The Market District was busy, even at this late hour. Eric had to wind his way through the crowd of people, which all seemed to be heading outward. He kept banging against other people’s shoulders, drawing looks of irritation and impatience, but he ignored them, unable to help it. He kept his eyes out as he fought his way against the current of the crowd, trying to spot any shady characters out in the open.

It was a hopeless task though, and already tired after just five minutes, he was forced to break free of the crowd and come to a stop, breathing heavily, beside a jewelry merchant’s stall. The man looked a little concerned at Eric’s sudden appearance and immediately moved around to the front, placing himself between Eric and his merchandise.

“I’ve already paid Everyone for my stall today,” the man said with a frown. His voice was nasally and high-pitched. “You’ll gain nothing from stealing from me.”

Eric looked around at him, surprised. “Steal? Why would I steal from you? I don’t even like jewelry.”

The man glared at him in silence for a minute, then seemed to feel the need to warn him again. “I know you thieves have been getting braver, but you won’t steal from me. I will call for the guards if you try anything.”

Eric stood up straight, making direct eye contact with the man. “Sir, I’m not interested in stealing your wares. I’m trying to find those thieves you mentioned. They kidnapped a man’s daughter, and I’m trying to rescue her.”

The merchant raised an eyebrow, looking him up and down. “You? With no armor and a rusty blade?”

Eric glanced down at his hip. “How do you know it’s rusty?”

“I didn’t,” the man replied. “But it was easy to tell.”

Eric felt a small flare of irritation at the man’s rudeness. He thrust his chest out, trying to seem a little more sure of himself, and took a step closer to the man so that they were face to face. Putting as much force into his voice as he could, he glared at the man.

“Let me be clear,” he said. “I don’t care about you or your wares. I’m hunting the thieves who took a little girl. I’m going to save her, and then I’m going to put an end to them.”

That was pretty far from the truth, he thought. He wanted to save the girl, but he had no intention of fighting thieves. If they were ruthless enough to kidnap people from a packed market area without witnesses, then they would have no problem eliminating him. Thankfully, he knew this was a dream, so his fear of the bandits was tempered somewhat. Still, there was no reason to fight if he didn’t have to.

The man seemed to be cowed by his stern assertion. He attempted to take a step back but only succeeded in bumping into his stall. His eyes dropped from Eric’s, looking down in slight fear. Eric thought that he kind of liked having that commanding presence, even if it was fake. He didn’t like that the man was a little afraid of him, but he knew that he wouldn’t cause him trouble. Who knew, he might even be afraid to lie to him.

“Tell me about these thieves,” he said, his voice flat. It wasn’t a request. “What do you know about them?”

The man shifted his feet nervously, refusing to meet Eric’s eyes. “I- I don’t know much, your honor. I just hear stories about them from the other merchants.”

“And what do these stories say?”

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“They say that the thieves run the tunnels under the city, sir. I don’t know where or how they appear. But they pop out of the ground to steal from hard-working merchants, then disappear before the guards can find them.”

Tunnels thought Eric. Even in medieval times, he knew that some of the largest cities had tunnels under the cities, either for security or easier transportation of goods and people. He’d read enough fantasy to not be surprised at the thought that a thief organization would use such tunnels to their benefit. It was a well-known cliche, actually. He tapped his hand against his thigh as he thought the problem through, then nodded to himself.

“Right,” he said, turning back to the man. “You’ll tell no one that I asked you this question. If anyone asks, I wasn’t here.”

He grinned to himself a little as he gave the line. It was another popular line used by the shady heroes in stories he’d read, and it was fun to get a chance to do the same. The merchant nodded vigorously, still refusing to meet Eric’s eyes. With a final silent stare, Eric turned to move back into the crowd. As he moved away, he couldn’t help going for that extra dramatic exit, activating his Hide skill and seeming to literally vanish from the man’s gaze. Indeed, the merchant looked extra spooked as he lost sight of Eric, glancing around nervously to make sure he was really gone.

He was close to the center of the Market District, he knew, but he had no idea where he could find one of the entrances to the city tunnels. He thought it best not to ask a guard or any official-looking person, as that might lead to more suspicion. If the theme of the quest was avoiding notice, he might as well take it seriously, and put in his full effort. Then maybe he could go back to the Tavern, eat some good food, and be done with this strange dream.

It took him the better part of an hour, but he finally found a heavy wooden disk that covered an entrance to the tunnels. It was simple, without any markings, and a heavy layer of dust and sand hid it from view. At least, it would in normal times, but instead of covering it completely, there were signs that the dust had been disturbed recently. Someone had either gone in or come out, and there hadn’t been enough time for the dirt and dust to settle over it again.

He moved towards the entrance at once, but turned and dove behind a stall as he saw the disk move. It wobbled slightly, then lifted just an inch or two. Unnoticed, he stared out of the corner of his eye as he saw a pair of eyes appear in the gap, turning side to side to check that the coast was clear. They were evidently satisfied, because after a moment, the cover was pushed aside, and three figures climbed out of the hole. They replaced the lid and moved away from Eric.

Eric caught just enough of their appearance to assure himself that they were part of the thieve’s network the merchant had mentioned. There was no way to know if they’d taken part in the kidnapping or not, but it was clear that they were involved with the gang. The extra objective in the quest was not to deal or receive damage, and the best way to do that was to avoid detection.

Once he was sure they were gone, he moved quickly but unobtrusively to the cover. Putting one foot on it to prop it open, he gave a quick glance around himself, making sure that his own actions weren’t being noticed. He didn’t seem to have gathered any attention. The other people in the Market District were intent on either entering or exiting the area, their minds too clouded with thoughts of shopping to take much notice of anything else. Time to move, he told himself.

He bent down and quickly removed the cover, peering into the hole. There was some torchlight shining from below, just bright enough to be noticed but not shine too brightly and draw eyes. The light of that torch and a nearby lantern reflected dully off a few horizontal metal bars, which he assumed to be a ladder. It was set into the stone wall of the entrance, and he had to place his feet carefully. But he slipped inside hastily and gently nudged the wooden cover back into position. It closed with a solid clunk.

The torchlight was much brighter now that he was down here. Positioned so that it could provide light to see outside, it was in his face and blinding at first. He squinted his eyes as he hurried down the rest of the ladder, landing quietly on the stone floor only ten feet below. He put his back to the stone wall at once, blinking hard to clear his vision. The after-image of the torch shined brightly on his retinas but faded quickly as he grew adjusted to the dim light below.

He was in a small circular room, like a well. On one side was the metal ladder to the surface, and on the other was a simple doorway into another tunnel. He edged closer to this doorway and peered around the corner carefully, keeping his ear strained for any sound of approaching people. Anyone he met down here was likely to belong to the thieve’s gang, so he had to go carefully. Taking a deep breath and making sure that Hide was still active, he moved deeper into the tunnels.