Chapter 192: Day 404 (4) – A Fountain of Poo

“What do you think?” Clarissa asked me. I gave her a look. You expect me to have a simple answer to this mess? I might be in charge and the strongest, but she knew as much as I did.

“I think that I am going to have to take a look in that direction. To figure out where exactly the Ritualist went. Maybe. I am still not sure it is the best option. If he ran off, then he has other issues to deal with,” I replied.

“The people have been around for only 20 days. Which implies he left 30 days ago,” Naran said.

“That would make sense, leave right after an arrival once he restocked the number of hybrids he has and test subjects,” Clarissa said.

“The real question is why leave for so long?” I asked. “I mean if he wanted to grind, then he could grind easily enough without being away from the city for such a long period of time. He also knows that we would check up on him for the trade deal he pushed for?”

There was silence as we all sat there quietly trying to understand what exactly was happening with the Ritualist. I didn’t understand why he would leave his city. He needed food and supplies. Well, he could eat hybrids, he brought with him. I winced at that.

“There are two options, we either explore the zones around Heaven, or we ignore the Ritualist for now,” Clarissa said. I didn’t like either of those options. It could easily be a trap. Disappear, wait for me to show up. Spot me with a hidden monster, then ambush in the middle of the night. It would be a simple yet effective trap.

Doing the opposite and not investigating, could be a risk. The Ritualist could have discovered something useful.

“He could have just died from an accident,” Naran said. That was possible, but highly doubted that.

“The Ritualist might be many things, but he wouldn’t die like that. Impossible. It just isn’t possible for someone like that to die like a scrub,” I said.

“It would be surprising, but possible,” Clarissa said. I shook my head. It wasn’t even worth it to consider such nonsense. While I could hope he died like scrub, I wasn’t going to delude myself. He was the first human who had been my opponent.

If he died pointlessly and I didn’t kill him myself, I would feel frustrated and a lot of other things. He wasn’t my rival, but he was a competitor.

“No. He isn’t dead. We won’t assume he is dead, unless he doesn’t turn up by day 1,000 and the surrounding zones and thoroughly scouted,” I said with a firm tone.

“Then our response?” Clarissa asked.

“We assume he is getting stronger. We can take Neo Brasilia before we take Heaven. There is no rush to move on the city. Still the skill, points,” I speculated.

“There are useful skills, and it would create an outpost for our forces,” Naran said.

“And when the Ritualist comes back, they will be the first ones killed off and I doubt they will easily escape. For now, offer up the chance to the Union teams. They would also have to kill the people grinding outside the city. Less people for the Ritualist to use up,” I said.

“I will make the arrangements With the loss of Truth as a place for skill points, Heaven opening up will be jumped on,” Clarissa said.

“Just make sure to convey the risks and to retreat at the first sign of the Ritualist,” I said.

“I rushed back, to let you both know, but seems pointless now,” Naran said.

“No. You did perfectly. Better to know quickly, than not know. You want to leave tomorrow, or the day after?” I asked since it was quite late.

“The day after, early. I need a day to rest,” Naran said and finished off his water. I nodded at that. “With that, I am going to shower and get some sleep. Clarissa, Michael, good night.”

“Good night Naran,” Clarissa said.

“Night,” I said. Naran left the room, and it was just Clarissa and me once again. We sat in silence for a bit.

“You think there is another city?” Clarissa asked me.

“Maybe. The East has been underexplored. But with the Ritualist lurking out there somewhere, I am not holding my breath. My fear is he may try a rotation strategy of his own. Moving from city to city, increasing his army,” I replied.

“It is possible, but Purgatory holds a chokepoint between East and West unless he goes through the swamps. He wouldn’t be able to bring a cart. Since he will need supplies to feed himself at the very least. We have our zone covered and the edges as well,” Clarissa replied.

“Any Union teams go missing?” I asked. That may provide some clue.

“No teams have been lost, since I pulled back on the exploration to focus more on grinding and bringing back crystals,” Clarissa said and paused for a moment before continuing. “Also, the teams that survive are risk averse for the most part.”

“I can understand that. If I was any more aggressive in exploring, I would probably be dead for sure.” I let out a sigh.

“Well, don’t die. I mean it Michael. You die and I am screwed along with a lot of other people,” Clarissa said.

“Really? I thought you could survive the fallout?” I asked.

“Survive maybe. That is a big maybe. The issue is the city will fall apart as everyone scrambles for power. You are deterrent, or a symbol of authority. Your mere existence suppresses the baser instincts. Whenever you are in the city, there is a noticeable dip in people causing issues,” Clarissa said.

“Wait really?” Having that kind of effect was hard to wrap my head around.

