Chapter 165

  Split the Party

  Erin’s group had moved to a town called Hills Peak, which was one of numerous towns that surrounded the center of the Western Continent, High Rock Peak. Due to the massive amount of commerce that was happening in the capital of the whole continent, these smaller towns had sprung up around it in order to profit from the people going in and out. In some ways, these towns were much more preferable to live in, as the military forces that were stationed there to keep the order were not as harsh and active as in the capital itself. While there was more money to be made in High Rock Peak itself, a lot of people found the much safer environment of the towns more to their liking.

  The reason Erin and her companions had come to Hills Peak was due to the fact that the target given to them by Rayleen, Madeline Fryer, was staying at. Apparently, working at Golorath’s kitchen might have paid you quite a bit, but the amount of pressure and stress you had to work under was not really worth it. The tired chef had managed to get herself a small vacation just before Golorath’s celebratory feast and was spending it in a nearby town. Even though she was on vacation, she knew that if there was even a small thing wrong due to her, she would lose her life immediately. That’s why she spent her time off nearby, so she could get back to work on time.

  This proved to be the perfect opportunity to enact Rayleen’s plan. Had Madeline been spending her time at High Rock Peak, removing her from the kitchen staff would have been a lot harder due to the larger amount of military personnel. Compared to the central, the nearby towns were practically lacking any kind of law enforcement. In fact, criminal organizations and other crooks targeted these towns, while avoiding High Rock Peak like the plague.

  The much more present criminal element proved to be also useful for Rayleen’s plans, as the disappearance of a single chef on vacation could then be easily written off as her having bumped into the wrong person, thus sealing her fate. This was a fairly common occurrence in these towns, so it was unlikely that any further investigation would be dedicated to it.

  At the moment, Erin and her group were sitting at a table inside a local hotel’s cafeteria. They had chosen a spot that was far from the others in order to talk in private, so they could discuss their future plans without having to worry about someone eavesdropping.

  “So, what exactly are we going to do?” Ryle asked while taking a sip out of her soda. “Are we really going to go through with this? I get that we need to get inside a heavily guarded place and all, but the way we’re supposed to do it… It just rubs me the wrong way, you know?”

  “I understand how you feel. I don’t like this anymore than you do,” Durge said before taking a bite out of his sandwich. “Going after someone who isn’t even a combatant and just happens to work for our enemy is not my idea of an ideal plan either, but we can’t be too picky about our methods. The enemy we are dealing with is too big for us to start holding back. I’m sure everybody else here feels the same way.”

  “I don’t know… I think there is someone among us who might like this,” Zeldana said with a grin that got confused looks from everybody else but Erin, who simply looked angry. “Isn’t that right, Erin? After all, you had that whole thing with the maid from-”

  “Shut your goddamn mouth right now or I will shut it for you!” the redhead shouted angrily. This earned looks from the other patrons, causing her to blush from embarrassment before apologizing. Once the other customers were no longer paying attention to them, she continued to speak. “Zeldana’s unnecessary and terrible jokes aside, I completely agree with the fact that this isn’t something I’d like to take part in, but Durge is right. This might be our best and only chance to get close to you know who.”

  “Still, though… I get what you’re saying and all, but this just feels wrong. I get that we’re not exactly working with clean hands here, but isn’t this too much?” Ryle asked. “I mean, going after some random chef is one thing, but going after her with our whole force? That just seems overkill.”

  “That’s what you’re worried about? That we’re not playing fair?” Lexton asked sarcastically. “Are you sure it’s not your moral compass that isn’t compromised or are you just mentally stuck in some distant past where basic hygiene was a mystery? That would explain a lot…”

  As the blonde and the kobold got into yet another argument that some of the others were trying to stop, Erin was lost in thought. There was something about what Ryle had said that stuck with her.

  “Ryle’s right,” the redhead said, surprising everyone. “We don’t need our whole group for this.”

  “Okay, who the hell are you and what have you done with Erin?” Lexton asked. “The real Erin wouldn’t agree with the blonde caveman here on her idiotic ramblings.”

  “Hey! Even I can have good ideas sometimes!” Ryle argued. “Besides, it’s cavewoman and not caveman!”

  “I seriously doubt that,” the kobold said. “The lack of feminine qualities says otherwise.”

  “Why you scaly son of a-!”

