Night fell on the city of Mossglenn Depot at a sickeningly slow pace. Devin spent most of the afternoon waiting near the end of the tunnel just, he hoped, out of sight of any curious passengers on the passing boats who might have thought to peer into the filthy tunnel. As each moment passed, he wondered if this plan would really work. They had so much to do before they even left the city, so many ways to be caught. His only saving grace was the hope that the Argenti would assume they fled to the southern side of the city where their grip was not quite as strong as the iron fist they kept on the northern side of the river.

After the sun had set, casting brilliant rays of reds and purples and oranges across the city and its river, when the first few bright stars braved the twilight sky, he decided it was time to make their move.

Daisy left the tunnel first. They had decided since she was one of the smallest and not as recognizable as the others they would stand a better chance if someone saw her emerge over the wall. Devin gave her a leg up to the top of the tunnel and she scrambled over the side. He waited, his stomach in knots, until she poked her head over the edge. She let out a broken tusked grin and gave him a nod.

“All right,” he whispered. “Let's get moving. Shia, Teryn, Murton, myself, then Griff.” Griff was the largest and strongest of them by far. He had the best chance to get himself up the ledge without someone giving him a small boost from below.

Shia stepped into his cupped hands and he pushed her up. He ignored the pain in his hand as he did so. It had dulled from a sharp stab into a burning throb. He tried not to think about the filth that was getting on it as he helped Teryn up next. He would deal with the possibility of infection once they got to Grinnish. The cauterization should’ve cleaned and sealed the wound, but the problem with self-inflicted burns is their propensity to infect themselves, as Teryn had reminded him while they waited.

He grunted as he lifted Murton up. Murton reached for the ledge and managed to clasp it with his fingers. He kicked a little as he tried to squirm up, hitting Devin in the face with a filthy foot.

“Watch your squirming, you little turd,” Devin hissed. Hands appeared over the edge and grabbed Murton around his arms. With a coordinated heave, they pulled him over as Devin continued to push his feet up. After Murton got over the ledge, Devin wiped the muck from his face and spit. He turned to Griff to find him waiting, as impassive as ever. It was nice to not see someone laughing at him for getting literal shit in his mouth.

“Ready?” Griff asked, kneeling down in the muck. Devin nodded and stepped onto his interlaced fingers. Griff gave a small grunt and propelled Devin up and outside the tunnel. He barely had time to twist himself past the stone roof of the tunnel and grab onto the ledge above it before falling off. The man was incredibly strong. He reminded himself never to piss him off or get into a fight with Griff. Teryn and Shia grabbed his arms and helped hoist him up onto the stonework ledge that flanked the river.

He took a moment to catch his breath, while his damned hand tore into his thoughts with each throb. He turned back toward the ledge to help Griff to find the man pulling himself up onto the ledge with Shia and Teryn standing next to him, looking useless as they pulled on his gargantuan arms. He nodded his thanks to them and stood up, brushing the dust from his prison clothes.

Daisy stood just off to the side, watching the town in front of them for any sign of movement. It was dead silent as Devin turned to regard the town. They were on a patch of stonework, hidden by several shrubs around them. He nodded to himself. It makes sense they would fence the sewage draining into the river off through nice bushes to keep the rich from having to see or smell their own shit. Right now he just thanked their luck for the cover it provided.

He stepped up next to Daisy. “See anything?”

She shook her head. “Nothing, not even a patrol of guards or anything. It's strange.”

“They don't expect lawbreaking of that nature on this side of the river. All the crimes here are a much higher class, done in government rooms and behind closed doors. The guards are there though,” he squinted into the darkness. “They just wait in the little watchhouses until called.”

Past the shrubs there was a stonework plaza with a fountain in the middle. The gurgle of the fountain provided enough background noise he was not concerned they would be heard whispering amongst each other. Metal benches studded the area around the fountain. Beyond the plaza a street flanked the river with shops, closed up and dark, running alongside it.

It all looked so peaceful and nice. The twisting in his gut turned to anger for a moment as he thought of all the well off people, living here comfortably, with no inkling of what was going on around them. Perhaps they did know, and just did not care since it did not affect them. Truly the folly of mankind, the idea of ‘I got mine, so screw you and yours.’

He could even the score just a little bit tonight by robbing some of the people here. Looking along the storefronts he saw a clothing shop to the west, just past the plaza. Nearer to the east, squinting, he saw what he hoped was a food store of some kind. The stores each had a second floor with what were likely apartments on top, housing the store owners or tenants. They would have to take extra care not to wake anyone.

Devin turned back to the group, beckoning Daisy to come with him. “Is everyone ready?” he whispered.

They nodded, each stone faced and prepared. They all knew the cost of failure for this. If one of them was caught, they could not expect to be rescued at this point. As much as it would hurt the others, some escaping was better than all of them ending in prison, or worse.

“Everyone split into their respective teams. We get what we need and meet back here in twenty minutes, thirty tops. If anyone has not come back in thirty minutes, we move on without them, got it?” Devin asked. They all nodded again. He gave them a final looking over, then turned to Daisy.

“Let's do this,” he whispered, more to himself than anyone else. He and Daisy crept through the bushes that hid their little meeting area from sight and slunk toward the main avenue. Dim gas lamps lit the street and no movement was seen anywhere in the windows beyond the occasional flicker of flame.

His heart pounded in his chest, so hard he was sure someone would hear it. They approached a shop with a sign hanging over the door, reading Cosma’s Wilderness Outfitter. Should be good enough. Looking through the front window revealed coats, bags, and a variety of camping gear.

Devin turned to Daisy, “Still have that lockpick?”

