We're back in Ingrid's cozy office. From her expression, I can judge that things didn't go as smoothly as they should have. I think it's evident that the merchant isn't going to have the slaves inside his carriages already.

"Vigi found Sveinn's carriages and inspected them. They're empty, but there are large hidden compartments that are not visible from the outside. With ten carriages, those compartments could hide over thirty people. Of course, we can't make any judgments yet, since he could as well be using those to store the more expensive goods to hide from bandit raids." The guild leader immediately gets to the point. "But there's something else. Lady Nightwane has disappeared. The door's lock was broken, and there were signs of a struggle."

"So they came back after all!" Luna is upset. Yeah, we did kind of just leave her there, you know. She was already captured the first time, did you think the second time would go any better?

"I have my best trackers on their trail. We don't have many people in at the moment, because of the advanced hour, so we need all available hands." Ingrid tries to calm Luna down. Oh oh, are we going to raid the slave traders' base right away? I can help, I have a healing spell now! "Once we find where they're bringing her, we'll raid them."

Yay!

"Gram is contacting his friends in the city watch. We should wait for word from him." Rolan argues. I almost forgot about him. What about the bard you ask? There was a bard?

"Only until I get word from my trackers. Time is of the essence. We don't want them to escape under our noses." The guild leader states with a grave expression. But you said you needed all hands available; now you want to leave behind a capable tank? Well, it makes sense to rush, since three of their people disappeared trying to get Lady Nightwane. They should be on alert, although nobody here besides Senka and I know about this. Rolan doesn't seem too happy about that decision since it's an essential member of his party, but he can't overrule the decision of the guild master.

Luckily, Gram and the bard came to the guild only moments later. Wait, there was a bard... right. The big man brought good news from the city watch. Those he trusts would take over the night shift with some trickery and bribery, and close the gates firmly so that no rats can escape. I'm sure an organized criminal group will have some hidden pathways running underneath the walls, but at least the more obvious escape routes have been closed.

"Who else is going to be part of the raid?" Rolan finally asks when his party is gathered.

"The groups under Halfdan, Arni, Inga, and Kori. Vigi and I will be coming, too. We'll be thirty-four people altogether." Ingrid announces. Seems like a sizeable group, considering you said there weren't many in at this hour. If I assume that they're all at the level of Rolan's party, and when I compare them to the thugs that attacked us in the creepy store, then this should be easy. And if push comes to shove, I can always do a full cleanup or just get out of there on my own. Ah, of course I'd be taking Senka with me.

"Miss Norling, reporting in." A man in a wild leather outfit comes up to us. Who's he referring to? Oh, Ingrid responds. So her full name is Ingrid Norling, huh?

"Go ahead."

"We followed the trail to an abandoned building complex in the slums. They likely have their base inside it. The problem is that we don't know how many entry points there are, and we can't tell if there are any hidden underground passageways." So even a town this small still has slums.

"Halfdan should be able to deal with the passageways with his earth magic. But we might be too few to surround the place as well as raid it. I'll need a layout of the complex, but the slums are notoriously hard to grasp because of how much of it is constructed in a half-assed manner." Ingrid seems troubled.

"Umm..." I make, and everybody turns their heads to me. Ah, being the center of attention is a little daunting after all. Running in front of a crowd is no problem, but speaking still makes me nervous. "Miss Luna can cast ice magic, right?"

"Yes, but what of it?" Well, Luna-chan, if you would let me finish, I would tell you. This was a rhetorical question because I know you can.

"Could you not use it to freeze the outside of the complex?" Judging by everyone's looks, I just dumbfounded them with this suggestion. What, is it so out there? "This way nobody gets out on street level. Then we could use an underground passage to take them by surprise."

This might be easier said than done since I don't know the concept behind magic in this world, and where it comes from. If it requires something like mana, then I'm sure she'll run out of it quickly when using it this way. At least that's what I know from game logic.

"I could do it, but if they have someone proficient in fire magic, they can just melt it away." The typical rock paper scissors of elemental attacks, huh? But I feel like you're forgetting the fact that the building here are mostly made of wood, as far as I can tell. If you use fire magic inside a building to melt ice on the exterior, it's the easiest way to burn the house down.

"Of course we would still need lookouts on street level. But I doubt they'll be having a lot of fire mages, so their exit points should be very few. If we concentrate our forces there, it creates a bottleneck." Ingrid rides on my suggestion. It seems you don't need me anymore; I've made my point.

The discussion heats up over how to best go about the building's lockdown and raid, based on Luna's ice magic and Halfdan's earth magic. In the end, it was decided that the group would be split up into two, the parties under Rolan, Arni, and Inga performing the raid, while Halfdan and Kori's parties would guard the perimeter, watch the raiders' rear and provide medical aid in case it's needed. Incidentally, Luna and I were meant to be put under Halfdan's command, but she refused very adamantly. I joined in on it because I didn't want to miss out on the fun, as well as potentially nabbing a few bodies along the way.

"Alright alright, but can you guarantee that your ice magic will hold out for that long?" That's my concern, too, Rolan. But questioning your girlfriend's capabilities like that is not a smart thing to do.

"I'll just make it a glacial prison if you think an ice prison is not enough." Are those actual spell names or are you just giving comparisons? I can't tell. But it seems to convince Rolan, so it must hold meaning.

We set out after it's decided, splitting up along the way to ensure that we're not too suspicious. I finally have an official reason to be there since I can now use healing magic. I'm carrying Senka like I'm a certain black mage in a fantasy RPG who uses dolls to channel magic through. But I'm a white mage, and she's a cursed doll. Haha, the irony...

"Ah, I wanted to ask... can you fight?" I whisper to Senka. I know she can use something like a life-draining curse when she ingests someone's blood, but that's very situational. Her body looks very frail, and the stitches don't help in the least to alleviate that impression.

