Chapter 7: Thief

The sky had begun turning orange when Abel finally reached the location the amulet had been pointing him toward: …a sewer runoff on the north side of the city. The same one where he and the others had exterminated the slime infestation the day before. He wandered back and forth, but there was no escaping the truth- the amulet was pointing directly into the sewer's depths. "Guess there's no way around it…" he muttered, and stepped into the dark passageway.

The smell was enough to make him gag, and his past exposure did little to mitigate its severity. He was definitely going to need to pay the bathhouse a visit after this. And give his clothes a wash. In fact, he might even have to buy a new set altogether. Still he pressed on, letting the amulet guide him, thankful that he didn't have to wade through the river of filth alongside him.

Abel tried his hardest to ignore the smell as he delved deeper into the sewer, which seemed to worsen the further he went in. But he still hadn't found anything. Could Notte be moving away from him? He hoped not. Even with the amulet to guide him, if he got lost, he wasn't confident he could find his way-

Abel fell forward, his feet catching against something. His hands and knees hit the stone hard, and he quickly checked to make sure he hadn't cut himself- he didn't want to imagine the sort of infection he'd get from a place like this. Satisfied to see he was unhurt, he then turned his attention to whatever had snagged him- some sort of bundle, wrapped in burlap. There was no grime on it, so it apparently hadn't been in the sewer for very long, and although rubbish was far from an unusual sight, it seemed odd that someone would bring something so far into the sewer.

Abel shook his head. He was losing his focus. He concentrated, focusing on a single objective: find Notte.

The amulet pointed straight at the bundle.

Abel felt as if a lance made of ice had pierced his chest. He looked closely, but the bundle wasn't moving. Dreading what he was about to see, Abel reached out, and pulled some of the burlap aside.

A body was lying underneath. It seemed to be the body of a girl about his age, curled up into a ball. Her skin was a strange ashen color, and she was covered in some kind of black crust- Abel assumed it was dry blood. He didn't know anything about how bodies decay, but it didn't look like she was rotting, and he didn't smell anything unusual- not that he would have been able to anyway- so she must not have been dead for very long. Now, he could understand why someone would go so deep into the sewers.

He swallowed- it seemed that he had indeed found Notte. But what was he supposed to do now? He didn't want to leave it behind, but carrying a body around the city would raise more than a few questions.

Then the body gasped.

Abel cried out and stumbled back, holding out his arm on reflex. "Angel Fire!"

…but nothing happened.

He thrust out his hand, and shouted even louder, "Angel Fire!" But again, nothing happened. The body began to shudder, and slowly rise. Fine, if his magic wasn't working, then he could still use his…

…sword? Abel reached for his scabbard, but felt nothing but his belt. He looked down- his sword… it was gone! Had the clasp holding it to his belt come loose? But surely he would've heard it fall if it had.

The figure had risen to its feet, the burlap covering it falling away. She was clad in tattered robes of blue and white, her once-blonde hair tangled and knotted together like ropes, her blue eyes clouded and lifeless.

"A… bel…" the corpse that once had been Lailah moaned.

Abel screamed.

And in the blink of an eye, he was no longer in the sewer runoff. He was… sitting up in bed.

He looked around, his heart racing. The light from the morning sun streamed through a small window to his right, filling the room, and falling on a few of his personal belongings scattered about. The air was fresh, if a bit musty, washing away the echo of the fetid stench still lingering in his nostrils.

Abel rubbed his forehead, his heart finally settling. A nightmare. It had been quite a while since he'd had one. As he briefly pondered if there was some sort of spell that could suppress them, there was a sudden knocking at the door, making him jump. "Abel?" Holly asked from outside the room, her voice muffled. "Abel, are you alright?"

"Yeah…" Abel replied after several breaths. "I'm… fine."

There was a long pause before Holly continued. "Lailah said for you to hurry and get dressed. One of Mr. Vargo's men is here to see us."

Abel's heart began racing again. Something must have happened then. He leapt out of bed, calling, "I'll be right out!"

Abel dressed himself in a matter of moments and rushed down to the inn's lower level. Lailah and the others were already there, and sure enough, a lavender-haired man clad in armor of black leather was waiting alongside them. "You're here, good," he said as soon as he laid eyes on the younger man. "I was instructed by Mr. Vargo to find you if the Ghost struck again. Now let's not waste any time."

