Day 12
It had taken three days to recover from the fever and fight in the tavern's common room. I was heading through the rain-slick streets to the Adventurer's Guild. I had been mostly bedridden for two days, and it felt good to be out in the city. I had recovered from the illness and the fight.
I received a lot of gentle ribbing from the tavern's staff about the brawl in the common room. They seemed happy I had protected Mica, but they all told me to stick to fighting rats, as I was a terrible bar brawler. I had gotten more than a few odd looks with how fast I recovered, and I tried to pass it off as being a fast healer. So, getting out helped me avoid more questions or strange looks.
It did not take long to reach the Adventurers Guild as I was getting used to the route.
Irene was at the reception desk. She looked up and noted my arrival, but instead of anything, she knew we would speak when I got to her. I made my way over to the corkboard that covered the lowest value quests. I scanned them, looking for anything that caught my eye. It was the usual fare with nothing of great interest. I was not being pressed by the System debt yet, but I knew letting the credit I had gained waste away would be a terrible mistake.
I felt extremely uninspired at the moment, so I decided to finish off the quest I already had outstanding.
I walked up to Irene at the desk and greeted her. "Good day, Receptionist Irene."
"Good day, Adventurer Hector. I am here to complete a quest or take another?" Her way of speaking was still formal, but not in the almost stiffly mechanical way that most people addressed those they did not know.
"A bit of both, maybe today. I have one I have finished, but due to illness, I was unable to register it as completed."
She nodded at my words and indicated to the orb. I placed my hand upon it, and she pressed a few keys on the device before her. I had gotten a better look at it when I had walked around the desk to see the Guild Leader. The device's keys resemble those of an old-fashioned mechanical typewriter from the 1930s. The orb turned from a soft white light to a blue, registering that I had completed the quest. From a slot, a sheet of paper emerged, typewritten in a script I could not make out.
"Another completed quest to add to your file." She smiled as she read the details.
"I must admit I am not happy with dealing with the city's black rat plague." I didn't bother hiding my weariness at taking on such quests. Unfortunately, they were the biggest problem in Low Town at the moment and needed to be addressed.
"Black rat fever is becoming a problem for the city. Far more people are becoming struck down with it." She said conversationally. That was news to me. I knew that Low Town was affected, but it seems the rats were spreading beyond the slums.
"How bad is it getting?" I asked, trying to gain a clearer understanding of the problem.
"The merchant section of the city is starting to suffer from them. The only place worse than Low Town right now is the docks, as that is where they got into the city from. The fever is putting pressure on all healers and doctors within the city."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope my actions are at least slowing the spread." I spoke truthfully, knowing that I was just a drop in the bucket, but at least I was trying. It seems most of the other adventurers thought it was beneath them, as I never saw any change to the board's notices unless I took them.
A soft thing was her before she said anything else. "The System interface shop is ready for you."
"Thank you." I left there for the moment, and I walked over to the silver column in the corner of the room. I placed my hand on it, and it opened.
Once I stepped inside, it closed, and I placed my hand upon the orb before me.
I didn't pay much attention to the screen before me. I acknowledged the rewards when they appeared and took the coins, adding them to those stored in my dimensional ring.
I was about to remove my hand and leave when a second message appeared.
Do you wish to receive The Chronicle? Yes or No.
Would you like your name added to the ranking tables? Yes or No.>
That was faster than I expected.
"Yes, to The Chronicle. No to the ranking tables." Was my reply to the questions.
I stood there for a moment thinking. It seems that the other Crusaders in the Grey Army were re-establishing some of the old things set up by the first two waves.
The first was The Chronicle, a digital newspaper of sorts. One of the first-wave members discovered a small loophole we could exploit. It allowed them to create a digital paper that was sent out to all of the crusaders who had approved it. It was a source of gossip and information about world affairs. It began as just a few articles but, over the two waves, had grown into a significant source of information. It had alerted many groups to the dangers posed in different areas and how to deal with certain eldritch abominations.
Personally, I didn't want to contribute to it or be listed in any stories, but I wouldn't be foolish enough to ignore the information it could provide.
The second was the ranking tables. These were added to The Chronicle late in the first wave and listed any major feats performed by Crusaders, which the System automatically updated. To remain unknown, I made sure I was not listed in them. I wasn't here for fame or glory; I just wanted to do the job and live a bit longer.
I turned and left the column. I walked back into the Adventurers Guild, thinking about what I just read.
Irene was looking in a folder when I left and waved to me before I walked back to the corkboard. "Adventurer Hector. I might have something here that could interest you?"
"Of course, what is it?" Entertaining her cost me nothing. Who knows, you might actually have something of interest.
"Here it is." She handed me a quest flyer. It had been freshly printed and was slightly warm to the touch.