She nodded, smiling and showcasing her teeth. Devin could not help but marvel at how white they were, even after her time in Bronn’s dungeon. It must be some orc thing to keep them that way. Come to think of it, he had not seen many orcs, but they all had spectacularly pearly white teeth and tusks.

A small click brought him back to reality. He looked down to see Daisy slowly opening the door and peering in. He glanced back over his shoulder and there was no one down the street. Turning to the right he saw Teryn and Shia making their way into a building about one hundred feet from them.

He turned back toward his building and slipped in behind Daisy. She pushed the door closed behind him, the lock clicking softly as it fell back into place.

“How did you do that so quickly?” Devin whispered.

“It was nothing compared to the prison cell. The people here really place too much trust in their police force,” she answered.

He nodded and they crept into the store. The floor was a thick stone, which Devin silently blessed. Wood may have creaked and caused a whole host of trouble. The shop was not very large, with a display on their left and various racks of coats and pants spread across the floor. Shirts stacked the far wall, while hats and gloves were stacked on the wall to their right.

Along the back of the display were rows of bags. They swept over to them and started to pick out several oilskin bags to provide protection from the water for their new gear. They were likely only designed for rain and adverse conditions like snow, so he hoped it would last while they were submerging them. It was their only option. They grabbed the bags where the tops would roll over themselves, forming a knot before buckling shut, praying they offered the best seal.

After grabbing a few bags each, they spread out and started to grab clothing for them. Devin grabbed pants, shirts, and jackets for himself, Murton, and Griff, while Daisy grabbed clothes for Teryn, Shia, and herself. It would be easiest for her to grab sizes similar to her own. Devin just hoped the sizes he grabbed for his friends would be close enough. When in doubt, he went a size higher, better to large than too small.

They met again at the hat and glove racks. They whispered back and forth for a moment before deciding on grabbing furred beanies for everyone. This way it would cover everything they needed. After grabbing gloves for everyone they started to creep back towards the front door.

“Why isn't anyone in this shop?” Daisy asked.

“What do you mean?” Devin whispered back.

“Well, it's just past twilight. The sun has just gone down. Shouldn’t the shops be bustling and full of people? What kind of person shuts down as the sun goes down? This isn’t out in the rural areas where you are bound to the sun. Also, why has the whole street done it?”

“Oh, that,” Devin said. “I forgot you aren't from here. The north side of the river is strange. Once work finishes or the sun goes down, depending on the season, everyone closes the normal businesses up and moves further north. They go to all the restaurants and gathering areas.”

“What? Everyone?”

“Basically. It's the weirdest thing to see. While down south everything is open through the night, here everyone shifts from business to pleasure with the sun.”

Silence followed as they reached the door. They paused for a moment, listening to make sure no one upstairs had heard. They didn’t know if anyone really was upstairs, but it never hurt to be cautious.

“You humans are fucking weird,” Daisy muttered as she lifted the lock and pulled the door open slightly. She peered out through the crack, taking a moment, then opened it fully and stepped through. Devin quickly followed, closing the door silently behind him. They crouched and ran as fast as they could across the main avenue toward the bushes waiting on the other side.

As they crashed through them, they were faced with a monster of a man. Griff’s face relaxed slightly when he saw it was them. He reached over and gave Murton a swift smack on the back. Murton, who had been peering through the bushes to the west, spun around, face red.

“What’s yer problem you big oaf?! Oh, hello there Devin and Daisy. Glad to see you made it back.”

“Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye for all of us?” Devin asked, brow furrowed.

“I am!” he protested. “Well, I was, but I uh, got distracted.”

“By what?” Devin asked, afraid to know the answer.

“Well, you see,” Murton started, face growing even redder. “There was this fine lass taking a bath in her upstairs just down the road, and I couldn't help but notice she decided to put massive windows in her bathroom, and-”

Devin raised his hand, “That's enough. I don't need to know more.” He shook his head at the dwarf. Devin turned back toward where they came from and peered out, down the street. The shops Teryn and Shia had gone into were still dark. He supposed that was a good side.

“Since you’re watching for the girls, would it be all right if I kept an eye down the street again?” Murton asked in what he probably assumed was an innocent tone. Devin rolled his eyes and waved the dwarf off. He scurried back over to the bushes and buried his head in them. Devin heard a loud sigh and more rustling as the dwarf came back to them.

“She’s not there anymore anyways,” he said dejectedly.

“Absolute pig,” Devin muttered as he focused down the street. He wasn't sure which building the women had gone into. After several moments of intense gazing, he thought he caught movement behind one of the windows. He wasn't sure if it was them, until a flash of hand was caught, grabbing something from a barrel displayed in the window. The tension melted from his shoulders, knowing they were still alive and doing well, at least for now.

The tension quickly returned when he saw two guards heading down the street from the east. He bit his lip as they meandered closer and closer to the store. No more hands flashed in the window, but he was worried they would see something, or the woman would try to leave as they walked by. The voices of the guards drifted across the plaza towards them, hopefully Teryn and Shia had heard them too.

Devin held his breath as the guards approached the store, No movement was showing from within from where Devin could see. They walked past the door, as slow as molasses, and Devin let his breath escape slowly once they passed the door.

Suddenly, across the still twilight air, over the sound of the guards cheerfully talking and gurgling from the fountain, a creak struck Devin like a spear. The door to the shop opened up. Though in reality it was likely a small squeak, to Devin it sounded like the screech of a wyvern, reverberating across the town and alerting everyone in twenty miles to their presence.

As the guards turned toward the door that was opening, Devin made a snap judgement. If they saw the two women they would seize them and arrest them nearly instantly. They had no way to fight them off. So he ran out of the cover of the bushes and shouted at the guards.