The mercenary led Abel and the others to the harbor. On the way, the mercenary explained the situation: "Last night, the Ghost started a fire in one of the Vargo Group's warehouses. At this time, we're trying to determine what, if anything, was taken."

"What have you found so far?" Lailah asked.

The lavender-haired man shrugged. "Not a whole lot, to be honest. We've been poking through the ashes for a while now, but we haven't had any luck finding anything worthwhile."

They reached the harbor, and the warehouse in question. Or rather, the burned out husk and pile of ash that had once been a Vargo Group warehouse. A few soldiers were milling about, digging through the ashes, but it seemed nothing worthwhile had survived. The sight before Abel wasn't an encouraging one. How were they supposed to figure out what happened from a bunch of ash? Raine however stepped forward, undaunted: "What did the Vargo Group keep here?"

"Raine?" Holly asked. It seemed Abel wasn't the only one confused.

The witch looked to the rest of the group. "An investigation starts by gathering as many facts as you can. If we know what this building was used for, then we can figure out why the Ghost came here." She looked to the mercenary. "So…?"

The lavender-haired mercenary looked at the ashes. "This warehouse was used to store food and other perishables, mostly. Stuff that you'd wanna ship out fast before it spoils."

"A strange target…" Lailah said. "What would he gain from burning down a place like this?"

"Are you sure the Ghost was responsible?" Abel asked. "It could've been an accident."

"That's what we thought at first, too…" the man replied, searching through his pockets. "Then we started finding these scattered in the ashes." He then held out a few slips of paper- each one had a glaring skull drawn on it.

The Ghost's calling card. That was rather condemning. But Holly seemed to think otherwise. "How do we know the Ghost made them?" she asked. "Anyone can make a card like that."

Holly raised a fair point, Abel thought. But the answer came not from the lavender-haired mercenary, but from Raine: "The city watch and Vargo's men were worried criminals might commit crimes using the Ghost as a scapegoat. So while people know the Ghost leaves behind a calling card, most don't know what it actually looks like. But now that I think about it…" She looked over to Abel. "Abel, do you still have yours?"

"Huh? What?" It took a moment for Abel to realize what the witch was talking about. "Oh, right. Sure." He searched through his trouser pockets, pulling out the card the Ghost had left on his bed.

The lavender-haired mercenary seemed taken aback. "Huh? Why do you have that?"

"The Ghost paid us a visit a few nights ago," the witch replied, holding up the old and new cards side-by-side. "Somehow found out Vargo hired Blue over here to catch him. Guess he wanted to send us a message." Abel looked as Raine compared the two cards- they weren't identical, but there were many similarities between them. One could certainly argue that the same person had made both.

Lailah rubbed her chin as he too looked on. It seemed she agreed with Raine's assessment, because she then said, "So the Ghost was here. But we still don't know why." She looked to the mercenary again. "Are you sure there wasn't anything else?"

"Like I said, it was just perishables," the mercenary replied. "Only thing I can think of that would be worth stealing here would be the delivery and shipment records. Although…"

Raine tilted her head. "What?"

The guard looked around, as if to ensure that no one else was listening, before leaning in. "Look, I haven't been with this outfit for long. So I don't get all the details. But I've heard some of the others talk. And they say this warehouse was used to store certain… high-value merchandise."

"What kind of merchandise?" Abel asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. But considering how frequently shipments went out from this particular warehouse, I'm guessing it was something Mr. Vargo didn't want on his hands for too long." The mercenary quickly turned. "Anyway, that's all I can say. And if anyone asks, you didn't hear that from me."

The group turned toward one another. Abel opened by saying, "I wonder what kind of merchandise Vargo kept here."

"It's gotta be something illegal," Raine replied. "Why else would he wanna ship it out so fast? And if the Ghost was after those shipping records, there might be a log of what was shipped out and to where."

"Wouldn't it be risky to have a record of that kind of thing, though?" Holly asked. "I thought trade guilds had to have their records inspected regularly."

