Chapter 21 – Stench

When I received my new Spotter, I was actually surprised that it was a male Halfling of all things. With the negative boost to agility and the obvious challenges with the short height, I didn’t expect the race to be viable candidates to take up the role of Rogues or Archers. I actually feared I had a bad roll, and my underling would somehow have reduced stats. After pulling up his character sheets and comparing it to my Elven Spotter, I can’t really notice any differences. I probably should have read up on this earlier, but it doesn’t seem like NPC races have the same racial restrictions that players seem to have. It’s an odd thing for the developers to add to the game, and I could see a ton of people complaining about how this affects their immersion or whatever, but I for one welcome the possibility.

If the game was always trying to min-maxing even their NPCs, then I would probably quickly grow bored of seeing nothing but elven archers, dwarven warriors, or dark elf rogues wherever I go. Having a wide selection of races performing any task feels a bit more lively in my eyes. I sometimes wonder why they even bothered adding the racial differences for us normal players at all, but I suppose it’s because that’s what gamers prefer and are most familiar with. We are an odd bunch, us gamers.

The Spotter arrives much like the others, dressed in filthy rags and with a suspicious glare at everyone around him. I sometimes wonder if the game developers even know what subtlety even means. If a single regular player ever witnessed the event, I’d be officially screwed. There is no way I could ever pull off this stunt in a tavern visited by players, or god forbid, anywhere in the Market District.

Regardless, here he is and I have a heist to prepare for. I would love to just head off to do the job at once, but I need to be pragmatic about this. Since the Halfling spawned in as a level one underling, I need to at least have him reach level two so I can equip him with a better weapon. Luckily, killing a pack of level five rats is enough to level up the much weaker underling in a spectacular fashion. Therefore, my underlings and I are already back in the abandoned warehouse and climbing back down into the sewers.

Fifteen minutes later, my underlings are tending to their wounds while I have my elven Spotter hand the crossbow over to the Halfling. I spent some time considering which one of my underlings should have what weapon, but I decided that it just makes way more sense for the smaller guy to have the crossbow. Even though it doesn’t make any real difference, it just feels more natural.

The Alchemist’s laboratory isn’t too far away from the tavern, but that’s not too surprising considering the majority of the actually intact buildings in the district reside in this general area. The district is rather big, and the majority of shops, establishments, and trainers are all in need of proper housing to serve their function, so, naturally, everything ended up clustered together in the northern part of the district. It’s convenient, and every player loves convenience when it comes to performing tedious tasks like selling loot or gaining new recipes or quests.

The Alchemist’s shop is a bit off the wandered streets, so my underlings and I need to navigate between a small cluster of shacks to make our way towards his location. It doesn’t take long for us to find the general location of where his shop is supposed to be, and, to my dismay, I soon realise I wouldn’t even need specific descriptions of which house is his. The entire neighbourhood reeks of some repugnant smell that reminds me of rotten eggs and a dead cat. If this is what I am to expect from my Poisoner in the future, then I might actually want to consider replacing her in due time.

I’ve mentioned it before, but I can’t stand bad smells. It’s the main reason I dislike staying down in the sewers, as well as why I didn’t recruit a single zombie minion when I played as a Necromancer. I do what I gotta do though, but this is definitely a valid reason for me to try and finish this job post-haste.

We begin by scouting out the neighbourhood. The job description didn’t lie, as there are very few passersby in the area. Actually, I don’t think I’ve even seen a beggar or a street urchin for the past ten minutes. People avoid this place like the plague. I can’t say I blame them, but really though. Is this just to lower the job difficulty? I hope so, but still. It’s ranked medium difficulty, so there has to be some challenge.

The Alchemist’s laboratory is a two-storey building surrounded by a series of loosely spaced shacks that offer good maneuverability around it, with several nooks and crannies to hide in. It has a slanted roof and windows reinforced by thick wooden bars with shutters on them. There’s no way I could even get a peek inside without breaking something. I could try and force my way through them, but it would make a hell of a lot of noise. There are two doors, one at the front and one at the back. I sneak up and have a better look at them, and they look quite sturdy. I suppose we could try and pick the lock, but I am loathe to try it. According to the job description, the Alchemist should be home. If we make any loud noises, the job could go to hell before we even know it.

Analyzing the situation, I try to pin down what my main challenges are in this job. First of all, I already know the Alchemist should be home, therefore, he is a liability. I don’t know if he is combat capable or in some way be able to call for reinforcements, but I shouldn’t take a gamble on it either way. Hell, for all I know, he might actually have hired a few bodyguards in there. That possibility pretty much puts my plan of forcing our way in there using pure brawn into the garbage bin, which means I should try and do this sneaky-like.

