The Insider System

Chapter 347: Outburst

"Is that where we're headed?" This was the first town since the one they had first seen which they had ignored and the fact they were headed right for it made him think they had been headed for it the entire time. "Yeah, it's the closest big city to the Metal Domain so I think they'll have enough food to spare."

They got an answer to Fendis' question from the guard who was really the only one who knew the answer so Donny didn't have to share his guesses. Taking advantage of the fact the guard seemed willing to speak, Donny asked a question of his own. "How long do you think it will take for you to convince them?"

"A couple of hours at the most but if I am unable to we'll just buy as much as we can using the small amount of gold I have with me. It won't be enough to last us a long time but it's better than nothing." Donny was a bit relieved to hear they had some gold because as they got closer to the town he had started to think there was no way they would get to leave with a giant amount of food for free.

When they had first left he had been on board with the plan because he really didn't see any way around begging for food but the trip had been long enough that he started to wonder if it was realistic. The Earth Domain was close to the Metal Domain and their people were friends but they were just asking a single town for help so they might not get the help they wanted.

If they instead headed to the center of the Domain and asked all of the Earth Domain for aid they would most likely get a yes but the amount of time it would take to get there was a bit too long because of the size of the Earth Domain. They would then have to wait there as word of them spread which was an unknowable amount of time and then add time back and he wouldn't be surprised if it took a week for them to return to the fortress with the food.

As they came to a stop the platform they were on disappeared into the ground and the guard turned to them and said. "You can all follow me but try not to interrupt even if it seems to be going poorly." Donny was fine with that since all of them interrupting each other would just get in the way so he nodded before following behind the guard towards the city.

It didn't take long for them to start drawing attention once they made it into town because everyone was able to recognize the armor of the Oracle's guard even outside of the Metal Domain and before long a group of local guards came towards them to ask what they were here for.

"We're hoping to talk with whoever is in charge of the city." Like they had been told none of them talked and let the guard handle getting them to the person who was running the city. It didn't take long before they were in a tea room in the castle in the center of the city because of the status a person who was closely related to an Oracle carried.

"You all can sit if you'd like, just be careful of the area that's blocked off behind the couch. The floor was damaged by thieves around a day ago and it's still not been put back to normal." Wanting to see if there was a hole or something Donny looked at the floor behind where they were sitting but when he didn't see anything he guessed the damage was on the other side below them.

"You won't be able to see it. Now let's get to business, what did you need to see me for?" Donny appreciated the mayor's ability to get straight to the point because they were in a hurry to get back so when the guard didn't just ask straight out for food he wanted to face palm. "You said a thief was here, did they get anything important?"

"Mainly just knick knacks but it's still an unpleasant feeling to know someone could have come into my room last night and sliced my throat. But, that's not why you came, so let's move on." Donny completely hated thieves because of the years of fighting them off because of his brother and would have probably shared his experience to make the man feel better if the guard hadn't told them to be silent during the meeting.

"Well if you're looking for someone to track these people down we would be willing in exchange for as much food as you could spare." It was very obvious the mayor found this offer kind of odd but after a few seconds it seemed he was on board because he asked. "What do you need so much food for?"

"I don't want to get into it but an army of people." This was all the guard had to say for the mayor to stop asking questions and make an offer to them. "I wont have you go after them because I already have someone on it but we need someone to protect the city because our mage isn't here and he's usually the one who deals with the problem the city has. If you're willing to watch the city tonight and there's no loss of life by morning I'll give you half of what is in our stores."

"This sounds like a good deal but I would like to know what we're going to be protecting the city from so I know if we're up to the task." Donny liked that they would be working for the food instead of begging for it but he did worry the ones back in the fortress would have to fight off a raid while starving.

"It's hard to explain but I would be surprised if you haven't heard of it vaguely in the past. Let's just say it's a lingering problem that has plagued the city since the disappearance of the Demigod that ruled it in the past. Did that jog your memories?" Hearing What the mayor said he didn't stop himself in time and asked. "Is this Shallow?"

Everyone gave him an odd look because of his sudden outburst but soon they all remembered the name of the city they were in because stories of the odd happenings here that used to circulate in the past. "That's right, I know our name has fallen off a bit since Hampton found a way to keep the, let's call them phantoms to stay underground at night, but the problem isn't solved and with him gone tonight we need all the help we can get dealing with them because I don't think the guards are truly up to it."

After all of this was said it didn't take long before the guard to say. "This sounds like a deal we can make. When will the attacks start?" Donny could have answered this question because he was very interested in what was going on here in Shallow in the past with it having to do with a Demigod and knew almost every detail there was to know but he wasn't supposed to be saying anything and cutting off the mayor would be rude so he kept his mouth shut.

He was actually kind of surprised at how long it took for him to notice where they were but he guessed it was in the back of his mind since he was thinking about getting the food. "As soon as the sun starts to go down the light level in the city will fall enough that they'll start to appear in places like allies but they're unable to move at that point so it's easy to destroy them. The real problem will be after the sun is fully down."

Donny could feel the obvious question form in all of their minds at once and wanted to answer it before they could even ask it but he let the mayor take care of it. "Before any of you ask, normal torches don't really help. The light has to be from the sun or the formation Hampton made to protect the city at night."

Donny wanted to ask if he could see the formation but once again stopped himself because there was no way he would have the right affinities and the formation itself might be a secret they didn't want to share with just anyone. "Alright if we have time would you mind if we ate something none of them had had any food in a couple of days."

"Of course I'll have them bring you food right away, feel free to wait here for it to arrive. I'll come back after you're done eating." After the mayor said this he left the room leaving all of them to finally speak after so long of being unable to speak. Not wanting to miss his chance he made sure he was the first to talk. "Sorry about my outburst."