Caught and Caged

Gerard approached the closest store to the upper district. Once inside, he saw a wide array of fabric, pottery, and other fine goods.

"Hello, sir; how may I help you?" The well-dressed man behind a counter looked over Gerard's sorry state of clothes and sighed.

"Would you happen to know Esma and her lizard?"

"Lizard? Boy, I think you're mistaken. Esma has herself an archillian."

"What? You're sure?"

"She parades that creature around like a prize-winning dog, so yes, I'm sure. Scares the crap out of me every time she comes over to browse my wares."

"Thank you for your time." Gerard flicked a silver coin to the merchant.

The merchant grunted and pocketed the silver.

Once back in the lower district, Gerard set off to find the archillian.

*It can't be too hard. They're not exactly small...*

Gerard searched and questioned people in Solares until night fell. On his return to the inn, he overheard two intoxicated men talking loudly.

"Y'know, this haul was pretty good!"

"I don't know the big deal about buying monsters, but so long as those rich folks want them, I'll catch them!"

The two of them laughed and walked right by Gerard.

The idea of monsters being caught and sold reminded him of his time at the research institute, and Gerard's skin crawled; he couldn't help but stalk the two men as they walked through the dark streets.

As he tracked the men, Gerard eventually found himself beneath the city in a dark and dank hallway. Gerard smelled the indiscernible scent of an archillian. That smell seared itself in Gerard's head when he faced one in the mines of Kilreath. The men walked through a door at the end of the hall.

*I need to be better prepared for this.* Gerard backed out of the alley and returned to the city above.

After a short walk, he stood outside Hubert's tailor shop and prepared himself before stepping inside.

"Welcome back!" Hubert smiled, "Is our angel going to join us?"

*She's more like an angel than you realise.*

"No, I'm still alone. Do you have my clothes?"

"Yes, they're not cheap, though."

"Well, I'll let Gander know to tell the king about your incredible wares, and I swear on my life I will bring Sprite with me the next time I visit."

"My word, it seems I misspoke. Your new outfit is ready, free of charge." Hubert rushed off to the back room, and Gerard began to follow.

*I'm sorry again, Sprite.*

*Sorry for what?*

Gerard opened his eyes widely.

*Sprite?*

*Yes, who else would it be? I'm heading back to the inn. Now, what are you sorry for?*

"Shit," Gerard whispered under his breath.

*I, uh, meant that I'm sorry everything is taking so long.*

*That's it? Please don't bother me with nonsense like that; I'm busy.*

*What do you mean? Busy?*

Her words stopped flowing into his head.

*What is she up to?*

Gerard stepped into the dressing room and smiled widely. His worries about Sprite vanished as he looked over his outfit.

Hubert stood beside two mannequins. On his left, the mannequin wore a fancy green coat that shimmered in the light of the lanterns in the room. The coat was hemmed with golden material, similar to Sprite's battle dress. On his right, the mannequin wore a cream-coloured long-sleeved, high-neck tunic with brown pants and a belt. Beneath the mannequin, a pair of knee-high boots sat upright.

"The clothes are woven from dungeon silk-worms, Dwarven Cotton, and strands of mithril. The leather of the boots and pants uses wyrm leather as a base. All of it is then strengthened with treated slime mucus to add even more durability."

"That sounds pretty expensive."

"For products like these, you would be able to buy a house before being able to afford them."

*You'd do that much for free to see Sprite again? I'll never let her near you again if I can help it.*

"I thank you for your hard work."

Gerard removed the clothing from the mannequins and entered a changing room before redressing. With each piece of clothing worn, he felt as though they were a part of him.

He stepped out of the changing room, and Hubert gave a round of applause.

"Very fitting, sir. Do you have to wear all of that armour to cover up my work, though?" Hubert looked upon Gander's pieces of armour with disappointment.

"I do."

"How do you feel?"

"It's strange. It's like the clothes are in sync with me."

"I do hear that from time to time. Most people don't notice it, though. After thirty years as a tailor, my skills are getting closer and closer to perfection every day."

"I'll leave you to work on your craft, then."

"Don't forget our promise."

"I won't."

---

Back in the tunnel beneath the city, Gerard cautiously approached the door that the men he followed entered. He listened to the muffled voices of presumed monster traffickers, his hand resting on the handle of his shovel. He stood by the door, strained his ears and made out part of their conversation. They spoke in joyful tones about their latest acquisition: the archillian.

Gerard exhaled sharply and burst into the room, his shovel at the ready. Gerard counted eight enemies.

The traffickers were taken aback by his sudden appearance, and they fumbled for their weapons. But Gerard was too quick for them. He swung his shovel with all his might, striking down one of the traffickers and sending another flying across the room. The rest of the traffickers, realising they were outmatched, turned to flee.

