--- Unclaimed Mountains---

“I'm just glad we are out of that hell for a moment...” Lydia sighed as she sat down on the bed beside Mike. The beastman was getting dressed while she only wore a towel. They had just gotten out of the shower.

It had been a couple of days since they almost lost their lives in the side effects of the parrot's battle and subsequent promotion to a legend. After that terrifying experience, traveling through the humid green hell of the mountains bordering Beta was a nightmare.

Not only was Ceres absolutely obnoxious after being promoted to a legendary bird, the climate was terrible and lifestyle magic was unable to make them feel clean, after being almost swept away by the mud flood. The stench refused to leave until it finally faced a hot shower and proper soap.

This chance came when they finally reached one of the many settlements strewn across the Unclaimed Mountains. Old towns, ruined cities, mining villages, the many conglomerates that followed the call to reclaim the No Man's Land had founded and refurbished places wherever there was money to be made.

The place they had finally reached after three days was called Emerald City because it was still situated within the green hell. Although it was far from the still existing districts, it was quite prosperous thanks to the various ore veins the Emerald Conglomerate managed to claim.

Emerald City was so well off because the three businesses that later fused into the Emerald Conglomerate had decisively left Delta quite early and taken their private armies with them. They, like a few others in the Unclaimed Mountains, evaded the tragedy of the Holy Land where many of the guilds of Delta lost their elites.

The wilderness was a dangerous place but also full of opportunity. With their troops growing stronger and the city being able to monopolize the resources in the vicinity, Emerald City was flourishing to the point they even had their own branch of the System Church.

Lydia and Mike had only found out after reaching this place since the branch had no facilities for the teleportation of people. They were only using it to trade goods with partners across the Pathworks. This way, Emerald City was largely independent from the districts. It was an option a few of the bigger settlements in the Unclaimed Mountains had opted for.

It was a safety measure. If people could come through the teleportation formation, there was always a possibility to be invaded from the inside. Whether it was outside forces from the Patchworks, or most recently Minas Mar with their ability to teleport ori humas safely. This way, it was ensured that only goods could come and leave through magic means.

Now, this sounded normal in the first moment, until one realized that this also effectively stopped people from leaving easily. This was the nature of the cities across the Unclaimed Mountains, unless one had the strength or the money, they were stranded in whichever city they were. It was no pessimism to think that this wouldn't end well.

People who couldn't leave were forced to do everything they could to stay alive. Although it was not the worst, since the system church was present, but it was not far off from it. Especially with the information they had gathered to find the girl's aunt, it was not hard to imagine what places looked like, that did not have a branch of the system church.

Emerald City had a strong defense system and a bunch of beautiful, modern buildings, like the hotel they were currently staying at. Yet, most of it was a slum, where people fixed up the ruins from the old world to barely have a place to live. One tended to forget that there were still places like this when they lived in the relative safety and peace of Minas Mar.

“I kinda feel like staying a little longer, but on the other hand, I also want to leave soon..” Lydia said with a conflicted expression. She enjoyed sleeping in a real bed and getting some relaxed time with Mike, but living this well, while directly seeing others suffer like that felt wrong.

“hrm, you are right. It's hard to relax like this;” she agreed with her sentiment. Despite the guilty tuck at their conscience, they knew that this was not their place to intervene. They were more likely to make things worse by rashly interfering.

“Let's get dressed and leave,” he reinforced and equipped his substitute equipment, which had gone through a rigorous cycle of scrubbing and washing. Lydia did the same, and they were ready to go within seconds.

“Ah, please wait, Miss Willis! Someone left a message for you in the morning!” the concierge called out as they waltzed through the lobby.

“A message for me?” Lydia asked perplexed. Who knew her in this place, that they would leave a message for her? Mike looked over her shoulder, reading the message together with her. It was only a short note.

“Lady Lydia, I know that you may not know me, but you and your companion are my only hope. Please meet me in outside the west gate around 17 o'clock. -McCarthy”

“McCarthy? I feel like I know that name. Mike, do you know who it could be?” she asked her boyfriend. Mike thought hard, he also felt that the name was familiar. Suddenly, he snapped with his fingers.

“Wasn't that the dimensional trader, or merchant? Hasn't it been ages since he cut ties with us?” the beastman suddenly remembered the man they had met shortly after the evaluation in Chrona.

“Then we should contact Minas Mar first and ask Seth, before deciding. We still have a few hours.”

it was 14 o'clock, so they still had three hours until they were supposed to meet. However, when they called, Mary told them that Seth was currently not home, but it wouldn't hurt to take a look if it really was McCarthy.

The chosen of Hestia knew well, how moody Seth had been when the dimensional merchant didn't return anymore. Mostly because epic iron or silver was hard to find in the auction house and if there was some, the quantities were low while the price was way out there to the point even Seth was unwilling to buy.

Three hours later it was 17 o'clock and the couple appeared outside the west gate of Emerald City. They waited, and waited, but nobody approached them. Had the merchant changed his mind? Was it a prank? After waiting a full hour, they suddenly got a mental call from Ceres, that ordered them to come to its position.

With a heavy sigh, they exchanged a glance and left. This was probably as much time as they could sacrifice for a slim chance.

When they arrived at the position Ceres gave them, they found the bird pinning someone to the ground. The small clearing was filled with an abysmal stench, that had even the questing beast cowering to the side.

“What is going on here?” Mike asked carefully.

~Look who I found lurking around the city. Aren't you happy to see a familiar face?... Well, maybe it changed a little too much for you to recognize? ~

The man Ceres was pinning to the ground, was hard to look at. His whole body was covered in dark, worn robes and rags. Any piece of skin visible was an assortment of warts, festering boils, and other skin diseases. He was also the source of the stench.

Mike made a step back. Lydia had the same reaction at first but observed the stranger's face a moment longer.

“Ray?!”

…

“Hubert, Hubert, Hubert, didn't I treat you well? I even gave you the freedom to wander around the city. And how do you thank me? You are trying to run away!”

A heavy thunk echoed in the small dim cell. The sound of a fist striking a body kept repeating over and over. The pain radiated through McCarthie's body, as he felt blood fill his throat and mouth. The hits finally stopped with a deep sight.

“I believe you need some retraining. I will leave that to you, Barkas.” the man finally ended relieving his anger, leaving the torture to his subordinate. Barkas cracked his knuckles.

“Look at the defiance in your eyes. I love that the most, Let's keep going until it fades, what do you think?”

Hubert could only bite the gag and swallow down his blood and tears. Just when he saw a glimmer of hope, he was cast back down into the abyss.