“Yes it does. No wants to fall under your personal judgement. Not that it makes a huge difference, but people are a lot quieter when you are in Purgatory. The gambling parlors and brothels are incredibly tame. Next to zero incidents, and anything that does happen, other people shut it down quickly,” Clarissa explained and I just shook my head.

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“Come, let’s do something besides brooding in this office for the rest of the evening,” Clarissa said and got up. I got up as well. I followed her out of my office and out of my home. Four of her guards followed behind us in blue uniforms and armor.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“A comedy club has opened up. Gives people a way to unwind that isn’t gambling or brothels. For the more straight laced crowd. I haven’t been there myself, but I have heard good things. Might as well try and relax with a laugh, since we can only speculate and brood so much,” Clarissa said.

“Should I take this as a date?” I asked.

“No. An evening out with a coworker. We don’t have gold or karaoke, so this will have to do,” Clarissa replied.

“Won’t people recognize me?” I asked.

“Maybe, but it would do you good to be seen in public a bit more,” Clarissa said.

“Or the mystery will deter people,” I countered.

“Maybe,” Clarissa said as we approached a building. I noted a guards in red uniforms, but not the design of the RMPF.

“Ah, sir, uh, mam,” one of the guards stuttered as we came to the double doors.

“Just having a night out with my companion and escort. Is a table free?” Clarissa asked.

“Of course,” the other guard cut in. “Please, follow me.” We entered the building and were led to a table on the second floor of the building. Clarissa tipped the guard. A waiter soon came and she ordered drinks. I just waved my hand and told her to order for me while I looked at the crowd.

The interior building was designed like the letter ‘u’, with a second floor. The first floor had quite a number of people and there was a stage made out of tables pushed together. Drinks were brought over along with a platter of cooked food, it wasn’t just sliced vegetables, but actual prepared food.

“I can’t tell what any of this is,” I said as I picked up a green and red piece and bit into it. Sweet, yet savory, with the salt kicking in afterwards. “Good.”

“The food is getting better. Slowly but surely,” Clarissa said.

“I am impressed. This was a good idea. Much better, than brooding, getting out and about. Thank you,” I said.

“No problem. I normally wouldn’t do something like this either, but there are only so many options,” Clarissa said. The guards she brought along were quiet and didn’t touch the food. Two were standing near the wall, keeping an eye out. The other two had sat at another table next to us, drinking water, but no food.

Clarissa saw where I was looking. “They are on the clock. To keep trouble away from me. That is what they are paid for,” Clarissa said.

“Fair enough,” I said but then there was a scattering of applause as a middle aged woman came up on the stage.

“Welcome, one and all to the Pit, where comedy goes to die!” There was chuckling at that. I was never a big laugher so I just listened in.

“I am Ellie and so I was trying to get to the store the other day. There was a line of course. So I got in line and I was thinking, damn, this is just like home, queues and all,” there was some laughter at that.

“Just needed some traffic lights to and people cutting each other off to really liven things up.

“One of the soldiers was patrolling and he tripped. He got up, dusted off his uniform. Couldn’t tell if he was bleeding, since there was red everywhere.”

“All we need are security cameras to really make this a police state.”

“A Champion, what did he win? The dictatorship?” The laughs had been going down, but they died at that. I noticed a couple more observant people looking at our table. “Tough crowd tonight.”

“The only thing worse than the smell, is the fear. The Ritualist could be right around the corner, just watch out. But don’t worry, we have monsters of our own now. Now it is a proper battle. Like pokemon, but instead of pocket monsters, more rip your face off monsters.”

“Boo!” One of the audience members shouted out.

“Get out of here!” Another person shouted.

“You suck!” A third person shouted. I couldn’t hear anything Ellie said after that and she quickly left the stage before there was a riot and people started throwing things.

People calmed down, and then a man went up on stage. “Hello, I am Apollo. Anyways, I was fighting monsters in the woods, when I got a terrible case of the cramps. You know what I am talking about. The poo just wanted to come out.”

“But I knew I had to hold it in. URRR!” He made a face and let out a shout. “Just had to keep it in there. No chance to wipe out in the wilderness. Just as likely to step on some shit someone left behind as you are to run across a monster.”

“So, I was holding it in while I quickly tried to lower my pants while keeping my sword out. URRR! Then a wolf leaps out from behind a tree. I swear, my stomach and middle was all locked up. So, I kept my sword pointed straight out. Anyways the wolf leapt on it, but it wasn’t a clean it. So, it took a second to dust. But that was enough weight to force me to bend a bit.”

“Now I was holding it in for a long time. A long time. When I was forced to bend and tipped over. My pants were around my legs you see. Oh god. It all came exploding out at once. A veritable fountain right from my ass that was sticking up in the air.”

“That shit went everywhere, let me tell you!” Okay, this guy was kind of funny. Not enough to make me laugh, but enough to crack a smile.

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