"For those that are new here." The voice of the Wolf-man boomed out in the enclosed space. "I have some gloves that will aid you in your duties." Passing out thick large gloves to each of the criminals, he also handed a pair to Tillamook and myself. Looking pointedly at the two of us he continued. "Now I won't intervene heavily unless either of you appear to be in great danger, but I do advise caution when dealing with these slimes." Seeing him bend down a bit and poke one of them with the stave that he still had in hand, I could see the bounce back against the blunt side of the stave.
He then laid the blunt end against the slime and just let it sit there. The slime appeared repulsed at first, but then it began to grip the edge of the stave and slowly climb it towards the bare hands holding it. The leader then lifted the stave one-handedly, pulling out the clinging slime from within the small gathering of other slimes. He held it up for all to see. It had a light blue purplish membrane with a nodule about an inch in diameter of sorts floating around in the clear gelatinous fluid which filled its interior. Then, with careful practiced motion, he pulled out a piece of jerky from his pocket with his free hand and dropped it onto the body of the slime.
With widened eyes, I watched as the thick piece of jerky appeared to sink into the flesh of the slime, before it then began dissolving at a rapid rate. It took less than 30 seconds for a piece of jerky the size of a thumb, to be completely dissolved.
The wolf-man then held the stave with the clinging slime far out to his side, before rapidly swinging it towards the basin depression in the stone ground. The built-up momentum easily flung the slime off of his stave and it slammed into the ground, sounding like a wet sock smacked onto tile. The slime, not appearing any worse for wear and with not a hint of the prior jerky within its body, began meandering back to the gathered slimes feeding off of the discharging spout.
"Imagine if that was a bare finger!" Cain spoke while flexing his bare hands for all to see. I could easily visualize the damage that could be done with careless handling. Taking a closer look at the metal stave, I couldn't see any marring or etching across the surface. Apparently, these slimes were very selective eaters. Or more likely, they couldn't eat certain substances.
After that demonstration, we were led far into the depths of the passageway to an unknown destination.
As we continued, as if to favor Tillamook with this information, the wolf-man leader began speaking about the history and implementation of the sewage system. Both of us listened eagerly to this bit of knowledge freely given.
"The origin of these sewers is from more than 1000 years ago." Pointing to the sheer stone walls that embanked both sides of the depressed central trough and the walkways, he continued. "These may look like new, however, we have a literal army of earth mage engineers that protect and reinforce these passageways on a regular basis." Nodding in the opposite direction from that which we were heading, he said. "If you were to go that way, you would find that the sewers stop short of the many farmers' fields a the outskirts of the city. The reason for such is lack of incentivized funding."
Holding up his stave he explained. "This here is a more refined version of what each of you will be given once we come upon an overflow of slimes. With this, we utilize the combination of rock salt and an inferior air or wind stone. What it does is it sends out a burst of high velocity salt particles that are intended to pierce through the membranes of the slimes. Salt, when forcefully injected in high enough volumes into the gelatinous interior of the slimes, will have a volatile reaction to their acidic composition. Due to such, we advise that you follow a few precautions."
Holding up his finger in demonstration, he emphasized. "One! Keep your distance as you discharge your weapon. Splash back is very real, and convicts as well as civil soldiers have been lost or gravely injured by the explosive fallout of bursting slimes. Depending on who you are, we may find it not worth our time to drag your body out of here, and instead simply feed you to the next group of slimes we come upon." That statement gave me the heebejeebies, and I could see from the looks among the convicts, that they too were appearing concerned about such a possibility.
Careless of our concerns he continued. "Two! Make absolute certain that the entire colony that you are attacking is fully eradicated before going out to gather any surviving nuclei. We understand that there are some alchemists, apothecaries, and other professionals that have use for such materials. As soldiers we understand and don't generally care if you can gain some benefit from the risks that you take, so feel free to harvest your gains."
"Finally, Three! Do . . Not . . Be . . . a Hero! If one of our members falls into a grouping of slimes or we face an advanced slime, then we will not support the actions of a hero. We will continue to utilize our ranged weaponry and you had best hope that either your skin has been strengthened to resist the onslaught of high velocity salt, or that you can survive in internal damage resulting from being punctured multiple times. It is very rare that someone survives falling into a grouping of slimes."
"All of these risks along with the accompanying cost of the weaponry and Mage stones, is why we do not continue to develop the sewers further towards the scattered farming communities. The population to land percentage generally isn't worth the cost of maintenance and upkeep. And it is far easier for them to set up leeching fields and a land-based treatment option. This does unfortunately lead occasionally to mishandled waste which can negatively affect their harvest and the surrounding areas."
