Published at 7th of February 2023 10:58 am

Chapter 136: Intercepting The traffickers I

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"You did what now?" The elf looked at Merlin's hand with a concerned expression.

"Her soul. I ate her soul." Merlin corrected.

"Doesn't that mean that you can produce the poison yourself?" The elf asked. "In which case, it's not a matter of there cannot be any more, but just that nobody besides you can make it. Correct?"

"Not really." Merlin shook his head. "I may have her soul and her abilities, but my poison is nowhere near as potent as hers, and it lasts for a few minutes at the best of times."

Merlin retracted the rose bud back into his own body.

"I see." The elf said as he lowered his guard somewhat.

"Well, putting that aside now." The elf cleared his throat and got back to business. "I've got a couple missions for you to do."

"Alright, lets hear them." Merlin seemed excited.

"This may need some explanation first." The elf took a seat and instructed Merlin to do the same.

"You've provided us with a lot of useful information, even helping work towards the identity of the demon that took Cecelia away from me." As Merlin took a seat, the thief lord began speaking. "Within the information you've given us about the corrupt noble organisation in Orchomenus, we found a few links with corrupt nobles here in Macedonia, and when we researched those corrupt nobles further, we began finding that a few of them have links with the demon, Kilo."

"We've identified several nobles in strong positions that have been supported by, and have provided support to this being who calls itself Kilo, and we believe that is why its cult had grown so quickly from nothing." The elf continued explaining. "The main issue is, once we defeat the demon and free Cecelia, there will be a power imbalance within the city."

"The demon's puppets will attempt to take over her position, each with their own agenda. We're fortunate now that the demon doesn't seem to be interested in anything other than this Rig person." The elf said. "And Cecelia herself wouldn't be safe from these corrupt nobles if they were allowed to live. Those corrupt nobles may try to blackmail her with all the cruel things the demon had done, or even outright try to kill her... So they must all die before we free her, for her safety."

"I've picked out the first target, and it seems to benefit us both." The elf said with a smile, "It'll solve your scrying issue too."

A quest notification appeared before Merlin.

┌───────────────────

[Hidden Rare Quest]

Cutting off the spider's legs: Madame Hartlace.

The thieves guild leader has given you a mission to assassinate Madame Hartlace, a corrupt noble who is well loved and quite famous amongst commoners for her supposed philanthropic activities.

In the public eye she is seen as a saint, for she donates to the poor and even runs an the Hartlace orphanage.

However behind that veil is a wicked and morally bankrupt woman who utilises her orphanage as a cover for her human trafficking ring, of which most of her wares seem to be children from the orphanage itself.

The thieves guild leader believes that Madame Hartlace is one of the corrupt nobles within the oracle's grasp, but before he can take her down, he needs to cut off all her limbs.

She is known to be slightly paranoid, most likely due to the fact that even the smallest leak of her criminal organisation would be a major blow against her public image. She doesn't seem to be too fond of being spied on and seems to have invested in magic items to counter scrying.

The added benefit of taking Madame Hartlace down first would be acquiring magical items that would protect you from the oracle's attempts at scrying, making assassination of the other nobles easier.

Failure to finish her off and get away undetected will result in dire consequences.

Eliminate Madam Hartlace.

• Warning: This quest involves severe criminal activity.

• Warning: The completion of this quest will cause unpredictable changes within Macedonia.

• Warning: The completion of this quest will cause Serpent-Bearer Kilo to become wary.

• Reward: 1000 EXP, 1200 Thief Soul EXP, Ring of the Undetectable

• Failure: Become a wanted criminal, -50 familiarity with Serpent-Bearer Kilo.

└───────────────────

"Human trafficking... Child trafficking even. What scum." Merlin muttered as he slapped the accept button. "Where can I find her."

"Calm down for a second." The elf interrupted him. "I said there were a couple missions."

Merlin took his advice and began listening once more.

