Two hours of questioning later, I had a hand drawn map of the underground marked for the surrounding mile with the locations of more people. Even with the psychic abilities I had instilled in the collars, these few dozen locations were all that they knew of. That was really only the front third of the city, which showed how big this network really was.
Marked with circles instead of X's like the enforcer spots were locations were larger groups would meet up and divide loot or duties. Even though these guys did not collect much pay from their little brothers, there were two nearby circles on the map. Only the circle a few blocks deeper into the city was such a treasury.
I made the thugs lead the way with strict order to maintain their natural personas as well as one hundred percent loyalty to me. They did not even have to take part in combat, they just needed to point at what needed to be handled. They had the easiest job of all.
Surprisingly, the sub-humans and the wolves got along fairly well with only some small wariness of each other. At first. After the other wolves started showing up, though, the instincts of the ratmen took over and they began to cower back into the cubicles.
The thugs swore softly but because of the wolves' alignment with me and their collars they could not make any move to either attack or flee. Just stand there until they became numb to the fear of the giant wolves curiously sniffing them. It was pitiable but also humorous to me.
Once they and whoever else I decided to take were checked out topside, they would either be sentenced to death or continue to serve as my temporary slaves. For now, they simply lead the way through the network of waterways for half of an our until we reached and interesting area. An entire intersection where the corners were cut from the structural supporting cubicles.
In their place were several large rounded rooms creating an actual circle of bunk beds along the back walls. The rest of these areas were filled with tables, cooking areas, and even a few locked cabinets. As well, there were ten people here lounging about and waiting for lackeys to bring in money.
Somehow, these people had enough magic, money, and charisma to convince a few women to come down and entertain them in a stink free environment. Of the six men, two of them were either not of high enough rank or wealth to have gotten a woman.
One day, little guys, you might live a fun and fulfilling second life but that will most definitely not be this life.
Even though one of the men with and one of the men without a woman had Guild quality mana levels, I simply had Grimm focus on the two of them while Shade filled the rest of the room with his aggressive consumption. Just like in the last confrontation, it only took a few minutes before everybody but those two were unconscious. Then I spared them from Grimm's death energy just before they lost consciousness.
I picked up and tossed both of these people into the ceiling to let them smack down on the floor after checking their appreciably high stats. Their Intelligence, Willpower, and Endurance stats were all above average with Endurance being the highest for the lower ranked and Willpower the highest for the man who had been trapped under a woman. Their Strengths, though, were not all that impressive even though they were technically higher than mine.
The lower rank was younger but they were both adults and should be able to easily achieve the Guild minimum for mercenaries if they had this level of magic. They were still just regretful trash, I collared all of the men with transmuted stone with some keratin filaments for conductivity and then questioned the women.
Like I had previously estimated, they were basically prostitutes with no affiliation to the men they had been servicing. I did not collar them but neither did I send them on their way, I decided to make use of them as guides and partnered each of them with a wolf to go and find a single lodging with a lot of available space.
The wolves were hesitant to be divided, but I linked to the alpha and then them through the alpha to transfer and receive information for only a few moments. Then they were all calm and even courageous warriors waiting for the call to arms. Big or small, magical or Earthling, canines were smart and easy to teach with food and activities.
While they were sent off to secure somewhere closer to the front gates and Guild chapter I let the new slaves lead the rest of us through the tunnels. For the next few hours my growing group simply collected a handful of freed sub-human slaves as well as people of rank and knowledge while culling the rest to keep my party small.
There were a few who turned out to be resistant to the draining aspect of dark elementalism and could even disperse some of my familiars' bodies, but the second they exposed themselves or myself they were struck down with a lashing bolt of energy.
When I finally decided to leave the sewers there were eleven enslaved thugs in tow that followed me all of the way to the Guild's large wood and stone building. Unlike most Guild properties I had seen, this one was a whopping four stories tall with a square building that took up most of an acre. It was huge with doors more than large enough to allow two wolves entry at a time.