I went over his entire building, and it seems to be well fortified. No doubt to try and keep people like me the hell out of his home. There are only two ways in, which also means there are also only two ways out. I only have a single Cutpurse, so in a best-case scenario, I can only pick a single lock. Considering how fortified this structure is though, there is no guarantee the owner hasn’t bolted the door shut from the other side.

Well, I assume they do. Why wouldn’t they? It’s common knowledge that when you live in a really shady neighbourhood, you’ll get all your shit stolen if you leave your door open. Considering where I now live in real life, I have pretty much adopted this way of life myself. So the question is: how do I get in without the Alchemist raising the alarm?

I take another walk around the building, trying to see if I can spot something that will jog my mind. I’m starting to see why this mission is ranked medium difficulty. This place is locked up tight. Perhaps I should stash the majority of my underlings by the back door, while I try to forcefully break in the front and hope the Alchemist panics and tries to escape out the back? It’s not a clean tactic, but it’s the only thing I got.

I am about to divide up my underlings when a knocking sound cuts through the air. Confused, I turn my head and notice the knocking comes from the front of the building. Crouching, I do my best to try and sneak around a neighbouring shack, getting a good look at what the commotion is about. Peeking around the corner, I spot a shabby looking elf knocking at the front door forcefully. Is that a Beggar? What is he doing? I frown as I stare at the man.

A short moment later, the door opens, and a human man wearing a leather apron and glasses appears in the doorway. Taking a moment to size up the homeless elf, he grunts. “You’re late. Do you have the sample?”

The elf smiles weakly. “Yes, sir. I do, sir. Right here, sir.” He extends a frail arm covered by scabs. I’m too far away to spot what it is exactly, but I think it’s a small object covered in a piece of cloth.

“Took you long enough.” He sneers at the elf, grabbing the item and carefully inspecting it. “If you want to get paid in the future, then you’d better be on time.” He glares at the elf, moving to close his door.

“I’m sorry, sir.” The beggar reaches out and grabs the doorknob. “Could I have the money?” He gazes at the alchemist, a look of hunger in his eyes.

Snorting, the Alchemist reaches his hand into a pocket and pulls out a silver coin. “Take it, you worm. Tell your friends not to delay on the next delivery. I’m working on some sensitive samples, and I won’t tolerate it if a bunch of rats like you ruins it.” He wrinkles his nose in disdain. “Now, begone!” He says before he slams the door shut, followed by a loud thumping noise of a heavy object slamming into something.

“Shit…” I mutter. Did he just bar the door shut? I frown. That seriously messes up my plan to kick the door in.

That encounter gave me an idea though. If he expects regular deliveries, then why can’t I masquerade as one of his contacts? The door has no peephole, so I don’t see how he’d know it’s not one of his delivery boys. Could there be some other sign though? Like a special knock or something? It should be if he has half a brain… Or maybe I’m just making this more complicated than it is? What happens if I knock on the door when he doesn’t expect anyone to arrive? How will he react if I do something wrong?

Questions race through my mind. A part of me just wants to say ‘fuck it’ and try knocking on the door. It’s just a game, how complicated could it be? Then again. Wouldn’t that be far too simple? When I think back on it, the jobs seem to have some hidden triggers to make the jobs more convoluted and difficult. I still shudder at the thought of Davvins’ widow returning home early on my last job.

Deciding to act on the side of caution, I decide to wait for a new beggar to arrive. In the meantime, I need to come up with the most ideal spread of my units. Even though I will try and force my way through the front door, I should still have the backdoor covered. Since the front door is where the action is going down, then that’s where I need to focus my efforts. Therefore, I bring my original three underlings with me over to the front, while sending the low-level Hoodlum, Spotter and the Poisoner to the back. I have my Spotters take up scouting positions, while my Hoodlums find hidden locations as close to the doors as they can.

For my own part, I slither into a small back alley across the street alongside my Cutpurse. We find a nearby wooden crate and move it in front of us so we won’t be as easily spotted. I’m not particularly happy about sitting still and wait for a long time with no guarantee of any gains, but I suppose I need to adapt to that mindset if I ever want to succeed. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t mind spending a long time grinding monsters for minimal gains, but I need to have that little gain. The carrot, if you will.

As the minutes drag on, I get more and more antsy. I assume another homeless person will show up eventually, but I don’t know if that will be five minutes from now or five hours. It’s also starting to get late in the evening, so I should consider putting my status back to appear as online soon. Anna is a weird girl, but she’s good fun to talk to. Even though I don’t really have to, I find it refreshing to have someone to have a conversation with every now and then when I’m ingame. God knows that I need it. Spending three months in the middle of a forest grinding monsters was really starting to affect my psyche. I’m not designed to be anti-social for such long periods.

I think it takes about twenty minutes until I notice some movement from down the street. Craning my neck around the crate, I spot another homeless person, a gnome this time, walking towards the Alchemist’s shop. The gnome walks with a small limp, and I notice a small object in his hand covered by a handkerchief. Stepping up to the door, the gnome raises his fist and knocks on the door in a practiced pattern.

