ushernet Chapter 236
Chapter 236
Chapter 236<~> Chapter 236
We didn't run into any more resistance before finding the cellblocks for the humans and elves. Unlike before, these ones were separated into lower-level and higher-level cellblocks like the beastfolk, probably because there were so many more female slaves than men. The elves and humans were still mingled together though, unlike the beastfolk we released. I wasn't sure why that was, it was like they didn't make much distinction between the two. I also didn't run into any other slaves that were deep enough into the negative karma to make me want to refuse releasing them. That lone person that escaped earlier was a bit of an anomaly, who was that guy?
Once we finished releasing the rest of the slaves we were ready to search for our exit strategy. We were in some kind of sublevel and needed to find a way up that wouldn't lead to the bazaar. There were so many people following us now that it had long become impossible to keep track of everyone, I just hoped that there wasn't too much infighting or personality clashes on the way out. So far everyone had been good but there was no more moving stealthily with this much chatter following us.
Which is what was so odd about this place. After our first run-in with some guards, we haven't run into anyone since. All of the slaves had been abandoned down here with the only hint of why being that there were demons up above. How much of the city was overrun at this point? Was the entire city lost or was the damage contained to only the bazaar? There was no way of knowing until we got back up there.
I stopped for a moment and cast the hostility scanning ritual spell I created. I really did need to come up with a proper name for it. I let out a pulse and it traveled through the crowd, luckily it didn't reveal anyone hostile within the range I could check. The ritual wasn't foolproof because it would only tell me if someone was currently hostile, not planning to be, but I was happy that I had something like this at all. The brief headache the spell gave me after scanning so many people at once though made me hesitant to use it in such a large crowd again.
"Does anyone know which way we should be headed to avoid the bazaar?" I asked aloud.
Quinn looked around before pointing in one direction. "I think we should be going that way if we want to avoid the... the bazaar."
I turned to Silva. "Do we know which way the records are kept? I would prefer not to stumble into high-level combatants."
"They're probably kept in the building up above, not down here with the 'merchandise,' so to speak. The only way we would come across them is if we're looking for trouble. I don't think it's worth the detour anymore," she replied.
"That's one less thing to worry about then. Let's head this way." I started leading the large group down through the hallway and away from where the bazaar should be.
As we walked, I tapped Morrigan on the shoulder. "Hey, we're going to need to tunnel upward to get out of here. When we find the spot we want to dig, I'll use a tremor sense ritual to see if there's anything in the way, or anything outside where we'll come out. Make sure to siphon off the wasted terra mana to make it easier for you to cast your tunneling magic."
"Got it, I'll have to break through some of their wards if we go out through the outside walls though," Morrigan said.
"Will that be hard?" I asked.
She nodded. "It will make the entire process more difficult, but as long as nothing breaks my concentration, I can do it."
"Good, I think it's our best option. We'll make sure nothing gets to you while you're working." I patted her on the shoulder.
After a while we came up to a blank wall as far away from the bazaar as we could find. Quinn pointed at the wall. "This seems like the best spot, mind if I check it out?"
"Sure," I agreed. "We'll both check it out to make sure it's safe."
I cast the tremor sense ritual magic spell using [Light Scribing]. I've only used this ritual a few times to test it out. It's not very good at looking into stone structures because the stone people use for building here does a good job of killing vibrations, but since I was trying to see the vibrations on the other side of the stone, it would work alright here for what I was trying to check. This ritual was a much more refined sensory spell than my rudimentary hostile sensing one so it was much more pleasant to cast. Once I had finished casting and had it activated, I pressed my other hand against the wall and closed my eyes to better focus on the odd sensation I was experiencing. There wasn't any movement outside near the wall that we were looking to dig through. Usually even the vibration of people walking would be enough for me to sense something. It was supposed to be the middle of the day still and there wasn't any activity outside. That seemed odd but at least there weren't a ton of demons there either... probably.
"The Order of Lilith. If anyone claims that you were freed by the Cult of Amphores, that's a lie."
"Sound's complicated," the bearkin grunted.
I shrugged in response. "They're demon cultists and they're trying to use slaves as pawns. I would rather you trust neither of us, than for you to trust them."
"The Order of Lilith. I'll remember it." Callik said with a nod.
I could hear the name whispered and repeated through the crowd behind us. Nearly all of them had heard that we were the Order of Lilith when we released them, but now that escape was this close I could tell they were taking the name more seriously than before. I hoped that I was giving them the name of an Order as righteous as I was led to believe. It would be a stab in the gut if I found out that I had been tricked into aligning with a group that didn't deserve it. I needed to learn more about the Order as soon as possible.
"Almost there," Morrigan warned. Her words got everyone's attention and they prepared themselves for the next part of the escape. The tension in the air was thick with anticipation.
Callik took a step toward the group of former slaves and got their attention. "No running or pushing, everyone stay together in your groups. High levels will protect the tunnel on the other side just in case. That elf there will lead us to the embassy," he said indicating the one Torien had singled out.
The sound of Morrigan's tunneling changed as she reached the stone walkway of the city. With a final crack, the stone brick path collapsed inward, and with a final pull of the magic she was controlling, she pulled all of the excess dirt, stone, and debris, through the tunnel and out of the way.
The seven of us stepped away from the tunnel as Callik led the elf and several of the other higher-leveled people through Morrigan's tunnel and into the afternoon air. We watched as they signaled the all-clear and people began to pour through the tunnel and thank us on their way out.
Quinn however also stood next to us. I looked him up and down for a moment. "You not going with the others?" I asked.
"I'd rather stay with you guys. Like I told you earlier, I have a feeling that I'll have better fortunes following your group," the cougar beastfolk replied. His wording made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I think any time luck came up it was going to make me uncomfortable now, at least until I confront Fortuna. "Besides, I think I've been helpful to you. If your little group are actually demon hunters then I'm safer sticking with you guys for now," he whispered.
"Even though I intend to rescue the slaves you said would only slow us down?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
He shrugged. "We'll see when we get there. I've heard rumors but I don't know how bad it actually is. I'd rather stick with the seven of you regardless. You're interesting."
I didn't fully trust this guy but he had been helpful and his karma did imply that he wasn't a bad person. I was still somewhat miffed that he had been dismissive of the people we were going to rescue next, but I suppose he was trying to be pragmatic. I could understand that. I would be revealing some of my secrets in front of him but my gut told me that he was trustworthy. I think that it was going to be harder and harder to keep everything a secret as we added more people to our ranks anyway, especially as word about 'The Order of Lilith' became more widespread.
"Let's get going then," I said as I started walking toward the room I had discovered. This additional cell block was set up differently from the other ones based on how the people were clustered inside. It seemed more like one large room with several attached cells rather than the previous ones that were meant to be as space-efficient as possible.
I opened the first door and found a lounge of some kind. This place looked like a private VIP room or something. It was outfitted with nice furniture and carpets... but all of the tables, couches, and the small stage had restraint attachment points...
I didn't like where this was going.