HC:Pacifist | Ch. 70 - The Baldwins (Patreon)

The familiar figure of his sponsor came down into the lab as an angel from heaven.

"Drake! It's you! You're here!" Roth ran toward him and embraced him.

"OK. OK, now," said Drake. Roth felt him patting his aback and felt like a lost puppy for a moment, then finally broke off the embrace. He found Drake's eyes studying the lab around him and finally landing on the alligator. The alligator kept busily repairing the drone without paying heed to the new arrival.

"Are you sure this is a safe space?" Drake asked without taking his eyes off the cyborg.

"Yes, I was the first player to discover it. You're now the second to know it's here. Did anyone follow you?"

"No." That was good enough for Roth. In or outside the game, if Drake said no one had followed him, he believed him.

"So... what do we do now?" Drake had told Roth that he rather reveal his plan to him face-to-face. The wait was killing him.

"Here is what I'm thinking, lil' Roth. This Loki fellow has a lot of connections everywhere, right?"

"Sure."

"You also mentioned that he's number 10 in the rankings. Right?"

"Exactly."

"That means that at least nine behemoths are more powerful in the gaming industry than Loki! The plan is to find one of Loki's enemies. Someone powerful enough to shield us from him. We find something they want and offer it in exchange for protection."

"Do you have someone in mind?"

"Preferably someone in the top 5." Roth gulped. He had previous experience dealing with some of these guilds in New Earth. They were part of a well-oiled machine that raked in billions yearly. IronIre hadn't stood a chance whenever they faced off against them. Drake continued.

"At the same time, we also have a witness and some evidence of foul play. We will try a double-pronged approach. By allying up and weakening Loki, we should be able to ensure your safety. The question is... what can we offer one of the great 5 in exchange for protection?"

"Wait... you haven't figured that part out?"

"You're the gamer, lil' Roth. Not me. I've never played anything. Weren't you a big shot before serving time in the slum?" Roth was speechless! Here he thought that Drake had everything figured out, but it turned out that it was wishful thinking.

"I'm a gamer, but these are the top 10 guilds we're talking bout. They have thousands, if not millions, of members, looking under every rock in this game for two years. What do you expect us to offer them to shield us from Loki? What can we give them that they don't yet have?"

"Calm down, lil' Roth. I know that it seems daunting. But our survival depends on it. Even though these guilds are powerful, their life is not on the line. Yours is. We'll have to think of something. I'll help you."

Roth, for the first time, realized something. By lining himself up with Roth and his family, Drake was throwing himself in harm's way and pitying himself against Loki and the Pegasus guild. That meant that he was betting his life on this too. He sighed. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Besides, Drake was a competent man. With his help, perhaps they could think of something that would make the top 5 notice them. Having someone he could trust inside the game would go a long way.

"I don't know how the game works, lil' Roth. Is there anything of value you have to offer the guilds yet?"

"The most valuable thing I possess in the game is my race."

"What is it?"

"I'm a Zoomorph. I can change between different forms that give me bonuses."

"Is that valuable here?"

"It is."

"Valuable enough to ensure your safety, your mom's, and your brothers' and their families?"

"No..." Roth had only been playing for a month! He did not know what to offer the top 5 to get in their good graces.

"Listen up. We must become so valuable that the top 5 will be fighting all over us. Come on, Roth! You have to think of something. This is your element, not mine!"

Hearing this, Roth paused. "Weren't you the captain of a mob family?" Drake silently consented. "Drake, I'm doing this quest... it involves stopping a crime family. That's your element, right?" Drake's brow raised.

"There is a mafia here? Go on."

"Three crime families are fighting for control of the slums. I have to stop one of them."

"What's their scheme?"

"What do you mean?"

"Money? How do they make money?"

"All I know is that the Gazpachos have a protection racketeering scheme. The Raviolis control the cyborg union." Hearing mention of unions, Drake jolted upright and started furiously pacing.

"Unions... Unions... Are there any other unions?"

"Mario?"

"Uh?" Answered the alligator in his digital voice.

"Are there any other unions in the city?"

"Hmmm... Just the cyborg one." Drake flashed a brilliant smile.

"Are there industries inside the game? Like construction or whatever? Are there businesses?

"Well, players can have something called professions. It enables them to pursue a craft. You have jewelers, blacksmiths, carpenters, etc...."

"OK! So there is a player-based workforce. Do they have unions?"

"Why would they?" Drake kept pacing.

"Roth, you know that my days of mobbing are over. But being in a mafia is a lot like running a business. I have an idea I can try. If it works, it can create something that guilds would be willing to fight each other for.

"OK."

"It's not something we can pull overnight. Patience and discretion will be key. This will be our base of operations. From now on, this is where we meet. Make sure that no one else knows about this place. What crime family are you trying to stop? Is it the Raviolis?"

"No. It's the the Gazpachos."

