Chapter 39: Black Market (6)

"We're being followed" Siege said "Those 2 over there in the hoods, they've been following right behind us for quite a while.

"Dammit, not again. Don't look back, we don't want them to know. We got what we wanted, I'm asking the others to retreat. I don't wanna fight these guys in their home ground" Perseus then got out his amulet "Guys, I'm retreating, we're being followed and I also got the information we needed"

"Great, we are also done on our part" Nova replied "Everyone, fall back as quickly as possible, if Perseus is being followed, chances are the rest of us are being followed too"

"Alright then, we'll be on our way, we haven't made any good progress on our part anyway" Elliot said "Shit, you're right, we're also being followed"

"Should we meet up and exit together?" Dabria suggested "So that if we have to fight, we can fight them together"

"Great idea" Nova agreed "We'll gather at the west exit, it's more crowded there, we can lose them there easier"

They then closed the call and headed west. It took them a while, but with Ace and Siege good sense of smell, Perseus was able to locate the others despite the overwhelming crowd.

"Let's go to the exit, the faster we leave the better" Nova said "Emma spotted a tattoo of a red sword on one of them, and I don't want to stay here any longer to find out why they're following us"

They then rushed towards the exit, the exit itself was this brick wall that has a graffiti on it that says 'exit'. They then ran through that wall and arrived at this elevator on the other side.

"2 gold coins for a large group like yours" An old man demanded in front of the elevator

Nova then handed him 3 gold coins.

"Make it quick" he said as the group then got onto the elevator

"As you wish" the old man then immediately pulled a lever activating the elevator

But they were to soon to be feeling relieve as they then spotted a dozen of hooded men coming through the wall.

"Here come the goons" Elliot said as he got out his bow

"They're up there" Goon #1 shouted "Old man, how much to stop this elevator?"

"Sorry young man, respect the rules, once it goes up and until it reaches its destination, I will not stop the elevator" the old man said "You'll either have to wait your turn or go for the other exits"

"We're the red sword!" Goon #2 demanded "Do it or we'll kill you"

"It's against our policy and so I will stand firm by my decision" the old man glared

"You guys know what to do" Goon#1 said as the rest surrounding themselves with arcana and float

"Stop it!" The old man then raised his hands "Flying around here is not allowed, no matter who you are"

Strings of arcana then came out of his hands and attached themselves to the goons, he then pulled them down. He then summoned up spears of arcana and shot them towards the goons killing them.

"Security! Clean up on the west exit" the old man called out as several large men then entered the exit and dragged the corpse away.

The scourges witnessed the scene and put away their weapons.

"Even that old man is strong, geez" Emma shivered "I don't think I want to come down here again, they even sold elephant meat, I didn't even think that was possible"

"Remember what they said, anything is possible down here, as long as there is demands for the product, it'll be available" Nova responded

*****

The scourges was running out of the forest, they were afraid of being followed so they were

"Dammit, even our bait got more information than us" Elliot cursed "Dabria, why can't you be less beautiful"

"Sorry" Dabria apologized "But those men were creepy, and no way in hell was I going to kiss them for free information"

"We witnessed a tent that sold slaves" Emma chimed in "I feel bad for those who are stuck in those cages, but we can't break them free either, not unless we want troule"

"Well it seems like the rest of us got something out of it, but man was it expensive, a gold per question? That could feed us for several expensive meals" Nova said "And it seems like you're not alone, Perseus"

"I know, I plan on finding out who they are" Perseus responded "So please keep this list a secret from Albert and everyone else, I don't want anyone to find out"

"We will, we'll support you, lil bro" Nova chuckled

*****

"So that means they used human lives to make those pills, damn it" Albert cursed "The enforcers are corrupted too, the situation is worse than we thought. But you accomplished your missions wonderfully, we will return your money that you spent to get all this information, but we won't be paying for those meat skewers you bought though"

"What about the slaves?" Emma asked "Can't you use your resources to buy all their freedom?"

"We can, but we can't do it all at once, it would link back to us and the black market would change location again. We're also trying to find the source of who are supplying those slaves, and once we do, we'll team up with enforcers to do a raid" Albert answered "But go back home and relax for now, you deserve a bit of a reward for your hard work"