check on Towa and see if she found anything," suggested the tiefling.
"Ah, let's go then."
Taking a turn and going the opposite way, the party reached the half-devil's house after several minutes. The fighter stepped up to knock on the door and the owner of the house answered, "Ah, it's you."
"Yes! So… have you found anything?" she asked.
The half-devil made a face and said, "Not really, no. I've poured through what books I have to try and find something similar but no luck. I'm starting to think this is just a new cult."
"Hmm, thanks for trying to help anyway," said Choco, who then got a smug look on her face, "Quite nice of you."
"H-h-help? I'm not being 'nice'. I-I-I just want to get back at them for trying to kill me," a red-faced Towa hastily protested, "Don't simply make baseless accusations."
"Sure..." replied the tiefling in a teasing tone.
"Alright, can we not fight out here on the street?" chided Subaru.
"Fine. Don't worry, I will call you if I find anything," the warlock told them before closing the door.
"I guess we have to wait," the former summed up as the group of three headed back to Okayu's home.
As they walked past an alley, a hooded figure peeked out from behind the corner and watched them walk past. The figure then turned around and walked away, a dragon-like tail whipping around behind them.
"Mogu, mogu! Luckily I caught you," called out the cat girl as she leaped down from the roof.
"Hello, Okayu," greeted Subaru as the party of three stopped to meet her, "Did you find anything?"
"Maybe... there has been talk around the sewer crews about shadowy figures underground," she informed them, "It might be the cult. It might not. In any case, I think it's worth checking out."
"Okay, so where do we go?" asked the fighter.
"Oh, the headquarters is the next row behind me," she stated as she thumbed behind her.
The party looked behind her and only saw a row of houses. "We can't walk over the walls like you, Okayu," deadpanned the former.
"Ah-ha, sorry," she apologized. Then, she led them around to the next row and brought them to meet the… guild leader. A rough-looking guy with a fiery-red mustache. He marched up to them and shocked the offered hand from the cat girl, "Bounty hunter, what brings you here?"
"Oh, I heard about the weird sightings in the sewer," she said as she finished shaking his hand, "I decided to help investigate and brought in some help."
"Oh, that's good to hear," he said in surprise, "Alright, I'll lead you to the basement. You can get in from there."
The entrance to the sewers was behind a steel door in the basement. The guild master pulled a lever and warned, "Brace yourselves."
As the door opened, the smell hit them like a ton of bricks.
"Urgh, what the-" exclaimed Subaru. She then noticed the cat girl looking a little woozy. "Okayu, are you alright?" she asked as she helped to steady her.
"Ah, I'm alright," she assured the fighter, "It just took me by surprise. I'll be alright."
"Want to bring Towa?" suggested Rusha while pinching her nose.
"You know, that's not a bad idea," agreed Choco with a smirk, mirroring her actions.
Of course, they ran with that suggestion. I didn't want to trouble her but Choco and Rushia went back to Towa's house and literally dragged her here. I guess they wanted her to experience what we had. We were so relieved when the guild master actually produced the nose filters used by the sewer crews. He assured that they were cleaned after every use and that these enchanted items lessened the sewer smell. After we were done picking out the filters, the guild master showed us where the shadowy figures were sighted on his map. And so, after getting directions, we descended into the bowels of the city. The stinky bowels of the city. I'm not sure about this…
"Are we there yet?" asked Towa as she tried her best not to touch the sewer wall.
"No," answered Rushia. The tunnel they were walking in was quite large. They were on the walkway flanking both sides of the flowing sewage water.
"Calm down, we are reaching one of those huge rooms. From there, we should find a way to go across. Then, we need to make a right turn after that tunnel and we're there," Subaru told them.
The tunnel then opened up to a huge circular room. Three of the tunnels, including theirs, had sewage flowing into it while the pooling water flowed down into the larger fourth tunnel. A wooden bridge ran across it to allow the crews to walk over it without wading through. It was a ten-foot drop down and none of them wanted to fall in. Moving cautiously, they made their way to the bridge. They had no problem walking across. However, as they reached the opposite tunnel, they heard a strange sound, a mix between creaking wood and squelching sludge.
"What was that?" asked Choco, saying what was on everyone's mind.
"Hopefully, something not dangerous?" asked Okayu.
"Flatten yourselves against the wall. Maybe whatever it is, we can avoid getting noticed," suggested Subaru as she did so.
"I guess," muttered the tiefling as she did the same, the sounds getting louder and louder.
"I refuse. I will not dirty myself hugging scummy bricks just to avoid detection," stated Towa, standing tall and defiantly, "Let it come. I have… no… problem..."