Drake smirked. "Great, go do that." Drake's enthusiasm was contagious. He was feeling increasingly excited with all of this.

"Any hints on how to take out a crime family?"

"First, study their organization. Work from the bottom and try to find the top. Study their schemes. Take away their money and then flush the administration out. That's it." That's basically what Roth had thought of doing.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to try cozy up with the Raviolis and your alligator friend over there."

*

The auction house was the first stop Roth had wanted to make when he entered the city. He had spent the last days of his time in the Green Woods dreaming of exceptional skills, completing his Woodlands equipment set, or making a fortune by flipping the markets, buying cheaper things, and then selling them at a higher price. By the looks of it, by the time he got to the auction house, he would have spent all his hard-earned gold on information and guides.

After seeing how invested his friend was in the crime families running the slums of Hilsford, Roth had bit his tongue and forked out a whopping ten gold to buy an online guide on the inner workings of the Gazpacho family. Even though it was very pricey, the information was incredibly useful.

"Introduction to the Gazpacho Family

Thank you for purchasing this guide. In it, I explain the structure of the Gazpachos. The crime families are one of the most popular factions to gain popularity within the city for the following reasons:

1) They award special skills to their members, regardless of class;

2) They are easier to befriend if you have any evil alignment, AKA most players;

3) They look after their own. You'll have a safe space within the city;

The Gazpachos are one of the three families that run the slums. There are also the Raviolis and the Beanies. They're at eternal odds with each other. Remember that although many of the benefits of each family are similar, each has at least one special skill you can only get from them.

The Gazpachos offer the [Intimidate] skill, which is helpful to both warriors and rogues. Here is the description:

Intimidate (Rare)

Skill description: By threatening countless innocents, you have learned the subtleties of fear.

Skill effects: Active. You can cause a [Fear] debuff. Depends on level difference and charisma.

You lock yourself out of several questlines by being friends with the Gazpachos. See Appendix A for a list of the quests that are blocked to you if you befriend this family.

Roth was a bit annoyed. Being friends with a crime family seemed to give very cool rewards! It almost felt like crime paid off. He wasn't planning to join the Gazpachos, though. He couldn't bear to racketeer old merchants, even if others said this was just a game. He was reading the guide to understand his target and complete his quest.

Structure

The family is organized into associates, soldiers, captains, and the administration. To enter the family, you must complete quests handed out by family associates. You can find a list of the associates that give out the quest to enter the family in Appendix B. Afterward; you're in. As you progress in quests, you will keep climbing the ranks of the family and unlocking better and cooler rewards.

From how the guide was written, Roth guessed that the writer was a soldier of the family. He didn't say much about captains, only hinting at the administration's existence. To complete this quest, Roth had to find who in the organization had information on the officials that were on their payroll.

Roth went to Appendix B to look at the associates and where to find them. He noticed several could be found in a tavern in the slums called the Baldwin. It seemed to be a common hangout for the Gazpacho mobsters. That's where he had to go. He decided to ask his guide for help in finding the location.

"Moldy, do you know where the Baldwin's is?"

"Yeah. It's two turfs that way. Gooey's crew runs the spot."

"Can you take me there?"

"I'm sorry. That's out of our territory. Just keep heading that way, and you'll find it."

"Thanks!"

Parting ways with Moldy, Roth ran toward the tunnels beneath the Baldwins.

*

Josh studied all the windows in front of him. He had to say that this race was much more fun than anticipated. Even though he was at the bottom of the pyramid, something was always going on to keep him entertained. It reminded him of some strategy base-management games he'd played when he was younger.

He sat still in his base, carefully managing the harvest of resources and expanding his empire. Ever since he had turned into a parasitoid egg a week ago, he had already doubled his sphere of influence in the sewers. Hardly any players came this far into the sewers beneath the commercial district. It wasn't a lousy hunting spot, but the smell threw most of them away.

Anyway, who would in their sound mind trade questing out in the open green prairies of Green Country to lurk around in dark stinky sewers? The best thing about becoming an egg was the sensory isolation from the outside. Thanks to that, he couldn't feel the stench around him anymore.

His orders had been to lay his egg here and immediately abort any missions if a player spotted him. Two days earlier, he'd come closest to one such situation when a straggler appeared close to a ratan nest out of the blue. He wondered why a player would come so far out into the sewers. Even though he had already lost two of his minions and had been very close to conquering the nest, he had aborted immediately and ordered his wounded soldier back.

He already had control over five of the ratan nests down here. He wanted to get hold of a snake nest next, but they were proving to be tricky adversaries. They had found this suicidal tactic in which they sacrificed two of their own to get his infected minion under the grinder of the gatorbots.

He looked at the guide carefully written by Loki. If things went well, he could change into a hatchling in one week. It would be too late for the city by the time he transformed.

Ch. 69 - Roth's Account

INDEX

Ch. 71 - Toilet Diving