Chapter 103: Key
Squawks and Lily hobbled down the stairs together and regrouped with Dima, Damas, and Mole in the basement behind the stage. There were a lot of goodies waiting to be picked up by their owners lying around. There was also a pile of guards and would-be owners, courtesy of Damas and Dima.
"Lily! Are you alright?!"
As soon as Lily and Squawks appeared in the basement, their three comrades charged over to check on the injured Lily and make sure she was alive, maybe accidentally pushing Squawks aside at the same time.
Squawks just stared at them with shock for a moment before sighing, shaking his head, and heading deeper inside the basement until he found what they were looking for. An iron cage.
Curled up in the deepest corner of the cage was Tair, surrounded by bloody feathers. Although he wasn’t too badly beaten since the merchandise still had to be in decent condition to fetch a good price, Tair hadn’t submitted. He fought, struggled, and resisted with all his might.
Unfortunately, it didn’t do much other than worsen his condition.
"Hey, Tair, was it?" Squawks tapped the iron bars of the cage with his knuckle.
"Are you alive?" He asked. He didn’t get an answer, but he had noticed Tair’s reaction to his name.
His captors could probably have learned it from the Lowat warriors who handed him off. But none of them had bothered learning it, much less using it.
"We’re here on Sosora’s behalf. We’re gonna get you out and back to Tiabe, alright?"
At that, Tair finally opened a swollen eye as much as he could and glanced at Squawks. His other eye refused to open, no matter what he did, so he couldn’t get a clear look. He couldn’t even frown due to the injuries on his face.