Snake's Trail

"It would make sense if Sebastian was within Nickten since Atun knows I would have little luck finding him elsewhere," Drew mumbled as he began to enter the town once more with his hood covering his face and shadows doing the rest for him.

But Drew did not move in any particular direction at this moment. Instead, he acted as a normal commoner and simply walked about the market with a vague interest in what was being sold among the stalls that lined the bustling street.

'There doesn't seem to be any decorations or indication that this 'Grand Remembrance that is supposedly happening today,' Drew thought as he inspected the street diligently and remained focused on the task at hand.

Drew moved about the stalls but only pretended to pay attention to the merchandise... and instead of actually focusing on his front, he instead used his [Focus] skill and made his mind clear.

He then felt a rush of sensation flood through his body as he began listening to his surroundings.

It was difficult at first... too many voices that mostly spoke of things that mattered little to Drew.

'I just need to focus and pick up as much local gossip as possible... If I can hear even a hint of a lead then I would be happy,' Drew thought as he pushed his mind to the limit with his increased senses.

The strange thing about using [Focus] in the way that he was currently using it was that it seemed to almost entirely mute the other senses of the person who used it to a bare minimum. It was something Drew had found while using it in the void as it was the only thing that had managed to reduce the frigid space that had surrounded him at every waking moment.

Yet as he forced his ears to surpass what was considered healthy a sudden pain shot through his head. It could almost be described as an electrical shock that sent pins and needles throughout his scalp.

'Ugh,' Drew mentally released as he felt his head throb with pain and his ears tingle slightly.

'It seems like I need to get used to the intense power that Level 3 power possesses,' Drew said as he realized his mind couldn't keep up with the speed of growth of the skill.

'I had, after all, only used it to shut off senses before now,'

'I wonder if it's possible to increase pain tolerance?' Drew thought for a moment before continuing on with his task.

He opened his eyes and decided it was best if he just collected the information the old-fashioned way as continuing to force his senses into overdrive would just cause him pain and perhaps even damage.

He walked around the market in a slow stroll and listened to nearby conversations but found the level of gossip to be quite lacking.

"Have you heard that Lord Tillian Seaborn has declared that he would be stepping aside from his throne for Eldest Prince Roman?" A lady in a lightly tailored dress said to a companion while browsing the market's wares to past time.

"That's rather strange. I thought Roman had not even passed the threshold into manhood yet... Isn't he just a mere lad at the age of 13? Such desperate times have befallen our kingdom, it's rather sad that a boy is taking the throne, It is a clear sign that the late king has fallen past his prime," The lady at the woman's side said with tut as she judged the situation.

"Ah, but I heard that there is a rather important reason that he is taking the throne at such a young age," The woman said with excitement.

"It is said that he is a mage and warrior of magnificent talent!"

"I have heard from Bethany that he has awoken 3 magical affinities with an affinity that could never be found among the youths of today, He also has a natural affinity with the sword and the shield!"

"Pfft, That simply can't be true," The lady said in return as a look of disbelief appeared on her face.

"3 Magical affinities? I have not seen anyone with more than 1 affinity in my life! It is simply impossible for such a young person to be blessed by the gods in such a manner! Let alone an affinity for shield. Isn't that supposed to be impossibly rare?"

Drew continued walking and ignored the two girls and continued to walk down the street.

'It seems like most of the talk within this marketplace is either about barter, nobles, or light merriment on the Grand Rememberance,' Drew thought to himself as he finished his stroll through the marketplace with hunched shoulders.

'Not many people mentioned The Grand Rememberance and they seemed to only use it as a sort of greeting, similar to 'Good Morning'. It's strange that such a bit and important event isn't celebrated by the common folk,'

It was at that moment that he felt someone bump into him heavily and Drew found himself caught off guard, his mind wandering into different topics.

"What the-?" He let out as he turned to find a young boy who didn't seem to be older than 12 holding his hands up as a sign of apology for his fumble.

"Sorry good sir, I'm quite clumsy and have not eaten anything for many days,"

The boy had red hair that seemed to be ragged and unkempt. He was covered in dust and dirt and wore clothes that were in even worse shape than those around him. He had a freckled and pale face that was innocent and his eyes were a shade of gold that reflected the sun in a strange way.

"Um... It's fine," Drew said unsure of what to do.

"Then I shall take my leave, good sir!" The boy said as he walked down an alley at a quick pace.

'He really crept up on me,' Drew thought as he was surprised he hadn't perceived him before the bump.

Drew left the marketplace and began to head deeper into the city before he noticed something that made his heart sink.

Ever since he had been chased by those guards he always made sure that his scythes were ready for use at a moment's notice but when he gently patted the place where his scythes were he only felt the leather buckle they were attached to.

'That little bastard!' Drew yelled internally as he realized what had happened to him.

'Didn't think pickpockets would be so bold as to steal a man's weapon,'

Drew began to run at a full sprint as he doubled back to the alley that the boy had walked into before realizing he had noticed the con too late. It had only been 3 or 4 minutes since he had left the marketplace but the boy was nowhere to be seen.

"Fucking hell!" He muttered.

He took in a few deep breaths as his frame shuddered in anger and disappointment in himself.

'I let a kid... take my only real weapons,' He thought as the calming feeling filled his mind and stopped him in his tracks.

A voice began to whisper in the back of Drew's mind and tickled the corners of his consciousness and did not speak to him directly, but instead spoke to his mind.

'All shall be fine... with the passing of time,'

'Focus and observe, only a fool can be so unwillful to not fully look for what he searches for,'

'Only the mindless find themselves lost in rage and unable to think and ponder,'

'And you... shall not be mindless,'

The voice tickled Drew's senses and he felt a chill travel down his spine but he remained unaware of the thoughts being sent towards his mind.

He became still in that moment as a clarity filled him that had been lost in his shame and anger.

'Perhaps I should look for markings of his passage through here,'

'It seems as if not many people travel through the alleyways despite their convenience...' Drew noticed as he stared at the vacant and dark passage in front of him.

He began to notice the differences in the dirt path that was below him and tried to look for differences that were easily noticeable.

'I suppose the fact that this part of Nickten isn't paved is quite useful when tracking someone down,'

The dirt path was less hardened and used as the paths of the marketplace and gravel and debris could be seen covering the floor.

Splinters of wood were scattered across the floor and some rubbish and moldy food were left to rot on the ground that was most likely from wandering drunks at night.

After scanning the general observations that could be found by anyone he entered a state of focus that seemed to enhance his ability to concentrate though that feature was not listed in the description of the skill.

His eyes scanned the floor and he noticed that some of the rubble on the floor had been moved recently and seemed to have been caused by someone moving in a quick manner as they moved further than they would have if someone had just walked through.

'He did move rather quick... so this must be his trail!'

He noticed the change and followed the disturbance as closely as possible, though he lost it more than he would have liked to admit as the trail seemed to have been hidden slightly for some reason.

'Perhaps he has the stealth skill or something similar... it would make sense for a pickpocket to have that kind of capabilities. It's probably how he managed to go undetected by me,'

He followed the trail through the alleyway and felt annoyance as he neared the end of the passage.

'If it exits to the main path it will be nearly impossible to find him,'

'This sucks,' Drew complained internally.

But then he saw the tracks take a dead turn straight into the wall to the side of the alleyway.

'More hidden passageways? Isn't this just getting out of hand?' Drew said with a grimace as he realized this city was much stranger than he first thought.