Chapter 22: Lost and Found

Billy blinked a few times. "A city? A big fething hidden city? With a dungeon?"

Greenberg took a delicate bite of his lemon before answering. "Yes, I believe that is what Manwar stated. A large ruined city hidden behind a ring of rune carved monoliths hiding it from any but the most stalwart of mappers. Generally, such ruins include dungeons. I believe finding such maximizes the bonuses you so generously offered us."

"Right. Of course. You found the dungeon-infested, ruined city that I hired you to find. I knew it was around here. Good job. I'll authorize accounting to pay out your bonus. Have it to you just as soon as we get into the city and start pulling loot out of the dungeons." If Billy could finance it all himself without Vern, he'd have a better claim to a higher percentage of the take.

Manwar and Monger allowed Greenberg to handle negotiations. He was much, much more annoying to deal with. Manwar got bored with arguing and Monger could be bribed with beer. Greenberg didn't mind negotiating for hours until he got his way. "That presents a small problem. I believe our pay was for scouting the area, plus significant bonuses for areas of interest that we found. Both jobs are done. So, our payment is due now."

Billy had no time for this. Layla was on the way, and Vern right behind her. Finding a city was just what he needed. This changed his boasts into reality and put him in the driver's seat. 'Regional Manager Billy' had a nice ring to it.

"Sorry boys, just don't have time for this. ACME is a huge corporation with a lot of moving parts. You'll get paid. Now where did you say this place was?"

The elf looked at his compatriots. "I'm sure the two of you are fatigued, we've tirelessly worked for days to compile these maps. Perhaps you should go take a room at the Inn and sleep a bit? I will take my rest here talking with Mr. Billy. Catch up with you in a few hours."

As the two humans went to catch a nap, Greenberg turned back to Billy: "Why, we hadn't said anything about the location of the city. But rest assured, it is more or less than 100 miles away in a direction of North, South, East, or West, or a combination of those directions." He patiently waited as Billy worked through that.

"Dammit, I could just hire more scouts, find it, and then you get nothing."

Greenberg took out a book, and began a charcoal sketch of a doe and fawns. "Oh, but you already established that you don't have time for that. So, hiring new scouts is out of the question. I, on the other hand, being of an immortal race, am content to spend days discussing the situation with you."

It was the drawings that broke Billy. They were cute, and he hated looking at cute. In the end, he had to dip deep into his available cash to pay the scouting fees, on time bonus, and a larger bonus for the city. For the dungeon bonus they agreed to a compromise.

"Damn, that was quick." Manwar and Monger were still eating breakfast when Greenberg walked into the Inn.

"A man with no time should not bargain with one of the immortal races."

Greenberg tossed a heavy bag of coin on the table. "Payment in full for the job, plus bonuses for on time and a significant ruin. We negotiated a compromise of sorts on the dungeon bonus. It is highly in our favor, but will see us paid after the dungeons first loot is brought out."

Manwar tucked the coins into his pack. "Which is fine, since we have no clue if there even is a dungeon. All right, time to go show the nice man who paid us the gold where his city gates are. I'm really wondering what he does after that."

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Instead of taking Ozzy over to the Tavern, Ben and Rolly took him down to the stream and helped him out of his bloodstained shirt and apron. The leather butchers apron cleaned easily. It was heavily oiled and at this point, couldn't be stained any worse. The shirt was a loss, but Rolly had thought to bring one of Ozzy's spares. After cleaning the shoulder, Rolly simply cut the arrow out and then healed the messy wound until it left nothing but a slight scar.

Clean and healed, they headed to town. The extra gear was sold at the general store and brought in a nice bit of cash. None of it was usable by the Contract Workers except some of the boots and socks. With a bit of money to spend, they went to the Inn and ordered a large breakfast. Afterwards, Rolly and Ozzy headed for the barn to start rebuilding the corral. Ben headed back for a job assignment Billy had for him. He was anxious. Finally, another courier job.

"There you are Ben. Ozzy alright?"

"Yep. He's fine. It wasn't deep. We got it all sewed up and he's heading back to work. The buffs you have us on really help with the pain tolerance, don't they? And Ozzy has always been tough as nails. What do you need done? Rowan Keep again?"

Billy handed Ben a sealed packet. "Yes. Drop those off at Rowan keep, and pick up anything waiting for us. Plus, you have a passenger to bring back. A woman named Layla. She's another ACME area manager that will be my new assistant. Can you do me a favor Ben? I really want to get the place looking a bit better before she gets here - get her place to sleep set up, finish repairs from last night. So, take your time. I really don't want to see you back here until the end of the day. Can you do that for me?"

"Not a problem boss. Beatrice and I will take it slow going there and not hurry coming back. Not that a donkey cart goes too fast in the first place." When Ben got over to the livery stable, he found Matthias coming down out of the hayloft. "There you are, just in time, go take a look."

Scrambling up the ladder, Ben saw stacks of hay bales. A narrow opening led to the back of the loft. There he saw a narrow doorway that, if closed, looked like part of the wall. Behind it was a small room, about 12’ x 8'. Not much was in it except for a bed, a work table with chair and a wash basin.

Mattias yelled up. "It's not much, but better than where you sleep now. All yours if you want it. A warning, Beatrice snores a bit on cold nights." Ben was happy to take the room, and thanked both the old courier and Beatrice for their kindness. "Naw, think nothing of it. I want you getting better at the job so I can retire proper. You can't do that sleeping in a little hut. So, stay here from now on and don't be shy about coming in and using my place to relax or read in the evening. I've got some more books you'll need to study up on. These ACME fellows didn't do much to prepare you for the road. You get back tonight, I want to start going over area geography before they send you on longer runs."

