Even the slowest members of the team realized something was wrong with Villagers. Skeeter circled behind him and exchanged a glance with Captain Reyne.
"Come to think of it, some of the marks left by the fighting in the village looked more like people fighting each other. At first, I thought the militia had fought the Evil Dragon's servants, though I didn't find any bodies."
"I don't know... maybe the Evil Dragon ate... ate them."
"He's lying."
Annan pointed at "Villagers" and quickly sidestepped behind Captain Reyne.
In truth, Annan had never seen him before, and the Slave Trader had no strength to resist. As he backed away, he bumped into Skeeter, then collapsed to the ground on weak legs and spilled everything.
He said he was just a lackey following a Slave-Lord Knight. They had raided the Village and taken the Villagers and the spoils. He had come back to try his luck because he hadn't caught anyone, only to run into a Holy Knight, of all people...
"A Slave-Lord Knight?"
Trembling, the Slave Trader said that "Slave-Lord Knights" was what the leaders of a Thieves' Guild called themselves. It wasn't the first time they had done this, either...
After all, there were only so many displaced people. Raiding Villages and Towns was much faster than hunting down the homeless.
"Where are they?"
"They went back to camp. That way!" The Slave Trader pointed north.
"How long ago did they leave?"
"Not long ago. An hour at most!"
The Slave Trader said they always struck before Dawn, when people were most exhausted. Even if the Villagers woke with a start, they were too groggy to think straight. Once a rope went around their necks, they couldn't fight back...
The members of the Dragon-Slaying Team fell silent. They knew what