"There are ways to encode that kind of information," the witch replied. "To hide it so only certain people can find it. They could be using codewords, watermarks, writing with ink that's only visible under certain kinds of light… even something like a pattern of dots along the edge of a document could contain some kind of message." She put her hands behind her head. "I remember reading that during the Ermisian Civil War, a captured general used letters he wrote to his daughter to secretly send information to his allies. If you counted every… fifth letter I think, and then wrote them out in reverse order, they-"

"Uh, relevance?" Niel asked, emerging from within Abel.

"I'm just thinking about how someone can hide information in plain sight," Raine answered earnestly. "I've always liked spy stuff."

"I'm sure all of this speculation is entertaining for you…" the angel began, "…but our job here is to capture the Ghost. If Vargo is conducting some sort of illegal business, that should be left to the proper authorities." Her gaze shifted, and she looked back over her shoulder toward Abel. She didn't say anything, but he understood her message.

"Right. Sorry, sorry." Raine tapped the side of her head with her knuckles. "Anyway, we should ask about other places the Ghost broke into. If we look at where he's been before, we might be able to predict where he'll go next."

So, Abel and the others spread out, asking the mercenaries about the Ghost's previous crimes. But when they reconvened a half-hour later, what information they had gathered failed to paint a clearer picture. Some of the Ghost's previous targets made sense: storehouses and ships owned by the Vargo Group, Vargo's own home- but others, like smaller storefronts, the mercenaries's bunkhouses, the inn… seemed completely arbitrary. And there seemed to be no pattern as to when the Ghost struck, either- the span between crimes could range from a few days to several weeks. The only real consistencies were that, save for his visit with Abel, he never struck two nights in a row, and that all his targets had some connection to the Vargo Group, however tangential.

After sharing what they had learned, the group was silent for several moments. "I'm still not seeing a pattern, Raine," Lailah confessed.

Raine mumbled to herself as she thought. "The locations themselves could hold a clue," she said. "If we had a map of the city…"

"Maybe some break-ins were diversions," Holly suggested. "You said that the Ghost breaks into places without stealing anything sometimes. Maybe he was trying to lure guards to a certain place so his real target was less well-protected."

Raine blinked- or rather, with her eyes shut, her brow furrowed for a brief moment. "I… can't believe I never thought about that! You're surprisingly insightful, Jugs." She turned. "Let's ask around one more time."

Abel however took a few steps away from the group. "Would you be able to take care of that on your own? There's something I wanna look into."

"And where are you going?" Raine asked.

"You said before that the Ghost must have some kind of identity during the day, right, Raine? I wanna see if I can find him." He reached under his collar, pulling out the golden pendant. Asking around, collecting information, piecing it together to find a criminal… Abel was very much out of his depth with all that. But finding the Ghost himself… he could do that much at least.

"By yourself?" Holly asked.

"It'll draw too much attention if we go as a group. The Ghost might have, uh…" He struggled to remember the right term. "You know, people to gather information for him."

"Informants?" Holly answered.

"That's… another good point," Raine added. "Everything I've heard makes it sound like the Ghost works alone, but if he's part of a bigger group…"

But Lailah cut in. "The Ghost already knows who you are, Abel. It won't matter if you go alone or with us. If anything, going out there on your own might put you in danger."

"He won't be alone," Niel said, taking a seat on Abel's shoulder.

"Your Grace…" Lailah began.

"I'll follow Abel at a distance. If he runs into trouble, I'll come down and intervene."

"But-"

The angel fluttered in front of Lailah, arms crossed over her chest. "I've told you before: even like this, I'm still more than a match for the world's strongest mages. And I'm not about to let all the blood I gave to Abel go to waste by letting some thief get the upper hand over him."

Lailah was silent for several moments before responding. "…we'll gather information for a little longer, then head back to the inn to piece together what we've learned. We'll be waiting for you there." Her gaze suddenly hardened. "And if you do manage to find the Ghost, don't confront him. Even if you do discover his real identity, we'll need more substantial evidence than just the amulet before we can apprehend him."

"I'll be careful." Abel then turned away, and closed his eyes, focusing on his new objective: Find the Ghost of Lohan. The reaction was immediate: the pendant shot up, sliding over the chain around his neck to point at something ahead and to his right. He had the trail now. All he needed to do was follow it.

