Dungeon 42

Conspiracy

Chapter 193

Rather than head straight back to the Inn, Elim and Sellos met back up with Tiller and Heather a few blocks over from the church. They found a fountain to sit around, the rim providing a bench and the water likely loud enough to keep anyone from overhearing anything.

Tiller looked relieved after he explained what exactly had happened while Heather just looked bored.

“Eh? So the bastard was just selling fake goods? Lot of work and risk for not much of a pay out,” Heather said, nose scrunched in distaste.

“Right?” Tiller agreed.

“Sellos, was that only church he had dealings with? Seems like he’d want to sell to others too,” Elim asked. There were too many pieces missing to make sense of things as they were. 42 hadn’t gotten back to him about exactly how the crystal was cursed either.

“Yeah, but he was pissed about not getting a shipment. Might have been that they intended for him to sell more to others,” Sellos offered, shrugging.

“Who is they?” Tiller asked. A good question Elim had neglected to ask. He’d assumed some things based on the man having a La’Durin slave.

“Dunno, he’d got his orders back in Stromholt then left… but before this it was normal trade. This was the first time he had dealings with a church that I know of,” Sellos explained.

“Well, no worries about it. Just more to figure out,” Elim said with a sigh. He didn’t like any of what was going on, but frustration wouldn’t help figure things out faster.

“Why do you even care? Not your people caught up in any of this,” Sellos asked.

Elim paused, not understanding for a moment. As it sunk in though he couldn’t help a sigh. This wasn’t something he’d discussed even with the Lepusan. He supposed it should have come up though.

42 hadn’t ordered him to escort Ban to find his people or investigate this matter. She’d supported both decisions while suggesting caution, but he’d chosen to go on his own.

“Bunch of slaving bastards are trying to get their hooks in this place,” Elim said flatly. “So I’d argue my people are very much caught up in it.”

“They won’t chain humans,” Sellos countered.

“The hell they didn’t, even if they didn’t use a collar. Ain’t a child born that sees another in chains and thinks its natural or fair less they've been taught its so. First chain was up here, not around your neck,” Elim said, tapping his temple. His father Castor had taught him that along with the story of how slavery had been abolished.

There was surprisingly little to it. The third born prince had come into the throne unexpectedly at all of ten. Full of more piss and vinager than sense he told all his wise ministers and aids to essentially fuck off and decreed it publicly from the ramparts of his castle on the day of the coronation along with a few other choice things.

There had been a civil war over it, but the people sided with the young king and his supporters. The nobles who tried to resist had suddenly found the conscripts they’d relied on turning on them. Not many had survived.

“Puh, you’d not have lasted long where I lived,” Heather offered, laughing. Sellos shared a nod with her but Elim didn’t take it as an insult. There were plenty of places he was likely to end up dead for the right reasons and he was fine with that. Tiller just smiled approvingly.

“That aside, seems we’ll be hearing about other churches getting new ‘relics’ unless they decide to scrap this when they realize Remic ain't coming back,” Elim added.

“True, don’t imagine he was that important either. Not a bright man to walk around with a slave in this place,” Heather agreed.

“Right? Wouldn’t have noticed him otherwise,” Elim said, shaking his head.

“Huh, happy to have been of service,” Sellos said, looking darkly amused. “But what’s next?”

“Well, you can do as you like but we need to wait on my employer to look into that crystal I took,” Elim said with a sigh.

“Took? I didn’t see you- are you a skeleton too then?” Sellos asked.

“What?” Elim and Tiller asked together.

“Nah, their fleshies. I’m the only bony one here,” Heather said, laughing.

“You fucking told him?” Tiller demanded.

“Well yeah, that and everything else. Couldn’t very well make a… knowing choice? Something like that. Anyway, point is he couldn’t honestly choose if he didn’t know what he was getting into,” Heather replied.

Elim couldn’t help it and laughed.

“Elim!” Tiller said, shocked.

“She’s not wrong, even if she is an ass for not telling us that she had,” Elim said after he got his composure back. “Now, what is “everything” as you put it?”

Heather happily recapped everything she’d said, and Sellos backed her up. Elim felt his stomach drop out and didn’t doubt he’d likely gone a bit pale while listening. He hadn’t thought she’d told the man every everything, but he’d clearly underestimated her.

“Fuck me,” Elim said at the end.

“Eh, would have obliged when I was alive. Haven’t had the urge since I woke up though, sorry,” Heather offered, wagging her eyebrows.

“I didn’t-” Elim bit back on the correction. She was teasing him and falling into it would only encourage her.

“Fuck off, yeah?” Tiller chimed in with a glare for Heather.

“Just teasin ‘em. Ain’t got the flesh or the inclination for it,” Heather said, hands up in surrender even as she smirked.

“Fine, but you shouldn’t have told him so much,” Tiller added.

“Really, what's the matter? No one will believe him even if he shouts it from the roofs,” Heather added.

“She has a point about that,” Sellos offered, looking amused. “I wouldn’t believe me.”

“I suppose so,” Tiller chimed in. She seemed to have reached the point of just not caring. The milk was spilled and no amount of crying would put it back in the jug.

“She’s also right about the valley. You’ll be welcome there and it's safe enough that my family lives there. I knew when I decided to take them and it was a choice I made myself, not one forced on me,” Elim offered. His deal with 42 provided more protection than the average person had in the valley, but he didn’t think they were in any particular danger.

42 was an odd being, human in some ways as she claimed to have been once and yet still very other in Elims experience. He felt like she’d fight to keep her word if it came to that which meant a lot to him.

“But don’t feel you have to,” he added.

“Eh, I’ll keep on with you lot for the moment and think about it,” Sellos said after a moment's thought.

“Fair,” Elim agreed. Heather seemed pleased but Elim was distracted by an incoming message from 42.

[Elim,

Not sure what the actual hell is being planned, but it is not good. That item had a curse on it that would add conditions to any pact made using it as a medium. Pretty sure weddings and such count as pacts. So it seems they were going to bind anyone the church served with this hunk of cursed garbage.

Thank you for finding this, let me know if you want anything as a bonus.]

“Ah shit,” Elim swore. That was not going to be easy to deal with.