Like thieves in the night, we'll free the slaves of this world!! (Part 2 ~ Execution)

Alright, Penelope. It's the dead of night, You and your 'soldiers' are just outside the house of Arethon's most prolific slave trader, prepared to take her down and free all of those she's holding captive. You've got this.

I look to the others, as if to wordlessly ask if they're ready.

Zephys nods, a look of determination painting their face. However much of that look is her being confident as opposed to her feigning confidence to psyche herself up, I don't know. But, she's dedicated herself to following my lead, and I greatly appreciate her for that.

Crimson, on the other hand, gives me a thumbs up. For such a showman, it amuses me how basic his response is. To me, it feels like a show of trust-- that he's starting to put his guard down around me. Which, given he seemed more than wary at first to accept me as Exgrave's successor, means a lot. I think he's developed a lot of respect for me in the determination I've shown as of late.

...Determination born from grief. I've lost so much, both in my past life and this one.

Mae'poi's words from the aborted timeline ring out in my head --about my two lives being one and the same, connected by the second chance Exgrave had given me. I still feel so weird living this life as a dragon, but I can't deny that a part of me is starting to be glad I was given this second lease on life, even through all the pain I've had to endure.

I'm stalling-- now isn't the time for self-reflection. Time is of the essence, here.

I crouch down, allowing for Zephys to hop onto my back.

Agh... It's heavy having an entire lamia sitting atop me, but I imagine the giant metal man would've been much heavier.

In any case, I kick up into the air, flying higher and higher to keep a low profile as we reach the main house.

"...How's it feel?" I ask Zephys.

"How's what feel?"

"Flying atop a dragon."

"...Magical, honestly." She laughs a bit. "I never thought I'd even see a dragon, let alone get to fly one."

"I bet, yeah."

"How's it feel for you? Being that dragon, and all."

"...Unreal."

We arrive on the roof of Anson's house. As Crimson surmised, we're able to stand on it just fine without having to worry about any barrier. First order of action, then, is to look for some way into the house.

Thankfully, it's not hard. She's a rich asshole, of course her lavish house has a skylight. Zephys hops off, looking to see if any of the panes open up like a door. ...If we have to make a holiday entrance through the chimney instead, we can-- but I'd prefer something more convenient for the two of us to go down and back up again, if things go south.

Thankfully, it won't come to that. "Got it! We're in, Pento!" She finds an openable pane, cracking it inwards quietly and gesturing for me to follow. I let her onto my back again, and the two of us descend to the second story floor.

Control your flight, Penelope... It's all over if we make too much noise...

Phew. We've made it. It appears that we're in some sort of study. Bookshelves lining the walls, paper strewn all over the place-- both across tables and the floor. It's very lived in. But still, I doubt we'll find anything important here.

I place a finger to my mouth to reiterate that we need to be quiet, and the two of us set out to explore the residence. We're going to have to improvise, unfortunately, given our lack of knowledge on the layout of this massive, massive house. It's a very fancy house, to the point that if you were to visit, you'd probably be inclined to be polite and try not to touch anything. But, knowing who this house belongs to, really just makes me want to touch everything I can.

Finding the nearest door, the two of us enter... what seems to be a bedroom. Any anxiety towards stumbling into Anson herself is quickly overwritten by the worry of blowing our cover sneezing from how much dust is here. It's clear whoever lived here hasn't lived here in a while. Given the plushes and other kid-sized furniture, Anson must've had a son or a daughter at one point, but they must be long gone now. Estranged? Wouldn't surprise me, given her profession probably has her owning people the age of her prospective kid. But, whatever; it's not important to us.

Quietly, we duck out, finding another door that leads out into a hallway, giving us actual tangible progress to our goal. Moving further from the skylight, the rooms become darker and darker; thankfully, both of us flourish in this type of environment. Hmm....

Let's see. If I was to place a set of keys, it would be somewhere close to the front door-- especially if I've got a magical barrier preventing someone from sneaking in and taking it for themselves. It'd be horribly inconvenient if I had to go on a miniature journey just to find the keys every time I wanted to visit the other buildings on my property, after all. If we can find a staircase, then we can sneak our way down to the first floor-- possibly finding the controls for the barrier as well.

