The pale woman held Nia's arm lightly as they traversed the dark alleyways in silence.

Eventually, the woman stopped and looked around for a couple of seconds as Nia watched around for any thieves or brigands hiding themselves.

"So, I never asked about the dress," Nia said.

"My dress? Well, I made it with what I could gather. I found chains lying around the floor at times until I was able to complete it."

"Like an art project?" Nia asked in amazement. She thought that the woman must have been some kind of artist.

The woman made no reply, but kindly smiled in her direction. After they took some more steps, they slowed to a halt. It was just an empty dark back alley filled with trash.

"Here we are," the woman said as she let go of Nia's arm. The pale woman coughed and walked towards a pile of trash and a wooden box.

"This isn't a home," Nia exclaimed.

"It might not be a house or a room in some tavern, but it is my home," she replied hiding her deceitful smile.

The woman sat on a soft pile of trash shooing away rats.

"Thank you for taking me home. Now, I'm sure a nice girl like yourself is busy and I don't want to take up any more of your time," she said in a pleasant manner.

Nia wondered for a moment and asked, "I saw you come out of the Den of Dragonslayers?"

"Did you, now? Well, that is where I work."

Nia assumed that the woman must have been working as a clerk or janitor. She didn't suspect that she was in any condition to be a dragonslayer.

"If that's true, then why do you live in a place like this?" Nia asked.

The woman frowned and pointed to the markings on her neck. Nia was unfamiliar with them and the woman could tell.

"They're slave markings. I have no choice, but to work for them."

"Slave markings? I don't understand."

"I'm simply a tool for the dragonslayers. I have no choice but to obey them."

Nia confusingly asked, "What kind of tool? What would the dragonslayers need you as a slave?"

The woman began to shed a tear, but held it back. She replied, "I'm a mage. I've helped them kill dragons."

The woman held out her hand and created sparks between her fingertips. Nia was stunned at the revelation. She was able to remember where she had seen her, before. 30 years ago, there was a pale woman with the dragonslayers. She looked no different, except for the fact that she seemed to be very ill, now.

Nia remembered how the dragons were slaughtered and the aftermath. It was not an image she wanted to remember. She breathed in and out calmly and the images soon faded away. The green dragon said, "So, you're some kind of mage. Doesn't explain why you're their slave or why you're living here."

The woman took a breath before coughing loudly. She said, "I used to practice in dark magic. I was found by inquisitors and captured. The dragonslayers took me in to be used as a weapon. And as long as I have this slave markings, I must obey them. If I use my magic to harm anybody without permission, my markings will fry me. I never hurt anybody before, but I regret ever using the kind of magic that could summon devils from other worlds. When the inquisitors found and captured me, they killed the rest of my family. If I could take it all back, I would."

The woman spoke both true and false. As both the truth and the lies become one, they meld together to form a new story. The story that Nia would want to hear.

As she finished her story, fake tears flowed down her cheeks. She sniffled and coughed at the same time. And Nia believed every part of it. There was no reason not to. Enough was presented to be seen as true, so the rest must have been true, she thought.

Nia didn't know how to react to the woman, and only froze in place. After a few seconds, she felt sorrow for the lady and knelt beside her.

"I'm sorry that you had to experience all of that. I... I know what it's like to have everybody you care about taken from you. I'm sorry," Nia said with sympathy.

The pale woman wiped away her tears and replied, "I never meant to unload all of that on somebody I just met. It's just... that it's very lonely."

Nia didn't want to ask about the whether she knew where Nera and the other villagers were, but she needed to find them.

"I know that you had a hard life. I know what it's like to lose your family. But I'm trying to find mine. Do you know whether the dragonslayers took in any new prisoners possibly weeks ago."

The woman coughed loudly and looked like she was thinking about it.

"I think so. We don't usually carry prisoners, but we recently captured some villagers. They all got put in the dungeons underneath the Den of Dragonslayers. I think they are still there."

Nia was glad that the villagers were still safe and now that she knew where to find them, she could start on making plans to get them out.

As Nia began to get up, the woman said, "Yeah. I'm sure of it. They are still there. There have been multiple dragonslayers going in and out of the dungeons recently. I think they might be torturing them for information about a dragon. It's somewhat hard to hear, but I can suspect what they are doing. Other prisoners usually get the same treatment."

Nia froze worryingly and the woman continued, "When they go in, their armor is clean and pristine, but when they leave, their armor becomes muddied with blood or other bodily fluids."

Nia became increasingly worried. She realized that she had wasted too much time, already. She had to save them immediately after hearing that. She couldn't think straight and wanted to immediately go there.

The woman saw that she was about to run off and said, "They're your family, aren't they? You're from the same village as them."

As she finished that sentence, Nia stood still and looked back at her without giving any response. There was only determination in her eyes. Determination to get her big sister Nera and the other villagers out of that hell. Heat pumped throughout her body quicker than lightning. She needed to know whether the woman in front of her would try and stop her.

The pale woman coughed and said, "I can help you get in there. I don't want to see any more suffer under the rule of dragonslayers, inquisitors, or any other group."

Nia calmed herself down realizing that she could help get herself inside without having to sneak in or fight off against any trained knights.

"I want to help you," the woman said as she tried to get herself up. She coughed more frequently and louder. When she tried to get up, she fell to the ground on her knees covering up the coughs. Nia quickly went to the woman's side and gently comforted her.

"Are you sure? I don't know if you'll be able to," Nia asked.

The woman gave one more cough before standing on her two feet.

"I'm sure. If I can save at least one person before I die, then perhaps my life is worth something."

The woman gave a kind smile towards Nia, and the green dragon smiled back.

Nia and the woman slowly walked away from the piles of trash and into the dark alleyways towards the Den of Dragonslayers.

"Thank you. I never got to get your name. I'm Nia."

"My name is Miura."