I read it, and my eyebrows went up. It was from the merchant section of the city, funded by a single alchemist. He was seeking a possible remedy or cure for black rat fever, but to do so, he needed access to the rats' corpses to study them. He was offering a healthy bounty on each rat brought to his shop. Looking at the figures, my concern grew. The alchemist sought twenty rats, no small amount. He was offering a total of 35 silver coins for the bodies, far above the normal rate. It even supplied the location in the upper sewers where black rats were concentrating, nesting between Low Town and the merchant section.
"An interesting request indeed. But I'm wondering why others are not taking it? Thirty-five silver coins for twenty rat bodies is an extremely generous offer." I might have a young man's body, but I had an old man's mind. If a deal looks far too good to be true, there is always a catch somewhere. And that catch would literally bite you in the backside here.
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"Most will not take it because of the alchemist who posted it," Irene told me honestly. "Victor Greyscale is one of the most talented but eccentric alchemists in the city."
"Eccentric or borderline insane?" I asked.
"That's depending on the day." That was the reply I did not want to hear.
"Do you think it could cure the fever?" Her answer would tell me whether I was going to take up the quest.
"Honestly. If there were anyone in the city who could do it, it would be him."
I looked at her for a few moments and then back at the quest. "Fine, then I'll do it."
She soon shimmied back to her desk, and my hand was on the orb once again. Once I was registered for the quest, I bid my farewells and left. I wasn't dressed for action today and needed to head back to The Poor Man's Dream to grab my weapons and armour.
I moved with purpose and reached the tavern in short order. I nodded to a few staff members as I walked through the common room and up to my rented room. I opened the door and entered. My gear was laid out ready for me, and I quickly donned it. I checked each piece as I put it on, and once I was finished, I left my room and locked the door behind me.
I headed back down the stairs and into the common room. A few staff members made to speak to me, but seeing me now dressed in my armour, they knew I was about to go somewhere dangerous and nodded as I passed, not seeking to distract me.
I headed back out into the city, switching my HUD map to the location the quest indicated would be teeming with black rats. I walked through the city streets, and it wasn't far until I reached the drain cover above where I needed to go.
Looking at it, I realised I didn't have any specialist tools to open it. I cursed myself slightly for such a foolish oversight. I reached down and found our pair of openings in the lid that I could use as handgrips, and with a heave, I lifted it. With a grunt of additional effort, I managed to set it aside, revealing the opening. I looked at the hole in the road and realised I would have to take off my backpack to get down there.
"Oi, whatcha doing?" Came a gruff voice. I looked up and found a pair of men a short distance away looking at me. They were dressed in the uniform of the city's maintenance workforce.
"My name is Adventurer Hector. I've been contracted to try to deal with the black rat infestation below this area." I said to the older man, suspecting he was the one who had called out to me.
"Oh, is that so? That's good to hear, but you can't just be opening up sewer covers like that. In future, please find members of the city workforce." As he spoke, he glanced at my clothing, taking note of my crest and weapons.
"I was not aware that I needed to do that. I apologise. In future, I will do as you ask." I was sincere in my apology; I did not know, and I hated interfering with others' workdays by causing more problems. I remember the times I had to deal with arrogant customers and management, and how frustrated I became by their inability to see the issues they caused.
"That's good then." He seemed actually surprised by my apology. "We can't have an open sewer cover as it will be too easy for horses to put their legs in the hole."
It dawned on me that I had not taken that into account—another thing I had overlooked.
"Let's seal this up, and we will use one of the main access points." I got out of the way as they resealed the sewer opening with its cover. "Come with us."
They led me into a side alley that ended in a small structure with a heavy door. A large padlock secured the door. The lock was not rusted and looked well-maintained. The older man pulled out a large ring of keys and began searching through them. He found the one he was looking for after a few moments of searching and unlocked the padlock. He used another key, inserted into the lock beneath the padlock. He opened the door and stepped aside, allowing me entry.
"Head down into the sewers from here." He said to me. "You can open the door from the inside, and it will automatically lock when you close it when you leave."
I looked down into the open doorway. A set of metal stairs twists down into the darkness. "Is there anything else I need to know?"
"Yes, don't try going into the sewers without informing the city workforce. Our offices are open every day so people can report problems to us." He said firmly. He told me where the local office was. I nodded as it was added to my HUD map. It was registered as a Seahold city municipal office.
I took off my pack and put it down. I pulled the lantern from it and checked the oil level. I had topped it up the night before, but always check it before lighting it. The alley was darker than the street. The lantern flared, illuminating the area. I will need to buy more oil now, as I'm running low on it.
I started walking down the stairs holding my club and lantern. The older man closed the door as I descended.
