NOVPUB
Chapter 64: The Underbelly
Ding!
[Actions spread happiness within the dwellers of the underbelly]
[+500 Goodwill Points]
[Current Goodwill - 594]
As the dwellers started relishing the delicious buns that Riku had brought for them, Riku got a notification from the system.
But system, I had spent 500 points to buy the buns in the first place. So I gained nothing in total.
Ding!
[Please continue to work hard, host. Goodwill is not easy to earn.]
How about you allow me to buy some more delicacies? Buns are getting boring.
[The host already has access to all recipes. Please get off your lazy bum and use them]
Hmph, cheapskate...
Riku was bickering with the system when Elder Borin approached, his old eyes shining. "Master..."
"Call me Riku," Riku said, tired of kept being called master.
"Master...Riku... this... Your buns are godly. If I did not know better, I would be sure that you...procured them from the imperial palace."
"Ah, don’t worry. I got it from a friend. In fact, he can give me so much more, but he is a cheapskate."
"Well... this is more than just food. You have shown us a kindness we... we are not accustomed to from the world above." Elder Borin continued
"However, I still don’t know what do you want from us..."
"Do not worry about it at all, Elder Borin. As I said, please consider it as a gift from a friend." Riku replied nonchalantly.
"Really? You are totally different from any other human I have encountered in Luxia. While there are many who tolerate us, you are the first who has come to us in friendship."
"So, what do you think about it?"
"I think... that we would love to be your friends. If there is anything that we could help you with, you only need to tell."
-----------------
Later, the gathering dispersed. Only Elder Borin was left with Riku, Lila and Elara.
"So, elder, can you tell us more about this place?"
Elder Borin gestured towards a slightly more stable-looking shanty, its doorway covered by a heavy, patched curtain.
"Please, Master Riku, and you too, young misses. My ’office’ is humble, but we can speak freely there."
Inside, the space was cramped but surprisingly tidy. A single sputtering oil lamp cast flickering shadows on walls lined with dusty scrolls and maps of what looked like mining tunnels.
A worn wooden table and a few rickety stools were the only furniture. Borin offered them seats, then poured a cloudy, slightly pungent liquid into chipped clay cups.
"Cave mushroom brew," he said with a wry smile. "An acquired taste, I assure you."
Riku took a polite sip. It was... earthy. Lila managed a small, strained smile after her own sip. Elara, still weak, politely declined.
Riku could take out his matcha tea, however it wouldn’t be polite, especially since Borin was offering the best hospitality he could.
Borin settled onto a stool, his old face etched with the hardships of his people. "You ask about this place, Master Riku? This is the Underbelly. The Warrens, some call it. Home to those the city above forgets, or chooses not to see."
"Who lives here mostly?" Lila asked.
"Dwarven kin, mostly," Borin said, his gaze sweeping the small room. "Miners, craftsmen, blacksmiths. There are also a few Half Orcs who have taken shelter in the city due to the famine everywhere. Even a few humans who fell on hard times and found no mercy above." 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝒐𝒎
The earlier cheerfulness slowly faded and a quite took over. Elara’s soft voice rand out "The conditions... they seem harsh. Even harsher than what the underprivileged face above."
"Harsh, aye," Borin agreed. "But above? The taxes are harsher. The scorn is sharper. Down here, we have a small community."
"We look out for our own. We share what little we have. There is little schooling for our young, and few chances for honest work that pays a fair wage. So in fact, I would say that it is better for people like us to be here."
"Elder Borin," Riku began, getting straight to the point, "Korgin mentioned his sister is ill with the Crimson Creep. Are there many others afflicted down here?"
Borin’s face grew somber. He nodded slowly. "Aye, Master Riku. Too many. The Creep... it found its way down to the Underbelly a few weeks ago. It started slowly, like a bad cough, a lingering fever. But then the marks appear... and the weakness sets in."
"How many are sick?" Lila asked, her voice filled with concern.
"We’ve lost five elders already," Borin said, his voice heavy. "And a dozen more are bedridden. Mostly women, and the very old or very young. The strong men, the younger Orcs and Dwarves... they seem to resist it longer, or get milder symptoms. But for the others..." He shook his head, his eyes filled with a deep sadness. "It’s a slow, painful fading."
"What about the healers from the city? The Church?" Riku asked.
Borin let out a humorless laugh.
"Healers? For us? Master Riku, the sunlit city barely acknowledges our existence, except when they need cheap labor or a place to dump their refuse. No one from the church would even come in the vicinity of this place."
"Korgin mentioned a medicine," Riku recalled. "He said it helps with the symptoms?"
"Aye, ’Sunpetal Draught’," Borin said. "A concoction initially introduced by the church, but got quickly sold out. Now, it is only sold by a few back-alley apothecaries for atrocious prices."
"It doesn’t cure, not by a long shot. But it eases the burning pain of the rashes, and gives a bit of strength back for a few days. But the price..." He sighed.
"Well, I’d like to see them," Riku said. "The sick. All of them. I can try to help them."
Borin looked at him, a flicker of hope in his tired eyes. "You... you think you can help, Master Riku?"
"Well, I can’t cure them a hundred percent, Elder," Riku admitted honestly. "At least not now. However, I can try to alleviate the symptoms a bit."
Behind him, Elara nodded. "Riku can really help! Though I am not fully cured of the creep, the pain no longer returns frequently. The rashes have also stopped spreading, at least for the moment. It is all thanks to Riku."\
Borin heard Elara with wide eyes, and then spoke earnestly,
"Then, Master Riku, I must beg you. Please come and take a look at our people..."