Ariadne's Amulet led Abel through Lohan's streets, as though he was a dog on a leash, being led by an invisible hand. Niel was somewhere behind him, flying high in the sky where she could spot any approaching threats. He weaved through crowds and narrow streets as he followed his Relic's guidance, until he came to a familiar place: a section of the city filled with identical, windowless buildings, near the outer wall. It was where he'd met Seth days earlier.

The amulet was much more active now- before, it pointed ahead steadily, but now it slid across its chain as it tracked the movement of its quarry. He must have been close. So, he continued to follow its lead. He followed the amulet as it led him down a street, around the outer corner of a warehouse, then around another corner of the same warehouse to the street on the other side. After rounding a corner, the amulet pointed straight ahead, but would slowly point to his left as he moved forward, as if telling him to turn.

Still, Abel let the amulet lead him, until… he found himself back where he started? The Relic had led him in a circle around one of the warehouses. Was the Ghost inside? But that couldn't be the case- it would have pointed at the warehouse constantly.

But then, at that moment, he saw something in the corner of his eye: a flicker of movement, as someone or something quickly drew into one of the alleys between the warehouses on the opposite side of the street. The amulet fell against Abel's chest as his concentration was lost. But he wouldn't need it. He rushed toward the alley where he'd seen the movement, and looked down it, to find…

…nothing. It was too long for someone to have crossed in the timespan between when he saw the movement and when he reached the alley, and there was nothing to hide behind. Abel took a few steps forward, lost. He was certain that he'd seen someone go through this alleyway, so-

Suddenly, he heard something drop to the ground behind him. Before he could turn, his arm was twisted behind his back and he was slammed face-first into a wall. He tried to pull free, until he felt a length of cold metal touch his neck.

"Coming here alone was a very bad decision," a low, gruff female voice growled in his ear.

Abel's heart hammered in his chest. How had she managed to slip past him? The alley might have been wide enough for someone to bridge themselves between the buildings, but could someone really climb that quickly? Before he could say anything, the voice continued, "Don't bother. I know exactly who you are. And you might not realize it, but Vargo isn't the victim here. No matter what he tells you."

What was she talking about? Abel may not have liked Vargo, but he couldn't deny that it was his guild's properties being burned down, his merchandise being destroyed.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of my way. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you make me." The cold metal was taken away from his neck, but the girl held him firmly. "I'm going. You're gonna keep your eyes forward until I'm gone. Or else I'll cut them out. …And your tongue, so you can't tell anyone what you saw here." The girl let Abel go, and her footsteps filled the alley, quickly fading into silence. Abel kept his gaze fixed on the wall ahead of him. He didn't know if the Ghost had truly gone, or if she was simply waiting nearby, waiting to strike if his curiosity got the better of him.

He wouldn't be waiting long though, as after several moments, he heard Niel's voice. "There you are! I've been-" She cut herself off, as if realizing something was amiss. "What happened?"

"Niel…" he began slowly, still facing the wall. "Did you… happen to see anyone heading away from here?"

The angel fluttered closer to him. "No. Why?"

So, she must not have seen. He finally dared to look away- of course, aside from himself and the angel, the alleyway was empty. "I think… I ran into the Ghost just now."

After a quick dive into an unsecured grate into the twisting depths of Lohan's sewers, Seth breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't the first time she'd been tailed, but it was the first that had managed to follow her for so long. She let her "weapon" fall from her hands- nothing more than a short iron rod, and crouched down, clutching her head. "God, why did it have to be him?" she said faintly.

Thankfully, he actually listened. Despite her threats, she didn't know what she would have done if he realized she was bluffing. Even if he was hired to capture her, he was still a decent person- far too decent to be working for the likes of Vargo- and she hated the thought that she might have to hurt him.

Everything else she said was true, though. Vargo was not at all the victim he painted himself to be. And she was far too close to fail now. She needed to move quickly. With last night's arson distracting the mercenaries, she had claimed the final piece she needed. She had just one objective remaining: to deliver the complete puzzle to the appropriate people. And after that…

Well, these kinds of stories always ended with one last face-to-face confrontation.

Abel yawned. Something that didn't go unnoticed. "Hey," Niel snapped in his ear. "You'd better not be falling asleep on me."