Gerard quickly pursued them, fighting his way through the labyrinthine tunnels. He caught up to the last of the traffickers in a large chamber filled with cages, holding dozens of captive archillians. The creatures were docile, their eyes dull and lifeless, all except one, with a collar around its neck.

*I could have ended up like any of them. Archillians are frightening and majestic creatures, and they've been reduced to this...*

A surge of anger rose inside Gerard as he realised what the traffickers were doing to their 'products'. He slammed the face of his shovel down on a trafficker's head, knocking him unconscious instantly.

Suddenly, one of the traffickers opened the gate of a large cage with an obscured creature inside.

The creature's piercing yellow eyes glared at them with a mixture of fear and anger.

"You're letting the chimera out!?" One of the traffickers ran past Gerard and back towards the surface.

Gerard focused on the panther-like creature in the cage. On its back, two snakes, one blue and one red. The chimera's powerful muscles flexed as it tried to free itself from its bonds. The fire snake hissed and spat, its scales glowing red with fury, while the water snake slithered and twisted, its scales shimmering with a cool blue light. The panther let out a roar that echoed through the room and down the passageways, and the traffickers stepped back, intimidated by the raw power of the creature.

*I've defeated stronger creatures than this, probably.*

The chimera broke free from its restraints and pinned a trafficker to the ground before tearing their head clean off.

Gerard jumped forward and slammed his shovel against the creature's main head. It turned to face him and growled.

*I only pissed it off?*

The blue snake reared back, and a series of razor-sharp icicles formed in the air. Gerard grabbed the headless corpse and held it up as the projectiles of ice shredded his meat shield.

He dumped the corpse on the ground and swung his shovel at the red snake. A fireball launched from its mouth, and instead of hitting the snake, Gerard batted the fireball away, and it incinerated the blue snake. The chimera roared and swiped at Gerard. Gerard felt the chimera's claws slide across his stomach, but Hubert's new clothes were undamaged. Even as the chimera's blow knocked him across the room, he remained uninjured.

"Incredible." Gerard stood up and ran his hands over his coat where he was struck.

*Just some light bruising.*

The blue snake, now charred, drooped, and its head dragged along the ground as the chimera advanced.

*Shadow Step!*

Gerard rose from the shadows in the blindspot created by the dead snake and thrust his shovel into the chimera's neck. The shovel made it halfway into the beast's neck before a giant paw smashed into Gerard's chest and knocked the wind out of him.

Blood oozed from the wound in the chimera's neck as it stumbled over to Gerard. Still winded, Gerard shakily held his shovel out before the beast collapsed on the ground.

[You have gained 33,333 experience. You have reached Villager level 7. 38,374 experience until your Villager class reaches level 8. You have reached Grave Keeper level 7. 47,149 experience until your Grave Keeper class reaches level 8.]

*Damn. That wasn't bad at all.*

Gerard strode up to the cages and pried the doors open, but the archillians stared blankly at him. With a heart full of regret, Gerard put the creatures out of their misery.

[You have gained 156,750 experience. You have reached Villager level 8. 41,097 experience until your Villager class reaches level 9. You have reached Grave Keeper level 8. 49,899 experience until your Grave Keeper class reaches level 9.]

*Okay, well, that felt like cheating...*

Leaving the lively archillian until last, Gerard opened the cage and received an intense series of licks to the face.

"Archie?" Gerard tried to push the archillian away but failed against its strength.

As if responding to the name, the archillian's tail thrashed around dangerously and its head bobbed up and down.

As Gerard turned his face away from the sticky tongue, he noticed one of the traffickers in the corner of the room, whimpering. Gerard strutted over, his shovel in one hand, and grabbed the man's tunic.

"Who are you working for?" Gerard demanded.

"Please, I'll tell you anything you want to know!" the trafficker cried.

Gerard listened as the man spilled the details of the trafficking ring, naming various names and locations of their hideouts. Gerard, having heard everything he needed, knocked the trafficker out.

He grabbed a thick lead from a pile of trash in the corner of the room and firmly attached it to Archie's matching collar. He led Archie and carried the unconscious trafficker out to the streets and walked down to Thorkin's barracks.

"What's this? Getting yourself into more trouble?" Thorkin laughed joyfully as he walked out of the barracks.

Gerard dumped the trafficker on the ground and quickly explained the situation to Thorkin, as well as the location of the traffickers' hideout.

"I don't want to imagine what would have happened if all those monsters broke free. You've done something amazing again, Gerard."

"I was just getting this little guy for a client." Gerard petted Archie's head, and it wagged its scaly club-like tail.

"You best get going, then. I'll handle this." Thorkin grabbed the trafficker and carried him into the barracks.

"Shall we go?" Gerard looked at his scaled companion and shook his head.

*And now I'm talking to a monster.*

Archie nodded enthusiastically.

"Do you understand me?"

The monster looked at him blankly.

*Coincidence?*

Several guards rushed out of the barracks in the direction Gerard came from as he walked the adolescent archillian towards the upper district of Solares.