They made their way through the dark alleys, retracing their steps from earlier until they found the inconspicuous hole in the wall that led back to Nassor's lair. Sinbad had gone to the front entrance to spend some perfectly innocent time with his sister and her family, while the crew and Proteus had to scramble on all fours through the dark tunnel to wait with the other smugglers.

"Well," Proteus said as he emerged on the other side, "It's not every day that the prince has to sneak through the secret entrance while the pirate gets to walk into a brightly lit room and welcoming arms."

"I'm sure this is a one-time thing." Dimitri grabbed a mug of ale from a man passing through with a tray full of them. He took a swig and let out a satisfactory exhale.

"Come on. Looks like they've got a dice game going on." Kale nodded to the back of the room before going off to join in. Dimitri and Proteus were left standing side by side near the drinking barrels, looking quite out of place amid the rest of the rabble.

"So…" Proteus began, turning towards Dimitri with his hands clasped behind his back. He spoke as smoothly and confidently as any royal he had ever met, and it put him on edge in spite of himself. "How did you find yourself roped into Sinbad's crew?"

Dimitri buried his nose into his ale mug, feeling his stomach sinking. "It's, uh... it's kind of complicated," he said. "No, really," he added when Proteus raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm really far away from home right now and I figured joining a gang of pirates would be the best method of finding my way back."

"Rather than earning an honest living until you can earn your passage back home?" Proteus asked, grabbing a mug of ale from the same man passing through.

"Like I said, it's a bit more complicated than that. And fine, I was sort of forced into joining his crew, but it's not like I didn't work on the other side of the justice line back home anyway."

"Really? You don't look like much of a pirate. Oh!" Proteus choked on his ale and made a face. "Gods, this stuff is foul!"

"Hey, not all of us can afford the good stuff all the time." Dimitri smirked. "So, how is it that someone like you has friends in low places?"

Proteus's lips tightened briefly before he spoke. "You know, I wonder that myself sometimes. Let me start at the beginning…"

It didn't take long before Nassor's men, working on some unseen signal, began to dne their working gear. There were nearly a dozen of them altogether not including the men that Sinbad had brought along. All of them began to gather up small packs and blades were quickly tucked into every fold of fabric or pocket available in their boots and simple workmen's clothes. By the time everyone was ready, they resembled nothing more than a band of workmen on their way home after a long day down at the docks or construction zones. A couple of them even dusted a bit of plaster in their hair to complete the look. These men were smugglers and the contrast between them and the pirates was very apparent.

One of the larger ones, a giant of a man Nassor had called Ubaid when they had last been here, nodded at them. Kale had wandered back over a minute earlier, tucking a bag the jingled cheerfully into his sash.

"Time to go," murmured Ubaid, holding out his hand to Kale who grasped it with a firm hand. "Let there be honor among thieves this evening."

"Yeah," agreed Kale. Jed and Luca finished tucking what looked like cherry bombs into their belt pouches and stepped after Kale, following the band out through a back door and leaving Dimitri and Proteus standing in the abandoned smuggler's den.

"Well, are you ready, your Highness?" Dimitri bowed, gesturing towards the door.

"You can just call me Proteus, you know," the prince replied, though he still walked ahead out the door.

Dimitri straightened and followed after him. "Right. Sorry. Force of habit," he muttered, rubbing his neck.

They joined the rest of the men out the back door and waited for their leaders to arrive.

Sinbad and Nassor stepped out of a backdoor to the building next to the den, accompanied by a wash of candlelight and children's voices. Both of them were laughing and elbowing each other, the picture of close family. As soon as the door shut though both men stepped away and composure dropped over them like a shroud. Now was the time for work.

"We will split into groups of four and travel to the Souq al-Goma holding pens. Sinbad will distract the guards while we gather up the supplies and meet on the eastern edge of the Nile in the palm growth under the sand bank. If you are captured say nothing. You all know your stories and will stick to them. Are we perfectly clear?" The edge to his voice could have cut steel. All of the smugglers nodded in unison.

Sinbad jerked a thumb at his brother-in-law. "What he said."

Dimitri stepped over to Sinbad side, already knowing full well that they were pretty much reluctantly joined at the hip. Proteus also came over, followed by one of Nassor's burlier men.

"Let's just get this over with," Proteus muttered, following after Sinbad through the shadows. They were the first group to go move ahead while the others went down different streets.

"Never stolen livestock before?" Dimitri asked, keeping his voice down to a whisper but walking alongside the prince so that they could better hear each other.

