HC: Pacifist | Ch. 231 - Ruth (Patreon)

Roth instantly recognized the knowing asymmetrical smile, the tanned skin, and the freckles. Even though her clothes differed from the explorer’s attire he’d seen in the portraits, this was unmistakably the same person.

Ruth wore a golden shawl and long golden earrings. Her skirt was long with golden fringes to match the ensemble. Her sleeves were pulled up as if to tell others that despite her age, she was a hard worker ready for a fight.

“So you are the zoomorph Soros speaks so highly of.”

This is your first time interacting with Ruth, the owner of White Onyx Inc. Charisma bonus activated.

Congratulations! Your charisma has reached 700.

[Well Spoken] has been upgraded to [Grand Persuader].

[Charm] has been upgraded to [Irresistible].

Ruth has read Soros’ letter and forms a positive impression of you.

+300 reputation with White Onyx Inc.

You’ve jumped two tiers in friendship in one single move!

+1 charisma.

Roth was dizzy with all the notifications for a moment, and before he could make sense of what had just happened, Ruth was already coming for him. “Come here, love,” she said, holding him into a hug. “Welcome. Welcome. Welcome.”

“Oh! Hi. Nice to meet you,” he answered awkwardly. This woman was treating him as if he was her grandson or something. Just what had Soros written in that letter?

“Please. Have a seat. You’re welcome here. Please,” she said as she poured some tea. “Try this. It’s my very best tea.”

After meeting this nice lady, Roth had the impression that he had gotten the short straw when he met Soros. The old man had never offered him tea! To be fair, the first time they’d met, he hadn’t arrived with a 700 charisma stat. As Roth sipped in the warm beverage, he felt all his earlier frustration melt away and almost fell off his chair when he saw what happened next.

You’ve drunk [Heavenly Tea]. Your mind becomes clearer.

+1 intelligence;

+1 wisdom.

“T-this tea…”

“Oh yes! It’s a gift from a friend in the Sky Islands. He sends me a little every year, but I’m more than happy to use it on such a fortuitous encounter.”

What on earth was happening here? She had given him a stat-boosting consumable! Just like that! Soros had been holding back on him. He was sure he’d seen a kettle in his office somewhere. Next time he went to Hilsford, he would make sure he’d give him a piece of his mind. “It’s delicious. Thank you. Can I have another cup?” Roth tried.

“Of course. Here you go.” She poured him a little more, and hoping his strategy worked, he drank it.

[Vegetarian Gourmand] effects apply. You’ve drunk [Heavenly Tea]. Your mind becomes clearer.

+1 intelligence;

+1 wisdom.

Roth grinned. This tea only boosted stats once but didn’t require any meat to be prepared. He had hoped he could have another cup and boost his stats again; sure enough, it had worked.

The lady grinned from the other side of the desk. “So… Soros tells me you’re his golden-egg-laying goose!” she said with twinkles of greed sparking in her eyes.

“You don’t say.” Oh-oh. Roth grimaced. Maybe this wasn’t grandmotherly love after all.

“He has you in high esteem. You seem to have access to a unique clientele,” she said with a wolfish grin.

Roth put the cup of tea down and prepared to negotiate. “You can come out, little Lin.”

The little kitten crawled his way out of Roth’s jacket, and it was Ruth’s turn to almost fall off her chair. Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. Soros had never met Lin, so this was probably not in the letter. With this, he felt he had regained control of the conversation.

“Such a pretty kitten,” she praised carefully.

“Sorry. He’s been cooped up in my jacket for a long time. Is it OK if he just walks around a little bit?”

“Of course, of course.”

Little Lin looked around and started sniffing the carpet, the desk, and then Ruth.

“Soros is correct. I do have access to a unique clientele, and business has been going well lately. However, before we talk business, I was hoping you could help me get a pulse on the situation in Sapphira.”

The lady’s brow raised, but she still hadn’t taken her eyes off Lin. “What do you want to know?”

“I hate slavery,” Roth said simply.

“I see.” She turned to him, and the merchant’s expression softened. “So I suppose you want to know how the whole slavery thing works, hey? And how I stay in business.”

Roth nodded.

“Slavers practically own the whole city,” she started ominously. “They finance the army, the universities, the hospital, and control most of the business in town. The only thing they don’t own is the slums.”

“Because of the local crime families,” concluded Roth.

“No! Crime families? What are you talking about? The slums are filled with good people. Honest people. Just because things aren’t as pretty as up on the top floors doesn’t mean there’s any crime here. The real criminals are up there,” she said furiously, pointing at the ceiling.

Roth frowned at the implications. In Hilsford and all other mid-grade cities of Green Country, the slums were run by crime families. It looked like developers had twisted the game on its head here. Crime families, or in this case, slavers, ran the city, and the good guys hunkered down in the slums. While Roth reached these conclusions, Ruth took a few sips of tea and calmed down.

“Anyway, slavers know better than to eliminate all contractors from the city. Sapphira is an important stop in many trade routes. If they made this place a slaver-only town, they would scare away many customers. Therefore, they tolerate our presence down here. Even though the city is riddled with slavers, not everyone agrees with them. Many businesses prefer to come down here to arrange for their cargo to be transported by contractors.”

“I see. What about the Transport Guild? Do they have any power here?” Roth asked hopefully. If there were dogs around, he wanted to meet them.

“The slavers shut down every branch of the Transport Guild in Rock Canyon and Sun Desert,” Ruth answered sadly. “They don’t like having dogs advocating for animal rights in their backyard.

“Really? That’s unfortunate.” This was bad news. Maybe this also explained a little of Ruth’s enthusiasm at meeting a broker like himself with a unique clientele. Since all dogs had been kicked out from Sapphira, he was probably the first broker she had met in a long time.

