“Ears?” Gently I slide my hand over and lift one of her hears to inspect it.

For sure it’s an ear, it’s just folded over a little so they look like little tuffs of hair. So soft,

Unconsciously i was rubbing her hear between two fingers until I heard a sound.

“Uunnnn…” Squirming uncomfortably in the chair Crisa’s face was a little flushed and she looked at me with tears in her eyes. “Ears….sensitive…”

Immediately letting go of her ear I back up a little. “I'm sorry I didn’t know. I’ve never seen someone with ears like that so I was curious.”

“Never seen ears?” Confused Crisa tilts her head to the side.

“Yeah, I only know people with ears on the side of their face like this.” I push my hair off to the side and reveal my ears to her.

“Beast race normally have hears here.” Crisa makes her ears move upright and then fold back down.

“Okay, do you have tails too? I didn’t see yours when I was bandaging you up.”

“Normally yes, mine was removed.” Looking down at her lap Crisa responds softly.

“Removed? What do you mean? Why?”

“Master Tormu didn’t like it, he told me to either hide it or he would remove it….i couldn’t hide my tail to his liking so he….” Starting to cry some more I decide to stop her.

“It's okay you don’t need to tell me the rest…”

What’s with this world…Midas you have some explaining to do next time we talk.

“On another note, why are you here and what were you trying to do while I was asleep?”

“Un…Master Tormu told me to come here and take any valuables…but you scared me when you woke up…”

“Master Tormu again huh? So who is this Master Tormu guy?” Leaning forward I rest my elbows on my knees and put my chin in my hands while looking at Crisa.

“He’s….my owner…and… a section leader for the Thief Association.” Gripping onto her pants Crisa refuses to look me in the eyes.

“Why did he send you to my room, and where is he now?”

“We followed the Preventive Force to steal from unsuspecting adventurers. He saw you leaving the smithy and your money purse as we were getting ready to leave for the capital again.”

“Where is he right now Crisa?”

“Nuh… He’ll cut my ears off if I tell you…” Trembling in the chair while having a death grip on the cloth of her pants Crisa refused to talk.

I was about to try and get more from her when there was a short knock at the door.

“Thomas I'm back, I brought Missy with me and some clothes.”

“I'm coming in.”

Not too soon after Aiden and Missy both enter the room and get a look at Crisa. Passing me the bag of clothes Aiden looks at Crisa and scowls a bit.

“So what are we going to do about her? She’s a thief, and should be treated like one.”

I open the bag and pull out a small green shirt and hold it up to Crisa to judge the size.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. There’s more to it than what we’re seeing…” I point to the slave crest around her neck and going under the bandage to her heart. “…Do you recognize that marking and what it means?”

Leaning closer to look Aiden’s eyes widen a bit.

“She’s a slave, ordered to come here by a man called Tormu. You recognize what would have happened if she refused don’t you? Crisa can you lift your arms a bit please?” Trying to talk some sense into Aiden I begin to help Crisa put the new shirt on being careful to avoid putting stress on the wound.

Aiden sat down on the bed speechless finally realizing that he was in the wrong.

“Missy, can you watch Crisa for me for a second? I need to talk to Aiden alone.”

“Sure!” Getting closer to Crisa, Missy holds out her hand. “Hey Crisa, I'm Missy do you want to get a drink or something to eat from down below?”

Starting to get scared again Crisa’s eyes dart from Missy to me and back to Missy.

“It's okay Crisa, she’s a good person.” Putting my hand over hers, she slowly relaxed her death grip she had on her pants. “I’ll even leave Luna with you too to keep you safe, okay?” After hearing her name Luna popped her head up half awake and let out a little bark before getting up and trotting over.

“Un…” Crisa still look on edge but seemed to be more comfortable with knowing Luna is going to be with them so she lets out a quiet sound and slowly stands up. Taking her hand Missy leads Crisa out of the room, followed close behind by Luna.

Once they were gone and the door was closed I sat down in the chair and looked at Aiden.

“So do you know who this Tormu is? Or the Thief Association?”

“It's just as the name applies, a group of lowly criminals who think because they grouped together they’re invincible. They began to really make an appearance a few years ago when the war was at its peak.”

“And what about this Tormu Character?”

“I don’t know much other than what’s posted on the wanted notices in the guild hall. He’s a sword user in charge of a smaller sub group of the Thief Association that specializes in using slaves to do their dirty work. Last I checked he had a bounty of about 200 gold.”

