Chương 42: Pest And Mutant

Joel had never seen such a confident waddle from a hamster before. He realized how silly it seemed, following a sword-wielding hamster. Would it understand him if he talked? The hamster clearly communicated to him through gestures after spotting the old man whom Joel had knocked out.

"So…" he started with a whisper.

"Where are we going?" To his surprise, the stylish hamster turned around, shot him the most incredulous look, and then shushed him with a paw raised to its lips. It wasn't every day you got told to shut the hell up by a rodent, so he bit back his chuckle and quietly went along with his fuzzball guide. It seemed to know where it was going. The corridors of crates and barrels, each that seemed to veer off to different sections of the expansive warehouse, made the place into a maze.

Joel had to fight the curiosity as to what the crates contained, not wanting to lose track of the scampering hamster. Two left turns later, and he'd been led to the far wall, where crates had been tarped over. The pudgy hamster slipped underneath one such cover, and then there was a rattle of metal afterwards. He pulled at the tarp, allowing it to slide off and revealing a large, barred cage. Two ragged people sat chained within, hands cuffed in front of them.

A scarred man, his greasy hair and beard poorly hiding the old scars and newer bruises on his face, had his feet manacled as well. He looked like a man in his forties, though his unpleasant condition could've aged him a decade. Despite clearly being emaciated, his corded muscles exposed a stubborn strength. The other was a pale boy, no older than thirteen and maybe too small for even that age, whose shoulder was occupied by the cinnamon hamster.

The strange child's silvery hair seemed to float and drift, as if a breeze was gently passing through. The seeming otherworldliness was further seen in his piercing white-gray eyes that adjusted to the sudden lantern light. Joel wrinkled his nose reflexively as he approached, though he hoped they hadn't noticed. By scent alone, they both must've been there for some time. The duo were not gagged, but looked at each other dumbly nonetheless, as if waiting for the other's approval.

Their grim glances at each other continued until the hamster yanked hard on the ear lobe of the kid." Ow, stop," the boy complained, pulling his head away from the squeaking hamster.

"Alright, you don't need to tell me twice." He gave a sympathetic look to the other captive before continuing to mutter to his furry friend.

"I was simply being careful for us all." The ethereal kid turned to Joel meekly.

"Huckleberry says you aren't going to beat us. You aren't, are you?"

"Huckleberry?" Joel blinked at the hamster while his thoughts wandered back to the name of one of his earlier hamster kills — Blueberry. He ignored the pit that formed in his gut.

"You can talk to it?"

"Oh, him and me?" The kid tapped his temple.

"We speak through our minds as long as we're close enough." A grunt from his shackled companion seemed to remind the boy that he was in a cage.

"Ah, I'm Hux by the way. Can you get us out of here?"

"I'm Joel and I can," Joel said, feeling bad about asking his own questions before doing so.

"I will get you out." He nodded to the bearded man next to Hux.

"You are?"

"Beat to shit," the man rasped back, scabbed lips cracking. Joel held back a smirk, always appreciating someone who could make an awful situation feel a little lighter. The bruised man massaged his neck, his wrist cuffs rattling.

"I'm Pest." Joel couldn't stop the chuckle from escaping his lips.

"Pest?"

"Aye," Pest said gruffly.

"Problem with it?" Bruised and caged, he still seemed up for a fight.

"Don't mind him," Hux interjected.

"He acts gruff, but he's only been nice since I got here. Just got his marbles and manners mashed up""No issue here." Joel raised his hands peacefully.

"Did any of you see a dwarf? His name's Hottor." The two shared a look that gave away that they had. Pest sat up properly against the bars.

"We overheard some of the scum saying they'd taken a dwarf down the shaft. Less than an hour ago." He jerked his head past the walls of crates, his eyes showing that he was far from broken.

"They have a hoisted lift near the center of the warehouse. I reckon that's where they took your friend." Loud squeaks from Huckleberry interrupted them.

"He says he can show you where the lift is," Hux translated, before pausing as Huckleberry gave a longer tirade.

"I'm not saying that to him." The boy hushed the hamster before smiling back at Joel.

"Huckleberry says he'd greatly appreciate it if you could get us out now." Joel had a feeling that wasn't what the hamster had said, especially with the way the creature had folded his arms.

"Okay, thank you." He got the keys out from his cloak pocket as he tried one of the many keys in the cage's lock.

"The jackasses might be back soon. Can both of you move?"

"Yes," Hux said as Pest nodded.

"Once we get out, we'll get the town guards."

"Not sure that's wise," Pest grunted, his sharp eyes carefully watching Joel struggle with the lock. There were so many damn keys.