"I'm not," Abel replied. Though he was tired, the night air pricked at his hands and face like needles, chasing away any thoughts of sleep. How in the world could it be so cold, he wondered. Wasn't Lohan right at the edge of a desert? And weren't deserts known to be hot?

"Well, you'd better get back to your patrol," the angel's voice said. "It's better for you to avoid the temptation altogether."

"Alright," he replied, rising to his feet. He'd taken a seat on a long beam that crossed the length of the warehouse roof for a short rest, but it seemed his break was over. He was alone on the roof, but Lailah and the others were still nearby- they were at ground level, out of sight, watching as many avenues of approach to the warehouse as they could. And two groups of Vargo's mercenaries were further out, patrolling the streets nearby. Holly had suggested bringing in more men, but Raine argued that too much security would drive off the Ghost, or worse yet, convince him to strike elsewhere, where he wouldn't be so easily captured…

The others had already returned to the inn when Abel made his own way back, seated at one of the many small round tables at the ground level. Raine waved as soon as she spotted him. "Hey, there you are!" she called cheerfully. "Any luck?"

Like Niel, Lailah seemed to realize something was amiss as Abel approached. "Did something happen?"

"I… did find something…" he began. "The amulet took me to the warehouse district on the south end of the city. The Ghost was there. They were… circling around one of the buildings. Like they were looking for something."

"You found him?" Lailah said, shocked.

"What did he look like?" Holly asked.

Abel hesitated, before shaking his head. "I… didn't get a good look. They must have realized I was following them, because they made sure they were always out of sight. Then they managed to get behind me and-"

"What!?" Lailah shouted. Her gaze instantly snapped to Niel. "What happened to keeping an eye on Abel!?"

Niel stood- or rather, floated- defiantly. "That part of the city has a lot of blind spots from the air. I only figured something was wrong because he went into an alley and didn't come out for a few minutes."

Lailah was visibly shaking in anger, but before she could say anything else, Holly jumped to her feet. "Guys, cut it out!" she said. "Fighting with ourselves won't solve anything!" After taking several breaths to calm herself, she then asked, "Anyway… what do you think the Ghost was doing? Was he trying to break in?"

"In the middle of the day? Not a chance," the witch replied. "They were probably scouting the building. Checking for blind spots, memorizing where doors and windows are, looking for potential escape routes, that sort of thing."

"Then we should go there and wait for him," Holly added. "And we should let Vargo's soldiers know where the Ghost will strike next."

"You think that warehouse might be the Ghost's next target?" Abel asked.

Holly replied with her own question: "Why would a thief scout a building if they weren't planning on breaking in?"

"Thieves are opportunists," Raine replied. "They don't break into every building they scout… but then again, this could be the break we need. Let's stake out this warehouse and see if the Ghost swings by…"

So, that was why he was here, on the roof of a warehouse holding spool-upon-spool of rope in the middle of the night and the freezing cold, with no guarantee that the Ghost would even come this way. This was the second night of their stakeout, as Raine called it, but so far, nothing had happened. Granted, it was unlikely anything would have happened the night before, being the night immediately after the Ghost had struck, but even so.

Abel yawned again, in spite of his best efforts to suppress it. The church bells didn't ring this late, so he had no way to know what time it was. The endless waiting almost made him want for something to happen, though he knew he should be thankful if dawn came without-

There was a faint sound, like a thin string whipping through the air. Niel instantly shouted in his ear, "Divine Armor!" Abel's body was suddenly surrounded by a glowing field that completely enveloped him. And not a moment too soon- Abel felt something hit his shoulder, making him stumble, and the field shattered as if it were made of glass. The thing that struck him clattered against the roof tiles.

It was… an arrow.

"Abel, eyes up!" Niel ordered.

Ahead, several rooftops away, Abel could see a figure standing, a long bow in their hands. A long mane of silvery hair flowed down her back, while two black points rose from the top of her head. Ears? Horns? Either way, Abel couldn't say. The figure was dressed in a black shirt and black trousers, with an array of pouches and a quiver full of arrows hanging from their belt- in the darkness, it made them look less like a person and more like an animated, person-shaped hole in the world. All except for their face; or rather, the bone-white mask covering their face, carved into the image of a glaring skull.