*Knock, Knock… Knock.*

*Knock, Knock… Knock.*

“So it was a pattern…” I mutter, mentally patting myself on the back for not acting rashly earlier.

It takes a short moment, but there’s a small shuffling noise from the other side of the door. When it eventually opens, the Alchemist once more appears. “You’re late. Did you bring the sample?” He grunts.

… Deja vu moment…

Before the beggar can respond, I spring into action. From my hidden location, I immediately start casting ‘Calm’, targeting the Alchemist. It only takes half a second, but a small translucent mist shoots from my hand towards the Alchemist. The small mist surrounds his head, gathering around his eyes.

“Huh... Wha…?” The Alchemist mumbles, swaying on his feet.

“Move!” I hiss at my underlings, watching them run towards the enemy. “Cheap Shot!” I shout, activating my newest skill.

The gnome turns around in surprise and opens his mouth to start screaming. Before he can utter a single tone though, the Cutpurse pierces his throat with a quick stab. The skill-enhanced blade causes massive damage to the poor beggar, and I can literally watch how the beggar’s health points are draining away. Wide-eyed, the beggar desperately tries to breathe, but a small trickle of blood is all that leaves his mouth. He tries to turn around and flee, but it’s already too late. The Cutpurse has a firm grip on his dagger which is still embedded in his throat, restraining the gnome’s movements.

Behind them, the Alchemist is still swaying back and forth, seemingly drunk from my spell. He doesn’t even react when my Hoodlum charges in from the side, tackling him through the door. I see the pair slam into the doorframe before they fall back into the building. It only takes a few seconds, but I’m soon greeted by a couple of windows.

[You have slain Gnome Beggar(1). No Experience gain.]

[You have slain Human Alchemist - Theodor the Alchemist(5). Gain 25 experience.]

[Calm has leveled up to Novice 4.]

“Yes!” I cheer at the success. That went much better than I’d dare hope for. I was really worried I wouldn’t be able to reach the Alchemist before he became alert and managed to slam the door shut, but my choice in specializing in Illusion magic paid off big time.

From my earlier experience, I noticed that my ‘Calm’ spell has some sort of narcotic effect on NPCs if I cast it while they are unaware of me. Since the spell lowers his perception of the Infamy levels of anyone around him, he couldn’t perceive my Hoodlum as a threat until it was far too late. My Illusion magic is perfect for this job, and it went off without a hitch.

“Grab the body and pull it inside!” I order my Cutpurse while I point at the dead Beggar. I run over and help by grabbing the arm of the beggar and together, we pull the body into the shop, closing the door behind us. Turning around, I’m almost knocked off my feet by the intense smell slamming against my face. “Holy shit!” I curse as I immediately pinch my nose. The smell is ten times worse inside. How the hell could he even work under these conditions?

With a firm grip on my nose, I take a look around the room. It’s a dimly lit living room that seems to have been turned into a storage room of some kind. There are boxes stashed everywhere. On top of the table, the chairs, and there’s even a crate chucked into the fireplace. Some stairs are leading up to the second floor, and I can see the kitchen that seems to have been refurbished into a makeshift laboratory at the back.

I can’t hear any movements inside the house, so I don’t think there is anyone else here. That is good. So far, the job has gone flawlessly, and I don’t think the difficulty rating would account for there also being armed guards inside the house. To make sure though, I have my Cutpurse sneak upstairs with orders of scouting out the place while I bring the Hoodlum with me to the kitchen to open up the backdoor, allowing for the rest of my underlings to enter.

As I enter the kitchen, I have to swallow a mouthful of bile that threatens to escape my stomach. The smell seems to intensify the closer I get to the lab. “I hate this part…” I mutter as I stumble towards the back door. Opening it, I quickly step aside as my dwarven Hoodlum and Poisoner steps into the house. I let my Spotters stay outside and keep a watch for anyone approaching the building. It’s a better use of their time as the small house can only accommodate a certain amount of people at a time.

“You two start looting the lab for anything you need.” I point at my Poisoner and dwarf. “While you join me in the living room to look through all the crates.” I tell my other Hoodlum as I quickly exit the kitchen. Normally, I would stay in the kitchen myself since that’s where the most valuable equipment and items should be, but I seriously can’t stand the smell. It’s like the game doesn’t want me to grab anything.

I haven’t heard a single noise from upstairs yet, so I assume that means the entire house is clear. I’m not certain if there are more unknown variables to this job, but I should assume I only have twenty minutes of looting until another beggar appears. While killing another one of them shouldn’t be a problem for me, I’d rather not murder half of the homeless population in the district during a single job. I don’t know what, but I have no doubt there would be some sort of divine retribution for it if I did. Besides, twenty minutes should be plenty.

What can go wrong?