"You wont be able to reach her just yet, she has too much public support and is too paranoid to be left unguarded. But there is a way you can weaken her defences." The elf began explaining. "We've uncovered rumours of a shipment that is supposed to happen soon, headed towards a noble's estate in Megalopolis."

"My spies are still extracting information, but it should be happening in the next couple days." The elf continued, "If you intercept the shipment and free the captured victims, that could deal a major blow against Madam Hartlace's reputation."

"I would like you to hide in waiting and free the captured individuals before they reach Megalopolis. Make sure that none of the slave traders are left alive." The elf said, "I'd recommend wearing a mask."

Another quest window appeared before Merlin.

┌───────────────────

[Rare Quest]

Intercepting the traffickers.

There seems to be rumours of an illegal trafficking shipment headed towards Megalopolis. The thieves guild leader has asked you to intercept the shipment and free the victims, making sure that none of the criminals are left alive to warn Madam Hartlace.

Failure to finish them off and get away unrecognised will result in dire consequences.

Intercept the slave caravan, kill all the traffickers.

• Warning: This quest involves severe criminal activity.

• Warning: The completion of this quest will cause Madam Hartlace to become increasingly paranoid.

• Reward: 700 EXP, 600 Thief Soul EXP

• Failure: Become a wanted criminal.

└───────────────────

"Of course, I accept." Merlin said, accepting the quest. "Do you have any more details, or should I just be in the area and attack any wagons that appear on the road?"

"I should have more information in a matter of hours, but for now all we know is that the shipments will be made using covered wagons with the crest of a three leaf clover." The elf explained. "The crest belongs to a lesser noble family that Madame Hartlace uses as a cover for her illicit dealings."

"The noble family seems to have been blackmailed into servitude." The elf mumbled, "We aren't exactly sure why yet, but we believe it to be related in some way to their eldest daughter's drug problem."

"Regardless, that's an issue for another day. Please set out and get prepared. I'll send an informant out to find you if any other information comes up, but for now just look for covered wagons with the clover crest." The elf said as he stood up. "I'll be preparing a few more tasks for when you get back. Good luck."

Merlin stood up and the two of them began walking out of the room, Merlin started walking back towards the main room, but the thief lord had turned and gone down a different route with the vial of vampire blood in hand, he was most likely delivering it to his team working on a cure.

Back to the main room, Merlin gave a few waves to a few of the drunkards that seemed to have woken up from their drunken stupor as he left.

Merlin waved goodbye to Fae as he left the shabby looking tavern, and once he was out in the slums once more, he flipped up his new hood and made his way back into the main part of town.

'He asked me to wear a mask, what stores here sell masks?' Merlin thought to himself as he ran around looking for a mask.

He eventually came across a shop dedicated to noble clothing, and a part of that catalogue seemed to be masks for masquerade balls.

As he entered the store, he surprisingly didn't get any rude glares, it seemed his cloak looked nice enough for him to not be treated as a commoner, unlike the basic clothes underneath.

Merlin looked around the store for a little while, browsing the wears. Most of the masks were the half face variety, and amongst those most had a handle. He was looking for something that would cover the entire face and had a strap, but so far all he could find were half face ones with a strap.

He was beginning to give up hope when he saw a full faced mask that seemed to have been shoved to the back and hidden. behind other masks.

As Merlin reached in and grabbed the mask to take a look at it properly. Once he got a proper look at it, he thought it was kind of cute. It also happened to be a full faced mask with straps, so it met all his criteria.

Merlin inspected the item, causing an information window to appear.

┌───────────────────

[Decorative Owl Mask. (Common)]

An oddly shaped porcelain mask, it somewhat resembles the face of a barn owl.

└───────────────────

Merlin approached the counter with the owl mask in hand, and as he placed it on the counter the man standing behind it gave him a strange expression, clearly judging Merlin's taste in fashion.

"How much is it?" Merlin asked.

"Six silver." The cashier said while staring at the mask.

Merlin took six silver out of his inventory and placed it on the counter, leaving him with only fourteen silver left.

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