Motioning in the direction of where we were headed, he continued. "It is hard enough to deal with the poor district, who let their sanitary runes fall into disrepair for decades if not centuries. We attempt to fine them with the extra costs assumed from dealing with the fallout of their improper or complete lack of septic treatment. However, too often, this cost falls upon the general populous." His clear frustration marred his hairy face as he spoke.
Tillamook beat me to it in asking what was on my mind. "What are these sanitary runes and septic treatment methods that you mentioned?" He asked.
Addressing Tillamook, the leader explained. "Sanitary runes and septic treatment are actually different terms for the same thing mostly. Each household is expected to integrate appropriate sanitary runes at various points in their liquid and solid waste disposal systems. These runes, when utilized and maintained properly will separate the solid from the liquid waste, then incinerate all solid waste. Once the solid waste has been rendered down to a mere sanitized powder, it is re-integrated with the liquid. From there it is then flushed through the system, down the emergence pipes, into the general sewers. The slimes then do their expected duty of cleaning up the treated waste and then let far cleaner water seep from their membranes while making use of the solids and other contaminants as nutrition for their growth."
Glancing at another small grouping of slimes he added on. "This here is a result of proper maintenance of waste. As we reach further towards the poor district, you will see the results of what happens with improperly maintained waste systems."
I had to wonder if this guy was used to giving tours of the sewers since he answered all of our vocalized and many non-vocalized questions. As he had mentioned, while we traversed through the sewers below the marketplace and the through the middle-class homes, there appeared to be a similar number of slimes congregating at each of the discharge points for the waste. However, as we continued to travel for another 30 minutes or so, the very familiar scent of untreated sewage began staining the air. I was honestly really starting to regret the decision to come here.
Pulling out a mask of sorts, the leader actually handed Tillamook and me a mask as well. Each of the soldiers followed suit and donned a mask. I honestly wasn't very optimistic about the presence of such a thin membrane truly blocking the terrible odor in its entirety, but I figured it was likely better than the alternative.
Putting on the mask, I was very surprised. After fashioning it to securely seal around my nose and mouth, I took a deep breath reveling in the fresh air that was supplied. Even more surprising was that it even appeared to provide a kind of cleansing effect to my eyes, which had begun to sting a little from the fumes.
Looking back at the trailing civil soldiers and convicts, I noticed that the convicts were not given the luxury of these very impressive masks. Well, I guess you can't make community service too enjoyable, or else it defeats the purpose of being used as effective punishment and incentivization to correct their unlawful actions. I chuckled a little inside at the sour expressions on their faces. They honestly did look very miserable.
There is something incredibly cathartic about seeing true justice served. Like watching a person that has been tailgating or brake checking you for a while suddenly getting pulled over by the police. Or encountering a wannabe gangster walking along the streets with their pants hanging so low that you can see almost the entirety of their rear through their boxers or tighty-whities spilling out from their pants. Watching them face plant into the asphalt, as they get tripped up on their low riding pants is oh so satisfying. I mean it's well known enough that to been seen walking as such in prison back on Earth, means that they are open for business in matters of a sexual nature to their fellow same sex inmates. Are these people hoping for the same offers in general society, or is a belt and well fitted pants just too expensive for them?
Putting my musings aside, I began watching the surroundings with more care, as I saw the soldiers begin gripping their weapons differently. Some of them began handing out what looked like bronze bracelets to the convicts who readily donned them on their wrists. The soldier who held the pack of tubes began passing out the hollow wooden implements to his fellow soldiers. They then started taking turns dipping the end of the tubes into the barrel of rock salt and tilting the tubes upward as if to draw the salt deeper into the tubes. I felt that this was in preparation for upcoming engagements with the slimes.
Neither Tillamook nor I were given a bracelet or a hollow tube. Considering our status as neither soldiers nor convicts, I guess they didn't plan to involve us in the upcoming battles. This was a big disappointment as I was really looking forward to some excitement. As such, I decided that now was a good time to start being more proactive in asserting what I wanted.
"Excuse me, sir." I called out to the leader. "If you have any to spare, I request a weapon as well to engage with the slimes." Putting as much authority into my voice as I could while still maintaining respect, I intently met the golden eyes of the leading wolf-man.
Looking back at me in surprise, Cain held my gaze for period of time seeming to be about to open his mouth in denial. However, something in my eyes appeared to change his mind. With a nod of his head, he finally spoke. "Very well. So long as you can promise that you assume full responsibility for any harm done to yourself and hold all present as blameless, then I can accede to that request."
'Huh, that was easy enough.' Relief and excitement washed over me at his statement. "You have my promise." I replied.