HC:Pacifist | Ch. 132 - We Mediate

“Mom…”

“My baby. My beautiful baby.” She caressed his face and checked him from top to bottom, looking for wounds or any signs of mistreatment. “You have a little bit less hair here,” she said as her hands searched his forehead. “Your father also began losing some of his hair, but it was much later in life.” Tearing up, she looked him in the eyes. “Prison has been tough on you, hasn’t it, son?”

“Mom, I’m so sorry for all that’s happened. This is all my fault. If I…” He choked.

“Hush, hush, now, baby. It’s all good. We’ll make it through. It’s all water under the bridge.”

They just stood there, locked in an embrace, until they finally broke apart. “Drake has told me you’ll have to go somewhere else for some time.”

“Yes. But I’ll be back.”

His mom clumsily waved her hands around, and motes of light condensed into a chocolate cupcake. “Here, I made these for you.”

“You made this?”

“Yes! I’ve become a baker! Now I understand why you like these games. It’s so much fun!” Roth smiled from ear to ear. “I think I’ll just keep this cupcake in my inventory forever.”

“Nonsense, you have to eat it!”

“Hey, Drake, how does it feel to know my mom is a better gamer than you are.” He teased.

Soros sent a telepathic sense of annoyance toward Roth, and he knew it was time to go.

“I have to go now. We’ll see each other. I love you, Mom. Thanks, Drake.”

“Be safe, my son.”

“See you soon, Roth. We’ll keep having our meetings every week through video conferencing. OK?”

“Very well!” They turned and left. Roth felt a warm glow in his heart. His mother’s embrace had breathed life back into him. His determination had been renewed. He wouldn’t let Loki find him again. He had to keep growing stronger to care for his mom and friends!

*

Night had come. He wasn’t sure how much of a difference it would make to use [Camouflage] while it was dark, but every tiny bit of help would go a long way toward making his escape successful.

It was time to decide on a destination. If Roth was going to move somewhere unrelated to this place at all, he’d do it right. He would leave the Green Country region. Coincidentally, he already had a few quests he could follow up on that would take him far away. There was the dwarf quest that would take him toward the Rock Canyon and Mario’s mom's quest that would take him toward the swamps.

Of course, there was also the corvid quest to meet their emperor, and he still had to find the table where he’d complete Oli’s quest. But he was clueless on where either of these were.

Although he couldn’t do anything about the latter two, there was a quest he could glean more information on. The slavery quest! He often thought about that poor camel who had asked for his help by drawing on the ground. He decided to talk to Soros before he made his final decision.

“Soros?”

“Oh? Are you here to fill your bags before you move?”

“That too. But before that, I wanted to check something with you.”

“Go for it.”

“Remember that you once told me about slavers? Where are they the most active?”

“They operate mostly on the Rock Canyon and beyond, as far as the Sun Desert.” From what he’d seen on his world map, that was in the opposite direction from the swamps. That settled the matter. He now knew where to go.

“In that case, that’s where I’m going.”

“Hmmm… Good choice. Green Country has fruits, herbs, and timber aplenty but lacks minerals and gemstones. Traveling south would be a sound choice for a broker. Although, I caution you to be careful with the slavers of the Rock Canyon. They are foul and dangerous. Even the Gazpachos look like innocent toddlers by comparison.”

The statement spooked Roth. For Soros to say that it meant the old merchant was really scared of them. “Do you have any merchant friends in the Rock Canyon?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say we’re friends, but we are trading partners, and it’s someone I respect.”

“Any chance I could get a recommendation?”

Soros went to his desk, took a piece of paper, and wrote a brief message. “Look for White Onyx Inc. Look for Ruth in Sapphira Citadel. She’s a good merchant and makes a living as a contractor in a city of slavers.”

“Thank you, Soros.”

He waved him off. “Bah. Don’t mention it. Besides, I don’t do it just because of our history together. There are many riches in the cities under the mountains, and I have to say that I’m excited that you’re going there.”

Roth’s shoulders slumped. He knew it. Soros wasn’t interested only in his welfare but in the wealth he could bring him!

“I’ll now go to see the Transport Guild and leave everything organized for when I’m gone.”

“Very well.” The NPC went back to study the papers on his desk. Roth opened the window of the merchant association and started going through it. Before filling his bags with fruits, herbs, and timber like Soros had suggested, he decided against it and instead grabbed all the items he could carry for a trade run to the Green Woods.

He would take a little detour and make a pass through there. After all, that was profit that he was sure he could get, and it was better to invest in something he knew he could count on rather than blindly spend all his gold on a potential fiasco.

He was ready to go as he filled up on cheese, shiny things, medicinal herbs, cosmetics, and the like. He was careful not to overload his bag. He wanted to leave himself some leeway so he could transform into any of his forms without getting a [Slow] debuff in case something happened. It wasn’t difficult to run the numbers; after all, he was in snake form right now. He filled the bag with as much weight as this form could carry and closed the window.

