Chapter 28
Luring the shambler to another part of the sewer took a long time. True to its name, it moved slowly, trudging after the party. They moved in formation that they had planned beforehand; Botan and Nene moved further in front to make sure the way was clear. Lamy and Polka were in the middle where they could easily give some backup. Aloe was last, hovering over the middle of the tunnel where the stream of sewage water flowed, keeping the shambler on the move and hovering barely out of its reach to keep its attention.
"Nothing so far?" asked the lion girl as she looked around the junction.
"Yeah. Nothing here," replied the bard.
Nodding, the former turned around and called out, "Bring it in, Aloe!"
"Alright!" the succubus shouted back.
Things were slow-going but still without any interruptions. Then, they turned into a long stretch of tunnel with several tunnels on the side branching off. So, they continued down the paths… until a drip of yellow liquid splashed on the archer's armor. Glancing up, she noticed a shimmering yellow patch on the ceiling of the tunnel. The yellow patch suddenly shivered and a pseudopod reached out to swing at her.
She stumbled back as she shouted in surprise, "Yellow slime!"
"Uhm, there's more here," the latter replied as she took a few hurried steps back as another ochre jelly dropped down from the ceiling while a second one took its place. The same thing happened in Botan's lane; one ooze on the floor and one creeping on the ceiling.
"What's going on!?" called out Polka as she and Lamy ran up to them, "What in the world is that?"
"Ochre jelly," explained the bard, "I don't remember much from the time we read up on the monster chickens, but looks like what they say is true. Can walk on ceilings and can form limbs to attack. I wouldn't be surprised if it can squeeze through cracks and under doors."
"Will anything happen if you punch it?" asked the fennec fox girl as she stepped past her.
"I… don't remember?"
"Well, it doesn't hurt to try!" she yelled as she moved in. Meanwhile, Lamy moved to the front of Botan as the lion girl pulled back and shot at the jelly. The cleric then manifested her spirit weapon and shot a ray of frost at the same jelly. The ooze was unable to resist the constant battery and froze over internally before it shattered into pieces.
"Under pressure, walls closing down on me, surrounding my life, looking down on me."
Nene's melodious strains filtered through the air as she stowed her lute on her back. Polka's punches sent shockwaves through the ooze she pummeled before retreating away from a pseudopod that reached out for her. The jellies slid after them but failed to hit any of them with their extended pseudopods.
"Incoming!" shouted Aloe as she flew up to them, "Watch out for the shambler."
True enough, the shambling mound trudged up to the nearest party member and slammed its viney tendrils on her. Botan yelped as she dodged to the side, only to get clipped in the shoulder.
"Tch… Aloe, help them! I'll handle this," ordered the archer as she started waving her hands at it as she moved away from the party, "Oi, stinky! This way!" Its body groaned and squelched as it turned around and tried its best to grab a hold of the lion girl.
"You heard her! We can do this!" shouted the cleric as she sent another ray out at the other ooze sliding towards her on the ceiling. Her spirit mace did the same as it tried to break the ooze apart. It tried slamming her with a pseudopod but she blocked it with her shield.
"Alright!" replied the succubus loudly as she flew up and tried scratching the ooze with her claws, only to fail when the oily ooze flowed around her claws like water, "Urgh, not sure about this!"
"Switch!" called out the bard after stabbing the same ooze, neatly swapping places with the monk, who yelled out a cheer as her punches burst the ooze. She then turned her attention to the ooze on the ceiling, attacking it as well. It then somehow lost its grip on the ceiling and flopped on the sewer floor.
"Argh!" yelled Botan as she got slapped in the stomach by another tendril, "Hurry up! The smell is getting too much."
"We know!" Lamy shouted back as she double-teamed the ooze with her spirit mace. Aloe tried helping her but the same thing happened with this ooze and she barely made a scratch on it.
"Hey, this way, stinky plant!" shouted Nene at the shambler, trying to gain its attention. Meanwhile, Polka finished off her ooze and moved on to help the cleric with the last one. She didn't need help as she successfully popped it all on her lonesome.
"Blergh," vomited the archer as she got slapped around again. Wiping her mouth, she ran and dodged around the reaching vines as she ran towards the party, "Let's go!"
"Look here, you smelly vine! I bet you can't catch me!" shouted the bard as she mocked the shambler before joining the others in running away.
It then slowly plodded after them, its viney tendrils reaching out to grab them. Soon, their smelly chase slowed down and they were back to luring it around.