It was large and plant-like. It was covered in knotty vines and dead flowers. It was covered in the sludge that permeated the sewers and that gave it a horrible stench. Its limbs creaked and groaned as it walked, each step and each swing of its arms permeated by that squelching sound. And it was right in front of her.
Subaru acted first, overcoming the vomit-inducing smell, slashed the nearest exposed vine. It burst, spraying its contents over the floor. Then, Rushia stepped away from the wall and exploded a wave of necrotic energy over its body. It writhed and shuddered, as if it was in pain, and large chunks of plant matter and waste fell off its body. However, it continued on its course, slamming its oversized arms on Towa and pressing her into its body. It's remaining vines wrapped around her and started to pull her inside. It then shambled away, stepping off the walkway to cross the river of sewer water. Choco ran after it, summoning her spirit mace to attack it, though the stench got to her, so she turned aside and vomited on the wall.
The half-devil continued to struggle, the smell failing to faze her as her body was wracked with pain as the vines continued to pull her in. Failing to release herself, she kept her wits and disappeared in a puff of mist, reappearing next to Subaru.
"Are you alright?" the fighter asked with concern as she glanced at her. Okayu ran to the side and got a bead on the monster.
"-fine," the shambler victim wheezed out hoarsely. The cat girl's hands moved at a ridiculous speed, enabling her to fire two bolts which sunk into the vined monstrosity. It then seemed to lose all cohesion to its form and it collapsed into the water, sinking out of sight.
"Urk, that was unbearable!" shouted the tiefling in exasperation as she wiped her mouth.
"Stinky," added Rushia.
"Right, let's continue," urged the cat girl, "The sooner we find the place, the faster we can get this over with."
Getting agreements from all around, they hurried down the tunnel. As they trudged onward, Towa almost slipped and fell into the water but Okayu managed to steady her in the nick of time. Making a right turn, they came to a… dead end. At the far end, one side of the sewer wall had collapsed and sewer water was flowing over the other side, pouring over the walkway. It was pretty much glistening in the rainbow colors of the slick remnants of the sewer sludge.
"Not only disgusting, but also a dead clue," grumbled the half-devil as the party walked up halfway, not wanting to get near the collapsed side, "We should turn around and make our way back. This is useless."
"It can't be. How can we have just come all the way here for nothing?" moaned Subaru in despair.
"Let's look over the place," reasoned the cat girl, drawing everyone's attention, "Perhaps they might have a secret door somewhere. We are dealing with a cult, after all. They would be hiding their entrances."
She got nods of agreement and everyone was won over to help search for the suspected hidden door. Choco even flew over the river of muck with Rushia to look around on the other side. Eventually…
"Does this part seem off to you?" Towa asked Subaru as she motioned over to an area of faintly different colored bricks.
"...Yeah… It does look different," the fighter agreed as she started examining the bricks.
"Oh, did you find anything?" asked Okayu as she came over to check.
Suddenly, there was an audible hum as the bricks suddenly pushed outwards, deconstructing the wall and reconstructing into an archway. It revealed a torchlit room, much like the cultist base they discovered all those days ago. It was much, much cleaner compared to the sewers. The tiefling and the young necromancer rejoined them and together, the party cautiously stepped into the hidden base. As the bricks realigned behind them, they looked around the room. It looked like a staging area of some sort. Empty weapon racks were arranged on one side of the room. Two passageways led further into the base to the left and right.
"So, what do we do? What if we stumble onto cultists here?" asked the fighter with concern.
"Hah, we could handle those cultists with little problem," scoffed the half-devil.
"We may need to split up. Will you be alright with this?" suggested the tiefling.
"I guess," agreed the former warily.
It was agreed. Subaru would head to the left with Rushia and Okayu while Choco and Towa would go down the right passage. Decisions made, the split party went into their respective tunnels, keeping a wary eye for traps and enemies.
AN: Hello, readers. The investigation continues. I do hope I'm making the investigation interesting. Other than that, Luna is on her way home. Matsuri goes with her. I'm sure we know where this is going...
It's going to be very, very wholesome. Like in their Minecraft collabs.
As for the party, we take the investigation into the sewers. And come across a shambling mound. That slathered Towa in stench. As Rushia says, stinky. And... let me tell you a secret. The shambler isn't dead yet. After some looking into, shambling mounds can play dead by having all that plant matter and whatever else it has all over it suddenly collapse and fall over. As if it died. Yes, it will take a while to recover, but it will show up again. Granted, Rushia can dump a Blight spell or two to make it play dead again, but it will be quite interesting if it suddenly shows up in the middle of a different battle in the sewer down the line.
Alright, this is it for this chapter. Next chapter, we explore the base a little further. Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.