Jano got down to his knees and began to crawl. The floor was spotless, so he didn’t feel too bad about the toll it would take on his new trousers. The space behind the curtain was big enough to crawl through, but far too small for walking. It was nicely decorated on the inside, with a dark red paint coating the walls and intricate golden spiral designs flowing along the pathway. The spirals seemed to guide the way to the end destination, wherever that was.

He crawled on. The floor beneath was softly padded so that there was no pain in his knees. A wonderful smell of a variety of spices drifted along as he crawled. He could hear voices, relatively quiet at first but growing louder. Where is Darrel sending me now? He thought. He grew slightly uneasy knowing that the Mage wasn’t next to him. A Class Seven would be easy pickings to some of the other residents of the city. Most of which lived in the Northern Quarter. And he still wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing. Or where he was.

As he crawled he thought about Nara, the Guard he had briefly met earlier and what they would be doing. He couldn’t complain of course, he had been paid well and all he had done so far was a few very minor tasks and to be trained by Darrel. So it was about time he did some work. But getting involved with a Guard in a robbery seemed wrong. Contradictory even. It made his stomach queasy.

He reached the end and stood up, dusting himself off. Though of course, there was nothing to actually brush off. His new clothes were just as immaculate as when he had bought them. So he stopped as soon as he realised it may be construed as an insult. He definitely could not afford to give any of those, intended or not. A clattering of voices now filled the air, invading his eardrums. Music drifted lazily to his ears and he noticed the group of musicians playing ornate wooden instruments in the centre. The room was much larger than it ought to be, considering he crawled into it. There were plenty of plush, comfy chairs with strangers lounging horizontally. Others were arranged in circles with groups of people vigorously gesticulating and debating. In a dimly lit corner, a group of strangely dressed people stood around with ornate metal jugs with golden handles.

In short, it was overwhelming. Jano didn’t know where to start and so he stumbled forward. Nobody paid him any attention and he smiled at the collective joy around him. It seemed to him like a tavern but with more joviality and much more space.

He bumped into the small man who had greeted them and had crawled through ahead of Jano. He had been too lost in the wonder of the place to recognise him. He guided Jano to a chair and took a step back. “Just signal to one of the staff when you want something. Your entry fee has been paid for. When you’re ready to leave, you can leave through any door you like. Just not the entrance you originally came through. Not after that one time..” he started to walk away shaking his head.

Before the man disappeared from view, Jano glanced at the man’s wrist. It was half covered, but it looked like ‘V’ was dancing in a dark violet. Jano took an intake of breath, trying not to look nervous. He wondered what Class the others would be if the proprietor, if that indeed was who he was, was as high as Class Five. He started to see those enjoying themselves around him in a different light. He felt his skin become clammy. As he was thinking, one of the strangely dressed people wandered over casually. As they got closer, it looked like he was going to ask Jano a question. Just before the strangely dressed man reached him, he realised that they worked here.

“Can I get you anything sir? Perhaps some Andrean wine or perhaps an ale from Morovia? Or if you are interested, we are currently offering a cocktail made from homegrown berries and a gin smuggled in from

outside of the Empire.” Jano had no idea what either of those was and he was shocked to hear talk of produce from outside of the Empire. That was strictly not allowed. He’d heard of merchants trying to smuggle in goods from outside the Empire being strung up and tortured. Though apparently the Mages who did the torturing would keep the confiscated goods for themselves. Here this man was, offering it so blatantly.

“The wine sounds perfect, thank you.” He said, trying not to sound out of place. Though he was tempted by the illicit cocktail, he wasn’t sure if he was somehow being tested.

The staff were dressed in dark green finery, which looked like thin wispy vines climbing their bodies. It reminded Jano of a nicer, more artistic version of the badly maintained walls in the Slums. They often had thin scrambling plants climbing up, causing cracks in the wall.

Their wrists were covered, so their Class could not be seen. How are they getting away with this? He thought. It was a crime to cover your arm unless you were a Mage or had some other exemption. He looked around and noticed that the air further down the room was filled with smoke and he could just catch a faint fruity smell which accompanied it.

The man covered in vines placed his filled cup on the table. “If there is nothing else?” Jano shook his head and the man smiled sympathetically. “Just signal if you need anything more. Just raise your arm or incline your head, and one of our staff will attend you. If you don’t mind me saying sir, it is best to pretend that you know what is going on even if you don’t. This is a safehouse be assured, but what happens away from here is none of our business.” He lowered his voice for the final comments before spinning on his heels and walking to another set of chairs.

Jano took a sip of the wine and felt his tongue curl violently. That’s awful. He tried to stop his face contorting as he drank, but he couldn’t be sure how successful he was. After a few moments the initial sour taste gave way to smoother, richer tones. His face relaxed a little. It wasn’t as bad as he first thought.

He looked around the room as drank. It was decorated in the same soft red as the tunnel he crawled through, but it looked different in the massive room. He noticed that there was a large doorway further down, where some of the staff kept walking in and out of.

There were clearly many adjoining rooms. He glanced to the far end through the smoke, where he noticed more wooden doors just beyond. They had a shine to them that he hadn’t seen on any other type of wood. I would very much like to examine those, he thought. As he thought about what could have been used to give that effect, a woman sat in one of the chairs beside him.

It was the woman he had seen leaving Darrel’s house earlier. She was wearing different clothes, and he couldn’t see her weapons. She glanced at him, looking him up and down once more. Just as she had at the door. She confidently flagged down one of the staff and he poured her a drink.

