I managed to get some crucial information out of the guild member after using more "gentle persuasion."

The Cerulean Shield is pushing their influence on more cities, and they used the lack of security after the riots to get a foot through the door. Bluefield didn't have this issue since it has an above-average amount of enforcers.

Or it could be that the Cerulean Shield didn't care about Bluefield. It only has to protect against dangers coming in.

Except for the color blue, their involvement in the Bluefield's protection is out of character. Their motto even

They are the self-proclaimed guardians of humanity that'll guard us against all things blue, whether from the sea or sky. Picking the one landlocked city with "blue" in its name to protect is an oxymoron.

The renegades he mentions are made of a group, majority ex-guild members, that want to sunder the Cerulean Shied. They use sabotage and insiders to try to undermine the guild.

The guild members have had troubles since they moved out into this city because of these saboteurs.

My captive couldn't give any specific instants of sabotage except for a claim of giving everyone in his barracks diarrhea last week. His superiors probably tried to keep any word of opposition secret.

Their official group has a blunt instrument in the name, but my interviewee didn't know anything more.

I also got the answer behind the lack of people out of this guy. The Cerulean Shield is impounding many people for any petty reason that could be argued as a crime.

The abducted guild member didn't have any insights into motive or reasoning and wouldn't give up any names. It was commendable to look at your torturer with fear in your heart but still, hold your tongue.

I wasn't really going to do the traditional torture. Flayed skin with salt rubs or inducing psychosis with a single steady drip of water to the forehead. It was more of a fear tactic to get this guy to talk.

Torture doesn't work without a lie detector relic, and I don't own one. Not that this guild member knows that.

I didn't activate [Prey on the Weak] because if I overload him and he passes out, I get nothing. Technically nothing is damaged when someone faints from fear. The nervous system for your heart rate/blood pressure overreacts to emotion and makes an error.

Instead of quickening the heart rate and widening the blood vessels due to adrenaline, it slows. A slower heart rate and dilated blood vessels drop the blood pressure causing someone to faint.

I wonder if I could get some ethically sourced 'monsters' to commit some experiments on. Preferably human monsters.

I knocked him out after two tries and made rob put him back where he found him. I made Duchess use her magic on him to keep him disorientated for a while when he wakes up.

She also wants some 'monsters' to test her magic on.

We leave the magnificent mansion and wait for Rob to return. If more than the expected time passes, I can always whistle.

"Duchess, I can probably take any spell you can throw. Or at least heal from it."

[...]

"..."

[Did you feel anything?]

"No."

[How about now?]

"What are you trying to do?"

[Thisss one is attempting to impose my mind into yours but is having difficulties. How did your mind get so much stronger?]

"I read a bunch. There's a library inside if you're interested."

[Noted.]

No physical injuries, no physical proof. They only saw two figures with obscured faces inside a room that would never be identified.

Rob's stealth is probably enough to bypass most cameras, and the fact that Rob managed to get someone in the first place means that there were no wards.

Even if I overlooked something, nothing ties back to me.

After Rob reappears with his mission completed, I decide to leave the city and not return. I need a better reason to stay around and stop them.

The Cerulean Shield wants to ingrain their influence in other cities so they can tax people, so be it. They are spreading what they do to other cities. Nothing I can do about it.

We walk in a completely different direction, heading to a separate manhole so we can leave the sewers. I want to pop up somewhere else, just in case.

Rob suddenly perks up, like a hunting dog spotting something. I squint my eyes and at the very edge of Rob's [Detect Life] is a group of people in hoods walking in my direction.

Do cities have their sewers patroled? They seem too sketchy to be guards of any sort.

I want to slink away, but they must've had a detection skill because one of them let loose an arrow.

Silent and quick, the arrow pierces through the darkness, but not my flesh. I don't know if it was intentional since I don't think the intent was to harm me. Ropes materialize from nowhere and wrap around my body.

It's too tight to simply flex out of, but it doesn't matter as I'm not alone. One bite from Khan's serrated teeth, and I'm free. I wished I kept the disguise on, but I didn't want the mask to be connected to my tamed beasts if someone saw me walking with them.

There are eight of them, all in a formation. Three of the eight have some sort of ranged weapon. I count two bows and a crossbow. One of them has an orb, probably a magic focus. The rest have melee weapons.

They average out around level 100. Taking this fight would be problematic.

It's a standoff.

A group of people versus a lone man supported by his beasts. Depending on how you look at it, we outnumber them.

They're on the defensive.

It's too cramped for a proper fight. I should retreat. But the group probably won't want witnesses with how they're dressed. I haven't seen their faces or identifying markings, so I could get lucky.