There we go, a spiral staircase. Of course it's a spiral staircase. We sneak our way down, trying to be as discreet as possible. Living room-- spacious and cozy, but not what I'm looking for right now. It's a big place, but surely the front door must be nearby, right? I've never seen a living room not be the first thing you see when you... there we go.

The front door. And, there's a key rack nearby as well.

...

...

The keys are missing. Of course it wouldn't be simple like that. We'll have to look around some more.

I huddle Zephys closer-- unfortunately neither of us can do mind links like Exgrave or Elioxus, so we'll have to discreetly communicate the old fashioned way.

"No keys here..." I whisper out in frustration. "Any other ideas? I'm trying to think..."

She thinks it over for a second, unsure. "Maybe... the scullery? I'd keep my essentials there, myself."

"Good point. Hopefully the keys are there." We look around, making our way through more hallways before eventually finding the kitchen. It's one of the biggest kitchens I've ever seen, clearly made to facilitate multiple chefs working at the same time. Excessive, much? ...Though, I guess she may use it for entertaining guests. Still. We push further, making our way to the scullery.

I bet her slaves use this as a break room, what with the chairs placed alongside the laundry equipment. Let's see, are there any key racks here?

...No. Unfortunately not.

"Oh, maybe the clothes...? She could've just forgotten to take it out of a pocket." I whisper out, gesturing for Zephys to look through the clothes as I try to see if there's anything for the barrier.

The fact we've made it this far-- I admit I'm on a bit of an adrenaline high.

Can't exactly say if things are going well or not. But, we'll see.

She shrugs her shoulders. Disappointing.

Oh... huh. "You think this is what controls the barrier?" I point to a lever affixed to the wall.

"Maybe. Do you trust me to check...?" Likely referring to some sort of detection magics. I nod, and she works her magic-- her eyes glowing as she seemingly traces an invisible line with her hands.

After a moment of due process, she turns to me with a nod. "Go for it." I place my trust in her, pulling the lever.

No sudden alarms blaring. No sudden change in lighting. Phew.

We've figured out the situation with the barrier at least, now let's head out to find Crim-

knock, knock, knock

No. NO.

A knock at the door... at this time of night??

I think on my toes. "Quick... follow me." We head back to the front door as quickly and quietly as we can. I look through the peephole and... you're kidding me.

It's those damn Ale-knights again. If I try to scare them off, they might make a loud enough noise to wake Anson.

...

"...Get them to leave." I order Zephys, who looks at me with a panicked expression that can best be summarized as 'who, me?' I point to her neck. She looks confused, before realizing she never took off the collar from last night. She nods, realizing what I'm suggesting, before pulling open the door.

She shushes the group. "Q-quiet... all of you...! If you wake up Mistress Slader, she'll be deeply upset!"

The robed cleric holds her head, giggling in a way that betrays her previously demure behavior. "A-apologies. We had... lost our written directions on the way *hic* here."

Is she drunk...? No wait, they must all be. It's in their name. Why would Anson hire these fools? Was she cheaping out, or was this a last minute idea on her part?

"Out of the waaaay, let me talk to the poor slave." The bunny rogue pathetically pushes her aside, looking a bit surprised. "Huh. You're cute. ...Aaaaanyway, we're here for the guardwork your Mistress hired us for... soooo let us guard the house?"

Zephys grimaces. "Well, we don't need the guarding now, I was just about to put up the barrier around the house." She's made her voice sound more fanciful-- is that on purpose, or is it just how she sounds when she's trying to lie? "...Your services are no longer required." She adds a tone of disappointment at the end.

"...You sure?" The hot-headed Risky pipes up. "Your uh... 'Mistress' already paid in advance for our services."

Yeah, we can tell. Given the smell seeping into the room, you lot already spent it on alcohol.

"Mistress Slader is asleep right now." Zephys mock-sighs. "The four of you can handle matters with her in the morning. Now please, before she stirs awake...!"

