Fairy Opera Chapter 25: Undercity

 

Undercity

Gin leaned back in his seat, picking at his teeth with a toothpick. “So where do you need to go?”

“We’re investigating the zombie plague down here.”

“Ah, the biters.” Gin tossed the toothpick away. “Terrible fellows. They’ll chase you everywhere and bite you. Once you’re bit you’ll turn within a day.”

“We know where they’re coming from.” Jak turned to me. “We’ve got someone with us who knows magic. We can probably come up with a magic spell that will sole your problem.”

“Magic, eh?” Gin sniffed. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” He looked around the room. “Maybe not now. Now let’s talk about payment.”

“Two silver coins for your trouble.” Jak held up two fingers.

“Four.”

“Three?” Jak tilted his head.

“Fine, fine. But upfront.”

Jak handed Gin three silver coins. “Good. You paid, now I’m going to do my job.” He stood up. “You want to go to zombieland, right?”

“Zombieland?”

“It’s the places that have been totally overrun. Down in the undercity.” Gin rubbed his neck. “It’s a dangerous place. I hope you know how to handle your own in a fight. Remember, one bite and you’re gone for.”

“We’ve fought zombies before. We know what they’re like.”

Gin shrugged. “If you say so.”

We left the cantina and walked along near-deserted corridors until we came to another gigantic pit that stretched from the bottom of the island to the top. I could see the open sky below and above through the hole.

I peered downwards. “How are we going to get to the undercity?”

“Like this.” Gin tapped his foot on the ground and a thin, steep staircase popped out from the side of the pit. “Watch your step. If you fall, you’re going to the skyfloor.”

We descended the treacherous staircase. After about a hundred meters of descent, we arrived at another tunnel. Gin held out his hand and pulled a torch from his pack. “You guys got lights?”

I pulled out a scroll. “Null Miniature Bravos. Extend distance. Fireball.” A ball of light appeared above my head.

Gin whistled. “You really can use magic.” He shrugged. “Not that I ever doubted you.” He rubbed his nose. “Well, in any case, we’re here. I’ll stick with you to show you around, but I’d appreciate it if you got your business done here as quick as possible.”

We entered the tunnel. My magical light illuminated the walls, casting long shadows as we moved forward. A low growl emanated from in front of us. The sound grew until shadowy figures burst into the light and rushed us.

Jak and Tae took positions in front of us. Jak slashed through a zombie, decapitating it, and then cut the arm off of another zombie. He stabbed a third zombie in the head. Three zombie corpses dropped to the ground.

I knelt beside the zombie that was still kicking. “Null Heal. Awaken, my soul. Return to the wider plane.” A white powder emanated from my palm and covered the prone zombie. The zombie stopped struggling and then went limp.

“What did you pull there?”

“I returned his soul to the abyss.” I stood up. “While I’d like to scale this method up, I don’t think that’d be possible. This spell only works in close proximity.”

“Okay.” Gin tapped his foot. “Then what are you going to do?”

“Perhaps we can issue a vaccine.”

“How would you do that?” Gin frowned.

“While I can’t absolve all the zombies, I can provide the people down here with a vaccine that will protect their souls from contamination.”

“If you figure out a way to sell that, you’re going to make millions.” Gin whistled. “I’m in. For a cut, I’ll help you as much as you need.”

“Great. Now let’s take this information and test it. Where do people live here in the undercity?”

“I can take you to Trashtown.” Gin waved his hand. “It’s the stronghold where the remaining people of the undercity live.”

“Good. Then take us there.”

We traveled the hallways, fighting the occasional zombie, until we came to a large open area with a high ceiling. The entrance to the area was blocked by a gate. A guard stood by the gate. He saw us coming and hailed us.

“You. What are you doing down here?”

“We’ve come to investigate the trouble with the undead down here.” I smiled.

“You’re messing with things you don’t understand.”

“We can pay.” I held out a silver coin.

The guard raised an eyebrow. “If I take that and let you in, I could get in trouble.”

An old man with a thick beard approached the gate. “What are you doing, Charlie?”

“Elder.” The guard bowed. “These people want to enter our sanctuary.”

The elder cackled. “Very well then. Let them in. They obviously know what they’re doing.”

The gates slid open. We walked through, the gates sliding closed after us. The elder walked alongside us. “My name is Marble. It’s nice to have visitors to Trashtown every now and then. Oop, it’s trash time.”

A gigantic hole at the top of the roof opened up, and a massive amount of trash felt through, landing on top of a trash heap. A number of townsfolk rushed towards the newly deposited trash and started picking it over.

“I hope you don’t mind our way of life here.” Marble kept walking. “We’re a simple folk who don’t need much.”

“Where does all that trash come from?” I looked up at the gigantic hole.

“Ah, there are many more holes like this one. We’re the trashcan of the entire region. Trash is shipped to Billerstrang island from thousands of miles around. We’re the kings of trash, so to speak.” Marble led us to a small hut at the edge of the village. We entered.