"Ah, looks like I'm back to lure duty again," muttered Aloe as she hovered in place to wait for it. She then got a surprise when it slammed a tendril on the ground, grabbing a giant cockroach and pushing it in its center of mass. The vines on the body reached out, pulled it in, and engulfed it.
This shocked her greatly and she almost didn't notice the shambler reaching out to her. Realizing this, she quickly hovered out of the vine grabbed empty air.
"Careful, Aloe," cautioned Nene, the rest of the party witnessing it.
"I know. No need to worry," the succubus replied as she glanced back and smirked, "I got this."
Assured by her words, the bard and the archer went on to lead the way to the intended sector. It took another hour of navigating the sewers but eventually, they saw the red marker that the cleaners guild master told them about.
"We're almost there," announced Botan.
"Thank you! I want a bath!" exclaimed Polka before she yelped due to almost slipping on a patch of water.
"Careful," chided Nene as she pulled the fennec fox girl away from the edge of the bank.
"Are you the ones helping?"
Heads turned to a large branching tunnel. A guy wearing brown-colored clothes with the sewer cleaners guild hat holding a staff.
"Yes?" quipped Lamy hesitantly.
"Come, come, lead it this way," he said as he motioned them to follow him.
They hurried after him after making sure the shambler was still following them. He led them to a large room where the sewer water fell down into. There was an iron ladder leading to the lower level where the bank circled around and led off to two other openings. The level they were on had also extended to the side where the other branch had a similar sewage waterfall.
"Please lead it off the rails into the pool," instructed the cleaner, "Then, keep to the side silently, please."
"Alright, Aloe. You heard him?" stated the bard as she looked over. The succubus gave a thumbs up and continued luring the shambler.
Bit by bit, she kept just out of range as she hovered backward. Soon, she flew over the railing and kept in sight. Little by little, she went a little higher. The shambler reached out and tipped over into the sewage pool. The party then ran over to the side and looked down just as the succubus landed.
"Is it already leaving it down there?" asked the lore bard in wonder.
"It'll be fine," the cleaner informed them, "It knows how to swim so it will get out in no time. Anyway, thank you for the help, ladies. Come, I'll lead you to the exit."
"Thank the gods! I want a bath!" exclaimed the monk.
After getting out of the sewers, they headed to the cleaners guild house first to get paid. Botan was a bit happier that with the reward she could get a better set of armor.
"Eh? Is that all you are going to get?" asked Lamy in surprise.
"Yes. I wanted something lighter while still protecting my important bits," stated the lion girl as the blacksmith helped to fit the spaulder over her left shoulder. The skirted breastplate fit well and the greaves were snug. A pair of vambraces were also part of the set. After everything was fitted together, she turned around and examined herself.
Finding everything well and good, she turned to the blacksmith and asked, "Can you engrave something on the shoulder part? I want a lion."
"Sure. That won't be a problem," he said as he motioned her to follow, "Let's get this done."
An hour later, the engraving was done and the party went back to the guild house to report what had happened.
"Well done, everyone," congratulated Miyabi, "Oh, and that armor looks good."
"Hi, hi, thanks," preened the lion girl.
"Right, that's all for the day. If you have any queries, do not hesitate to ask," he informed them with a smile before moving on to another stack of papers.
"Let's go wash up and get ready for dinner, yeah?" asked the bard with a grin.
That night, Robel's was full, with all the guild members present, including Lord Aruran and Miyabi. The general atmosphere was happy and celebratory. How else can it be, with all the teams and parties receiving that generous gift from earlier in the day? The majority of the music was brought to the fore by RIZnote, the bard duo of Rikka and Izuru, with several others being invited up to sing with them, including Nene. She was bashful but went up anyway to sing. Of course, there was a little trolling by Kira and his bagpipes, which prompted several little chases around the interior between him and the duo. It was quite comical in itself, and it prompted very loud laughter by the audience as it pretty much involved a lot of tumbling and acrobatics from Kira.
"Hi, hi, I can't believe he actually did that," giggled Polka.
"I admit, it was funny. But it was still rude," stated Lamy, her face very red from drinking.
"Rude or not, still funny," said Aloe with a grin.
"Ha… I think that's enough for tonight. I want my bed," stated Botan as she stretched, her arms reaching for the air.
"Yeah, I'm feeling sleepy too," agreed Nene, "It was nice though. I wonder if we have these kinds of things every moon..."
The next day, they were once again in front of the bulletin board. After looking at it for a while, Lamy pulled a request from the board.
"Doesn't this name look familiar?" she asked as she passed it to Nene.