Beatrice seemed eager to get going, but when she noticed the whip coiled on his belt, she paused. A long slow look at the whip and an angry shake of her head made it abundantly clear that if that got used on her there would be hell to pay. Ben hitched up the cart and headed down the dirt road to Rowan Keep.

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Billy had most of his crew following along behind his scouts. He wanted the path to this hidden city well marked. As the scouts moved north from the village trees were felled and bushes removed. They'd improve it later. For now, he just wanted a path that was easy to follow. After less than a half hour, the scouts stopped in a clearing.

Manwar pointed off to the north. "It's this way, but now it gets tougher. You're going to feel an inclination to take a different path. Then as we get closer it will get worse and worse. We managed it due to our highly efficient scouting methods."

"Lemons," said Monger.

"Lemons and secret elven ranger tricks," insisted Greenberg.

"And deer pictures," added Manwar with a grin.

Billy was less than amused. "I don't care if you sacrificed your grandmother to a squirrel demon, just get us there."

The method was tedious and yet simple. Greenberg moved forward 50 feet with the other two holding his hands and blindfolded. Then they turned around and faced away. The compulsion lessened. Then Greenberg brought up the rest of the group two by two and the workers started clearing the trail back towards the village.

After about a half an hour, Billy felt he had ants crawling all over him and he really needed to check on something back in the village. Anything! He could barely keep his thoughts coherent. "Shit, is it like this all the way around the place?"

Manwar nodded "Yep. When you aren't aware of it, it's subtle as hell. We walked in circles for a couple of days until Greenberg solved it. Then we used the feeling to map the area, getting closer and closer. On one circuit we found what we think is the front gate. Taking you there now. Warning, it gets worse."

Dexter had a question. "Do we have to keep closing our eyes when the elf leads us up? I keep tripping on roots. Seems silly." The others nodded.

Monger laughed. "Go right ahead, see if the pack of you can move forward. Be like a bunch of chickens running around."

Dexter shrugged and moved forward, followed by the rest of the group to stand next to Greenberg. "Not seeing what's so difficult." He started clearing back the way they had come.

After this revelation, a little experimentation showed that none of the Contract Workers were affected. Billy was hit hard and finally had to be carried over Monger’s shoulder. The scouts could tell no difference from earlier. It was difficult, but they could push through. By noon they had cleared a path and arrived at a small clearing dominated by two massive megaliths. The pointed stones were nearly 14' tall and about 4' wide at their rounded base. They rose to rounded points on the top. About 10 yards separated the two stones. A line of the smaller runestones lead off to the West and East through the dense forest. It was difficult for Billy or the scouts to even look at them. Greenberg could see several ruined buildings beyond the gates. Several of the workers moved up and described what looked like some ancient city of tumbled stone buildings.

Cham and Jon looked at each other before racing for the opening. "YOLO!"..."FIRST IN!" As they moved between the Megaliths, the huge stones glowed brightly, revealing blue and silver- tinged runes. Upon their first attempted steps into the city both Cham and Jon were obliterated by strokes of lightning from the sky. The thunder alone knocked the rest of the group off their feet.

Manwar dusted himself off. "Yeah, was going to discuss that minor problem, but I'm sure the visual effect is a better warning of what happens."

Monger laughed. "Yeah, and it stings like hell. I tried three times and never got past those rocks. But there you go Mr. Billy, one ancient city just oozing dungeon possibilities."

Billy was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Screw it. Tomorrow’s problem. You're right, I've got an ancient city with a dungeon." Turning back towards Sedgewick he considered. "Jorges, you got some experience laying roads?"

Jorges nodded. "Yep, built about 6000 miles of Roman roads back in EQO2 when they ran the "Founding of an Empire" zone for a couple of years. If you want a straight shot back to Sedgewick, I'll have it dug out by tonight. This crew can clear and move dirt like machines. I'll start on the gravel and stone pavers tomorrow."

That suited Billy just fine. "You're in charge. Get as much done as you can and go late. I'll have food waiting for you at the tavern afterward and we'll run lunch out to you." Finally, something was going right.

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In the mountains of Tharn, the initiates tending to the north bell tower whimpered in fear as the golden bell at its summit rang for the first time in a thousand years. Its peals echoed down the valleys, alerting the monasteries that evil was loose in the world.

In the Temple of Eternal Vigilance, the 8th flame turned black and oily smoke stained the pristine ceiling. Brother Morton ran to notify the Order of Inquisition, but as he turned to the door he saw Inquisitor Diego was already there. His stern face showed nothing but determination. "It is as I have dreamed. Gadobhra has been found. I will be going north. Have Captain Gabriel round up the order of Paladins, including this plague of new recruits we've been saddled with. Let's see if they are still willing to serve the light after encountering true evil."

In the headquarters of Momco, currently located in an abandoned brewery near Wulfsburg, a messenger ran in. "Message from one of our operatives in the North. Acme found something big. The Chairwoman has Timmy moving north with a squad but wants backup for him."

"Screw back-up for the brat. Granny is still trying to polish that little turd into a replacement for dear, departed Sonnyboy. Send two merc squads north under Brandon. I want whatever ACME found. Steal it and claim it. Make sure he has adequate supplies and claim markers."

Acme may have found it, but it belonged to Momco, just like the rest of the world.

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