  “Okay! Enough of that! I’m sure we don’t want to get kicked out of here just yet!” Erin said in a stern tone, putting an end to the argument. “Also, I’m not agreeing with Ryle because of some strange idea of fair play or whatever. What I’m thinking of is that we don’t need our whole group for a simple operation like this. Instead, we could split our forces in half. While one group handles things here, the other goes to High Rock Peak in order to make preparations there.”

  “What kind of preparations are you talking about?” Durge asked.

  “Basically, I need you guys to prepare things like equipment, gather information on the city and any possible threats we might face there,” the redhead explained. “Also, it would help if you guys can find safe places to hide or even a possible escape route for when things… You know, happen over there. It might also be good to do, just in case our “employer” decides to cut us loose, once we’ve done our part.”

  “I’m sensing that you don’t exactly trust her,” Zeldana said.

  “Should I? I’d like to hear a good reason as to why we shouldn’t tread carefully with her,” Erin said with a frown. “Let’s remember that we weren’t convinced to work for her. She forced us to join forces with her and do what she tells us to do. Once we’ve fulfilled our purpose, I see no reason to fear that she might want to “keep us silent” in the end.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “That’s a good point. I’d say there’s a really high chance that she will try to do that,” Lexton said. “People like her don’t want their dirty laundry to get discovered afterwards and want to only portray the best possible image. Since we know her dirty secrets, she won’t hesitate to get rid of us as soon as possible.”

  “B-But we aren’t the only ones who know, right?” Arkay asked in a fearful tone, worried over the idea of having to face against Rayleen and her forces. “I’m sure there are plenty of people within her subordinates who know about her plans.”

  “Certainly, but they can also be silenced, either permanently or through threats,” the kobold pointed out. “And let’s not forget that most if not all of them are basically members of her fan club. They’re probably not going to turn on her anytime soon. Unlike us, who are just temporary allies out of convenience.”

  Silence fell over the group as they thought about their current situation. Not only were they going up against one of the most powerful beings in their world, but they could soon face the reality of being hunted down by someone that was essentially their ally. It was not a prediction that was looking good for them.

  It wasn’t until t loudest member of their group decided to speak up that the silence was broken and the atmosphere was lifted.

  “So what!? Why should we be worrying about that!?” Ryle asked. “I get that she’s a tough opponent with a lot of thugs backing her up, but that never mattered to us before! I mean, haven’t we constantly been going up against people that are like that!? Why should this be any different!?”

  The others stared at the blonde for a moment, having been taken by surprise by what she had said.

  “I’d say there’s plenty for us to worry about, when it come to her specifically,” Lexton said. “You should be one of the people that knows this best. After all, didn’t she beat you with ease the first time you met her?”

  “She just got lucky! That’s it!” Ryle argued. “The next time we go at it, I’m sure I’ll beat her ass to the ground! I could probably take her while blindfolded!”

  “Yeah, I’m sure you could. And after that you would venture on to slay the terrifying monster hiding under your bed and thus save the world,” the kobold said sarcastically. “How about you drop the bold claims and simply listen those who are smarter than you? I’m sure we use terms that your tiny brain can hardly comprehend, but at least you won’t have to face an early grave due to the rules of nature itself.”

  “Shut it, scaly ass!”

  Just as another argument was about to break out, the sound of someone chuckling put a stop to it. What was really surprising was that the sound came from none other than Erin.

  “I did not expect you of all people to say the thing that I needed to hear,” the redhead said with a small smile. “Ryle’s right. We have always been taking on the toughest challenges and opponents, so this is no time for us to back down all of a sudden. We just have to do what we can and win.”

  “You know you make it sound easier than it actually is, right?” Zeldana asked with a smirk. “But I do agree with your overall sentiment. Even back in the day, the people I worked with and I fully knew that the people we were taking on were not going to be an easy challenge. We still went on to fight them, despite the odds, as we knew that it was something we just needed to do.”

  Durge and Arkay didn’t say anything. Both simply nodded in agreement with smiles on their faces.

  “...I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” Lexton said in a voice full of disbelief. “All of a sudden, the moron of our group has become the voice of reason? How the hell did this happen?”

  “Hey, just because she isn’t too smart doesn’t mean she can’t be right,” Erin said with a smile. “The thing about her is just that instead of speaking from her brain, she speaks from her heart.”

  “And you also have to remember that even a blind bird can sometimes find the worm,” Durge added. “It might not be often, but it can still happen.”

  “I’m not sure why, but for some reason the support you guys are giving is really starting to piss me off,” Ryle grumbled.

