Swamped

"Well, as long as I'm here, I may as well help you look," you say. "What does it look like, exactly?"

Barb pauses.

"Actually, I think I just remembered where I left it. You can just figure out what you're going to do about that broom."

She turns around and leaves. Well, that was a bit odd, but it's probably nothing serious...

She doesn't have a tail.

You wish you'd given a bit more thought to what that could mean before you instinctively tackled her, but there's no going back now.

"What in Goan's name are you doing, human?" she shouts back at you. Then she looks shocked as she realizes what she just said.

"Not Reth's name," you observe, picking yourself up of the ground and then lifting her up before she can run. "Plus, calling me 'human' when you ought to know my name. And then there's the missing tail. I don't think you're really Barb."

"Disguise potion," she sighs. "Used it to copy her after she stumbled on my hiding place. Unfortunately, my supplier didn't warn me it wouldn't account for tails."

"What'd you do with Barb?"

"She's fine, just unconscious, I was just planning to grab what I came for and get out of here. That's all."

"And what did you come for?"

She goes quiet.

Now what?