I also did not attract all that many looks from the occupants of the commons and bar area, at first. However, people started noticing the collars on the unarmed thugs and the way the wolves seem to crowd around them to hem them in. thankfully, nobody stopped me to question me as I approached one of several service booths.
I was surprised to find for the first time that something like prescription glasses existed because the young lady I found myself talking to wore them. She seemed worried by my entourage but was not discouraged as she asked, "Um, hello… sir? What might I be able to help you with?"
Smiling somewhat to be friendly, I say. "Hi, just call me Chuck, this little scroll here is my current identification until I'm older. I was told that the Guild here was running a surplus of bounties and I wanted to see if any of these guys were wanted criminals. Could you help me with this, by any chance?"
Looking at the people herded by my wolves, the young lady actually makes a slight frown before saying, "Normally, we have a board on the wall over by the bar for bounties you would check yourself but we dont usually get so many people at a time. Are they all… entranced?"
"No, completely enslaved," I reply with a shameless smile. "I found many of them with illegal sub-human slaves and was inspired that it would be easier to deal with them as slaves. I don't intend to collect the bounties without physical proof, but can the Guild collect the bounties for anyone these guys say I killed? There are more than twice their numbers in bodies in the sewers right now."
Just as she was on her way out of the booth area, the Guild clerk and a few others at the same booth all stopped and stared at me. Then, setting back into motion, the lady with glasses asks, "Did you say you found these men in the sewers? The sewers have become very dangerous with outlaw activity in the past few years. Even when the Guild sends a subjugation force to collect bounties in bulk, its a large number of nobody below C rank."
After puberty, I will be nothing below S rank. "As you can see, I had plenty of help and I have a lot of magic at my disposal. If you read that scroll along the way, you'll be even more surprised. Come, let's see how much money we'll be making."
My newfound assistant read the scroll Old Man had given me as we walked across the commons to the corner of the bar by the stairway wall. We ended up attracting a few new looks as well, which attested to the fact it was not common for the booth clerks to come out. I actually felt kind of lucky.
About halfway as the wooden pillar dotted first floor the lady gave me back my scroll and said, "Chuck, sir… is that… real? Are you really a child with the potential to be a saint?"
"To an extent, but I don't particularly want or intend to be a saint," I reply bluntly. However, keep this between us and the top brass. As far as anyone else need be concerned, I'm a circumstantially young B rank monster tamer. I may be visiting a few more times during my stay in the area, so it is fine to tell people as much. Also, can I get in contact with a vice leader or the guildmaster here? I wish to create identities for the sub-humans I have freed and buy resources through your Guild to speed up their next evolutions."
"Doesn't that usually take months?" the lady asks curiously, surveying the small group of sub-humans I had acquired. Not many of the thug groups I hunted had access to slaves, but there were still a new insect person with a segmented robot-like face and two canine beastmen who got on well with my wolves.
Only the insect and four-armed beastmen could actually produce a few simple syllables, but the werewolf guys were definitely the biggest and strongest.
"Yes, but I will be erecting a shrine in the area and if they are there worshiping during the process they will receive some anointment," I reply in a low voice, using wind magic to take my voice directly to her ear. "Quests I would be interested in that could suit their talents such as more bounties to grow their numbers and beast subjugation quests with long time limits. Wyverns, I have a particular interest in wyverns currently for their anti-magical materials."
Nodding their head in understanding, "Wyverns aside, doing what you've been doing is a good thing all the way around so keep up the good work. As for one of my bosses… sure, I can kick in this one lazy bum's door with something interesting. And quests, I think there's a few your wolves would be good for."
When we finally got to the bounty board and had my slaves line up by the bar, she continued thoughtfully to herself, "The supervisors of the mines send in beast bounties all the time for anyone willing to go hunting. Bears and boar are a bit troublesome because of all the mining camps scattered everywhere but there's always been standing requests for wyvern and tree dragon hunting. Especially from the metal mines higher up on the mountainsides."
"We can hunt many of the beasts in bulk, so this should be profitable for everyone," I decide with a pleasant but ruthless smile as I point out a twelve gold bounty for a wanted murderer that match a man in my possession.
*