The Ghost of Lohan. In the flesh.

Abel drew his sword. "Niel, get me over there!"

"On it!" The wings of light on his back flared to life, and he darted over to the roof where the Ghost was standing. The masked figure took aim, and fired at him again, but Niel suddenly dipped Abel's body down to evade it, before he crashed onto the roof in a shower of dust and tiling. The moment his feet touched solid ground, Abel charged, and swung his sword at the masked figure.

But the Ghost leapt back and out of his reach. He charged and swung again, but the Ghost tumbled back with their limbs outstretched, rolling back like a wheel. As soon as he was upright, he took aim and fired a third time. Abel leapt to the side, feeling a rush of air and a whistle in his ear as the arrow flew past him. He held his hand out to the figure and shouted, "Angel Fire!" White flames erupted from his hand, driving the Ghost back. But they weren't intended to harm, but to obscure his movement. With a bow, the Ghost was most dangerous at range- even with Angel Fire, Abel knew he was at a disadvantage. He needed to gain the upper hand, and that started by closing the distance between them.

Rushing through the flames, Abel swung his sword at the masked figure. But the Ghost swung his bow upward, knocking Abel's sword aside. Abel swung again, this time from below, but again, the Ghost knocked his blade aside with their bow, before swinging the end at Abel. The blow struck him right in the side, and Abel wheezed, stumbling back as all the air was forced from his lungs. Silently, the Ghost pulled an arrow from his quiver, before nocking it, drawing it back, and aiming it at Abel in a single flowing motion.

Abel couldn't evade the arrow in his state. So instead, he forced himself to draw breath. "Divine… Armor!"

The Ghost's bowstring whipped through the air. The world seemed to slow as the arrow flew toward him. As it crept towards him, a glowing white field flowed down over his body from the top of his head, as if someone had dumped oil over him. The arrow struck Abel's forehead, or rather, the air about a thumb's length away from his forehead- the shell flashed where the arrow struck, and it shattered. But unlike before, Abel didn't stumble. His desperation must have made the shield that much stronger. And more importantly, it gave him the opening he needed.

Forcing himself to breathe, Abel launched himself at the Ghost before he could ready another arrow, and swung with all his strength. The Ghost leapt back… but they weren't quite fast enough. He missed the Ghost himself, but Abel's sword cut through the Ghost's bow, the upper half clattered against the roof as it fell.

Abel pointed his sword at the masked figure. "There! Now why don't you just come quietly and-" It was the last thing he said before the Ghost struck him across the face with the half of the bow she was still holding. It didn't knock him unconscious, but did knock him off his feet. He staggered as he tried to rise, the world spinning. "Ow… that really hurt."

Abel was suddenly bathed in a white light that soothed his injuries. "Get up, Abel! We can't let him get away!" Niel shouted. He saw the angel fluttering in front of him with her arms outstretched, before she dived back into his body. He glanced around, but the Ghost was nowhere in sight. He focused, allowing his amulet to seek the Ghost out. As it began pointing his way, he jumped off the roof, staggering when he hit the ground, and began chasing after his foe. He followed his amulet as it pointed him down an alley, then right onto a wider street, then left, down another alley. Ahead, he saw a square hole in the ground with a metal grate set next to it- a drain connected to the sewers beneath Lohan, he guessed. Bracing his nose for the incoming assault, he sheathed his sword and climbed down the ladder inside the hole as swiftly as he could.

The sewer air was filled with the scent of wet stone and stagnant water. As soon as Abel reached the bottom of the ladder, the amulet began pointing to his right, so he followed it… only to be quickly met by a dead end. He doubled back, searching for a side passage, and found one. He hurried down it, again allowing the amulet to direct him, and turned down another passage to his left, only to once again be met by a dead end. "What, another one!?" Abel said in exasperation. How was he supposed to catch up to the Ghost like this? The amulet only pointed directly at his target- it didn't give him a path to follow.

But before he could do or say anything, Niel emerged from within Abel, flying straight at the dead end. "Dammit!" She punched the wall, cracking it and causing seemingly the whole sewer to shake. The angel took several breaths, before returning to Abel's side. "…Let's head back. If we try to chase after him down here, we're just gonna get ourselves lost."

