3) Chapter 3: Robbery

The man looked up in surprise before saying, "How long does the cat stay?"

Castille responded calmly, "As long as the moon allows."

The man paused before nodding at the boy, "This way."

Castille followed the man behind the country and towards a large tapestry. The mancarefully lifted the painting from the wall and set it aside, revealing a large metal door. Unlocking it revealed a spiral stairway that seemed to lead into darkness. The boy swallowed hard.

"Its nothing but an illusion, don't worry." The old man reassured him before going in first. Castille followed him and watched as the man vanished into the dark fog. So he wasn't lying.

Stepping foot into the illusion seemed like stepping into another world. The place he was in was so much brighter and pleasant than the cold, dark stairway. The elder motioned for him to go before turning back and returning to the cashier. Turning back to the market he took in how pleasant it was. It was certainly a vast contrast to what people would normally imagine. Despite being underground, it was still lit brightly with lanterns and candles and there were neat stone paths leading between the stalls.

No looks were drawn towards him as he zig-zagged through the street. With the disguise he cast he looked almost similar to a commoner, with a plain blouse and leather accesories. His hair was dark brown and his eyes were a muddy green. If anything, he looked like the most normal person in the area. The magic was working perfectly but he was so drained of energy.

I guess this is one benefit to being located in the capital, Castille thought stepping through the stands. On his way to the auction building, he looked around at what the venders were selling. Most of them were rip-off relics, but there was the occasional street food stall selling monster meat. Although a delicacy, monster meat was strictly prohibited in the above-ground restaurants as there was a chance the meat could be poisonous. Even if taken from a non-venomous creature, there was still a chance it inherited a poisonous trait from one of their different species parent. It was almost like a gamble even if unlikely.

The place was pretty big so it took him almost an hour before he made it to the auction house. There was still five minutes before the even started so he just took his seat among the other people.

Eavesdropping, he heard most of the people whispering about the appearance of Smaug's egg. As expected, everyone here was after it too. After all, it was something that could get anyone's attention. Castille continued listening to the conversation held in front of him before he felt an unusual disturbance of mana behind the building's stage. Not even a second later, the lights flickered before turning off.

Almost immediately, there was panic and people running left and right, slamming Castille off to the side. Is it a terrorist attack?, he gritted his teeth. However, that possibility probably was unlikely because people were fleeing. If they really were here to harm them, they'd have locked the doors to kdep them all in one place. There was one other thing that came up to Castille's mind.

This was a robbery.

Perhaps not of the participants belongings but the only thing worth real value here. The dragon egg. Leaping up, he ran against the crowd of people before he came to the stage. After finding the backstage door, he slammed it open and looked around wildly for the intruders. There was nothing but turned over boxes and unconcious guards.

Shit.

He sprinted to the nearby exit and burst through. Out of the corner of his eye he saw cloaked figures hopping over the ally walls. Castille summoned his sword and went after them. As he hopped over the wall he felt something fly past him. He glanced behind him and noticed an arrow bounce off the building. Behind the attacker, he saw the rest of the group getting farther.

Slashing his sword into the archer, he continued running after them. Castille would have interrogated him a bit, but he was just a distraction. There were plenty more ahead anyway.

He drew a symbol and sent the energy to his feet to increase his speed. He rounded a corner, following the footsteps and found the thieves facing a dead end.

They turned around after hearing the footsteps and drew their weapons. Next to them was a large sack where Castille assumed the treasures were.

Groaning, Castille pointed his sword at them, "If you're going to rob the richest place down here at least know your way around." He glanced down at the bags next, "I'll let you guys go if you leave those. I won't snitch, promise."

Taking another look at the group, he was definently outnumbered. Seeing as they weren't professionals though, he would probably be fine. The group stayed silent for a bit before a tall, burly man stepped forward. He must've been the leader of the group.

He changed his mind on what he thought earlier. The rest might have been amateurs, but this guy was different. He carried himself with a different air than the rest and his aura was somewhat comendable. Alas, he was still an insect in Castille's way though.

"Are you deaf?" Castille mocked, pulling his ear and making a face. "I said put the bags down. I just want one thing. You can keep the rest."

The leader seemed to furrow his brows in reply to Castille's mocking. Without a word he unsheathed his dagger and dashed towards the boy.

From the person's view Castille looked like an ordinary arrogant commoner. So, of course he had to prove him wrong.

Grabbing his own sword, Castille leapt forward, clashing blades with his opponent's.