As Barrett dragged Fang Yi into the slave quarters, two guards quickly blocked their way.
"What are you doing here?" one demanded.
"They're slaves, Commeracco sent over. You must take care—they mustn't die!" Barrett bellowed. They had dropped all mention of Rosward; that was a fabricated escape story. Saying Commeracco, someone they'd already "met," felt more believable.
"Commeracco?" The two guards looked at each other, skeptical.
Barrett, catching Fang Yi's subtle hand signal, played it perfectly: "Yes. They were originally meant for Rosward, but Commeracco took charge of them, and that's when he ordered that they be sent here. I was told not to kill them, but not to let them escape either."
"Oh! That explains it!" the guards laughed. "I thought Commeracco didn't fancy such slaves. Now I see the link to Rosward. If anyone comes looking for them, they'll handle it."
Barrett excused himself, waited for one guard to lead Fang Yi away, then swiftly took out the remaining guard and changed into his armor.
When the escort returned, Barrett knocked him out, too, then questioned him harshly.
"Where did you take the man you escorted?" Barrett demanded.
The guard broke almost immediately, handing over the keys.
"Is there a special slave who treats Celestial Dragons? A medical slave?"
"No… no one like that!" the guard stuttered, terrified.
"Better be honest," Barrett warned, ready to strike. "I need to know."
The guard burst into tears: "I swear I don't know! That's not my job!"
Barrett knocked him out again and hid him. He then returned to the cell and opened it for Fang Yi.
"You pulled that off brilliantly," Fang Yi grinned. "Especially that pause—you gave them so much room to guess."
Barrett shrugged: "I panicked and froze—but it worked."
Back at the gate, Barrett explained the situation.
"So the guard knew something," Fang Yi surmised.
"Yes. Rather than question slaves, we can pull info from the guard. Even low-level guards might know more than we think."
Barrett agreed, and Fang Yi entered the prison block carrying the unconscious guard. He emerged shortly, beaming.
"Well?" Barrett asked.
"There is indeed a doctor slave here. Before, he was a respected physician. Now he serves the Dragons, and many know he was taken. They don't hide him."
Barrett scowled—the guard shouldn't have withheld that type of information.
"What else did you find out?" he pressed.
"Want to know the color of his underwear?" Fang Yi teased. "I've got what I need. We'll pose as guards and move on from here."
Barrett accepted it. "Understood."
"According to the guard, that doctor is still on site—but is summoned only when needed by the Dragons. So we must wait."
"But what about Buggy and Shanks? How do we coordinate with them?" Barrett asked.
"They're tied into our diversion outside," Fang Yi replied. "Later tonight, I'll slip out and see if I can rendezvous."
Sure enough, at night, Fang Yi left Barrett guarding the cell and ventured out alone, holding a crude map from the guard. He aimed for Commeracco's residence area in hopes of finding Shanks and Buggy.
Several times, he nearly got caught by patrols. Eventually, he ducked into a room to hide.
Inside, he found a pink, plush-furnished room filled with stuffed animals and toys—a child's room. In the center sat a princess-style bed with a young Celestial Dragon girl sleeping.
"So this is a Celestial Dragon girl's residence," Fang Yi realized, noting the lavish setting.
As he prepared to leave silently, a sweet voice called from behind.
"Who are you?" asked the girl.
He froze and instinctively raised a dagger. He considered incapacitating her, but hesitated.
"Oh, you got lost?" she said innocently. "You're not here to steal treasure, right? The treasure vault isn't here. This is the residential area."
Fang Yi exhaled quietly. It was hard to hurt a child. "No, I'm not a thief. I truly got lost. I'm sorry."
She tipped her head: Really? You don't look like someone nice. If you aren't bad, you should call the guards!
Posted August 1 at 7:28 PM