"I saw nothing."

I turned around to leave, but the nearest member of the suspicious grouping spoke out to me.

"Hey kid, want a job?"

~

"Why are you offering some random stranger a job?" asks one of the archers to the 'leader.'

I'm assuming he's the leader since he's the most outspoken.

"Look at the guy, doesn't flinch at confrontation and has his own squadron of beasts following around him. I mean, look at that big ass snake."

"We aren't a fucking sales company or a zoo. We don't 'hire' people. We especially don't recruit someone we randomly come across in the sewer."

A different member pipes up after that statement.

"Wasn't I found in the sewer?"

The leader opens his mouth but gets shut up by the mage.

"Should we be having this conversation in front of a stranger? Especially right now?"

"Shit, ignore what I said. Unless you are actually interested-"

"Shut it. Move your fat ass."

I'm in stunned silence as this entire encounter plays out without my input. I didn't know sewer-dwelling men in cloaks were so chatty.

I gesture for them to walk past me, and they do so.

"Sorry," says the archer that shot me as he passes by.

They go into a full sprint as soon as they pass me. I barely make out that the cloaked figures took a familiar turn.

I did something stupid. I followed the figures to where I thought they were going. I take my time to create distance so they wouldn't immediately spot me if my hunch is correct.

The old rusty door I used to create the doorway to my mansion sits in front of me, embedded in the wall. There is no door knob or any identifiable locking mechanism.

It seems out of place to be here. I give the door a test, and it's jammed but not completely stuck.

It's not every day you come across something blatantly suspicious and get an offer to join them. Except for the restraining shot, they don't mean any harm.

I'm torn between leaving this city and continuing my journey to the capital or if I should see what their job offer was.

Before I could knock, the door suddenly swings open, revealing one of the cloaked men.

"What the fuck? Did you follow us here?"

"I'm here for the job offer."

"Are you stupid or something?" He looks around outside the door before turning back to me. "get in before someone sees you."

I don't know who would be able to see me without me spotting them first, but I heed his words and step inside with my beasts.

I thought that we would flood the room with our presence, but it's surprisingly spacious inside this room. The ceilings aren't tall, but there's enough room for everyone to be comfortable.

The other members were lying in wait to see who it was. I don't think they expected me to follow up on the job offer, so my presence was surprising.

My first impression of the room is that this is a hideout of some kind. The walls are covered in newspaper, and I spot a table with the map of the Prime Territories on it. There are multiple daggers stabbed into the map in different locations. What a waste of a fine map.

The leader approaches me again as I'm taking in the atmosphere.

"Hey kid, do you even know who we are or what we do?"

"Can I get a few guesses?"

"Sure, why not? I'd like to see if you can figure it out."

"Are you a cult?"

"Nope."

"A terrorist organization?"

"Not really. Last try."

"Then are you guys a group of Cerulean Shield deserters that want to reduce their influence?"

"..."

"I have a few more guesses if that's not right."

"Shut up, kid. How'd you know about us? That's particular knowledge to those with relations to the guild, good or bad."

"I tortured a guy for it. Can you tell me what the job is? I was going to leave the city, but traveling is boring."

"You did what to a guy?"

"Don't worry about it. If anything, that guy came out of it healthier than he came in."

Except for the mental trauma, if he remembers the encounter in the first place.

"..."

"..."

"Why are you so open with us? Willing to take a job from a group of strangers even knowing that we are in direct opposition with what keeps order in the town?"

"If I say my reason for opposing the Cerulean Shield is that it's the right thing to do, would you believe me?"

"No."

"They tried to extort me then arrest me. I'm petty."

"Great! I can work with that. Do you have a specific skill set that could-"

He gets interrupted by one of the others.

"I don't want to be rude, but what can he do that we can't? His beasts seem imposing, but we aren't fighting a war. They aren't the most discreet either."

"We don't know what he can do. That's why I asked. There are a few things that we need to happen, but we don't have the means to. Not with the Cerulean Shield breathing down our backs."

"Regardless, it's a safety hazard. We can't let a greenhorn come in a fuck things up regardless. Things are delicate right now. You should know better than anyone."

I decide to speak up at this point.

"I haven't seen any of your faces or heard any names. It's a coincidence that I met you in this sewer, but I don't need to stay here. Leaving is an option I'm willing to take at the drop of a hat, but getting paid to fuck over a group of people I don't like sounds very tempting. If you can tell me what needs to be accomplished, I can tell you right now if I can do that before we get into the semantics."

It grows quiet for a moment before the leader responds.

"The main issue is that we need a competent healer."

"Good. Now we can discuss the terms of our agreement."