A Difficult Situation

After reaching a preliminary agreement, Zuo Si quickly left the Thieves' Guild's lair, which made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

He always felt that in those dark corners, or in the hidden compartments behind the walls, there were always pairs of eyes watching him.

Coupled with the intricate maze and various mechanisms and traps, it was quite considerate of them to be willing to come here despite the great risks.

When Zuo Si returned to the inn with a thief leading the way, Epke stroked his plump chin and asked, "Iron cages and rats? Kurang, what do you think Lord Soth intends to do?"

"Apologies, leader, I don't know.

However, I've heard people say that ratfolk possess the ability to control rats and communicate with them.

Perhaps Lord Soth intends to use this for poisoning.

Just like how he incapacitated over two hundred ferocious pirates silently with purified ricin before."

The middle-aged wizard cautiously voiced his guess.

Because besides poisoning, he really couldn't think of any other use for capturing so many rats.

"Hmm, that makes some sense.

It seems Lord Soth is not only a powerful necromancer but also an expert in poisons.

I just wonder what kind of poison he will use this time.

Perhaps...

We could spend money to buy some to coat our crossbow bolts, to achieve better lethality."

Epke was clearly tempted.

Using poison was as common as eating and drinking for the Thieves' Guild.

However, the problem was that refining and manufacturing poisons required considerable professional knowledge, something not just anyone could achieve.

Furthermore, many poisons extracted from plants and animals were very difficult to preserve.

Often, after just a period of time, they would spoil and go bad before they could be used.

Therefore, the finest poisons that could kill someone in seconds could fetch as much as 1,000 to 2,000 gold coins on the black market.

Ordinary non-lethal poisons also cost at least 200 to 300 gold coins for a small bottle.

Kurang nodded in agreement, "Good idea.

With the Amn steel crossbows we obtained this time, and those armor-piercing arrows with their astonishing penetration.

If we coat them with poison, no one should be able to match us in frontal combat.

However, the ratfolk in the sewers remain a significant threat, and we need to deal with them before the fighting begins."

"Regarding this, let's wait until Bernis returns.

I'm very curious.

Why have those usually cautious and timid ratfolk caused such a stir this time?"

As he said this, Epke's eyes flashed with a deep light, a stark contrast to his usual smiling demeanor.

On the other side, Zuo Si, who had just arrived near the "Happy Hour" inn, immediately saw the werewolf children still gathered at the entrance, confronting the waiters and the owner who were holding clubs and cleavers.

Although no physical conflict had erupted between the two sides, the tense atmosphere could be felt from a distance.

"It's late at night, don't you all need to sleep?"

Zuo Si broke the meaningless standoff and mutual suspicion with a half-joking tone.

"Thank goodness, you're finally back."

The inn owner visibly relaxed, waved his hand to signal his employees to put away their weapons, and hurried over, complaining with a mournful face, "Lord Soth, please hurry and drive these little wolf cubs away. With them here, how can I do business in the future."

"Are you sure you want to drive them away? Leader Epke gave them a reward of six hundred gold coins." As he spoke, Zuo Si jiggled the slightly heavy leather coin pouch in his hand.

Instantly!

A crisp clinking sound echoed in everyone's ears.

"Six... six hundred gold coins?!"

The inn owner's eyes lit up, and he immediately put on a fake smile, saying, "For your sake and Leader Epke's, I'll reluctantly let these little ones stay for a while. After all, they've just lost their homes and families, and they look quite pitiful."

"Are you sure? You know, they're all werewolves, and they transform on the full moon, becoming beasts without any reason. If it's too much trouble, then forget it, I'll find another inn." Zuo Si deliberately feigned hesitation.

"No! No! No! It's not troublesome at all."

The owner quickly waved his hands frantically.

"You know, I'm a very kind-hearted person and I love children the most.

If they stay at my inn, they absolutely won't be bullied by anyone.

As for losing their minds on the full moon.

I'll order some large iron cages from the blacksmith's shop and lock them all in the cellar then."

"If that's the case, then let them stay at your inn."

With that, Zuo Si directly tossed the coin purse, filled with gold coins, to the other party.

The innkeeper immediately opened his arms with delight, catching it steadily. He took two or three steps back before regaining his balance.

It's worth noting that on the Faerun Continent, most standard gold coins weigh around 9.1 grams.

Six hundred of them would be a little over five kilograms.

A bag of gold coins like that, if wielded by someone with a bit more strength, could be used to smash someone's head until it bled.

But the innkeeper didn't feel the weight at all. Instead, he moved as fast as a flying arrow, rushing back to the inn's first floor and collapsing onto the counter to count them one by one.

Zuo Si ignored him and walked straight towards the little werewolves. He said to the girl at the front, "Six hundred gold coins. I believe that's enough for you to stay here for quite some time. If you need anything, just tell the people at the inn, and they'll meet your requests."

"Can we not take this money and ask for a different condition?" the girl asked, looking up at him with her two large black eyes.

"Oh? Why?"

Zuo Si became interested in the girl, who was clearly quite mature for her age.

After all, six hundred gold coins was a tempting sum for most people.

Being able to refuse such a large amount of money was not something just anyone could do.

Fangas turned around and glanced at the remaining members of his clan. He explained in a very helpless tone, "Money is useless to us Outcasts.

Because Outcasts are not protected by law.

So legitimate Merchants are unwilling to sell us any goods.

As for those greedy black market merchants, they'll decide whether to trade or simply rob us outright, depending on the situation.

Given our numbers and age, we're basically lambs to the slaughter in the eyes of black market merchants.

Let alone black market merchants, even the owner of this inn, without your help, would immediately swallow the gold coins and kick us out."

After hearing this, Zuo Si immediately understood how terrible and harsh the living environment for lycanthropes was in Caledon. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face. "If money is useless, what condition do you want to exchange it for?"

"As the current leader of the entire clan, I wish to become your slave or servant and receive your protection." As she spoke, the girl knelt down solemnly.

Not only her, but all the werewolf children behind her also knelt down.

This sudden, bizarre scene, along with the incomprehensible request, completely bewildered Zuo Si.

He had seen slaves desperately try to resist their masters and regain their freedom before, but this was the first time he had encountered someone willingly becoming a servant.

Most importantly, why choose him?

Was there some other conspiracy involved?

Zuo Si, whose thoughts tended to veer into paranoia, would immediately fall into a subconscious reaction of "there must be a scheme behind this" whenever something good came his way.