“So, you must be Jano” she said. “Well you don’t stick out too badly. For a Slummer.” She had a serious voice, he wasn’t sure whether she was trying to offend, or whether she was just stating it as a fact. She took a long drink from the wine. “I hope you haven’t had too many of those.”

He shook his head. “If I’m honest, I thought it tasted pretty awful at first. Though it is growing on me a little.”

She looked at him. She smiled and chuckled. “You know there are many people here who would be quite offended at that remark.” She surveyed the room, her green eyes watching the other patrons. “Tastes like distilled horse piss doesn’t it?” She added as she continued to check out the others present in the room. “They often have drinks from outside the Empire, you should have had one of those. Makes our stuff seem like rudimentary drivel.” She glanced about the room, surveying it without drawing any attention. Jano tried to note down her calm mannerisms and demeanour, as he was sure he did not give off the same impression.

“So has our mutual friend told you anything or has he left me that honour?” Her face softened a little, she looked genuinely interested in what he had to say. Which was quite rare for someone who knew he came from the Slums.

“Unfortunately not. He said specifically that you would let me know the fine details of what we were doing. I only know I’m to be some sort of thief. I just had to bring this.” He pulled at his shirt and revealed the outline of a dagger.

“Put that down! Hide it!” She whispered. “You’re not allowed those in here. Specifically no weapons. You could get us kicked out. The last thing we need is any unwanted attention.” She said. “They make you leave them by the entrances, it’s a strict amnesty policy. No questions asked, as long as they’re not brought in.”

He rushed to smooth everything out, hiding the dagger. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know. Darrel should have told me. Can I just ask? Where exactly are we?” He asked.

She laughed and looked him up and down. “This is one of the Houses of Trin. They are a safe house of sorts.”

“Safe house?”

“They offer sanctuary to people of all backgrounds. They have them in the Slums too. Didn’t you ever hear of one? Supposedly they all link together to create a mirror of the city above. Though only a handful of people know the route.” She took another sip of her drink and relaxed a little.

“They’re not well advertised, for obvious reasons. Some of the Guard know that they are here, but they’re paid well for their tolerance. Those that need to know. As long as they don’t cause any major problems, they’re allowed to operate. Understand?”

“These people don’t exactly look like they’re in need of a safe house.” Jano said, observing the room once more.

Nara laughed and sat forward. “There’s more than one reason to hide away. Even if it’s only for a few hours.”

Jano nodded. He thought back to the place he collected the package for Darrel. He remembered the couple disappearing. Perhaps that was one of these safe houses.

“Were you one of those Guards?” Jano asked, he was worried he was going to run out of conversation.

Nara looked at him but didn’t answer his question. Then she slapped her knees and leaned towards him. “Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but we’re going to have to break into the Jade Stone University.” She didn’t lower her voice or change tone in any way. Her matter of fact tone made Jano feel a mix of slightly more confident and even more scared of her.

“Our mutual friend told me that you were proving yourself useful and that you’d be perfect for the job. Are you?” She looked directly at him. He shifted. Not sure how to answer the question.

“I’m good at using essence to manipulate stone…. If that helps?” He said.

She smiled. “Yes. I’d say that skill could be pretty helpful in a city entirely made of it.”

Mostly made of it. Jano wanted to say. But people always forgot about the Slums. Jano felt his palms become sweaty and he moved to stop his foot, which at some point had begun tapping furiously. The University was hallowed ground. Only the most talented were allowed to step foot there. It was as though she had proposed breaking into the Palace itself. Even entering the grounds was a crime, unless you were a student or there to work.

“What are we looking for?” He asked tentatively. His mind was swimming with the potential danger ahead. He was suddenly a lot less excited.

“That’s for me to know. You’re just getting me in there and to provide some level of back-up if anything goes wrong. So I hope you aren’t entirely useless with that dagger.” She finished her drink and stood up. “Come on.” She walked towards the doors at the south of the room.

Jano was about to reply, explaining that he was in fact, useless with the dagger. He suddenly began rehearsing the runes of the stone spear technique over and over in his mind. Nara walked quickly and Jano had to rush to gather himself. He didn’t know whether to rush after her or try to appear casual. In the end, he didn’t do a good job of either.

Strangers glanced their way, presumably as they were the only ones making any sort of hurry, but they paid little attention in the end. Jano passed through the smoke, coughing lightly as he did so and conversation buzzed around them. Words blending into one another in an enjoyable hum.

He saw Nara turn left and walk down a corridor. “Aren’t we going through one of those doors?” He asked.

“Not one of those ones.” She replied, as they turned the corner at the bottom of the corridor Jano saw more chairs and tables.

There were more people talking and drinking. Enjoying themselves. The smoke seemed a little thicker in here. There were doors on every wall in this room. What is this place? How many tunnels and doors are down here? He was too scared to ask these questions quite yet.

He followed Nara, who was already confidently striding through the masses. He wanted to stay here, take in his surroundings and maybe enjoy a better glass of wine. They had to have one. He could be content to have another of the glass he just had. It had been growing on him after all. He would be especially glad to try a drink from outside of the Qursan tendrils, now that he was reasonably sure it wasn’t some elaborate set up. Apparently though, Nara didn’t share those plans. Now he had to break into the prestigious Jade Stone University: where people came from all across the Empire to study. He sighed and took one last glance over the lucky inhabitants of the House of Trin.

Typical, just as I was starting to enjoy myself, he thought.