The sun already started to hide behind the city's rooftops, immersing the scenery in orange light, whilst Bao awaited the arrival of his companions.

By the time they came running towards him, he had already made several rounds around the fountain which stood in the middle of the city's central square.

"Where were you all this time?" Bao shortened the distance to them with his eyebrows angled down to a pointy arrow. "At dusk on the main square, is what you've said!" His arm lifted to where the sun was illuminating the rooftops just a few moments ago. "Does that look like dusk to you?"

"Hey hey, calm down Beansprout! We had to catch our little friend here." Nathan held a small cage in his hand covered by a piece of cloth. Coming from behind it was an unpleasant squeaking and the sound of something scratching against the metal bars.

"What in god's name is this?" Bao raised an eyebrow. "I hope for you that it was worth the wait!"

"Of course it was!" Nathan huffed and put the other hand on his waist. "Do you think I've nothing better to do than to aimlessly walk around the city in search of an unknown person in an unknown location?!" A grin flashed over Nathan's face. "How do you think is the best way of finding someone who possesses an item or magic that can attract monsters?"

"A monster!" Enlightened Bao smiled over the ingenious idea of the rogue. "But where did you even catch a monster within the ci..." It must've been a wonder that Bao noticed only now the nose-piercing stench of excrements coming from the both of them. "Oh there."

Both shrugged their shoulders.

"We were already too late, so there wasn't time for a quick visit at the bathhouse." Morell sniffed on his clothes just to wrinkle his nose soon after.

"Now then. Let's earn our pay."

Given that the darkness had already ascended, Bao could barely see the silhouette of the rat-like monster inside the cage after Nathan removed the cover.

Only the street lanterns and the moon illuminated the wide plaza and reflected in a glimmering light on the fountain's water.

"Are you ready?" Nathan asked as he put the cage on the ground. "The moment I release it we'll have to run, so don't stay behind." Nathan placed his hand on the small door of the cage. "I'll count down from three. Three..."

"If you find the place where our monster-attracting friend lives, don't storm in by yourself and wait for us, not that I think that you'll be there before us," Morell warned him.

"Two"

Bao's muscles tensed up, ready to start at any moment. All three of them exchanged eye contact right before the last number.

"One!"

Both the screeching sound of the monster and opening door rang in Bao's ear, signalizing the start of the hunt.

The moment it was set free, the rat ran down a narrow alley on the south of the square, right behind him Nathan, followed by Bao. Morell had already disappeared from their sight soon after they had started.

A cat joined their hunt but definitely not for the same reasons as the three companions.

By jumping on a wall the rat-like monster made a sharp turn to the right, leaving behind Bao who didn't make it in time to take the sudden curve.

Instead of following the monster, he was now following Nathan's mantle which could always be seen disappear behind other junctions.

On one turn Bao jumped to the side in order to avoid a crash with Morell, who appeared out of nowhere.

"pant... where... pant?"

Bao didn't have a single ounce of breath within his lungs and instead decided to point towards the corner behind which he last saw the mantle disappear.

They ran past the cat which laid in its own puddle of blood, two throwing daggers sticking out of its body. It probably tried to catch Nathan's, or rather their prey and had therefore been forcefully expelled from the hunt.

Around the next corner stood the rogue, peeking around the corner of the house without paying attention to their arrival.

"Where is the mo..."

"Psssst." Nathan turned around and pressed his finger against his lips and showed them to come closer.

"Not again one of these damn rats!" A voice echoed throughout the empty city streets.

It came from a small house with an open window, that stood on the other side of the street. "If only I had one of those fancy modern electronic traps dammit!"

For a brief moment, the yellow light in the house flashed up in a bright red and for a brief moment, the stench of burnt meat triumphed over the smell from Bao's friends. Soon after a smoking something was thrown out the window and landed on the street.

"It... it can't be! He is..." Bao stuttered, leaving the sentence unfinished from the shock.