His hatred for the slavers only grew. He remembered his quest in Hilsford to catch the Gazpachos and thought about the slave market he’d seen earlier. He then thought of his mare and the camel that had written ‘help’ on the sand when he first visited Hilsford. He had to do something about this. “Ruth, how can I shut the whole thing down?”

“Uh? What thing?”

“Slavery. The slavers. What could I do to get rid of them?”

Ruth stared speechless at him for a few moments. “Are you serious?”

“I am,” Roth answered simply. It had been weighing on his mind for as long as he had known about it. “You are obviously against it yourself. I’m sure you’ve thought about this at some point.”

She bit her lip. “Of course I have. All of us here in the slums have. But the city is rotten to its core. The slavers have everyone in their pocket. You would have to turn the whole city upside down to dismantle their operation,” she hissed. “Do you have any idea of what you’re suggesting? You’d be fighting most of the city!”

“I don’t like fighting, but I just can’t see all these creatures suffering and do nothing about it. I owe it to them to at least try.”

Ruth reached out and put her wrinkled hand over his. “You have a good heart, son.”

Your heart can’t stand injustice.

+10 righteousness.

“Look, zoomorph. I respect your feelings. Many of us fight slavery in whatever way we can. But what you want to do… it’s just too big. Too impossible. I’m afraid that I can’t help you with it.” She looked left and right and then added in a very faint whisper, “When I can, I smuggle slaves out of here. But I can only do that because of White Onyx. I can’t afford to compromise it. I hope you understand.”

Roth smiled at the old lady. He was happy to have met her in such a place. “I understand. Just keep doing what you can, Ruth.”

“What will you do?” she asked curiously.

That was a good question. On the one hand, slavery seemed to be too ingrained in the city for Roth to do anything about it. On the other hand, he didn’t want to just smuggle a few slaves. He wanted to help all of them. Besides, why would the developers place such a horrible scenario if there wasn’t a way to fight it? There had to be something he could do. Even if he couldn’t completely eradicate slavery, he should be able to bring it at least down a notch.

Seeing Ruth expecting his answer, Roth sighed and spoke his mind. “I’ll find my way to fight them, then. I’ll do what I can to end this madness. There has to be a way.”

Seeing Roth’s determination, Ruth took a deep breath and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “My, my. Soros was right. You are special.”

You’ve received a new quest: [Abolish Slavery].

Abolish Slavery (Legendary)

After visiting Sapphira, you discover that most of the city is controlled by slavers. Ruth tells you about a resistance that tries to smuggle slaves out of the city. She’s impressed by your desire to uproot the whole system and free the city from slavery.

Quest objectives:

Find a way to abolish slavery in Sapphira.

What on earth? From speaking with Ruth and expressing his desire to end slavery, he’d received a legendary quest. Was it really this simple to unlock? Or had he unknowingly fulfilled some sort of secret condition to obtain this quest? He felt a headache brewing. His most complicated quest had been [Vanquish the Darkness], which had only been considered an epic quest. He needed to bring together the most powerful players in the game to bring down the Hive King. Just how difficult would a legendary quest be, then?

“Are you OK, zoomorph? You seem a little dizzy.”

Roth checked the timer and found he had already wasted several minutes in this conversation. He had to make the most of the charisma bonus. He didn’t know if Ruth would remain this helpful after his charisma came down, so he decided to strike the iron while it was hot.

“Ruth, I was hoping for your help with some information.”

“Very well,” she easily agreed.

“I’m trying to help a mare, a princess from the moonlight herd. Do you know where I can find them?”

“Oh. The moonlight herd? And you know their princess?” she said, surprised. “Sure. They roam the western plateaus. It’s easier to find them at night. However, good luck catching them. They run like the wind.”

“Thanks. I’m also looking for the dwarf vaults. Some friends asked me to go there and settle a matter for them. Do you know where I can find them?”

“I don’t know anything about any dwarf vaults, but I do happen to have some dealings with a dwarf community that lives in Forge Valley. It’s out west, in the Iron Mountains.”

Seeing how he was getting several clues to his ongoing quests, Roth tried his luck with the ones left. “What about the swamps? Or the Crow Emperor? Do you know anything about them?”

She shook her head. “No. Sorry. No swamps in Rock Canyon. No crows either.”

It had been worth a shot. “Two more things. I’m looking for a quiet place, a woodland, or a forest. Is there any place like that around here?”

She drummed her fingers on the table and answered while massaging her temples. “Rock Canyon is very dry, zoomorph. Most greenery is only found in the wadis of the canyons or near the river.”

“I see.”

“But if you want a quiet, relaxing place, you can try the university gardens. It’s pretty up there.”

Roth’s ears perked up. “You don’t say. I still have one thing I want to ask.”

He caught Ruth drumming her fingers and checking her watch. It looks like she wasn’t going to keep answering his questions indefinitely. Just to ensure he didn’t lose her, he grabbed his broker’s ledger out of his inventory, and Ruth immediately discarded all signs of impatience.

“I’m looking for a quiet place to craft. I’m a tailor and I want to find someone who doesn’t mistreat animals to gather their resources. Any recommendations?” he said while handing the ledger over to Ruth.

“Try Keith. He has a workshop on the third floor. Everything from the fifth floor has nothing to do with slavers.” She was almost drooling over the ledger.

“Alright. You’ve helped me plenty. Let’s talk business, then.”

“Good! Let’s find out why Soros loves you so much,” she said, opening the ledger.

Ch. 230 - Slave Market

INDEX

Ch. 232 - The Greenhouse