84 The Slavers - Part 12

Panic.

That is what went through both Sylvia and Octavia.

As far as they could tell, everyone else had managed to get out of the village with ease, so that was a plus. But, for one of the young girls that was held captive… she had disappeared just as the group she was in got close to the gate.

It was a horrible situation.

The question now was, where had she gone?

The first and worst scenario that came to mind was that the slavers had managed to grab her before she could leave, either out of retribution for them escaping, or maybe even desperation, seeing her as a way to start and rebuild their stocks. Whatever the case was, there was no way that Octavia could just leave the girl to her fate. Even though going back and searching left her and Sylvia open to the chance that the slavers would get them as well.

If they learn that they were the ones responsible for the mess that befell them, well… ending up as merchandise might not be the worst thing that happens to them.

But, that was a risk Octavia was going to take. As repugnant as the thought of what might happen to her if she was caught, it was a lot worse knowing that the young girl might end up in that position instead.

There was the chance that the girl could have just headed away from the group or maybe got lost in the crowd, which was bad in and of itself, but the chance that the slavers had managed to capture her was very much possible and at the top of the list.

They had to jump into action.

"Okay, what did she look like?"

With the number of people they had saved, to recall exactly what the girl had looked like was just an impossibility.

"Sh-she, she was about this tall," the woman of the group said as she raised her hand to just about her knees. "she had brunette hair, it was long as well and she had the same skin tone as me". Looking up at the woman, she could see she had a lightly tanned skin tone.

"What colour were her clothes?"

"I think, I think just green and white."

Pretty much all of them just had simple peasants' garb on them, but they had been of varying colours, so this was good to know.

"Okay, I need you to look around the crowd and see if you can spot her. I am going to- "

"We" Sylvia jumped in with.

"-We…are going to head back to the slaver's shop and see if they have brought her in."

Octavia didn't even bother to fight back against having Sylvia join her. For one, given how she handled herself with the slaver in their dungeon, she could take care of herself. And two, she was sure she would not win should they have argued about it.

…

The pseudo-family, while wanting to head out of town and flee, followed what Octavia had said. Guilt in losing the girl likely being the major factor in their decision-making.

Octavia and Sylvia headed back into the village and back to the grocers that the slavers operated out of.

The potion and her innate healing abilities as a Lamia were working overtime. She felt a lot better, but there were still twinges, aches and pains over different parts of her body. But, the good news was that most of her normal movement function was back to where it used to be. Or at least, was getting there.

She kept pace with Sylvia as they headed out of the crown, still being sure to keep her tail bunched up against her, hiding the fact that she was a Lamia.

It didn't take them long to get where they needed to go, finding the building in question. The problem was that the signs of activity from before looked to be non-existent now.

The closed sign on the front of the door might have also had something to do with it, keeping actual shoppers at bay. But, it truly looked like everyone in the store had gone on vacation or something.

That was until they saw movement from one of the alleyways near to the store.

"Are you sure you don't want any help with that?"

"No!, No no. It's just a carpet, I'm more than capable of carrying it."

"It looks rather heavy though."

"That may be, but I am quite confident in my strength. Please, there is no need for you to worry over me."

"I-I see. Err, when will the store be open again?"

"The…damage from some of our barrels breaking is being dealt with as we speak. Some fool in the shop overfilled them. This is just to replace the one that has become soaked and covered in salt. There are a few other things to deal with, but after that, it should not be long before we are back in business."

"Okay. I hope all goes well with the repairs."

"Yes…me too."

It seemed an innocent conversation, and to many that's all it would ever be. But given what they knew about the owners of the grocers, it was anything but.

Coming out of the alley, was one man holding a straw basket in one hand, while the other, held a large rolled-up carpet over his shoulder.

It was the size of the carpet however, that told Sylvia and Octavia the whole story. The ends of the carpet, just folded down, hiding what was inside from anyone's gaze. It was also so large in diameter, you could probably fit a small child in there. Which is obviously what the two girls were thinking.

Then there was the story of damage and a soaking wet carpet. Sure, things had got damaged in the scuffle, but it was obviously a falsehood. There was no doubt about it in their minds that the girl they were after was in the carpet.

The slaver managed to send the concerned shopper on his way and headed to the front door, pushing it open.

From where they stood, the inside looked empty. Plus, with how the man struggled to even open the door and get the carpet inside added to the thought that the place was empty for some reason, as no one came to help him.

At this point, both of them knew they needed to get to the girl sooner rather than later. Their raid before was a stealth mission and required patience. But right now, with the slavers on high alert, they had probably started to close up shop, looking to find any quick finds in terms of merchandise they could bring for their escape. Sure, they could follow them once they did, and were sure the soldiers would get here in time, but who knew what the slavers would do with the girl in that time.

So, seeing this as a prime opportunity, Octavia headed towards the shop as the man was pushing his way through the door, with Sylvia trailing behind.

As the man managed to get himself and the carpet all the way through, Octavia reached the door and pushed in behind him.

"What the-!"

Octavia took told of the carpet, as she slammed into the man, sending him to the floor, and pulling it out of his grasp, finding it to be a heavy load, but manageable. The man groaned as he hit the ground, his head making good contact with the stone flooring.

Sylvia closed the door behind them, keeping any prying eyes from what was going on. To many, it would probably look like they had just assaulted a local businessman. Even with the girl wrapped up in a carpet, there was a chance that could be put on them, in place of the man. So, it was best to keep others away from the situation.

Octavia laid the carpet on the ground and started to unwrap it. The man on the ground started to groan as he held his head and tried to figure out what had happened.

Well, that was until he felt a rather large weight knock the wind out of him and cover half his face.

"Your tail is so convenient."

Octavia could only nod at that. She hoped it wouldn't be long before it grew back fully. Although with the potion still in effect, it did look like it was getting close to its original size and shape. So hopefully it will not be long now.

The man underneath continued to struggle, but the weight of her tail, practically flattened him against the ground, making it all but impossible.

While she did this and continued to unwrap, Sylvia quickly moved around the counter of the shop, standing by the door that probably led to a backroom, looking out for any of the slavers. The commotion they had made, hardly generated much noise, but there was always the chance that one of them noticed, or maybe decided now was the right time to leave the shop. 

So, with Sylvia on guard, and Octavia's tail doing its job, she continued unwrapping the thick and heavy fabric of the carpet. It was a somewhat, well almost smart idea of concealing the kidnapping of someone, but if anything, Octavia could see it being better used for the disposal of a body, the thought coming from films and shows that did the same. With how heavy the fabric was, she desperately hoped that wouldn't end up being the case, with the girl having died of asphyxiation or something. Realising this, she redoubled her efforts, and in doing so, it didn't take long for her to fully unroll the carpet, and inside was…

"…"

…not what she had expected.

"A wooden log…what?"