Jano passed under an old wooden archway. It was covered in scratches and scrawls and was falling away at the edges. These sorts of things weren’t rectified in the Slums. As long as they still functioned, they would be left until they rotted all the way through and collapsed.

He was walking through the northern end of the Slums, almost entirely the other end from where he lived. This was often referred to by the people who lived in it as the “posher part of the Slums”. The residents certainly acted that way. Looking at his tattered, worn clothes he drew sharp glances. As if he didn’t belong. Even though it was all a matter of scale when it came to holes in clothes here.

Though even Jano had to admit, the smell of waste was less strong at this end. It was closer to the Middle than his home and its waste pipes must be better maintained, due to that fact. He was looking for a small shop from which Darrel had asked him to retrieve something. Something valuable. He was looking for a sign which had a half-moon and a mug on. What sort of shop has those on its sign? He thought as he walked. The majority of the buildings were still made of wood, but there were a few stone buildings. Cracked, crumbling stones. He noticed that the eaves of one of the buildings were crooked, like an uneven smile. But it was still better than wood. He stopped as he observed a tree on the corner of the street. A rare glimpse of nature in the City. Its yellow and brown leaves looked as though they might fall at any moment as they slowly rocked in the breeze.

He walked another few paces and turned down a dead-end street, as he had been instructed to do. At the end, sure enough, the half-moon and mug displayed on a damp wooden sign. He adjusted his tattered clothing and walked in. “Good evening.” Said an old croaky voice from the back of the small room and Jano noticed the small man dozing in a chair.

“I’m here to pick up a package,” Jano said.

There were a dozen shelves behind the shopkeeper. Each shelf was slanted, not enough for the items to fall off. But each was weirdly skewing a different way, forming an odd pattern of chaos. “You ‘ere fer Darrel?” The man continued.

“Yes sir. He sent me to retrieve something. Though he didn’t tell me what.” He said.

“Well, that’s not too helpful.” The shopkeeper said as he began rummaging through his shelves. “Lucky fer you, that I have it ‘ere.” He pulled out a small package and placed it on the counter.

He started placing things back on his shelves. As he did so, a couple of customers walked in, heading straight to the back of the shop by the shopkeeper’s chair. They were covered in long cloaks, with their faces entirely covered. It looked as though they might walk straight into the shopkeeper, but as they rounded the counter, they disappeared. The shopkeeper looked over his shoulder at Jano and smiled before he went back to tending to his shelves.

He walked towards Jano with the small package he had placed on the counter, wrapped in crinkled brown paper and tied together with thin white thread. He passed the package to Jano, the thin smile was still stretched on his face. As though there was some secret which he decided not to share with Jano.

He thought he could hear noises coming from where the couple had disappeared, but he decided not to investigate any further. He looked at his wrist, the living tattoo a reminder of his station in the world. “Don’t you go losing this now.” The shopkeeper said almost under his breath.

“No, I won’t sir. Thank you.” He continued to hear those noises. They were growing louder. Grunting and groans and oddly even what sounded like cheering. With a worried look at the shopkeeper, who still wore his thin smile, he hurried out of the shop and back into the brown streets of the Slums. Though it was now very dark, this end of the Slums even had more lamplights so he could see.

The clouds looked full, threatening rain once more, he broke into a fast walk. If he ran, he might get stopped by a stray Guard, who could accuse him of something or other. That might complicate matters for his new employer. A fast walk would do. After all, the rain could only go skin deep as they say.

He quickly passed through the Slums without incident and entered the Middle. He hadn’t entered from this direction for a very long time and it all looked strange and unfamiliar. Almost as if the streets and the buildings were the wrong way round.

If he walked for long enough, he would find his way. At least, that was his working theory. He followed his guy and plumped for the direction he thought he needed to go. The lamplights were better quality in the Middle, and so he walked slower trying not to raise suspicion. He strained his eyes, trying to see as far as he could in every direction before choosing a direction. He couldn’t walk much faster in the Middle anyway, as the fact that he was a Slummer would mark him for attention at this hour. The rows of houses were illuminated with glowing light from the inside spilling out onto the street.