"It's likely that some of the guards are on the payroll. This operation's too big for otherwise."

"Head to the baron's keep, ask for the Freewalkers Alarion and Sevrin." Joel was going to lose it with these keys, resisting the urge to smash the keyring against the floor.

"Tell them that Alis and Joel need help and explain what's going on." Finally, a key clicked the lock open, and he let the cage door swing wide. He held out an outstretched hand, helping Hux out slowly. An unnatural breeze swept over Joel as the boy walked past; it was strange enough to lull him staring at the wispy Hux, only to look away after locking eyes with Huckleberry's perceptive stare from his shoulder.

Joel kneeled to help Pest, specifically seeing if any of the godforsaken keys would untie the iron shackles to his ankles.

"What exactly is he…?" he whispered, tilting his head at Hux, who was stretching his legs and looking around.

"Huh, you've never seen a convergent? I've heard them call themselves sways? Still nothing?" A rusty key clicked his ankle cuffs free. Pest momentarily lowered his voice.

"Hm, some folks call them mutants? No?" He coughed and gave a curious glance through his dark, greasy braids.

"You raised in a monastery or something? Convergents are rare, but you should've at least heard of them." Joel nonchalantly shrugged, busying himself with freeing Pest's other ankle. Add it to the ever expanding list of things he didn't seem to know. Joel realized how tall Pest was as they shuffled out of the cage. If the gaunt man lived up to his namesake, he was a bother that Joel was happy to avoid. Despite his condition, Pest did appear able to walk normally.

A groaning creak of wood made Joel spin, only to see Hux attempting to pry open a crate with a crowbar. The padlock rattled against the metal loop loudly, and Joel hoped that the old man he'd knocked out was the only one left to guard. Once it was clear that Hux was getting nowhere, Joel approached and took the crowbar from Hux's hands. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"What're you doing?" he asked sternly.

"We need to get you out of the cuffs and out of here."

"M-my pa's sword…" Hux replied, looking at the floor.

"I saw one of the men put it in here. It's the only thing I have left of him. Please…" Even Huckleberry's beady eyes looked up pleadingly. A familiar sadness crept up on Joel — what he wouldn't give for something of his dad's. Joel tossed the keys into Hux's hands.

"Get Pest and yourself out of your cuffs." He gripped the crowbar with both hands.

"I'll get your father's sword." Aiming closer to the lock, he jammed the crowbar between the crate's locked lid and lip. Rather than pressing down, he gave the prybar a swift heel stomp. The crate's iron catch-plate, and the attached padlock, splintered off the lip and hung limply, no longer resisting as he opened the crate. Lifting the lid off revealed a messy assortment of confiscated knickknacks, a sword hilt sticking out from the bundles of cloth.

It was closer to the size of a dagger than a proper sword, leaf-shaped, clearly crafted for thrusts and stabs. Even with the blade sheathed, Joel could tell the weapon was excellently balanced, a latent benefit of his [Shortsword Proficiency]. He resisted the urge to take it, considering there weren't any other available weapons and how useful a weapon might be. The manacles clicked open and chains clanked onto the ground behind him.

"Found it." He tossed the shortsword to Hux's freed arms, a grateful smile plastered on the boy's face.

"There's no one in the courtyard and the gate's latched from the inside. But they might be back soon, so you'll have to hurry. You're both absolutely sure you can get out by yourselves?" They nodded at him, and he motioned at Huckleberry to show him the way. The hamster leaped off of Hux's arm and the others broke into a sprint. Huckleberry showed off his own speed, his buckler-as-pauldron rattling softly as he went. He only stopped briefly to look around corners, which Joel was grateful for.

It was much easier to miss a peeking hamster. Considering how well Huckleberry navigated the labyrinth of stacked goods, he must've thoroughly spent the days of Hux's captivity scoping out every path. Whiskers twitching in the air, the rodent waved him on. It was determination that Joel could appreciate. By the time they reached the shaft, at the expansive warehouse's center, Joel had decided that it would've better been called the pit.

A pulley occupied each corner and hung over the hole, ropes disappearing into the darkness below. The capstan could be pushed to pull the hidden lift below, but it was obvious how loud and slow that'd be.

"Any bright ideas?" Joel asked Huckleberry, who was also peering down with paws on hips. He knew the hamster couldn't understand him, so it was surprising when Huckleberry shrugged ambivalently.

"Guess not," Joel sighed. As if that was his cue, Huckleberry saluted sharply and darted off, back the way they'd come from.

