The man who agreed swallowed hard, fear evident in his eyes as he hesitated for a moment before finally accepting Mist's hand. She helped him to his feet, and he winced in pain from his injuries.

"A wise decision," Mist said with a hint of amusement. "Now, if you want to survive, you'll do exactly as we say and cooperate fully. We'll protect you from Garik and his gang, but you must provide us with valuable information and be useful to our cause. Do a good enough job, and we’ll reward you with riches beyond your wildest dreams."

The man nodded vigorously, his fear driving him to comply. "Yes, yes, I'll do whatever you say. I'll be as useful as I can, I promise."

Eir stepped forward, her gaze still icy and unwavering. "Good, we’ll hold you to that. Now remember, if you betray us, there will be no second chances. Now, tell us more about the Flint gang's base, their schedules, and any weaknesses they might have."

The man, eager to please his new protectors, divulged every detail he knew about the Flint gang's base of operations, the routines of their key members, and some potential vulnerabilities they could exploit.

Satisfied with the information they had gathered, Eir and Mist let the man go, instructing him to stay hidden and not reveal anything about their encounter to anyone, especially Garik and the Flint gang.

Once the man was out of sight, Mist turned to Eir. "Well, that went better than expected. Now we have some valuable intel on the Flint gang and one man who is willing to help us. With this, we can use them to craft ourselves some fake IDs and gather intel and dirt on how things really work around here. See, my plan worked just fine after all."

Eir nodded, a glint of determination in her eyes. "Indeed, but we must be careful and plan our next move carefully. Until the Flint gang is under our control, it would be wise not to underestimate them. Also, that knife in the leg seemed a bit excessive."

Mist smirked. "Don't worry, sister. We may appear as weak dwarven women, but we have more than enough tricks up our sleeves to deal with Garik and his gang. They won't know what hit them. The knife was not excessive, by the way. It's just mere psychology. Since the only reason he obeyed Garik was fear, I just used some to weaken the hold Garik had on him before offering him his wildest dreams. That should keep him on the leash for the time being; I’ll have to shorten it when he begins to misbehave. I almost forgot, did you send a spirit to follow him?"

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Eir nodded. “Yes, I did, but what I meant by excessive is what do we do with that now?” as she pointed at the man who had fainted due to pain and was still bleeding.

Mist glanced at the man who had fainted and was bleeding on the ground. She tilted her head in confusion. "Can't we just leave him here like this? If you’re worried it'll draw unwanted attention, then I can call some moles to bury him deep in the earth to die. If we let him live, it’ll just be an unknown factor and besides, more than likely scum will be scum."

Eir shook her head firmly. "No, if we do that, it would create a panic if people found out someone was missing."

Mist sighed. "You're too soft sometimes, Eir. But fine, if it makes you feel better, we'll take care of him."

“Rather than that, I’ll do this,” said Eir as she walked over to the man and waved her hand, imprinting what looked like a mole on the man’s leg.

“Scratch that; you’re more ruthless than I am sometimes. A mark of death, huh? So how long did you give him?” asked a clearly amused Mist, to which Eir held up her hand, showing four fingers.

Eir chuckled softly. "Four days. I think that should be enough time for him to rethink his life choices and suffer enough agony to repent. If he manages to survive all four days, it might indicate he's truly worth living."

Mist nodded, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Sounds fair enough. Let's see if he has what it takes to redeem himself, shall we?"

Eir and Mist decided to leave the man in the alley, still unconscious but with the mark of death imprinted on him. They made sure he was hidden from plain sight to avoid any unnecessary attention. Using their cunning, they erased any traces of their presence as they stealthily left the alley.

As they walked away from the alley, Eir asked, “Since they were so kind enough to give us a few lesser locations of the Flint gang, shall we take one over and make it our hideout for now?”

Mist considered Eir's suggestion for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Yes, that could work. Having a base of operations in the slum area will give us the advantage of being close to the Flint gang's activities while staying hidden in plain sight. We can use it as a safe haven to plan and strategize without drawing too much attention."

Eir smiled, pleased with her sister's agreement. "Yes, hiding somewhat in plain sight. No one would ever imagine that the group attacking their organization would be hiding within that very organization."

They began to search for a suitable location, moving through the slum area with careful steps, avoiding any areas where the Flint gang might have a strong presence. After some time, they found a dilapidated building that seemed to have been abandoned for quite a while. Its location was somewhat hidden from the main streets, making it an ideal place for them to establish their base.

Mist used her animal companions to scout the area, ensuring that the building was clear, but it turned out that the building was occupied by four people. There were people inside, so Eir and Mist entered the building cautiously. Inside, they caught a glimpse of a terrible sight. Prostitution was apparently allowed in Blesas, but it wasn’t a widespread business here. It seemed the Flint gang had dabbled their hand in this branch of business.

Inside, they found four diseased women lying on beds, barely conscious. Mist asked, “What do you think is going on here? Why would they keep these women here instead of getting them medical attention?”

“Well, medical techniques and heal magic aren’t well spread throughout this world, so maybe they keep them here until they can safely dispose of them,” answered Eir.

"This is just despicable. Those poor women are suffering, and the Flint gang is exploiting them in the worst possible way. We can't leave them like this. Should we put them out of their misery?" asked Mist.

“Maybe. For now, let’s wake them. If they desire to die, then we shall grant it, but if they show a desire to live, then I’ll use my remaining mana to delay their death,” said Eir.