"That's not exactly something royalty should be doing, no. Alas, my hand has been forced." He glared holes at the back of Sinbad's head as he spoke. "What about you, with your criminal experience?"

"Livestock? Nah, not really. Goods and valuable items, forged documents… those are my forte. I'm not really good with animals. Although I did adopt a puppy recently! He's just making a mess on Sinbad's ship at the moment."

Proteus chuckled. "Sinbad let you bring aboard a tiny little fury that can cause havoc on his beloved Chimera? What sort of spell do you have on him?"

They rounded a corner and became engulfed in almost pitch-black darkness. Their steps slowed down to a more careful pace but they never stopped once.

"I think it's more like he didn't want to waste time arguing. Besides, he'll grow to like the little thing eventually," Dimitri said. They continued their amiable whisperings back and forth as they emerged onto a moonlit-filled street. Dimitri was happy to find someone he could get along with outside of the crew. As much as he had issues with royalty, Proteus wasn't half-bad at all.

"Stop flirting back there," Sinbad snapped at them over his shoulder. The captain had his hands buried in his pockets and his hat pushed forward over his brow to help disguise his more Persian features which were obvious even in the dark. His mood was clearly dour because he was kicking most everything that came across his path. Rocks, bits of wood, and one rat which squealed angrily and darted into a hole.

Proteus and Dimitri stopped talking and both turned to look at Sinbad the exact same time.

"I would think you of all people would know what flirting is and that we are definitely not doing it," Proteus said coolly.

"Relax, it's not like we're waking anybody up," Dimitri added. "Geez, what crawled into his hat and died?"

"He's always been like this," Proteus told him with a grin, "Even to this day I don't think any of his crewmembers enjoy being in his presence during one of his mood swings. He's worse than a bull with a thorn in its behind, really."

"Yes! That's a great comparison!" Dimitri snickered and Proteus couldn't help but join.

Sinbad glared daggers at the two of them and again at Nassor's man when he had the gall to chuckle at the pirate's expense. "You can all go take a swim in the Nile for all I care. I have a job to do and you're slowing me down." His soft boots made no noise on the rough road as he picked up his pace, leaving the rest of them several yards behind.

The smelled the market before they saw it. The scent of it carried even without the hot sun to enhance it. Livestock, spices, and the stink of a place that saw countless people every day – it tended to linger after years of saturation. Cattle mooed sleepily from a giant pen set back behind the empty stalls.

Nassor was waiting for them behind a fishmonger's stand judging by the distinctly pungent odor. "Are we all here? Good. Our client has requested goats and whatever young cattle we can manage. I expect each of you to carry your own beast. Sinbad, you go to the front. I saw at least three guards at the gate of the pen. I doubt you'll have any trouble distracting them." Nassor seemed to smile behind his head wrapping.

"Oh no, I'll just strip naked and show them the dance of my damn people," Sinbad snarled before stalking off into the darkness.

"Please keep your garments on for all our sakes," Proteus said flatly to his friend's retreating back.

"Right then. Let's climb over," Nassor declared, wedging his foot on a sturdy board to begin his ascent.

One by one, the men scrambled over the pen and landed with as soft a thump as they could manage on the other side, each taking a moment to stay still so as not to startle the animals. Dimitri was one of the last men to make it over the pen, taking a bit longer than usual. Sure, he was pretty agile but these men probably did this on a daily basis. When he finally landed safely on the damp earth and stood up stall, he looked around and was suddenly flooded with the realization that there were nothing but animals. Live, smelly, spitting, loud animals. And he was supposed to carry one of them.

"Right…" All around him, Dimitri could see the dark silhouettes of men hoisting goats over their shoulders. He saw a cow being hoisted up by the familiar outline of Kale and his eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets as it was gently slung over the man's shoulder as easily as a scarf. "Right. So…"

He crouched down in front of the nearest goat, and gave it a hard stare. "Alright… goat. Time to get moving. Easy now, easy…" He slid his hands underneath the animal's belly and was prepared to hoist it when the goat let out an annoyed bleat and hopped off.

"Hey! Come back here!" Dimitri grabbed at the goat and tried to pull it towards him, but the stubborn thing dug its hooves into the ground and refused to budge.

"Oh come on!" Dimitri released it, intent on finding another goat to harass when something warm and furry was suddenly plopped around his neck and shoulders.

"What the—" He turned his head and was face to face with a smelly goat chewing on a stray piece of grass.

"You looked like you needed help," Kale's low voice said next to him. "Grab a hold of its legs and hold on tight."