"If you say so... C'mon, guys. There's probably another tavern open, somewhere." The group moves to disperse, with the last one-- the big brutish woman known as Banger --staying behind for just a moment.

"I do apologize for your situation, miss... being a slave, and all. I shall pray for your freedom."

Zephys bows, trying to get them to leave already. It's good that they're sympathetic, but it's not going to do us a whole lot of good if they blow our cover.

After they've finally dispersed, the two of us exchange thumbs up at each other.

"You did great, Zeph...!"

"Thanks, I... Maybe I should get into acting sometime, eheheh." We both quietly chuckle.

"Well, we'll have to wait until they leave the premises before we can call Crim over, so let's keep looking in the meantime."

She nods, looking around for any other doors to check.

Another pit forms in my stomach.

"What if... she has the key on her?"

"Y-you're not saying to check her bedroom...?"

"I can't think of anywhere else." As much as I would love to, where else would you keep a key but on your person? "I'll take the lead."

Zephys gulps before the two of us look for the monster herself.

Bathroom...

Office...

Guest room, notably more well-kept than the upstairs bedroom...

There we go. Anson's bedroom. You can tell it's hers by how important it feels. Easily, it dwarves both bedrooms we've seen thus far. That, and there's a certain lived-in feel to it, with the draped coat and food mess indicating a side of her that she probably doesn't bother to show her clients. More papers and documents strewn everywhere. I'd say she should hire a maid, but she'd probably take matters into her own hands if I did.

Wait...

On her bed.

There's... nothing.

Nothing?

Shouldn't she be there, sleeping?

My eyes quickly dart around for any suggestion of a light. Nothing.

I quickly move in, looking for any other rooms. Bathroom, closet, nothing of note.

"Stay back," I whisper to Zephys.

Against better judgement, I approach her bed. I need to know for a fact if she's here or not, because if she isn't... we're going to need to leave.

Step...

Step...

Step...

Step...

Each footstep feels like an immeasurable eternity, with me worrying one unlucky move will hit the wood in just the right way to creak and ruin everything for us.

Alright. I've made it to her bed.

As suspected... it's empty. Unmade, even. Were we not as quiet as we thought? Or were the Ale-knights the straw that broke the camels back?

A loud sound like a lever being pulled startles me, causing me to duck under the bed out of instinct. There's a trapdoor here, but... more importantly, the artificial lights have all turned on.

"Come out... little wyrm." A low, female voice teases me. "You're not fooling anyone hiding under there."

I crawl out, finding it more important to protect Zephys than escape myself. The trapdoor can wait.

"Anson... right?" I get a better look at her. Short, stocky, pajama-clad woman with long blue hair and circle-rimmed glasses of which the glint obscures her eyes.

And, she's standing behind Zephys-- not threatening her in any way, yet she's still paralyzed with fear. Her presence commands it, it seems.

"So... this is the two-toned dragon those Ale-knights were talking about. If I knew you were going to visit, I would've saved myself the money in hiring those fools." She tsks. "Unreliable lot, those fools are. Didn't even show up."

"You were looking for me?"

"Just to see if the rumors were true. I figure a dragon of your sort... would make a fine trophy for my fireplace."

I growl at her.

"Woah, woah! Calm down~" She laughs. "I'm not a monster-- if you get on your knees and apologize for breaking into my house, maybe I'll even consider making you my personal servant."

"...Only if you let Zephys go free."

"Hmm? Why would I want just one slave?" She grins, before placing a hand on Zephys' shoulder. "I know I've got many, but this one's so cute~ Maybe I'll make her into my own personal maid. Here, let's split the difference-- I'll let you live, and you can be my personal footstool."

...My gambit didn't work.

I bare my teeth, ready to strike. "Then there's no way in hell I'll obey you."

"Now, now. Did I say that was a requirement?" She snaps her finger. "Lamia, demonstrate for her what I mean."

Zephys' collar lights up in the same way it did when it was first placed on her, her eyes glazing over as Anson takes her leave.

"Z-Zeph...?"

No response.

She pulls out her spellbook, preparing a spell.

...

This...

This is bad.