C-Claire!?

The night sky glittered with hundreds of stars. A gigantic silver moon loomed over the city at its very peak. A young woman sat upon the edge of a fountain staring down into the water as it reflected her face.

'Hmhm... Where is Momonga? He did say he'd meet me back at the town center, but it's been multiple hours; what's taking him so long?'

Claire leaned back a tiny bit but not far enough that she would fall into the water behind her.

'Should I go to the Demon's Wolf's Garden and find him? Ugh, no, that's stupid; I'm not even strong enough to survive such a place; plus, Momonga is strong enough to kill a wyvern if he pleases.'

Claire thought back to the goblin attack and how Momonga intervened, saving her life.

'The level of magic that he showed in that forest was... well, extraordinary. I've never seen anything like it before.'

Claire looked back to the sky, thinking about what she should do next.

'Oh, screw it! I'll just find a nearby inn and stay there for the night. He probably got lost or found something better to do than meet me here.'

She stood back up and looked around; after a short second, she spotted a nearby inn.

'Hmm... that Inn looks nice, "The Fairy Moons Inn" I actually like the ring of that." Claire said as she thought out loud.

She then began walking to the inn, but as she did, a sudden loud screech came from a nearby alley.

'huh?'

Then a screech so loud that it couldn't be mistaken. It was a cry for help from what sounds to be a little girl. In seconds Claire was on the move heading toward the scream, with little to no hesitation rushing into the alleyway. What she saw next was a sight that could not be unseen.

A large carriage with heavy metal bars could be seen. Inside that carriage were three little girls and two adult women, all of them seemed to be of the demi-human race. Thirty men stood beside the carriage, picking the adult females with sharp swords, teasing them with hot objects as if they were mere toys. However, it didn't take them long to notice Claire as she stood out like a child that had lost her way.

"B-back away from the carriage!" Claire screamed out as she pulled a dagger from her left hip. She then brought it in front of her, but it didn't take long to notice that her hands were shaking; she was scared for both her and the slave's lives.

'What should I do? Should I run?'

But then, ten men standing near the carriage started to move forward toward her. Though the others merely watched what was about to unfold.

"What's wrong, pretty? Lost your way?" one of the men said, his face painted with all sorts of symbols indicating he was from the slave trade.

"Don't take another step forward. I'll cut your head off in a single strike." Claire threatened the men, though her words flew right over their heads.

"Cut off my head?!" the men said as everyone behind him laughed. He then ordered them to surround her, which they took no time to do.

"Tell you what! If you put down the dagger and let us have a bit of fun, we'll let you walk out of here." the man said, looking Claire up and down, but then he noticed one key feature, her ears.

"OH!? HEY BOYS, LOOK, WE HAVE AN ELF!" the man said, to which the rest of them responded with evil laughter, some smiling.

Claire looked around, knowing she couldn't escape due to the men surrounding her. However, she didn't want to run as she had higher priorities.

'Is there any way I can get to that carriage and set them free?'

She looked up at the buildings to see if any rope was hanging down or if there were any boxes she could jump on. However, her luck ran out as there was nothing she could use to quickly get past these men.

'Ugh, I'll have to break through them somehow.'

Just as Claire was preparing herself thoroughly for the onslaught, they pounced.

"Fireball" A ball of flame formed in front of Claire's outstretched arm, but suddenly it distinguished.

"Huh?" Claire said as her eyes moved toward the man with the symbols drawn on him. Then suddenly, Claire gets hit on her back by a large wooden club, which makes her recoil in pain. However, taking quick action and her previous experience fighting Donadrond, she struck back with her dagger. The rugged man that hit her quickly lost his entire hand. Blood spewed from his arm, splattering on the ground and the nearby walls. His scream echoed through the alleyway, and then he collapsed, bleeding until his very last moments when Claire finished him off by crushing his head with her boots.

"Who's next?" Claire said, confident that she could take them all.

'I don't think I'll be able to take them all, but my best chance is to scare some of them or stall until guards arrive; all this noise must be attracting some kind of attention.'

"So, you think just because you took one guy out, you'll be able to stop us all?" the man with symbols drawn on him said. But then he snapped his fingers, and out of the blue, an all-out attack occurred.

'Oh, shi-'

Every man struck Claire. It was impossible to defend herself from everything. Finally, a gash appeared on her back, a dagger cut her cheek cleanly, and a large club broke her left leg. It didn't take much time until she collapsed onto the ground, helpless and at their mercy.

"Stop, men! We don't want to hurt the new merchandise anymore than we have; we'll use a healing potion or two on her once we get her back to base." The man said

"M-merchandise?" Claire said, her eyes giving a look of shock.

The man kneeled down and looked straight at her.

"Yes, merchandise. An elf goes for a high price from time to time. And with your looks..." The man said, taking his dagger and lifting up her skirt as he admired her body.

"With a body like this and the fact that you're an elf. You'll be bought for a fortune!" The man said, an evil smile crossing his face. Claire reacted by trying to crawl away, but it was useless, as she started to fade out of consciousness when a sleeping spell was cast upon her.

"M-Momonga... he-help..." Claire said out loud, the man laughing.

"This useless Momonga person you call out to won't help you now." The man said.

Claire was loaded into the bared carriage, and she went out of consciousness after a few seconds passed.