The Secret of Tennison Steel
About an hour later, Sher Aka leaves the Inn to go to Mr. Clarkson but before she leaves the premises she goes to the stables, making sure no one is around, then crouches down and cries for twenty minutes before calming down, making herself presentable again and leaving for Mr. Clarkson’s home.
After knocking on the door Chris opens it, “Oh, it’s you. Come in.”
He leads her inside to his living room.
“Mr. Clarkson, I want to get right to the point. Would you be willing to contact us outside the factory the next time you see the slaves?”
“I’d rather not…What about Tom? Did he get tired of the job?”
“He…Is in serious condition. He has gotten very sick so he can’t continue surveilling the area.”
“Well damn…But still I’m married with kids, I can’t put my family at risk like that.”
“And yet you’re still the only one that gave the information about the slaves to the guild. It means you are very compassionate and you were already willing to take a risk once, please risk it one last time. You just need to inform us during your break one time and then you won’t have to do it again.”
“I…I don’t know…”
“Please, Mr. Clarkson, think of the people you could save.”
He thinks for a bit before answering, “Sigh Fine but I’ll only do it once. If you fuck it up I’m not doing it again.”
“That’s alright. Thank you so much. My colleague and I are waiting in front of the gate disguised as prostitutes. You’ll find us there.”
“Alright…I’ll tell my wife.”
“Thank you Mr. Clarkson.”
The next day Rayla and Sher Aka wake up early for their investigation.
“How is Thoma Ahad?”
“He got a little worse during the night but after John used his magic he went back to before.”
“I see…Were you able to get some rest?”
“Yeah…You?”
“It was enough.”
“Good…”
Rayla then breaks down crying while Sher Aka consoles her. After breakfast, they dress up and go to their regular spot after the workers have entered the gate.
A slightly drunk looking guy then approaches Rayla, “Oy, please…Just tell me how much?”
“I already told you, I’m out of your price range, Donny. We’re just here to promote the brothel.”
“Aw come on, hic won’t you do it for a silver penny?”
“Do I really look that cheap to you? I don’t work for anything under a gold dollar.”
“Man…I’ve never seen a bitch as expensive as you.”
“That’s because I’m a Lady not a bitch, I know my worth.”
“Sigh… Fine.”
The rest of their day goes similarly, needing to deal with some creeps while occasionally trying to question them about the black squad. When the bells of the factory ring for the end of the dayshift they pack up and go back to the inn. Rayla’s hand shakes a bit when she gets to the door but after taking a deep breath she puts in the key and returns to their room.
Inside, John is taking a nap and Scarlet is taking watch over Rose.
“How is he?”
Not looking away from Rose for even a second, she answers, “She is fighting hard…We had to do two life transfusions today…”
“I see…Is he stable now?”
“Right now? Yes. In five minutes? Who knows.”
Letting out a huge sigh, Rayla sits down on the bedside and holds Rose’s hand.
“You can go to sleep now Scarlet, I’ll take over.”
“Thank you, prima.”
Rayla then takes over looking over Rose for the next five hours before going to bed herself. During the night, Rose had another coughing fit where she coughed up blood and needed a life transfusion but John was able to stabilize her again.
The next day, Rayla and Sher Aka leave for their spot in front of the gates but again the day goes by without Mr. Clarkson notifying them. This time, when Rayla and Sher Aka return, John is awake and Scarlet is asleep.
“How is he doing?”
John lets out a deep sigh, “He’s getting worse. It’s too early to say but if he keeps worsening like this he will not live past Tuesday even with my help.”
“So he has four days left…?”
“If he keeps getting worse, yes. But like I said it’s too early to tell.
Getting angry, she asks, “If you’re not sure then how come you have such a clear estimate?”
He avoids her eyes and answers, “Because I have hope. We don’t know how his body works, so I hope that he’ll get better.”
“That’s it? Hahahaha hope, huh? Hahaha, I’m glad at least one of us has hope, hahaha.”
