Chương 197: Psilocybin Eleven

"Ah, well, if it ain't the little human and her minions. Still just as hideous as all the other human spawnlings, I see." I grinned as I saw a familiar (and somewhat ugly) face.

"I don't see you winning any hob-goblin beauty contests anytime soon, Dregs," I said.

"Or are wrinkles, a bad smell, and crooked teeth a winning feature for your sort?" Dreg's eyes narrowed.

"Don't 'your sort' me, little monster. I'm not sure you're so pretty yourself." I blinked quickly, letting my eyes moisten, then I brought my shoulders in, stared at the ground, and let my lower lip just a little while I puffed my cheeks a smidge in a pout.

"I'm ugly?" I said in the most sincere, pitiful voice ever heard in these parts. Dreg's entire face contorted in disgust.

"Tits of the dead gods, what have you been learning? I thought you were at least an honest sort of killer." I snorted, dropping the look as easily as I'd put it on. Figured it wouldn't work that well on someone like Dregs. Though I had a suspicion that he'd felt some of it.

"Honesty doesn't suit my line of work," I said before half-turning to gesture to the girls behind me.

"You know my friends?"

"I've met most of you minions," he said.

"Friends," I corrected. He gave me a flat look, one that said that he knew just how much that concept was truly worth to me.

"Sure," he said.

"But I can't be bothered to remember the names of every human child that wanders around here." I shook my head at that, but maybe he was telling the truth. It wasn't like I'd met many other hobgoblins to compare notes with. I glanced up. The sky was predictably grey, and it was a bit on the cooler side. I wasn't sure if global warming was a thing in this world, but it felt like it should be. The seasons were starting to blend together a little. It was late spring, more or less, but it felt more like late winter.

My attention dipped back down to Dregs.

"So, got a minute?"

"Maybe," he replied before he leaned back against the wall behind him. At some point he'd pulled a knife and he was using it to scrape the inside of his nails clean. I think that was supposed to be a message of some sort.

"What do you want?"

"I'll be showing something to your boss in a minute." I nodded to the firehouse he was up against. It looked pretty quiet today, actually. A few younger men were milling around, and there were some guards about, but the place was settled in.

"Thought I might show it to you, and maybe Gary, if he's around."

"Hmph, yeah, he might be. This actually worth getting him out here for?" I shrugged.

"I came all this way. You can't imagine how valuable my time is."

"Pft. Humans value their own damned selves too much, and each other too damned little. Yeah, I'll get Gary. Stay here." It took him a solid five minutes to pop over and get Gary. The man came out of the firehouse looking a smidge dishevelled, like he was in dire need of a haircut and maybe a few hours of shut-eye. Still, I didn't see any injuries on him. Just lots of hard work, I figured.

"Hey hey, if it isn't my favourite pack of mushroom merchants. And their little boss... man? Lady? You know, I thought it'd be easier to tell when you got older."

"I'm wearing a dress," I said.

"It's hiding knives under there," Dregs said. I pouted, for real this time. He was right, but he didn't have to say it out loud.

"I'm trying to look like someone you'd trust to do good business," I said. And a smart little suit would be way too expensive and they looked awful if they weren't tailored correctly. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"Sure, sure," Gary said.

"So, what's this you wanted to show us? Got something new to sell? Found a way to spit two mushrooms on the same skewer?"

"I might steal that idea," I said.

"But no, it's this." I looked around, making sure that I wasn't too obvious about it, but obvious enough that Gary and Dregs caught on. Still, us showing off mushrooms wasn't anything too bizarre. We were the mushroom-sellers. Nothing weird about it. Someone would have to have a pretty decent skill to know what I was about to show from afar. I tugged the side of my bag open, then pulled out a small jar, one filled about halfway with [Dreamveil Fungus].

"Girls? Go, uh, check out the firehouse for a minute? Yeah?" The girls looked at one another, then there was a collective shrug before they wandered off.

"Don't want your minions to see this?" Dregs asked.

"More like... the less they really know, the better." I was pretty sure they were all loyal to me, but loyalty only went so far. Enough money and I'd be tempted, enough pain and any secret would come out.

"Do you both have some sort of poison-resistance?" I asked.

"Wouldn't tell you if I did," Dregs grumped. I took that to mean that he definitely had something of the sort.

"These are... technically not poisonous. They're chemically addictive, however."

"What does that mean?" Gary asked.

"Beyond the obvious."

"It means that if you eat one, you'll want another. Not you, mentally, but your body. You'll crave it, and that'll affect your subconscious. You won't be able to do anything but think about the next time you have some. I don't know what the long-term use effects are, but I imagine that they're not great."

"And you went and grew them?" Dregs asked.

"I cultivated them on purpose," I replied. I was a little proud of what I'd done here.

"That's messed up, kid," Dregs said.

"I thought you might be making poisons and the like. Heard about your last big job and I'm smart enough to put two and two together. Didn't think you'd be working on something like this. This won't kill a client." I shrugged a shoulder.

"No. But it might ruin someone anyway."

"Who're you planning to ruin, though?" Dreg asked.

"Right now? No one in particular. But I'd like to get this out there, distributed. These should be somewhat less potent than what I can make. I've worked out the basics of a deal with the Union to take care of distribution." Dregs grunted.

"Never liked that kind of thing. Been in a few smaller cities that had issues with things like this. Not mushrooms, but poppy extracts and the like. It turns people into husks. If no one steps in and does something, then it can mess up a community."

"Sure," I said.

"And that's bad? It also makes a lot of money, gives people a lot of control, and messing up a community can be pretty decent work if it's a community you're not fond of. Softer than barging into homes and cracking knees, yeah?" Dreg's face twisted, but he nodded, conceding the point.

"I can see it, yeah," he said.

"I'm not sure how fond I am of the idea. Feels like it's not something the union should endorse," Grey said.

"Then don't," I replied.

"I just want the union to be the go-between. You've seen my girls. We can do the growing, but we can't handle the heat if the bullies get a little too excited." Grey's brows drew together.

"Markham's good with that?"

"He signed off on it," I said.

"And we're about to deliver our first samples. I don't know if I'm wasting my time with all of this, but I'm hoping that I'm not. We can't just sell mushroom skewers forever."

"Why not?" Grey asked. Dregs snorted.

"Child's got big plans. Big, dangerous plans. They need money, and contacts, and friends in the right places."

"Sure, but you make enough to live alright, don't you?" Grey asked. He wasn't entirely wrong, there.

"I guess?"

"So, keep on with that. Get a better place, eventually, maybe out of the slums, get you and your friends educated, set up for a proper job, or start a little restaurant or something. You can live a nice, humble life and live it well." While the city continued to grow? While the people that I'd grown to hate continued to indulge and live long, prosperous lives off the backs of the rest of us? While Feronie wept?

"I'll think about it," I said.

"Anyway. Know of a way to test these? I bet Markham will be asking you to sign off on it anyway."

"We'll take a look," Dregs said.

"Maybe even a taste. Does this work on hob-goblins?"

"I wouldn't have the faintest clue," I replied. But I hoped it did. 🍄︎🍄️🍄︎