"Well, for starters, I have a fear factor going for me. Similar to your real appearance, when people see me move, they get scared." That's psychological warfare, but it doesn't kill people. Oh wait, it does. Someone did die upon seeing me. Still, that can't be reliable. "Also, I can attack people's souls directly. Any damage done on the soul is reflected in the body it occupies." That sounds scary, oi! That's like that demonic being that can kill people in their dreams. "But do you want me to move about?" No, I don't. At least not yet.

"We won't show ourselves unless there's nobody around to witness it."

"Thought so."

"It's just for future reference."

We soon converge on the complex, led by one of Ingrid's trackers. The man with a brown, lion-like mane for hair and a thick beard must be Halfdan. He's touching the ground with both his hands and chanting something.

"Once the underground passages are located and sealed, Runa can seal the exterior of the building. We will begin the raid at the same time." Ingrid is already here. We're remaining a distance away from the complex and in the shadows of the surrounding buildings, as not to attract any attention. She uses her thumb to point upwards. "Vigi is on the lookout from above."

"I found four hollow spaces underground that run in the direction of the complex." It seems Halfdan has finished his part. "I sealed all except for the one that's right underneath us. I can make an opening here, and you can move into position."

Luna begins chanting right away. Again, it's like gibberish to me, but I'm sure I'll learn the words used in due time. It takes several minutes, but it also gives Halfdan time to make an opening leading underground.

"We have been spotted." A man in dark blue attire appears right beside Ingrid and speaks with a muffled voice. Ahhh, a ninja! No wait, when I look closely, he does wear a mask, but his outfit is mostly made of black fur. In the darkness of the night he'd be pretty much invisible if it weren't for my night vision. "There is movement inside."

"Too late for them." Luna seems to have finished, as the air around us grows colder. I look at the building, and it becomes encrusted in a thick layer of glowing ice that illuminates the surroundings. Oh, this is quite convenient for those on the lookout to spot anybody who might break out from there since it lights up the street around it as well.

"Move out!" Ingrid bellows and party after party climbs inside the opening created by Halfdan's earth magic. Luna and I are among the last to enter, and once again, I'm grateful for my night vision. It's dark in here, but it's unexpectedly wide. Two people can stand next to each other without problem, and the ceiling is high enough for even Gram to stand upright. The walls are naked stones and remind me of castle walls. I guess it's an old escape tunnel or part of the city's catacombs?

"Ignis." Luna whispers beside me, and the air above her staff's tip lights up with a flame. Similar to her, others create lights of their own inside the tunnel, and soon it's brightly lit. The parties begin to move in the direction of the complex.

Soon after, we enter a section that looks like a cellar. We must be inside the building now. And two doors are leading out of it, so the raiding party splits up. Two people are left behind to guard the exit, wearing heavy armor and wielding a shield and spear each. Perfect for holding a bottleneck like this. Not that they'd get out since people are guarding the exit above ground, too.

There are sounds of battles breaking out all over the building. Hm, I don't think any of us shouted something like "POLICE! FREEZE!", so if it turns out these are just civilians defending their homes from intruders, it will make everyone involved a huge laughingstock. That's just me musing though. If the trackers found this location by following the trail left behind by those who took Lady Nightwane, there's no doubt as to the nature of those who occupy this building.

Luna and I are mostly in the back since we don't have any fighting capabilities in a direct confrontation. Well, officially, I'm just a healer. Healing magic is quite rare in this world. Considering there are only twelve light mages in this kingdom, thirteen with me, people don't commonly get to be healed in a battle. Then again, I don't know how big this nation is and how many people live in it, so I can't tell yet.

We happen upon a corpse, someone who looks more like a thug than an adventurer. Must be one of them. Things seem to be progressing well for our side.

"We found some of the kidnapped elves!" Someone shouts through the hallway, and Rolan rushes towards the location. It's a room filled with bunk beds, but there's a group of beautiful young women huddled up in one corner of it. Every single one of them has long pointy ears. There are eight of them, with two being dark elves, but Lady Nightwane isn't among them.

"Do you know where the others are being held?" Luna walks up to them and lifts the hair over her ears. Ah, they're slightly pointy after all. Seeing this, the slaves seem to be relieved, and one of them begins to talk. I'll administer some healing magic on those that seem to have been mistreated. Even though I don't really care about their lives, I do feel angry at seeing such treatment of fellow girls. Under my palm, small cuts close up quickly and leave no scars behind. Without my healing, wouldn't those wounds result in scars? How can you do that to a girl's skin?

"How many of you are there?" I ask the one I just finished healing.

"Thirty-two..." She whispers, barely audible. It's obvious she's scared, even though we're here to save them. No wait, she's looking at Senka. Can nobody understand the charm of her appearance, dammit? In either case, I relay this to Rolan.

The whole thing seems to be going smoothly. I guess they didn't have anyone strong enough to fight against adventurers in here? I haven't heard of any casualties on our side yet, and most only have minor injuries.

By the way, I learned that those who can use water magic can also heal, but it only speeds up the body's regenerative capabilities. In other words, light magic is true healing? This is incredibly useful to have! Oh, so Luna doubles as the healer in her party, then. Well, she can't compete with me anymore now. Uh, I think my nose may have just stretched towards the heavens a little.

On the other side, the slavers have been fighting a losing battle since the beginning, and several isolated members have surrendered already. Very few have died, and most have opted to stay alive rather than try and fight their ways out of this. Slavery doesn't pay after all - in many ways. At this rate, we'll be done pretty quickly.

It's going too smoothly...

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion shakes the very foundations of the complex. There it is, the unforeseen circumstances of somebody strong showing up. I'm excited now!