"Prasadiv? Isn't that the information broker?" the bard muttered in surprise. After scanning the request, she muttered, "What is this? Harvest mission for… large beasts?"
"Oh… do we get a trophy?" asked the lion girl, becoming very interested.
"I think we should talk with him first," said the fennec fox girl, nudging her friend in the side.
"Indeed. A wise choice," nodded the half-snow elf with approval.
"So…do we take this?" asked Nene. Getting nods from everyone, she continued, "Okay, I'll give this to Miyabi and we'll wait for Aloe before we meet him."
"Huh…I think Lord Aruran warned me about him," stated the guild clerk as he noted them down for the request, "Make sure you don't sign any contracts with him or bind you with any favors. Just meet him, do the request, and come back. Understood?"
"Understood," the bard replied with a nod.
After Aloe met up with them, the party immediately headed to the Broken Stool. They found the rakshasa seated at his normal table, off to the side, and away from the bar.
"Ahhh, Prasadiv remembers you! You took this up I see," stated the tiger-looking humanoid with a joyful tone, "Very interesting. Prasadiv is eager to see how well you perform."
"Perform? But I thought we were hunting large creatures," questioned Nene in surprise.
"You are. But, not here," he replied mysteriously, "But first, please, follow me."
The party looked at each other, shrugged, and followed him. He headed to the store in the kitchen and much to their surprise, pulled a trapdoor and headed down. The flight of steps led them to a singular room which was lit up with the snap of his fingers. A magic circle was engraved into the floor, one which he stepped inside and motioned them to continue following.
"Where are you taking us?" asked the bard, feeling all this is looking quite suspicious.
"Ah, this is something that Prasadiv shows to all members of the adventurer's guild as a sign of trust," the rakshasa explained, "Mostly a deal with the lord. He can be… let's say... persuasive. Plus, Prasadiv wishes to vet you while you help Prasadiv. Now, if you would be so kind as to step into the circle and follow Prasadiv to his secret place."
"Oh, sure… that doesn't sound creepy at all," snarked Aloe.
But, in spite of that, they stepped in the circle anyway. A flash of light filled the room, blinding them. As it died down, they found themselves standing in a small arena. Strange enough, the rakshasa was missing.
"Now, what you are here for is to help kill some useful monsters," stated the tiger humanoid. Everyone looked to the arena stands in surprise.
"Unfortunately, the normal help I have cannot handle such a thing. This is where you come in," he continued to explain, "You-"
"Wait! How did we get here?" cried out Polka, interrupting him.
He sighed and said, "Normally, Prasadiv would bring all of you without using those annoying circles, but in the interest of the deal made with Aruran, Prasadiv has to show something tangible to his guild at least once. You and your friends are not the first and not the last. Now, may Prasadiv continue, or do you have more interruptions?"
The fennec fox girl quickly shook her head.
"Now, you will help to put down these creatures for Prasadiv's hired help to harvest things from them," he finally continued, "Just make sure not to damage the body too much."
"How are these monsters being brought here?" asked Botan.
"Hmm, if Prasadiv is correct, a dimension hopper is helping Prasadiv to secure areas to pull these monsters from," he replied, "Prasadiv is not too sure about the magic involved, but it is a most useful deal Prasadiv has made. Very useful."
"Ah, so what will be fighting first?" asked the lion girl, now looking forward to the challenge.
"Ah… very eager. That is good. Good. Good," the rakshasa said with a grin. He then turned to the side and called out, "Bring it to me."
A spectral hand then appeared from the side and brought him a clipboard. Taking it, he looked at it for a moment and said, "Interesting additions today. First up is displacer beasts."
"What are those?" asked Lamy in confusion.
"Ah, they are magical monsters," he stated, "Think of a large black cat with six legs and two spiked tentacles." Glancing at the clipboard, he muttered, "And we have three of them today. Hmm, very nice. We can make a good cloak from these."
Focussing back on the party, he stated, "Alright, best be ready. I shall bring them out now."
"Ready as we'll ever be," said the bard as everyone got into position. She, Polka, and Nene moved in front of Botan and Lamy.
Nodding, he then called out, "All is ready. Bring them in and release them."
AN: Hello, readers. Welcome to the next chapter. Relocation success. And Botan got a new set of armor. Nice. Right, the next day, we follow Holo5 to meet Prasadiv, the local information broker and trader of exotic(magical) goods. As for the day's request, helping him harvest materials. Since this is meant to be a short one, we will be dropping them in the arena Subaru's party was in during Wanderlust. First up, displacer beasts.
Next chapter, the fight and much more. Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.