"But the Ghost… he's gonna get away," Abel began.

"Maybe. But he could be luring us into some kind of trap. Our best chance right now is to fall back and regroup with the others." Niel's tone was odd, her words stilted, as if she was forcing herself to remain calm. But, she was right. The Ghost could have been luring him into an ambush, or at the very least trying to lure him deep enough into the sewer that he couldn't find his way out. So, retracing his steps, he returned to the ladder he'd climbed down, and returned to the surface.

Abel was surrounded as soon as he emerged. Lailah and Holly were already waiting by the sewer entrance, along with as many of Vargo's mercenaries that had managed to fit into the narrow alleyway. "What happened?" one of the soldiers asked. "Where's the Ghost!?"

"He got away…" Abel confessed. "I lost track of him in the sewer. It's like a maze down there."

"Damn him!" one of the soldiers growled. He then turned to the other soldiers. "Send a message to every guardhouse in the city! Tell them to post a man at every sewer entrance! We won't let the Ghost slip away!"

The remaining mercenaries saluted, barked out, "Yes sir!" and scattered.

"What about us?" Lailah asked the remaining soldier. "What should we do?"

"Remain on station," he replied. "This may just be an attempt to distract us." He turned. "I'll find the second patrol and send them to back you up." The mercenary followed his companions down the alley, quickly disappearing from sight and leaving the three on their own.

Holly turned her attention to Abel. "Are you alright, Abel?" she asked. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I'm fine, Holly," he replied. "You don't have to worry. He was just… stronger than I expected." He was only half-listening as he tried to think of a way to catch up to the Ghost. Maybe if he kept on the surface, tracking his movements with the amulet until he emerged-

"Let's head back to the warehouse," Lailah said. It was as if she was reading his thoughts.

"But-" Abel began.

Lailah turned. "Vargo's men can handle things. Plus, we shouldn't leave Raine to cover the warehouse by herself."

Abel almost spoke out, but in the end, he relented. Things hadn't gone well for him in his encounter with the Ghost- it was unlikely that he would fare any better in a second. So, he and the others remained until dawn finally broke over Lohan. But in that time, the Ghost didn't return. Satisfied that they had seemingly driven him back, Lailah suggested the group return to the inn to rest.

"Well, we didn't catch him this time," Raine said as they made their way back. "But, we did stop him from doing…" She paused to yawn. "…whatever he was planning to do. So, I think that counts as a partial success. Right?"

Abel still paid little heed to his companion's words. He repeated his encounter with the Ghost in his head, over and over again, looking for some kind of opening, something he overlooked that he could have used to subdue him. But, there was nothing. The Ghost seemed to read his every move. Was he really so predictable? However, there was something he noticed in his recollection.

The first was the Ghost's arrows. They didn't end with a normal, pointed head. Rather, they were topped by some kind of metal cylinder. As if to dampen their potential to kill.

The second was something about the Ghost's attire. He had a ragged, dark red scarf tied around his neck.

And Abel knew only one person who wore such a scarf.

After a few hours of rest, Abel set out to the Farm. But even in the middle of the day, the Temple of Bacchus was just as lively as it was during the evening hours. Trying not to be embarrassed by the cheers that erupted from his entrance, he looked around, before spotting Miss Marsya behind the bar, and seated himself in one of the stools set before it.

The satyr noticed him before long. "Hey," she said, setting a tankard in front of him. "Heard you had a run-in with the Ghost last night. Banged you up pretty good from the sound of it. Looking for something to dull the pain?"

Though he'd been healed, Abel's jaw throbbed from the memory of the night before. Had word really spread that quickly? "No, I'm here on business. I need information."

The satyr put the tankard away. "Well, I might be able to help with that. What exactly are you looking for?"

Abel took a breath, bracing himself for the satyr's reaction. "…I need you to tell me about Seth."

"Seth?" Marsya put a hand on her chin- she sounded surprised, but… not angry. "What were you wanting to know, exactly?"

Abel replied bluntly, "Everything you're willing to tell me."