The stairs were a cramped space as I moved down into the sewers. It didn't take long to reach the bottom. I found a room with a single exit. From the open space, I could hear the sound of running water. The air had a smell to it, but not as bad as I feared. The air was damp as well. The brick was the style of the city above and was slick with moisture.
I walked to the opening. I looked up and down a tunnel. Water flowed through the tunnel at a slight angle, gliding smoothly. Two walkways were lined on each side. Groves were located on the side, and more were found in the walls. They matched the builds above.
I had to look up my map to confirm where I had to go. It was not far from where I was now. I started walking down the tunnel. I walked carefully not to slip, and I avoided looking at the water with its contents.
It was a short distance to a junction. Several tunnels merged, and everything flowed into another larger tunnel. My light could only travel so far in any direction. A ladder was here, and I think that was where I planned to come down. I looked around and found what I was seeking. There was another rough doorway nearby to another section of this underground structure. The stonework here was far older, and calling it a doorway was actually an extremely generous description. It was more like a hole-in-the-wall, as I could see different bricks still jutting out from the sides. On the ground, I found a lot of debris that turned out to be parts of the collapsed wall. Looking in, I could see that the stonework was far older and reminded me of where I thought the undead might be.
That was not a pleasant memory, and I shivered at it.
I had to squeeze into this space. I got in and thankfully didn't have to crouch. On the ground, I could see rat tracks and signs. The quest I had accepted had described this area quite well. Several rooms beyond here were known to contain black rats. I needed to find and kill 20 of them to complete the quest. From the report on the quest, there are only six rooms beyond here. How I was going to kill 20 rats in such a small space was beyond me, but I've accepted it.
I took a deep breath and regretted it quite quickly. I started coughing from the dust and damp air, not even counting the smell. Once I had stopped coughing, I started forward.
I didn't even make it to the first room beyond this one before I was attacked. This was the first time I found the rats to be far more aggressive. Normally I had to hunt them down, and they only turned and fought when they thought they had an advantage or were cornered. Well, it seems they felt they had the advantage.
Three came charging at me from different angles. I was forced to back up slightly as I swung with my club. I also kicked out wherever I could, trusting in my armoured boots to hurt them.
One jumped at me, and I introduced it to my club. It was a wild swing that made contact, sending the rat flying with a sickly crunch. It hit one of the walls and fell to the ground.
Another came low, trying to bite my leg, and I stomped down with my boot. I missed it, however, and it darted away, opening me up to the other. The third bit me on the back of my leg.
"Motherfu…" I snarled in pain. My log was flashing in my HUD, recording the fight. There was intense, hot pain coming from the back of my leg when it was still biting into me.
It was gripping the back of my leg, and I was forced to kick wildly with my leg, trying to dislodge it. This caused my lantern to shake wildly, casting the area in weird illumination and making the shadows dance. This failed and was struck down quickly, catching it by surprise as my club hit it. This caused it to let go.
It tried to scurry away, but my boot struck its rear as I kicked it. If it went through the wall, and there was another sound of cracking.
The last one came at me again, and I tried to stomp on it again with my boot. This time, I was more successful but only glanced at it. One of its paws, however, was caught under my boot, and it squealed in pain. It went into my leg but caught the arm section rather than the flesh.
I violently swung down several times with my club, bringing the fight to an end.
This fight left me breathing hard. Adrenaline surging through my veins is finally starting to fade.
Three down, seventeen left to find. I cursed my life choices.
I inspected the wound on the back of my leg and found it not to be as bad as I feared, but I was bleeding slightly. My natural healing abilities kicked in, but the material of my armoured trousers had been torn quite badly. I was going to have to send my gear in for repair after this job. I couldn't hold off any longer.
I lifted my lantern to get a better look at the area. I was not going to collect the bodies just yet. My sack would not hold all the bodies anyway. I could barely get ten in there. I would have had to carry the rest by hand.
I got a better look at the area around me. I noticed a high level of dust across several rotten boxes and what appeared to be pieces of furniture. The damper from the sewer hadn't come deep into this area. I thought that was a bit odd, as the air here was not as fragrant as the sewers, but it carried a heavy smell of age and neglect.
Looking around, I wondered what this place was. It did look like part of the sewer system, but more like a storage area. The stonework was older, meaning it was part of the original city that stood here before the prison was built atop it.
I began to move forward, slowly checking for more rats.
As I worked my way deeper into the room, it became apparent that it was far larger than I had initially thought. I could now see only the back wall, and I was a few metres from the entry point. I can also make out several other doorways, not broken sections in the wall, but properly open portals. I can also make out more furniture and boxes. It seems this was once a storeroom of some kind.
I caught flashes of movement around the edges of the room. The rats were gathering again.
I braced myself and moved forward, ready for the fight.