Posts from Horizon of Darkness Auto-translated

First, we carefully examine everything here one more time, including the river water intake (to see how far we can go). Then, we go to the tavern. We look for traces of the mage, or Nikta tries to detect the scent of living people, besides the corpses.

First, we examine everything here again carefully, including the river water intake (to see how far we can go). Then, we go to the tavern. We look for traces of the mage, or Nikta tries to sniff out the scent of people, besides the corpses.

After carefully checking everything, the mercenaries found nothing suspicious. There were also no traces, and Nikta didn't sense anything except the smell of sewage.

Nikta agrees with the plan to give the rat figurine to a magic expert and expresses her desire to leave this wonderfully fragrant dungeon as soon as possible.

– They didn't give us the achievements, and we didn't make it to the next stage... I thought it would be different, – Henry sneezed loudly. – NOSE! I don't feel well. Ah, right, I caught a bug. Ara, can you revive everyone, and then we can go?

-What if we... you know, mess with it, and black magic bursts out from within and curses us forever? We'll become lost prisoners of the sewers, or maybe even turn into... rats.

- You're not an expert, how would you know if it's activated or not? It's cases like these that lead down a slippery slope – finding something cursed and grabbing it for yourself for the sake of "knowledge" or profit. You're still young, Generik, but remember one thing – magic doesn't lead to good, it represents primordial chaos and embodies darkness, - the mercenary placed his hand on the breastplate, under which the Lady's ravaged heart dangled, and muttered. - God save us...

-- Yeah, you'll end up under the control of Hermes Mora or someone else, for sure. Relax, Zeek, magic doesn't exist, you can do whatever you want with this thing, we'll hand it over to a museum. Or we'll shove it up the ass of whoever put it here in the sewer and summoned rats. The last option is what I like the most, to be honest, it's definitely worth not breaking it for that.

-- They didn't give us the achievements, and we didn't make it to the next level... I thought it would be different, -- Henry sneezed loudly. -- NOSE! I don't feel well. Ah, right, I caught a cold. Ara, can you heal everyone, and then we can go?

After Arael healed her companions, they headed to the surface, taking the rat statue with them. Closer to midnight, they reached the tavern.

Added 1 minute ago

let's... give it a shot

let's shove it in

Or shove it in the ass

Arael: 😳

And she might actually like it.

Araël: 😳

Busted as a summoner.

- We killed the rats. And found some junk, - tired Zeikin wanted to quickly wash up, eat, and rest, so he decided to report to his boss himself. - That's all.

The tavern door burst open with a loud crash, and a crowd of mercenaries appeared in the doorway. But before the common folk could even see them, they had probably already smelled them. Of course, this is just an assumption, but it seems that the incredible, pungent aroma of the sewers was wonderfully complemented by the subtle, sharp scent emanating from Joe, who had downed half a dozen different bottles.

"You still need a massage today," Lin might have thought, but she didn't – either deciding not to bother her subordinate with stupid remarks after a hard day's work, or simply being disgusted by the hands of a sewer traveler. In the end, it was already late at night, so further discussions and planning were scheduled for the next morning, and the squad should wash up and rest.

Early the next morning, Lin goes to the town hall to receive a reward for recruiting, then returns to the tavern and gathers the team together before the start of the working day.

"So, here's what's on the agenda today... The Talking Sword was recalled by headquarters for another assignment; I informed him of this upon your return, and he set off tonight. In his place, Davalia Depth has arrived." She gestures towards the girl, presenting her to the team. "She is a talented elemental mage and possesses a wealth of knowledge – use her intelligence wisely. Ha-ha..." As she stood next to the new member, Lin continued. "You can get to know her after I finish the briefing. So, I have completed the assignment of recruiting new recruits for the guard; thanks to my efforts, their ranks have been increased by forty-seven new people. Noting that during my absence, you were engaged in hard and dirty work, I want to give you a small bonus from my rewards – everyone who went down into the sewers will receive 6 gold coins each from me. Also, I want to give Uncle Zeikin and Josh these decks of playing cards," Lin hands the first deck with sisters on it to Zeikin, and the second deck with pirates on it to Josh. "I hope you will find a use for them and they will keep you warm at night. In addition, I scouted Nishion and found out that this establishment is robbing ordinary people with very high prices, so I do not recommend visiting it, at least to help the locals lower prices, even if only a little. Nevertheless, if you suddenly want to go there, know that the most expensive of them is ready for anything – whether it's old people, exhaustion, or anything else. And if Kholodets suddenly becomes curious about how and what is arranged in a human female body, then the green-haired girl seems to be willing to do that too... That's the gist of it. By the way, Arael! If any of the stronger members of our squad feel the need to relieve sexual tension, you would be so kind as to help them with that, okay? It's kind of your area of expertise. By the way, did you see the map? I put it in my magic pocket, I don't understand anything. I accidentally found it, but it looks important." After looking at her comrades, Lin nodded approvingly. "That's all I have for now. If there is anything to tell about your expedition, I am listening attentively.

- What is there to study? I know people inside and out, so I clearly know your anatomy better than you do yourselves. You could say I'm an expert in anatomy, considering how many people I've split into pieces, - Fableup grumbled to himself, considering the suggestion offensive.

Recruiting

/ And don't forget about the rats. /

The Talking Sword was recalled by headquarters for another assignment; I informed him of this upon your return, and he set off tonight. In his place, Davalia Depth has arrived.

"So, what, did they get rid of Kalimora? Why so quietly? Did they dismantle him? Ugh, it's an unpleasant feeling, like my subconscious traded a sword for a girl. The girl is alright, she looks a bit like Rein (translator's note: Rein, a vampire), but judging by the name, she's another pervert. Will there ever be any normal girls?
Okay, I hope Kalimor is alive and finds himself a good scabbard there."

Recognizing that you were engaged in difficult and dirty work during my absence, I would like to give you a small bonus from my reward fund - everyone who went down into the sewers will receive 6 gold coins each from me.

"Okay."

By the way, did you see the map?

A nod.

If there's anything to tell about your expedition, I'm listening carefully.

-- Well, we immediately realized that the rats were magical and soulless. We rushed to the boss, killing a couple of hundred smaller ones along the way, probably. There were so many because there were blockages everywhere down there; they almost created a labyrinth. Stupid, self-isolating rats. We reached the boss, Nikta stabbed him a couple of times with her knife, and it was all over. Only the totem remained, it dropped from Big Bob. It's probably a summoning totem, but we need to check.
-- There were a few corpses and a chest. They didn't contain any special information; the loot is in the general inventory. Maybe it's guards or something, the relatively intact remains of the equipment looked like combat gear, so you should report about them.

Upon her return, Nikta eagerly went to soak in the bath. Her sensitive nose couldn't forgive the ordeal in the sewers and rewarded the huntress with a runny nose, which she hoped to cure with hot water both externally and internally (in the form of herbal tea). Surprisingly, it worked, and by morning, Nikta felt like herself again. If you sniffed carefully, you could detect faint hints of decay and filth behind the scent of soap, but a couple more baths and washes would wash it away completely.

Nikta received the news of Kalimor's departure with a touch of sadness. She liked this grumpy pile of scrap metal; it was fun to be around him, and he knew how to fight. However, she was also glad to have a new member on the team. The woman was clearly interesting, with a rich life experience.

"The rats were very strange. Usually, they are quite cautious creatures, but these ones attacked us like mad. They didn't smell like rats and didn't leave corpses behind. After the death of the rat king, they disappeared, but... I think we only eliminated the symptoms. If we don't get to the root cause, another infestation of these creatures may occur.