"I… just a moment. Durvan! Can you keep an eye on the bar? I need to step away for a moment." Marsya led Abel through a door behind the counter and down a narrow flight of stairs to a basement filled with wooden casks, the air filled with scent of musty wood and strong wine. Once she was satisfied, she turned to Abel. "Well, we'd seen Seth around the city for a few months before she was brought to the Farm, but we don't really know anything about her. Where she came from, what she was doing before we took her in… mind you, I wasn't the one who brought her here. That was Bereg. The half-orc. Patrols the Farm, makes sure any troublemakers keep their distance… you've probably seen him around."

Seen him? He shook Abel's hand. But now likely wasn't the right time to mention that.

Marsya continued, "To tell you the truth, 'Seth' isn't even her real name. Euro gave it to her. She wouldn't tell us hers, and we couldn't keep calling her 'the new girl' forever. Honestly, until recently, we didn't even know she could talk."

All of that sounded a bit suspicious… but then again, Abel hadn't told any of his companions about his own experiences before coming to Hokes. So, maybe it wasn't so strange.

"But wherever she came from, it seems like she's been getting into lots of fights. Feels like she comes back with new bruises and scratches every day."

That would make sense if Seth was the Ghost of Lohan. At the burned-down warehouse, Vargo's men said the Ghost didn't hesitate to fight if someone spotted them. And with how many break-ins they'd committed, a run-in with the guards would be inevitable.

"There is one last thing. You might've guessed, but most around the Farm are demi-humans. But Seth… isn't."

That took Abel by surprise. "She's not?"

Marsya tilted her head. "Nope. Far as we can tell, she's one-hundred percent pureblood human."

"Why take her in then?" Abel asked.

"It's part of Bacchus's teachings. To celebrate the good fortune of others, and care for them when their fortune takes a turn for the worst." Marsya looked over. "Honestly kid, you'd make a pretty good disciple. You've already got a good handle on the 'care for others' bit- just gotta get some wine in you and you'd be all set."

"Uh, I'll… pass for now." Abel turned to the door. "Anyway, I should be heading back. We're going on patrol again tonight, so I wanna rest as much as I can. Thanks for the information."

"You be careful out there," the satyr replied.

Abel made his way back to the inn. But as he stepped inside, something immediately felt off. It felt as though the inn's ground floor had visitors at all hours, but at the moment, it was empty. Empty… save for a dark-haired man clad in a deep purple robe, seated at a table, watched over by a mercenary in black leather armor.

"Good morning, Lord Abel," Kamash Vargo said. "My men reported that you encountered the Ghost last night. And more importantly, that you let him slip through your fingers."

Abel said nothing. But not out of fear, respect, or any such notions. He held his tongue because he couldn't trust himself enough to not say something Vargo would make him regret later.

Vargo stretched out his hand to the chair across from him. "By all means, have a seat." Once Abel did so, The older man continued: "I will admit, I didn't expect this matter to be resolved instantaneously. But the Vargo Group's business partners are beginning to lose confidence in the guild- in me. The Ghost's recent arson was particularly damaging in their view. They insist that I do something to resolve this matter, and that it be done as soon as possible."

With carefully measured words, Abel replied, "I'm… sorry, Mr. Vargo. But, I did say that I wasn't sure I had enough experience to take this job."

The older man looked away briefly, tapping his temple. "Yes. You did say that. Which is why I'm going to help you."

"Help? How?" Abel didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Very recently," Vargo began, "I put out tidings that a certain artifact of considerable value has come into my possession. I will be holding it at my home for a time, before it is to be moved to the Vargo Group headquarters for display to the public."

Abel blinked in surprise. "But… why would you do that?" Putting out information like that was almost an invitation for the Ghost to come after this artifact.

"Simple." Vargo leaned in close. "Because this artifact doesn't exist."

A trap… so that was Vargo's plan. But… "Where do I fit into this?"

"There won't be an artifact waiting for the Ghost, but you will be, along with a handful of my men." Vargo sat back. "And once the trap is sprung, all of you will give a firsthand demonstration of precisely what happens to anyone who tries to threaten my business." The older man then stood. "If the Ghost keeps to his schedule, then he will strike the day after tomorrow." He headed to the door, flanked by his bodyguard before he stopped and looked back. "I expect you to be at my villa before then."