“Was that bounty for dead or alive?”

“Either or, dead is easier since they won’t have to deal with a court hearing honestly.”

“Who is able to claim the bounty? Is it open for anyone or do we have to go through the guild?”

“Open to the public….why? You’re not really….Look there’s a reason his bounty is 200 gold. Many people have gone after him, only to be sent back to the guild in several boxes. He’s not someone just anyone can go against.”

“What will happen to the slaves under him when he dies?”

“Sigh…You won’t listen to me will you…fine let’s do it your way. It will be up to the lord of the area, in this case if he is in the vicinity of the village then the Chief will be the one who can either grant ownership to you, to the town and general workers, or free them. Most times they go to the town for a set amount of time then are freed if there is no issues.” Letting out a heavy sigh Aiden just gave up and told me everything I needed to hear.

“Alright. Tell the Chief for me taking down Tormu I want the slaves freed, he can keep the gold for the village if that will suffice.” Standing up and putting on my gear I clean the blood off the knife that I threw at Crisa and head down to the first floor to where Crisa and Missy are with Aiden in tow behind me.

When I get close to the bar area I can hear soft giggling and smell delicious food coming up the stair way.

“Luna!!!~”

Getting in view I see Missy chasing Luna around who had a chicken leg in her mouth.

“That was for Crisa, give it back!” Panting and out of breath Missy drops to her knees and gives up on chasing Luna. Crisa was just sitting at a table holding a cup and giggling at the scene looking more alive than before. When I came into view of the three Luna immediately ran up to me furiously wagging her tail with hopes of play time.

“Not this time girl, we have work to do.” Ruffling the fur on the top of her head I walk over to Crisa and sit down across from her. Seeming as if she could tell there was something off the stopped giggling and put the cup down.

“Crisa, do you enjoy working for Tormu?”

She shakes her head no silently.

“Do you enjoy being here with Luna and Missy?”

“Un!” Nodding her head Crisa gives an audible approval.

“I can help you, but I'm going to need some help first. Do you understand?” Softening my voice I look Crisa in the eyes and hold out a hand. “Help me help you, I’ll make sure you won’t be put in any danger after tonight to the best of my abilities.”

Hesitating Crisa looks down to her lap.

She’s scared, I can understand that. But I can’t do anything if I don’t know where to look for the guy.

“The moon…” Quietly, quieter than a mouse walking, she finally spoke after a second of thinking.

“The moon?”

“Follow the moon, you’ll find his camp in the tree line. There’s not many people, just a mage, an archer, and two swordsman…” Slowly she told me a little more on where to find him.

Follow the moon…so they are along the western forest. I can handle five people as long as I have the element of surprise….

“Okay Crisa, you don’t have to say anything else. Missy can you watch over her for the night? I’ll pay for her care when I get back.”

“No, don’t worry about it, I’ll gladly watch her.” Smiling missy put a hand on Crisa’s shoulder and squeezed softly.

“Aiden can you go inform the Chief of the location of Tormu and his men? Let him know not to send anyone until the morning if you haven’t heard anything from me, and Luna you stay with Crisa and watch over her while I'm gone okay?”

“Wait you’re not taking Luna with you? Do you think you’re invincible?”

“No I'm not invincible, but I know what I'm doing. I want Crisa to be protected while I'm gone just in case someone is watching her. You can’t be too careful.” With that I stand up and start to walk to the door, but I stop short when I feel someone tugging on the back of my shirt. I turn around to find Crisa looking at me with tears down her cheeks.

“Please don’t die.”

Putting a hand on top of her head and giving Crisa a soft smile I leave the building and head to the western gate.

Wind feels nice, I’ll need about thirty to forty five minutes for my eyes to completely adjust to the dark normally. Luckily for me it’s a new moon tonight, less light to worry about.

Walking fast but not running, I pass through the gate and into the fields outside the village. Since there’s no lights out this far I had to slow down to let my eyes adjust some more.

It take about a half hour for me to get to the tree line of the western forest, by that time my eyes have completely readjusted to the low light so my vision wasn’t impaired too much.

Slowing down to a snail’s pace I scan the forest looking for any sign of human life while weaving in and between the trees. After walking about a little ways into the forest I start to see a slight flickering in the distance. Watching my steps to ensure I don’t step on any twigs or make any un-necessary noise, I pick up the pace until a camp was in clear view and I hide behind a tree to observe and plan by next moves.