Roth checked his city map and marked the transport guild. It wasn’t far from where he was right now. It made sense that the transport guild would be located nearby. It was situated at the corner of Merchant Street and West Avenue, which led to one of the city’s gates.

Roth headed toward the door. Before he did, he spared a last look at his friend. Feeling his gaze, Soros looked at him.

“Bye, Soros.”

“Be safe, young broker. I’ll see you soon.” The old man went back to his work. Roth left the office. Coming to the corridor, he activated his stealth skill.

Camouflage!

Roth’s skin became transparent. He headed toward one of the bays and pushed a button.  One of the cargo doors of Golden Mountain Inc. opened. He left the association through the back and slowly headed toward his destination, trying to stick to the shadows and back alleys as much as possible.

The plan was simple. Stay in the least traveled paths, with [Camouflage] constantly turned on. He’d make it to the Transport Guild and hire them to do his trade runs while he was away. From there, he’d make his escape.

A trip that could be made in under ten minutes took him a full hour to complete. To Roth, it seemed to take even longer. Every little noise around him startled him. He moved as slowly and cautiously as he possibly could. Players with a high enough level to see through the disguise of his mask would probably also be able to see through his [Camouflage], and he couldn’t be too careful. 1000 gold was enticing even to a high-level mercenary.

Finally, he came to the crossing where the Transport Guild was located. The building was entirely made of red brick. Unlike the opulent architecture of Merchant Street, the guild had stuck to a more practical design. Roth wondered if this had been a deliberate decision. Maybe it was as if they were telling merchants, “We’re going to take a chunk from your profits, but you’ll always be wealthier than us, your humble porters.” Or maybe he was reading too much into it.

The building had tall doors, and Roth was relieved to find that most of the traffic in and out of the building was done by NPCs. Most merchant players were adventurers who enjoyed traveling and made the most of the distance they covered. Roth imagined that few would favor splitting their profits with the Transport Guild.

At the entrance of the building was a ticket machine. Roth waited for a moment when no one was in sight, and he went toward it, pressed a button, and got the slip of paper into one of his pockets. He looked around, trying to make sure no one had spotted the buttons being pressed by invisible hands or the floating piece of paper mysteriously disappearing, and satisfied with the success of his operation, he retreated into a shadowy corner.

One by one, the numbers of the ticket machine were called out on speakers. Roth felt as if he’d gone to the hospital or the tax office, and for a few brief moments, it was almost as if he were out in the real world.

“Number 68 to office 5.”

Hearing his number called, he set out to find the office. He was happy that customers were seen individually as he traveled the corridors. Along the hallway were metal doors with large numbers drawn into them. He found a door with the number 5 painted in bright red letters.

He looked left and right to ensure no one was looking, turned off his camouflage, and went in. Now that he had reached his destination, he allowed himself to relax. The tension of traveling under this much stress was killing him.

The office wasn’t big by any means. It was quite the opposite. The small desk was too close to the ground for any normal-sized human being to feel comfortable. The ceiling was low, and there was one small door Roth could only fit through if he activated [Miniaturize]. Out of it came a dog, a husky. Its fur was white with patches of black, or maybe it was the other way around. There was this depth to the creature. When he looked at the dog, it felt like he was looking at an icy plain.

The husky came around the desk and started sniffing Roth. “Oh? A broker and a friend of our race?” Roth reached out to his ears and tried scratching him like he had for Oscar. The dog didn’t shy away and, on the contrary, began wagging his tail contentedly.

Aren’t you a nice human?

+5 reputation with all dogs.

Roth hadn’t expected that dogs ran the Transport Guild! “Hi. My name is Pax. How are you doing?”

“Bucky. Nice to meet you. Please have a seat. It’s not every day that we see a human working as a broker and a zoomorph, no less. Who was your mentor?”

“Oscar, from the Green Woods.”

“That old bulldog is still alive and kicking, hey? How is he doing?”

Seeing the good-natured spirit of the husky was a balm to his aching heart. He hadn’t expected to have such a nice surprise in the middle of such a terrible episode. “He’s good. He passed some of his business on to me and rests more now.”

“Good, good.”

“I didn’t know that dogs ran the Transport Guild.”

“We don’t own the guild but partner with it. Many porters are not particularly trusting of humans but still want a piece of their wealth.”

“So, you mediate.”

Bucky smiled meaningfully. “That’s what we dogs do.”

“Anyway, I came here because I’m going to be away from Green Country for a while, and I have several customers I run trade for.”

“Very well. Can I see your ledger?”

Ch. 131 - Seismic Scan

INDEX

Ch. 133 - Bucky