Marble motioned for us to sit around a small, battered table made of scrap metal. We sat. Marble folded his hands. “Now what can I do for you?”

“We want to solve the zombie problem.”

“Oh my. We’ve been asking the Contracts Guild for ages to send someone to help. We keep telling them that if they don’t act the virus will spread and cause havoc all over the world.”

“It’s already causing havoc. The Empire is turning entire islands into zombies for an army they’re building.”

“It’s for an army?” Marble scoffed. “There’s no way you’re turning those beasts inro any kind of fighting force.”

“We don’t know that yet. They could have some sort of magic that would allow them to command the zombie horde.” I shook my head. “In any case, I’ve developed a vaccine that could prevent zombie infection from bites.”

Marble opened his eyes wide. “My goodness! Are you being serious?”

“Yes. I know it sounds weird, but I’ve got the magic to make it so that a person’s soul can’t be stolen by this zombie disease.”

Marble laughed. “Then give it to us!”

“Right, here’s the catch. It’s probably going to take a lot of work to make and distribute.”

Marble tapped his fingers on the table. “Then we’ll help you. We have some lab equipment that we’ve scavenged. How about we make that serum right now?”

“Okay. Lead me to it.”

We left the hut and crossed town, passing by the pile of trash that was being sorted through by the townsfolk. We reached another hut on the other side of town. Marble ducked in and we followed.

The hut was filled with a variety of lab instruments.

I looked around the room. “Ruby.” Ruby popped out of my pocket.

“Yes?”

“I need you to figure out exactly how I’m going to administer the soul serum.”

“I’m on it.” Ruby flew around the room. “This, this, this.” She returned to me. “Okay, here’s how you’re going to do it.” She guided me through the steps, until I had the entire setup that was required.

It took me about an hour of mixing and bubbling and reading scrolls, but when I was done I held a vial of serum that, presumably, would vaccinate anyone against the zombie disease. I didn’t know how it would protect against a first-generation zombie—the ones created by the Empire’s orbs—but it would work against being bitten and turning. I handed the vial to Marble.

Marble looked at the vial in his hand with awe. “I can’t pay you much, I’m sorry. Are you still going to let us use this serum?”

“Of course.” I nodded. “I’m not going to collect anything from you. We’re going to get most of our funding from the Contracts Guild. Selling this stuff will probably be a lucrative investment, but as thanks for your help we’re giving it to you and your people for free.”

Marble bowed. “I thank you.”

We left the hut. Marble went up to a bell tower and rang the bell. A large number of villagers gathered under the tower. Marble held up the serum. “These wonderful people have developed a magic serum that will prevent our souls from being stolen by the undead menace!”

The whole crowd cheered.

“Now line up!” Marble got first in line. I took out the serum bottle and began dosing people with them. All it took was a small cut and the serum would be rubbed into the bloodstream.

It took a while to make enough serum to vaccinate everyone, but we finished. Then Marble bowed.

“What can we do to thank you for this?”

I smiled. “You can tell us exactly how effective the serum is, after you get to test it in the field. I wouldn’t tell you to be reckless, as this stuff doesn’t make you invincible, but it will probably save a few lives.” I turned to Gin. “How about you take care of this? I’ll pay you a good salary.”

Gin grinned. “I smell money, so of course I’m going to help.”

I shook hands with Gin. We said our goodbyes to the townsfolk and returned via the precarious stairway to the second level of the undercity. From there we took a basket back up to the upper city. We came to the Contracts Guild office and declared our presence. Two hours later we were standing in front of the guild. A lot more people were here than before and almost all the seats were filled.

One of the guild members, with glasses and long brown hair, spoke first. “We have gathered intel from the undercity that you have provided the citizens of Trashtown with a serum that prevents turning via zombie bite.”

“Yes.” I bowed. “And I would like permission to use our own funds to set up a facility for the production of said serum. We would, of course, pay taxes.”

The guild members looked at each other. Then another guild member spoke. “We agree. We will allow you to open a business on our grounds. Speak with our secretary of commerce and figure out an agreement.”

The secretary of commerce, a fat man with purple hat and fancy clothes, laughed. He waved a fan back and forth. “I look forward to working with you.”

Ten minutes later we were in the secretary of commerce’s office. He leaned back in his reinforced chair. “Now how, exactly, do you plan on monetizing this new serum?”

“It’s not just the anti-zombie serum.” I held out my hands. “We have the technology to cure many diseases. I wish to register our business as a charity as well, so that we can provide essential medicines to people in need.”

“Now why would you want to do that?” The secretary of commerce waved his fan. “There’s plenty of money to be made.”

I shook my head. “This is one of our conditions for starting this business. We either help people or we don’t set up shop here.”

“Very well then. It’s your money.”

“Thank you, sir.” I bowed. “We greatly appreciate your goodwill.”

 

26

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