30 The Snake and the Dog (1/2)
The first three buildings were easily cleared out. The smallest one was a smokehouse used for preserving meats. The next building they checked, the largest one, was filled with food of every kind. The food ranged from wild tubers and berries to grains and dried goods that were still in their original containers, most likely stolen from unsuspecting merchants. The third building was filled with miscellaneous goods and belongings. Almost as if hoarding every object from all their victims, the building contained a lot of used clothing and armor including things like holey socks or worn down briefs. There weren't many weapons inside the building, but there were several pouches of money and even bones and furs.
Unlike greedy goblins, Kobolds were less interested in the allures of money and gems. Instead they were more interested in unique weapons and simple mechanical objects such as belts, watches, and hinged boxes. The remaining objects in this building were probably just leftovers, their favorite objects being kept on their person.
It was the last building that gave Kalin and his companions a headache. Unlike the other three buildings they checked, this last one had living beings inside of it. Many living beings.
Upon opening the building, they were met with the sight of rows of cages. The inhabitants of each cage varied. One cage had a couple demonic wolves, another had an imp, one particularly large cage had several chained people. The commonality shared between each imprisoned individual were the identical collars clasped around each of their necks. Collars worn by slaves.
Noticing the accessories around the captives' necks, Vin couldn't help but swear, ”Shit, this just got a lot more complicated.”
”Why?” Asked Artemis, not fully comprehending the situation.
”Kobolds don't use slaves. They're a xenophobic race of demons that don't get along with anybody else. The fact that they are keeping captives means that they have connections to slave traders, either of the demon nations or the nations of the races.” He responded with a grim look on his face.
”That's exactly right.” Came a voice from the back of the room. Inside one of the larger cages the speaker of the words came to view. The voice belonged to a woman that was eyeing the adventurers.
The woman was the embodiment of seduction. Much like how Kalin's own mother, every trait of her seemed to be used to seduce men. Her emerald hair flowed past her waist. It was adorned with flowers that seemed to pale in comparison to her own beauty. Her eyes were sharp, the pupils of her yellow eyes were a pair of vertical slits. Her lips were plump, like a pair of red fruits. Her head sat on her almost unnaturally long, slender neck. Her bombastic breasts were in plain view, as she didn't bother to hide her modesty from anybody present. While her large breasts and small waist were both undeniably attractive, the part of her body Kalin felt most beautiful were her mesmerizing hips. Situated between the long snake-like tail that sprouted forth from beneath her round, half-scaly butt where her legs should have been, and her thin, smooth waist, her hips seemed to draw the eyes of all the onlookers as the human half of her body swayed from side to side.
”A lamia!” Gasped Belinda as she tried to identify the woman.
With a small frown making her way onto her luscious lips, she complained, ”Don't compare the great Ophelia to a mere lamia. Ophelia is a member of the deific race of echidna. The Mindless lamia are but a cheap imitation of the wise echidna.”
”If you're so great then how did you get caught by mere Kobolds?” Asked Belinda with a bit of a growl. The tone of the self-proclaimed echidna rubbed her the wrong way. It didn't help her mood any to notice Elric staring at the naked body of this captured demon.
”Hmph!” She snorted, ”As if mere dogs could catch Ophelia if it wasn't for their sneaky trap. If they hadn't lured Ophelia with those shiny rocks, she never would have been caught in that net!”
”So, she's an idiot.” Claimed Belinda.
”She's an idiot.” Confirmed Vin.
”Idiot.” Nodded Yami. Her face showing a look as if she had just discovered a long lost relative or kindred spirit.
With the unanimous approval of Belinda's original statement, besides Kalin, Ophelia started to form tears in her eyes. Before the discussion got further out of hand, however, Kalin interrupted their conversation, ”Did you guys all forget how dangerous the situation is? We need to decide if we're going to release them now or fight first. We don't have time for this.”
Noticing their folly, the rest of the group snapped out of it. That's right, how could they forget something so important?