  Lexton didn’t seem to be convinced yet, as he continued to stare down in disbelief. Erin took note of this and decided to say something she thought the kobold needed to hear.

  “Don’t get me wrong, Lex. I am completely aware of the danger we’re in. I’m sure the others are as well. We’re just pointing out that this isn’t too far from what we have been doing this whole time. We have constantly gone after opponents that were far above us, so we shouldn’t be backing down now. Especially when this is what we have been aiming for all this time.”

  “Yeah! And if you’re feeling scared, you can just run away!” Ryle said with a grin. “No one is going to blame you for it!”

  “Who is running away here!?” Lexton asked angrily. “I was just shocked that anyone would take the words of an imbecile like you seriously!”

  “Ha! I guess that goes to show you that even you can get things wrong!” the blonde said. “Who’s the imbecile now, huh?”

  “I mean, it’s still you, Ryle. There’s no changing that,” Erin said. “You just happened to say the right thing this time.”

  “Oh, thanks a lot!” Ryle whined.

  “Anyways, I still think we should split up the group temporarily. I’ll stay here with someone else to handle things with the chef,” the redhead said, ignoring Ryle’s complaints. “The rest will go to High Rock Peak to make any necessary preparations.”

  “Alright. Sounds good enough to me,” Durge said. “Who will stay here with you?”

  “I was actually thinking that Ryle and I would be more than enough,” Erin replied. “Not only is she strong, but very quick on her feet, too, so she should be perfect for this kind of a job.”

  “Sure… I’m perfect for this, but I only really don’t wanna do it,” Ryle muttered unhappily as she sulked. “Why do I have to take part in this? I’m sure Lex or Zeldana would work just fine!”

  Said to people were about to chastise the blonde for her complaining, only for Erin to suddenly get up from her seat and walk up to her. They expected her to get angry and possibly yell at Ryle, but nothing like that happened. Instead, the redhead put a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder and spoke to her in a sincere tone.

  “Because we need those two to do some very important work at where we’re going, okay?” Erin said. “All of us have things we can do that others can’t, so they need to go there ahead of us. In the meantime, I need your skills here. I know you don’t like this, but you’re the only one I can count on here. Can you do that for me?”

  Ryle was taken aback by the sincere request from the redhead. She had expected to be shouted at and told to do what needed to be done, but the heartfelt explanation and plead from her friend was completely unexpected to the blonde.

  “Aw shucks! How can I say no when you put it like that!?” Ryle said with a proud grin on her face. “Of course I have to do it now! Not that you had to ask in such a manner… We’re buddies, right!? I’m always ready to help!”

  As the blonde was too caught up in admiring herself over accepting Erin’s request, Zeldana leaned towards the redhead to whisper to her.

  “Is there an actual reason as to why you want her to partner up with you on this?” the elf asked. “I get that her physical abilities will help out a lot, but I’m sure anyone here could have been just as useful for a job like this.”

  “Well, I’d still say that she’s the best suited for the job, but there is one important reason that made the choice obvious for me,” Erin whispered back. “I figured I should separate her from Lex for a bit, so that he can work in peace. Besides, I doubt she could help any of you anyways.”

  “...Good point,” Zeldana mumbled.

  “Now that our two groups have been decided, was there anything special you wanted me to work on?” Lexton spoke up. “Or should I just work on replenishing my own equipment for the battle in the near future?”

  “Two things, actually. For starters, I was wondering if you could find more magic stones from me to use with my sword,” Erin explained. “Those things can be really useful and I could use more of them.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” the kobold said. “What’s the other thing you need me to do?”

  “I’d like you to prepare some way for us to disguise ourselves,” the redhead said. “Considering how often we’ve been identified by the assassins that have been chasing us, they most likely know our faces. Having some way to help us blend in with the general population and stay out of sight could be really useful.”

  “I’m way ahead of you on that. I actually recently began work on wigs and other things that will change our appearances to the point that we won’t be recognized any longer,” Lexton said with a smirk. “I doubt even you can recognize us when we meet.”

  “I’ll be looking forward to that,” Erin said. “Although, if we can’t recognize you, how are we going to meet up again?”

  “Don’t worry about that. I’ll have something prepared that will surely point you in the right direction,” the kobold said. “You just focus on getting the chef that’s staying here.”

  With their plans ready, the group split up to move on to their tasks. While most of the group got into their van and drove off towards High Rock Peak, Erin and Ryle stayed behind to go after Madeline Fryer.

  Neither of the two liked the sort of work they were tasked with, but they still knew that it needed to be done.