Chapter 347: Outburst
"Is that where we're headed?" This was the first town since the one they had first seen which they had ignored and the fact they were headed right for it made him think they had been headed for it the entire time. "Yeah, it's the closest big city to the Metal Domain so I think they'll have enough food to spare."
They got an answer to Fendis' question from the guard who was really the only one who knew the answer so Donny didn't have to share his guesses. Taking advantage of the fact the guard seemed willing to speak, Donny asked a question of his own. "How long do you think it will take for you to convince them?"
"A couple of hours at the most but if I am unable to we'll just buy as much as we can using the small amount of gold I have with me. It won't be enough to last us a long time but it's better than nothing." Donny was a bit relieved to hear they had some gold because as they got closer to the town he had started to think there was no way they would get to leave with a giant amount of food for free. The source of this content is N0veII_bIn
When they had first left he had been on board with the plan because he really didn't see any way around begging for food but the trip had been long enough that he started to wonder if it was realistic. The Earth Domain was close to the Metal Domain and their people were friends but they were just asking a single town for help so they might not get the help they wanted.
If they instead headed to the center of the Domain and asked all of the Earth Domain for aid they would most likely get a yes but the amount of time it would take to get there was a bit too long because of the size of the Earth Domain. They would then have to wait there as word of them spread which was an unknowable amount of time and then add time back and he wouldn't be surprised if it took a week for them to return to the fortress with the food.
"This sounds like a good deal but I would like to know what we're going to be protecting the city from so I know if we're up to the task." Donny liked that they would be working for the food instead of begging for it but he did worry the ones back in the fortress would have to fight off a raid while starving.
"It's hard to explain but I would be surprised if you haven't heard of it vaguely in the past. Let's just say it's a lingering problem that has plagued the city since the disappearance of the Demigod that ruled it in the past. Did that jog your memories?" Hearing What the mayor said he didn't stop himself in time and asked. "Is this Shallow?"
Everyone gave him an odd look because of his sudden outburst but soon they all remembered the name of the city they were in because stories of the odd happenings here that used to circulate in the past. "That's right, I know our name has fallen off a bit since Hampton found a way to keep the, let's call them phantoms to stay underground at night, but the problem isn't solved and with him gone tonight we need all the help we can get dealing with them because I don't think the guards are truly up to it."
After all of this was said it didn't take long before the guard to say. "This sounds like a deal we can make. When will the attacks start?" Donny could have answered this question because he was very interested in what was going on here in Shallow in the past with it having to do with a Demigod and knew almost every detail there was to know but he wasn't supposed to be saying anything and cutting off the mayor would be rude so he kept his mouth shut.
He was actually kind of surprised at how long it took for him to notice where they were but he guessed it was in the back of his mind since he was thinking about getting the food. "As soon as the sun starts to go down the light level in the city will fall enough that they'll start to appear in places like allies but they're unable to move at that point so it's easy to destroy them. The real problem will be after the sun is fully down."
Donny could feel the obvious question form in all of their minds at once and wanted to answer it before they could even ask it but he let the mayor take care of it. "Before any of you ask, normal torches don't really help. The light has to be from the sun or the formation Hampton made to protect the city at night."
Donny wanted to ask if he could see the formation but once again stopped himself because there was no way he would have the right affinities and the formation itself might be a secret they didn't want to share with just anyone. "Alright if we have time would you mind if we ate something none of them had had any food in a couple of days."
"Of course I'll have them bring you food right away, feel free to wait here for it to arrive. I'll come back after you're done eating." After the mayor said this he left the room leaving all of them to finally speak after so long of being unable to speak. Not wanting to miss his chance he made sure he was the first to talk. "Sorry about my outburst."