Chapter 54 – Hellscape

Cam knew they were likely to start running into enemies the second they stepped out of the towering building they started in- or even as soon as they left the relative safety of the large bedroom... but he wasn't in a rush to head out just yet.

Why waste the perfectly good advantage the room already offered?

As Eron hesitantly crept out of the room, intent on doing his job of scouting ahead, Cam and Mero got to work digging through the room for anything of use- or any clues that could be helpful, though they doubted they would find anything like that easily.

Mero focused on the closet, pulling out all of the clothes into piles, one pile for those that appeared impractical or useless- because which of them would bother with shoes that offered no armor and had a six inch spike under the heal? Just the idea of walking in those things looked uncomfortable... And another pile for the clothes that could at least see some use- though, considering none of it was armored, the most she could imagine for any of it was as extra layers to keep warm, or perhaps as scrap to be used in some wild plan... not that she had any solid ideas in that direction yet, but she was sure there was something.

And the last pile was for things that would absolutely be of use; Though that pile held the least by a wide margin, it was already proving its worth with the paper she had found, some sort of notebook bound with a spiral of metal wire... Now if she could just find a pencil, or some ink- or anything to write with, really...

Cam, on the other hand, had started with the bedside table; While it only held two drawers, he figured it was more likely to hold something of use than the dressers- after all, dressers normally just held clothes... and it was already a bit alarming at just how much clothing the previous occupant owned!

Cam barely had three outfits to his name, and the pile of useless clothes growing on the floor from Mero's sorting was already up to his waist!

Opening the first drawer of the small bedside stand, he instantly rolled his eyes, barely suppressing a groan; He had expected to be surprised by the contents, as he had no idea what sort of person this room could have belonged to- other than female-, but... finding intimate items wasn't on his list!

"You're blushing."

"Shut up, Mero..." He sighed, pulling the drawer fully out to dump its contents on the floor- even if it was just a creation of the Tower, he had no desire to handle some stranger's 'toys'... Nudging aside the contents, his smile quickly returned as he found what he was really hoping for: a pencil! "Got one!"

Hurriedly circling around the bed to his side, Mero quirked an eyebrow at him. "I don't believe we have need of a replica penis-"

"Not that! Damn, you're as bad as Eron when you want to be!" Cam groaned, tempted to smack his clone for her bad joke... though, to be fair, if it wasn't at his expense, he probably would have laughed at it. Reaching down, he snatched up the pencil and handed it to her. "Just... start on the map already- and try not to expose us to the demons!"

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"No shit." She replied, rolling her eyes as she took the pencil and the notebook she had found before moving over to the window to start drawing...

The main reason they hadn't moved on yet was for this exact possibility: making a map of the city. While Cam wouldn't claim to be an expert map maker, even a rough approximation would do wonders in their search efforts, and this apartment, with its two huge windows overlooking so much of the city, was the perfect perspective to work with.

While his clone started on the map, Cam quickly tossed the rest of the room, fully expecting to be disappointed... and he was; Aside from the abundance of women's clothing- some of which Mero had apparently taken a liking to, which made him pause as he considered his own mental state-, and the numerous empty or ruined cosmetic and perfume bottles... the only real items of interest was some jewelry that he likely wouldn't be able to take out of the Tower, even if it did look nice...

"Other than making the map, this room is a bust..."

"We expected that." Mero replied calmly as she focused on carefully drawing the lines of their map... and, for whatever reason, she had decided to lay on the floor to do it, head near the window, with her feet kicking in the air behind her- a pose Cam had seen from young girls in school somehow made surreal by it being his clone doing it... "I think there are Hellhounds down there; While I can't make out their details from here, they are obviously quadrupeds and moving in packs."

Cam's mind shifted to what he knew of Hellhounds... which wasn't much, admittedly; Four legged demons that looked like black dogs with glowing red eyes, that hunted in packs... Despite all of his reading, he knew it wasn't much to go on, but that was partially because the details of monsters from higher Floors wasn't discussed quite as much in the Outer Ring... And Demons were typically a higher Floor mob...

"Well, at least we know what two of the mobs on this Floor are; Hopefully it will still be the usual three or four total for this low of a Floor..." He grimaced, hoping he hadn't just jinxed himself.

While three or four types of mobs was normal for lower Floors... higher Floors didn't always follow that rules, especially with something like Demons- and it was very possible he was getting the 'higher Floor experience' early...

"Good news: this floor is clear, as are the two floors above us and the next three down..." Eron's words cut into their nearly silent work- well, Mero's work, as Cam had finished checking the room and was keeping watch near the door; While he could have moved out into the rest of the apartment- a kitchen and living room combination, divided by a countertop-, he preferred to stick closer to his more vulnerable clone, just in case an Imp spotted her and broke through the window to attack.

"That means there are mobs below that." Cam focused on the implied danger. "Did you get a look at them, or just hear them and came back to tell us?"

"Heard them, and it sounded like a decent sized group. Probably five or six at least, just based on the different voices I heard, but it could be more." Eron shrugged. "I didn't want to open the door and risk alerting them, so I came straight back; Haven't pushed past that floor either, since I didn't want to get cut off by them moving."

"Ok, head back down and keep an ear out- from a distance, if you can-, and let us know if they start heading this way." Cam quickly laid out his thoughts- which he was sure his clones had already considered and agreed with. "We'll stay here until Mero finishes her map, then take a stab at those mobs to see what they can do."

"Heh, take a stab at them..." Eron chuckled, making Cam almost regret his accidental pun. "Sure thing! If something goes wrong, you'll hear me screaming bloody murder!"

With that, the clone slipped back out the door, knowing the two behind him would be rolling their eyes at his back.