“Rayla please sit down, you’re having a nervous breakdown.”
“Me? Hahaha, no I’m fine. Splendid really! Why wouldn’t I be? Ahahahaha.”
Sher Aka puts her hand on Rayla’s shoulder, “Please sit down.”
“Hahaha, sure. This is so fucking ridiculous, hahaha. I don’t even know why I’m laughing. Thoma is dying and I’m laughing ahahaha.”
“You’re laughing because you can’t deal with your emotions right now. It’s fine, it’s not uncommon for people who are confronted with horrible news.”
“Is that so? Hahaha.”
“Yes, just keep taking deep breaths and go to bed early.”
“Okay, hahahaha.”
During the rest of the evening and night Rose had three more coughing fits, coughing up blood each time.
The next day, Sher Aka and Rayla both wake up very exhausted but still drag themselves to their usual spot, dealing with the same drunkards and losers as before when after an hour or so a group of workers appear and walk into the factory.
“Sher Aka, do you think…”
“It might be them, yes, let’s wait for Chris.”
About an hour and half later when the break bells ring, Chris leaves the factory, “They’re here. Came in about an hour and a half ago.”
“Perfect, we know who you’re talking about. Thank you Mr. Clarkson.”
“You’re welcome, please go and get them.”
“We’ll do our best.”
Chris then returns to the factory and Rayla and Sher Aka lie in wait.
It’s about an hour before the regular end of the shift that they appear again and leave the premises, with Rayla and Sher Aka in hot pursuit, trying to keep their distance.
They seem to be walking deeper into the industrial area until they come onto a shed in what looks like a building site and all disappear inside it despite the shed being way too small for them.
Both Sher Aka and Rayla lie in wait outside it for about fifteen minutes before Rayla says, “I’m going in. If I’m not back within ten minutes go back to the inn and take care of Thoma for me.”
“Alright.”
Quickly sneaking inside, Rayla finds herself in what looks like a normal toolshed. Noticing a dirty carpet on the ground she looks under it and finds a hatch. Taking a deep breath she opens it and finds a ladder going downwards. It takes quite a while for her to get down but when she does, she finds herself at the beginning of a hallway. Quickly, she follows it to the end and comes to a door with a lot of noise coming from behind it. Taking out a knife, she polishes it and puts it under the door to see what’s going on on the other side. Not being able to see anyone, she slowly and carefully opens the door just wide enough to peek through and behind it finds a giant underground mining facility full with hundreds of workers, all of them with a slave crest on them.
“By the Gods…”
Rayla quickly closes the door again and starts running back.
“Moderate Boost Speed.”
Meanwhile on the surface, Sher Aka is getting a bit impatient when she sees what looks like a person clothed in protective gear heading towards the shed.
“Damn it. Hey there, handsome~ Over here.”
The person turns around and angrily answers, “How many times do I have to repeat myself, no whores in the work area!”
“Are you sure, hunny~ It can be our little secret. I’ll do you for two copper dollars.”
“I’m not interested, now shoo.”
Sher Aka comes closer to him and starts touching him, “Are you sure? If you’re handsome I can go down to one copper dollar.”
“Yes, now leave.”
Sher Aka then grabs his protective mask and pulls it off, “Are you sure? Just let me take a pea-”
Behind the mask is the half rotten face of an undead human and before Sher Aka can react, he grabs her by the neck with immense strength and starts choking her.
“You should have left while you had the chance, whore.”
“Minor boost strength.” Rayla says as she decapitates the zombie from behind causing it to fall over and let go of Sher Aka.
“We need to leave Sher Aka, this is way above our pay grade. There are hundreds of slaves underground and they even have undead, intelligent ones at that. This is not a C-Rank quest, this is a S-Rank quest.”
“Shit, did anyone see you down there?”
“No.”
“Good, there is a trash can over there. I’ll throw the body inside and you cast ignite on it.”
“Alright. Fire come to my aide. Ignite!”
“This will hopefully get rid of our traces, now let’s run.”