"Thanks, I guess." Joel circled around the shaft, searching for any method down, while his hand hovered over his Slipstep cloakpin. He knew better than that. The magic item's [Shunt] spell could take him thirty feet to a spot that he could see and nothing was visible past twenty, even with the lantern light's help. He looked at the corded ropes, wincing as he realised the best way to descend. Taking a few steps back, he took long strides, launched himself from the edge, and caught the thick rope.

He held himself to hook his feet and, once secured, he shimmied down carefully. It took a moment for his grip to adjust, and the first twenty feet was an easy climb. The next twenty feet made Joel question if he'd made a prudent decision, sweat stinging his eyes. He paused to wipe them, as he looked at the dark below. That was the real issue. With everything past ten feet nearly pitch black, it was impossible to see how much further he had to go, which only served to unnerve his weakening grip.

He closed his eyes briefly. [Ability Score Upgrades], [MIGHT +50], [Confirm]. A small relief came over him as it became easier to hold himself up.

"Keep moving, don't freeze up," he whispered, pushing past the diminished ache in his arms. It wasn't a bottomless pit after all, he just had to keep climbing, not wasting his strength. He continued his descent, careful and controlled. After what felt like scaling a mountain, the lift finally emerged. He dropped himself at the last five feet, landing as softly as he could.

The shaft's bottom opened out to a cavernous room that reminded him of the mines; scuffed wooden floors stretched far, all the way to a door, which was cracked open with soft light spilling out. Joel kept crouched, his eyes darting around. Instead of crates or barrels, the underground storeroom had enough cages to make a zoo jealous. An assortment of familiar strongbox carriages lay scattered, each one's door open like a hungry mouth.

He approached them quietly and peeked to check that none of them contained Hottor, or anyone else enslaved. From what he could tell, there was no one here, but he couldn't shake the dread that hovered around. He went to the far side of the room, cautious to not bump into anything, and crouched near the ajar door. Words overheard made him freeze.

"... would like to apologize," said a raspy voice, sounding like it belonged to a chainsmoker.

"As compensation for now, we offer this one until we can resupply. Of course, this time it'll all be on the house. Slightly bruised but quite skilled."

"It's most disappointing," replied a soft, singsong voice.

"You wouldn't happen to be selling to any one of the chamber? Or colluding with some renegade rebels? Now that'd be even more disappointing." Even from here, Joel could pick up the playfully dangerous inflection, reminding him of Bhas' tone. After a pause, the sweet voice continued.

"It does seem like you are selling quite well."

"No, no, no. I promise you things have not been going well. That's why we couldn't deliver. As for any other buyers, you can be rest assured that the Dominion has our top priority as our foremost client."

"Talk is so easy, but your lot was the first to break faith. Now you offer us lesser wares, those which we do not require. Adaptation is what we seek." The bassy voice was followed by the soft clink of something heavy hitting the floor.

"But the Lord Emperor forgives those who repent."

"T-t-the Lord Emperor forgives," the raspy voice sputtered.

"A-and I promise you a new shipment once things cool down here. If our compensation displeases you, we still have a mutant if that'd be preferred…?" The deep voice laughed.

"Our orders were strict as to what we were to bring. Hm, I could use the exercise though. But I think your little pet behind the bars would be better work."

"Do we have time for such needless fun?" asked the singsong voice. Joel heard the deeper voice grumble but couldn't make out anything more. More importantly, if Hottor was down here, it sounded like the dwarf might be there. He just needed to adjust to a better angle to see into the room, through the sliver provided by the partly opened door. He kept low and shuffled slowly. The angle allowed him to see the source of the raspy voice, but not the two others.

The human man was small in stature, five feet tall at best, with a neck so wide that it gave him the appearance of a tan, oversized egg. A very flustered egg. He stood at the far visible end of what Joel had mistaken as a room. It looked more like a loading station, one which the sweaty man looked like he could be the supervisor of. The far back was a carved tunnel, wide enough for a sizable cart to pass through, that veered off to the right.

"I assure you that nothing of this sort shall ever happen again." the man said, bowing his head.

"Would you prefer your compensation bound or unbound?"

"We won't take him with us. And with the state he's in, he wouldn't even work well as a punching bag. Perhaps we could offer him the Lord Emperor's mercy," the bassy voice said with a disconcerting jovialness.

"The dwarf doesn't deserve it," sighed the soft voice.

"We've been in this sorry excuse of a town long enough. We move."

"Ifsra, I don't care if you have her backing. We're both Executors, both baptized and chosen. You do not order me around." The silence hung in the air, and the man was clearly alarmed and glancing between the two.

"Now you've done it." said the singsong voice, even softer now.

"Babbling like an amateur." The voice became louder and clear.

"You, at the door, I'd say it's rude to eavesdrop." Joel froze with surprise as the panicked man turned, wide-eyed, to him.