I left the room before the sun rose completely to start scouting for my target. First things first, I start heading toward the noble district. It wasnt hard to find, this town was built like a big circle with a cross and some circles in the middle. The cross and circles being the roads. In the center is where the nobles live, the road was built this way so that the nobles have to go past the shops on the north end of the town before getting home. The noble that owns this town gets a percentage of earnings from the shops in the north and in return he lets them run their buinesses any way they like. The nobles always avoided going through the slums at the south, so they would come in through the nothern or the western entrance. Thus increasing the income of the shops, as well as the lord. Before i made it even close to the noble district I passed through several flea markets and a party. I dont want anyone to see me walking so i can remain anonymous, cause i am planning a theft. However the first market I came up to I walked through, one of the stalls was selling handmade hooded jackets and i needed something to hide my face. I walked up to the stand next to it and pretend to look at their wares. The person running the stall gave me a weird look but didnt say anything. The person selling the jackets started talking to a potential customer so I turned and snatched a jacket before anyone noticed. I walked into an alley and put it on, adjusting it till it covered my face. But i still needed something to make sure no one knows my face. I walk through the alley until I come out a little farther down the market. All sorts of things were being sold, all handmade and crappy. However there were some good ones hidden around.

After searching for a couple minutes I find a stand that is selling these weird masks. They had a weird texture and were apparently made from drying out a monster called a 'slime'. A rare monster for hunters, but not ones that live in squalor. The slimes thrive on filth and tend to propogate in sewers and near civilization. Apparently we have better filth than the wild. Most hunters and adventurers just labeled them as rare, but they also never lived in a slum so they dont know the truth. No one bothers to tell them either, cause then there would be people coming into the slums to find slimes and making things worse for those that live there. Of course its to also protect their profits, only they sell it so they can hike up the price if they want. Some of the masks were only big enough to hide your eyes, but i needed one to hide my face completely. I start to walk past them when I notice that on the other side of the stand were bigger masks that were painted. They even had an adhesive on them to keep them situated on your face.

Stealing one of these was a bit harder, as the owner was vigilantly watching everyone from behind his table. Eyes scanning for customers and troublemakers alike. I conjure a tiny amount of blue mana and shoot it at one of the masks on the other side of the stand. Knocking it to the ground, the man was startled by the sound. He just looked at it for a second before getting up to put it back where it was. Once his rear end left contact with the stool he was sitting on, I had a mask and had hidden it in my jacket. Walking away at a fast pace, looking around to make sure there werent any witnesses. Confident that there were none I once again entered the alley and put on the mask. I also took out a adventurers guild crest and stuck it to my chest. With this people will most likely assume that im an adventurer whose face was ruined on a mission. Well, if im lucky thats what they would assume. The mask was ugly enough anyway. I think it was based on some legend about a short creature who always said he 'knew the way' but never responded when asked ' the way to where?'. Everyone kept trying to just forget him but whenever he was about to fade into obscurity he would come back and just repeat that one thing. The legend ends with the creature being killed and thrown into a volcano. Not a very fun story, also very unpopular.

Walking towards the center of the city I finally arrive at the noble's part of town. It was blocked off by a large gate that was built into a large brick wall. The wall was covered in a beautiful mural of what i assume to be a male god, the gate was located where his mouth would be. For some reason groups of people were scattered around chatting, some where even setting up stands to sell food.

Maybe they want to try and sell stuff to the guards. Not a bad idea honestly.

There were two guards on either side of the gate, four guards in total. A small guard house sat nearby so that the guards never had to go too far to change shifts. I slowed down and blended in with the nearby people. Watching the guards and looking for a way in. I saw a couple of guards on patrol nearby, chatting as they walked through the crowd. I slip into a nearby alley and wait for them to pass. Getting behind them was easy, but hearing them through the chatter of the crowd was hard. I could only pick up bits and pieces.

"He came yesterday...arguing.......so busy.......cant....lunch?"

The other guards nodded and that gave me an idea. I took out some of the rotting food I forgot to get rid of and had some evil thoughts. he he he

The guards walked up to a nearby stall where a small man was roasting food on a grill. I was busy picking out the most decayed bits of food and mixing them together with some paste I found on my shoe. I ripped it into bits small enough to go unnoticed and covered it with the paste until it was a ball. The guards were insulting the poor man, telling him to give them some food or they will beat him. They are making this really easy for me. The old man was angry at the guards, but he couldnt fight back or they will probably beat him senseless and then take his stuff. They have been known to even mark people for the other guards, telling them to beat or hassle this person till they never come around this area again.

The guards had sat down on a nearby bench to wait for their food. Chatting happily and not paying any attention to the man they just threatened. The man was fuming, I could almost see fire coming out of his mouth. I approached him, he barely spared me a glance till i was right next to him.

"Hello, i'd like you to help me with something. I need those guards to get sick."

I also held up a copper coin. The old man simply nodded and smiled. I handed him the rotting food and paste balls and he covered them in batter and fried them for me. I handed him the coin and walked away, looking to make sure the guards didnt notice our 'exchange'. I walked a small distance away and watched. The old man finished with their food, added a powder to the top of it and waved them over. They came and snatched their plates from him and before they left i saw him hand them another plate, undoubtedly with my suprise on it. They greedily took it and walked back to the bench to devour their free food. I saw the old man quickly packing up to leave before the fun starts. The guards where too focused on their food to notice. They finished quickly and were about to leave when they remembered their 'dessert'. They each took a couple and stuffed them into their mouths. I dont even think they tasted it.

About 10 minutes later I heard a commotion. A guard was running full speed towards the gate. He was yelling something about a guard collapsing after puking and complaining about sea turtles being too loud. The other guards were up in a frenzy asking questions as they followed him to the other guard. Only one guard was left at the gate, luckily he looked new. I was thinking of just knocking the last guard out but I can probably trick him.

Yeah, i can trick him. Im so very charming, I almost laughed at the thought.