Erika the Drug Dealer!?

"What the heck did you do!?" I scolded.

"I honestly have no idea, Mr. Arno. I thought I did everything exactly how I was supposed to for the quest."

We were both still in the back of the carriage. They locked us back here, so there was no escaping at the moment. There was also no way for us to know where they were taking us considering there were no windows or openings.

I huffed.

"You obviously weren't supposed to keep all that money. Who even are these people?"

She put her head in her hands and shook it.

"I'm just so confused. What are we going to do?"

"We need to figure out what's going on here. I want you to walk me through step by step what you did after you left the guild this morning."

"Alright, well, after you explained that quest to me, I ran as fast as I could to Rat Feces. When I went inside, the bar was completely full. I wasn't entirely sure who I was supposed to be looking for. I noticed that the man in the gray cloak sort stood out, so I kind of just assumed he was the guy.

I started talking to him about doing delivery work for him. He said he had some 'merchandise' I could move for him if I was interested. I agreed and he gave me some paper bags and some locations to meet people at. I will say, they were kind of strange places to receive deliveries at. For some reason, People wanted their stuff delivered to places like, allies, behind buildings and in the woods. Also the people seemed really happy to get their packages because they gave me a bunch of gold. I did that for a few hours, then I went to go find you."

"What were in the bags you were delivering?" I asked.

"I'm not really sure the man said to make sure I don't open them."

I sat back for a moment. Maybe this is a misunderstanding, but I hope this isn't what it's beginning to sound like. I noticed some crates in the carriage with us. I opened one up. What I saw confirmed my suspicions.

"What are those, Mr. Arno?"

"Those are what are referred to as 'extra magic mushrooms'."

Inside the box were about a dozen mushrooms that had silver glittery tops.

"They’re hallucinogenic mushrooms. Inhaling the spores can cause wild hallucinations, but they are also highly addictive and have some incredibly adverse effects. Whatever you do, don't touch these." I explained.

Erika nodded.

"I don't know what ‘hallucinogenic’ means, but it sounds dangerous."

"Yes, they are very illegal too. If you get caught with these, the kingdom won't hesitate to throw you in prison."

This situation was much worse than I originally thought. At first I thought this was going to be some petty misunderstanding with some merchants, but that isn't the case. Erika seemed to have accidentally gotten her quest from the wrong person. I was almost certain that these people were with the Western Mafia. They are a criminal organization that has run illicit business dealings in this country for over a century.

I couldn't believe that I let her off on her own for literally just an afternoon and somehow she managed to accidentally become a mule for the mafia. I don't even know how this could get any worse.

✨✨✨

The carriage suddenly came to a stop. I could hear some muffled voices speaking for a bit.

*Click*

Someone unlocked the door and opened it .

"Get moving!" One of the cloaked men said.

"Just stay quiet and let me do the talking." I whispered to Erika.

We were escorted down a wide corridor. The walls were raw stone with wooden supports. I was fairly certain this was an abandoned mine.

They led us to a side room. We were both pushed in and forced to sit in wooden chairs. In front of us was a wooden desk and sitting at it was a small, but very robust man.

Erika took one look at him and started to chuckle a bit. She bit her lip to try and stop.

"Shut up." I whispered to her.

"You wait outside" The man said to the cloaked men.

His tone was serious. From his demeanor, I got the impression he had a short fuse. He sort of reminded me of Liam from back at the labyrinth, but even shorter and without the accent.

The men left the room and closed the door behind them.

"So I hear this little lady here decided to go on a shopping spree with my money. After my men were generous enough to give you a job, this is how you repay us?"

I spoke up,

"Listen, my student and I are very sorry. This is all just a misunderstanding. If you just give us a few days. We'll pay you back."

The man pulled out a comb and began brushing his graying black hair.

"Do you know who I am?"

"I don't believe I do." I said.

"I'm Gino West, the head of the Western Mafia and unfortunately, just paying me back isn't enough. You see, time is money and by me having to be here talking to you, I'm wasting my precious time. I was planning on heading to my villa in the capital this afternoon, but instead I'm still here, dealing with you."

"Um... How can we make it up to you then, sir?" Erika said.

Gino grinned.

"Glad you asked! It's actually quite simple, you two are going to work for me now."

"And what exactly will that entail?" I asked.

"Anything I say. For instance, we're getting low on our 'merchandise' supply. I think you two are just the people to help with that problem."

"Yeah, but wha-."

I tried to speak.

"That's enough chit chat. I got things to do."

The doors opened and two cloaked men came in.

"Our new 'employees' here are going to be helping... Uh... Whatever the heck his name is... You know the annoying one. Make sure he fills them in on everything in the morning." Gino ordered.

We were escorted once again. They proceeded to toss us each into separate rooms and locked us in.

The situation just kept getting worse. Somehow we managed to basically become slaves to the mob. I don't know how, but hopefully I can figure a way out of this. Maybe this little task we are getting will be our opportunity.