He thought he saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye. He kept his head down as he moved down another street. He made for the end of the path and as he was looking for the right way, he spotted a tavern which he recognised as being only a short way from the Mage’s house. He kept his head down as he passed the revellers outside, clutching large glasses of amber liquid. They were shouting and hugging each other, toasting the day’s successes and forgetting its failures. Taverns were a great place to both remember and forget. Usually for very different reasons. They gave him a quick look as he walked past, probably to notice the holes in his clothes, but paid him no further attention than that.

Jano kept looking over his shoulder at the patrons of the bar. It was a sign of a particular status if you could afford to waste a few coins in the taverns of the Middle. He was also double-checking for any more shadows.

He turned right down another quiet street. Definitely heading in the right direction now, he thought. There was less light pouring out of the crooks and crannies of the stone houses, as some of the houses were melded into a half residential, half commercial area. The shops were generally shut before nightfall and the rest of the street were evidently those who enjoyed an early night. Perfect place for a Mage’s hideout.

Jano felt a sharp pain behind his eyes. There was a dull thud as a dull object smacked him on the back of the head. Before he could react, someone grabbed him and bundled him through a door and into one of the quiet, unlit stone houses on the way. The door opened easily as they barrelled through it and he found himself facing two strangers in a bare stone room. The door slammed shut behind them and soon only the sounds of Jano’s feet scrabbling helplessly across the concrete floor could be heard. Two robed figures stood across from him and someone was holding his arms from behind like a Guard might hold a thief. It brought back awful memories.

“What is someone like you doing in the Middle at this time of night?” A voice squeaked at him from one of the shadowy robed figures. They looked like Mage’s robes, but they looked slightly duller. He felt something hit him on the shoulder, pain once more searing through his neck.

“Answer her!” Said another, deeper voice.

He found it hard to concentrate, the pain in his head making everything slightly fuzzy. “I… Apologies, I was just visiting a friend.” Jano stammered. His eyes darted from blurry point to blurry point in the room, racking his brain for excuses. If the room had anything more than dull grey and wood for decoration, he might have seen a beautiful array of colour. The bleakness of his surroundings only added to his misery.

“Who would be friends with a Slummer in the Middle?”

The squeaky voice probed. “I bet you were up to something. Search him.”

A cold panic rushed over Jano. He had the package for Darrel in his pocket. It was barely hidden.

“No…. I mean, please don’t. I have nothing someone of your stature would require honoured ones.” He had no idea who these people might be, but a Class Ten was required to address everyone above them formally. “I was just trying to get a small present for my wife. We don’t have much, and I’ve been doing favours for a guildsman. A stonemason who lives close to here.”

One of the shadowy figures stepped forward and grabbed the package from Jano. It inspected the crinkly brown paper and toyed with the thin string. The river figure moved to open it.

“No don't!” Jano shouted. “It’s wrapped as a present. Please, it’s something I’ve been saving for years.”

The hand stopped where it was. He regarded the questioning figures wearily, but they seemed to stop moving. Not in the way that a normal person would halt their movement. But as though there was the total absence of movement. Perfectly still. It was haunting.

Then, the shadowy figures disappeared and the package flew back towards Jano. Missing his head by inches. The pain in his head started to dissipate. His arms were free. Someone was still here, moving around behind him. Jano looked around the room. His eyes met the boyish smile of Darrel standing above him.

“Well, that was a smart performance. Good job tying in the lie with some real-life stuff. Overall, I’d say it was probably a seven out of ten. At least you didn’t soil yourself and offer up the truth immediately. Good job, some improvement required.”

“Sorry? What was that? Where did they go?” Jano asked, trying to sound polite.

“Well, I needed some sort of test. Needed to make sure you wouldn’t run out on me if you thought you had something valuable and that you wouldn’t talk if captured. Not immediately anyway. Decent job.” He said.

“However, I would be a bit careful about saying you have a wife if you are ever actually captured.” He said. “Just a thought. A bit of friendly advice.”

“Where has everybody gone? Who held me? What’s going on?” Jano asked, a mix of rage and confusion whirling around inside of him.

“Oh, those? Those were an illusion. Pretty damn good ones. It’s something of a speciality of mine. It was me who walked you on the head and bundled you through the door though.”

Jano rubbed his head, not only from the pain, which was still slowly ebbing away.

“It is also me making the pain disappear before you get too upset. But I’m not a great healer, so you’ll have to bear with me.” The Mage smiled.