Chapter 94: Kidnapped(2)

Arriving in front of the elderly couple's General Store, Lily pushed on the door and cheerfully shouted.

"GOOD DAY MR. AND MRS. NORTON, I'M LILY, I CAME TO CHECK UP ON YOU!"

As she walked to the counter, she couldn't hear any response nor any movement. Thinking that they may be in the back, she shouted once again.

"HEYA, MR. AND MRS. NORTON, IT IS ME, LILY! ARE YOU IN THE BACK? DO YOU NEED ANY HELP?"

Once again, waiting for a few seconds and not hearing any sort of response or reaction, she decided to check up on them. After all, they were both in their advanced ages, and she was worried that they might have hurt themselves packing some big boxes.

Shouting once again, she also made her way behind the counter.

"I will go to the back, okay? 

As she got to the corridor separating the front and the back area, she noticed signs of struggle which alarmed her, so she readied her bow..

Small, dried red stains could be seen coming from one of the rooms and trailing all the way to the back. The door was damaged, and although it wasn't completely destroyed, it was also not in a usable state anymore. 

Following the trail back to its source, Lily frowned when she entered the room where she just enjoyed a nice chat with Mrs. Norton only a day ago. The room was in ruins, the wooden table and chairs they sat on were now on the ground, in splinters.

The room looked like a wreckage, but as there was nothing that she could use to get some understanding of what could have happened, Lily turned around, and while keeping her trusty bow in-hand, sternly looked at the half-destroyed door, and left the room. Slowly, carefully following the trail of blood while focusing on the smallest of sound she was soon in front of the second room with another battered door that was probably kicked-in, judging from the splintered remains of what used to be the place for the door knob.

She was not a rookie anymore, and although the blood seemed to be at least several hours old there could still be people hiding. With her previous entrance, the enemy was already aware of her presence, and could be hiding in any corner or shadow waiting for the right moment to ambush her.

Steadily following the path, she peeked into the second room, which was probably used as a sort of kitchen-slash-dining room in the past, using the bottom limb of her bow. It was in a similar state as their living room: destroyed tables and chairs left in splinters, wrecked cupboard, and massive trails of blood, the signs of a scrap.

Between the rubble, Lily noticed a shining object. Carefully entering the room, she made her way to the debris and crouched down. 

"This is probably her ring…" she muttered to herself as she picked up the dusty object. Placing it into her pouch to return it to her later, she got up, and while maintaining her vigil, she left the room.

The only room left unchecked was the storage room in the back. That was the biggest room in the building and also, the farthest from the entrance, Lily was expecting surprises.

'Bastards… Hurting such a nice couple because of your greed…' she grumbled inwardly but kept her focus on the outside. As she closed on the only door that was kept intact, Lily slowly stretched the bowstring.

She carefully sneaked in front of the door, and placed her head on the frame, listening for clues. After a few seconds of painful silence, keeping up her focus, she still heard and felt no presence on the other side. 

'Here goes nothing… Gosh, I wish brother was here now, he would know if there's anybody hiding…'

She slowly pushed down the handle, and then quickly grabbing the bow and keeping it ready, she used her right feet to push it open.

As the door creaked open, it slowly revealed a dark, unlit room. The light that sneaked in from the hallway illuminated a slender section ahead, the ruined remains of some boxes and vegetables was revealed. The trail of blood continued all the way until it stopped in a small dried-up puddle in front of the wall opposite to the door. 

As the light reached the walls, a gruesome sight revealed itself to Lily. A severed hand, the source of the blood she was following, was pinned to the wall. The wrinkly hands were hogging on the crumbled piece of paper. Grimacing at the horrific sight, Lily carefully entered the room, still being alert of a potential ambush. She couldn't be sure that there weren't any more surprises left for her lurking in the shadows.

Finally confirming that there were no more surprises left, Lily walked to the hand, and after a brief struggle, she fried the note that was left there. 

As she expected, it was a message left for her, although the brief notification caused her to grimace once again. 

"If you would like to see the rest of the old hag and his wimp of a husband come to the Slums. Look for the building with the red eagle painted on its door and knock thrice. 

Don't try anything funny, we will know."

'Bastards…' she growled angrily. They actually cut Mrs. Norton's hand in front of his husband's eyes and nailed it to their own wall! They will have to pay for such cruelty!

Lily swore then and there that she will pay back to whoever is responsible for this.

Putting the bow back on her back, Lily immediately stormed out of the shop and rushed back to the Marketplace. She had no idea where this 'Slums' district was, and since she didn't know how much time she had left she figured that she would ask the kind chubby lady hoping she would be able to point in the right direction.

Rushing agilely through the crowd, Lily took seemingly no time to reach the western end, where she soon noticed the chubby rosy cheeked Maria arguing with a similarly overweight man, most likely her husband.

As she rushed towards them, Maria soon noticed the girl. 

"Hey Lily, did you change your mind? What can I…" However, as she closed on, she noticed her agitated state and quickly realized that this is no time for jokes. Changing her tone, she looked at the girl seriously and changed the question. "What is the problem Lily, how can I help?"

A thankful smile flashed on Lily's face briefly in response to Maria's concern and attention. Huffing briefly, she quickly explained her question without going into too much detail.

"*Huff* I need *huff* to know where the slums are! It's urgent, can you point me where to go?"

Although she wanted to calm the girl down, as she also felt the urgency from her tone, she decided against voicing it. 

Pointing towards the west, she answered in a serious and clear tone.

"Exit the Marketplace to the west and then just keep following the road. Eventually, you will notice the warning signs. Just keep following them, you will notice as soon as you reach the district. It doesn't have pavement, it's muddy, it's dirty, and you will get an overall unfriendly vibe from the residents. HEY, IT'S A NASTY PLACE SO PLEASE BE CAREFUL!"

Maria had to shout her last words as Lily was already running towards the pointed direction. With no time waste, as every second could be the difference between the life and death of the kind elderly couple, Lily was running with her maximum speed, zigzagging between the crowd. 

'I was such an idiot… This is all my fault…' she kept cursing herself inwardly, feeling responsible. She was the one that killed that group of thugs the other night, thinking about what she did was good, not thinking about the consequences. 

'I'm still just an idiot kid, unable to do anything right… All I achieved was cause great sorrow to that kind couple. I'm sorry Aiden, Granny. Please forgive this stupid disciple Master…'

Clenching her hands as she kept rushing, and gritting her teeth, she fought against her tears. No. Crying will not help. She must stay focused and do everything she can to save them. 

Soon, the pavement was replaced by ground, and she slowed her steps. Stopping in front of a wooden board nailed to the trunk of a tree, she read the warning probably given by the City Guard. 

Quickening her steps, she entered the district, looking for the target destination, the building with a red eagle painted on it. 

As she was agitated and focused on the goal ahead of her, she didn't even notice the eyes hiding in the shadows watching her every step… 

The figure smirked as she saw the young girl rushing to the depths of the district, and signalled to his comrades waiting for a few meters behind.

As the group of thugs, and killers and all kinds of nasty looking men gathered, the figure smirked under his wrinkly nose. Reaching to his pockets, he pulled out a colorless glass crystal. Crashing it with his hand, he closed his eyes, and as he felt that the connection was established, he reported the news to the other end. 

"Boss, the girl has arrived, she is on her way."