When Anthony looked back and could no longer see the Slave Market, he finally stopped to catch his breath.
This was drow territory. Fighting them was always a last resort—one taken only when no other choice remained.
Forget winning or losing. Even if they could defeat those drow mercenaries, their entire group would be hunted across the city. In an unfamiliar place, how long could they hide?
Violent resistance wasn't an option. He remembered that Menzoberranzan had anti-magic manacles. If they were captured and imprisoned for even a month, they'd be finished.
Running was the best move for now. If push came to shove, they'd just have to grit their teeth and pay the tax.
After the bumpy journey, Lolo woke from the sleep spell. Emerging from the incantation, her mind was foggy, her head spinning, her body unsteady.
She blinked, staring blankly at the fat man and the skinny one bent over and panting. Then, finally snapping back to reality, she wriggled out of Anthony's strong arms and dropped to the ground.
Lolo wobbled, her little head swiveling left and right. After scanning the area twice and seeing no sign of the goblin monk or the paladin, she confirmed that what had happened earlier wasn't a hallucination.
Remembering the hardships they'd endured together over the past three days and how everyone had taken care of her, her eyes welled up. She grabbed Anthony's robes and demanded:
"Mr. Tegal and Master Yoda fought side by side with us! They were our teammates! How could you sell them to those black-skinned, black-hearted bastards as slaves??"
"Huh? What nonsense?" Anthony turned to glare at the little girl who actually dared to accuse him. Her words baffled him. "Hey, what do you mean I sold our teammates to the drow as slaves? I was just sending them to experience drow daily life! How dare you slander me like this?"
Hearing this, the little witch was furious. Suddenly, the man before her felt like a stranger. All the goodwill she'd felt toward him must have just been a girl's naïve fantasy. Tears she could no longer hold back spilled from her eyes.
Little Witch pointed at Anthony and said with a sob in her mouth: "I saw you collect those Drow Gems... You just sold them as slaves! Master Yoda gave us tents and food to keep us well fed and warm, and Mr. Tegal usually took the initiative to cover our retreat and even let me ride his beloved Warhorse..."
"They were good people! How could you sell them to the drow as slaves for just a handful of coins? How could you be so evil?"
Huh? Fifteen flawless gems were just a handful of coins?
Red Dragon was shocked!
Originally furious at being exposed and ready to teach this audacious little girl a lesson, Anthony immediately changed his tune upon hearing this.
Ignoring her resistance, he wrapped an arm around her slender shoulders and whispered intimately:
"Ah, Lolo, how could you misunderstand me like this? This was a plan Yoda and I agreed on long ago—we just kept it secret! Don't think you can slander my character just because you're pretty!"
Huh? That was a thing? Lolo's little brain short-circuited at this new information. But after being tricked into signing a master-servant contract once already, she wasn't as gullible as before. She clasped her hands behind her back, secretly counting on her fingers as she listed her accusations:
"You're lying! You must've made a deal with that drow priestess when we entered the city. Otherwise, why would we go straight to the Slave Market on our first visit to Menzoberranzan? You just didn't like that Mr. Tegal wouldn't obey you, and you wanted Master Yoda's bag of holding—so you sold them off as slaves!"
"What kind of persecution complex is this?" Anthony outright denied the accusations, looking as aggrieved as if he'd been wronged. "I did ask the drow priestess about the Slave Market, but only because Yoda came to me on the second night. He's a native of the Underdark—he knows a bit of the drow language."
"With our Phase Two Mission still unclear, he volunteered to infiltrate the drow as a spy, gathering intel for us if anything came up. Didn't you see how he didn't resist at all when they took him? It was all planned! And as a slave, how could he keep something as valuable as a bag of holding?"
"As for Tegal—do you really think a paladin with his hatred for evil could last long in a city drowning in it? If he drew his sword to smite the wicked, wouldn't that doom all of us?"
"Wasn't it better to send him somewhere the drow could keep him under strict watch? Once we complete the mission, we'll all return to the trial camp and the real world—and he'll escape the drow's clutches. Isn't that the best outcome for everyone?"
No matter how clever Lolo's little brain was, hearing such well-reasoned arguments left her thoroughly confused. After all, there was much she genuinely might not know.
But a woman's intuition told her something still felt off. She pressed on: "But you still shouldn't have treated Mr. Tegal so roughly! He didn't even have time to react—"
Hearing this, Anthony knew the conversation had shifted to his rhythm. With a sincere gaze, he spoke eloquently: "Do you know what the 'bitter flesh stratagem' is? It's an advanced tactic from the Far East. If you've never heard of it, let me explain."
"Our group showing up here was suspicious to begin with. If we didn't disguise ourselves as slavers, how else could we enter the city? Arriving at the Slave Market and doing nothing would've made us obvious surface spies."
"Selling Yoda and Tegal was a crucial part of earning the drow's trust. Yoda is a goblin—low-born, used to evil, and knows how to keep a low profile."
"But a paladin? Do you think he'd know how to win the drow's confidence? If I didn't spellcast a punishment on him, how would those cunning drow ever believe he was just a worthless slave?"
"Besides, if I were truly as wicked as you claim—a slaver who betrays teammates for profit—why wouldn't I have sold these two guys as well?"
Lolo's mouth hung open, unable to muster a rebuttal. The airtight logic left her dizzy.
She glanced at Zad and Dagger beside her. It did seem to make sense…
Had she really misunderstood her Master?
Lolo pondered carefully but couldn't find any counterarguments. Realizing her earlier words might've been too harsh, she blinked sheepishly.
Yet, stubborn by nature, she refused to admit fault outright. With a haughty pout, she huffed: "Hmph! You're definitely lying. Maybe no one wanted to buy them, so they got left behind."
Anthony suppressed a smirk. The crisis was averted. Ignoring the other two's stormy expressions, he leaned close to the little heiress's ear, his breath teasing.
"Now, now. The Underdark isn't like the surface. The monsters here are numerous and strong. Truthfully, those two are quite capable for their age. If I were really a slaver, selling these professionals for three to five hundred gold coins each would've been trivial."
"Besides, if I were a money-grubbing fiend, wouldn't a witch as pretty, young, and powerful as you fetch a far higher price? Yet I've kept you by my side—even during our escape. Hearing you say such things… it wounds me."
"I'm a witch! A witch!" Lolo sniffed, deflecting with irrelevant details. "So… if Master and the paladin already have accommodations, where are we supposed to go now?"
A system chime sounded. Anthony scanned the notification, then lifted his chin, his lips curling into a seductive smirk.
"Right now, we need a place that welcomes surface-dwellers—somewhere we can rest undisturbed. Preferably concealed and inconspicuous… Ah, luck favors us. A hundred paces ahead, we might find someone amicable to negotiate with."
The diminished team moved forward, giving Anthony time to review the prompt:
[Mastered Expertise: Silver Tongue]
[Description: Your words weave their own truth. One day, even the gods might fall for your rhetoric.]
[Effect: +4 to Persuasion checks.]
A skill that didn't boost combat strength but wasn't entirely useless either.
Anthony chuckled dismissively and led the trio toward the stone pillar building adorned with a sign:
"Black Pit Arena"
At least those two unsellable liabilities would have a place to stay now.