"All I just wanted to know was where that stupid girl is. Oh, well, I have tried my best", she thought out loud. She then turned and headed home.
In the blink of an eye, four days passed. After the pub fight, Rizaneth didn't go out as much. Instead, she received a note from Dithar, thanking her for the 'help'. There was also a warning, telling her to be careful of the banquet.
As for Reeve, he walked around a couple of times. He was amazed with how large Sky City was. He discovered that Sky City was divided into the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western districts. The Northern district was where the rich people lived. That was where the Wolfe mansion was.
The Southern District was where the … not -so-developed houses were situated. Technically, that was the district where poor people lived. However, besides being a residential area, that was also where the 'underground activities' took place. Rizaneth warned Reeve never to go there alone, but that didn't stop him. He was undead, what could happen to him? Therefore, ignoring that warning, he went there anyway. He ended up regretting that decision.
He saw someone getting killed right in front of him. Of course, that didn't do anything to him, and he wasn't surprised. He had watched people slaughtering each other back during the battle with the Southern Water tribe. Therefore, he wasn't surprised that he watched multiple robberies without flinching. Someone even tried to rob him, but well, that was a mistake on their part. It didn't end well for them. He found Wynn, somewhat. She managed to give him a tour of the district, and what he saw didn't impress him at all. The house that she and her 'family' lived in was very shabby, but Reeve didn't mind. After the tour, she explained everything about Sky City.
As for the Eastern district, that was where the Church was located. There were various establishments situated there as well, but Wynn told him not to pay attention. They couldn't go to the Western district because that was where the military camp was situated. It was a forbidden place for anyone who wasn't in the Sky City military. That was also where the dungeons were located.
The central part of Sky City was the commercial zone. That was where the shops were situated. All commercial establishments were under the Sky Merchants' guild. Everyone else simply rented the buildings.
Reeve also found out the reason why Wynn and her family lived in the Southern district. Apparently, her father was part of the Sky Merchants' guild. Her mother passed on when she was young, leaving her father with the burden of raising two young children. However, when she was twelve, her father passed on too. He left a lot of debt, instead of a lot of money. They were chased out of the house, and they ended up going to live with their grandmother, who sold herbs of all kinds. Apparently, she worked part time at her grandmother's small shop.
So, finally the day of the banquet arrived. Everyone was busy preparing for the event that was going to happen in a few hours. Rizaneth and Reeve were not really invited, so they decided not to attend. However, the truth was that they had plans of their own. Aside from the note sent by Dithar, there was also a note written in military code. The note vaguely gave the location where they could find Avarice. Yes, it was really weirdly convenient. However, there was also the risk that they wouldn't be able to find Eskaria.
It was now in the evening.
"So, should we go through the plan one more time?" asked Rizaneth.
"Is that necessary?"
"Of course, we need to be thoroughly prepared. My mentor used to say--"
"Fine fine. I get it! So, we're supposed to survey the surroundings, and when it's safe, we go in. If we can't find her, we leave. Correct?"
"Good. This is supposed to be a secret operation. Understood?" Rizaneth chuckled.
"Stop treating me like a child, will you? I'm probably older than you!"
"Let us go. We need to come back before everyone returns from the banquet."
After their funny preparations, the duo left and headed towards the Southern district. The note had said there was a specific shabby house in the Southern district where Avarice was spotted. Just to be careful, they used different routes and after a few minutes they had arrived at their destination.
"It looks like the place isn't guarded at all", whispered Reeve, when the house came into view. It was a small house with two stories. There was a balcony, and small steps leading to the upper rooms. It was dimly lit, and unlike the commercial or Northern districts, the Southern district didn't have streetlamps.
"Don't make assumptions. They could get you killed!" said Rizaneth, as she rolled her eyes in the darkness.
"Yeah right", replied Reeve with a smirk. Didn't that shaman from the Southern Water tribe try to kill him?
"Let's go inside, follow me. Don't make noise", spoke Rizaneth, as she went up the steps. The windows were foggy, so they couldn't see anything from the outside.
She moved swiftly, and tried to open the door. However, she discovered that it was locked.
"Good thing I brought this", she said, taking out a silver lockpick.
"What's that?" asked Reeve, in a whisper.
"A lockpick. Come on", she said, as she unlocked the door. It almost seemed like she was playing an RPG game with all cheats unlocked, because the way she unlocked the door… it was too fast.
They went inside the house, and discovered that they had arrived in a bedroom of sorts. There was a small bed with white sheets on top. Other than the bed, there was also a wooden cabinet with drawers. There was also a staircase leading to the rooms below the bedroom they were in.
"Should we go down?" asked Reeve.
"Of course, we have to thoroughly investigate all rooms!"
Reeve started going through the drawer, and somehow, he found a pouch with some silver coins. Rizaneth had tried to admonish him, but her advice fell on deaf ears. After Reeve found the pouch, he put it inside his pockets and they proceeded to the rooms below, slowly.
When they arrived, they found three people downstairs. One of them was a man wearing a black suit, as well as a black hat. His face was hidden behind a mask. The other two people were wearing leather armour, and their faces were rough. They looked like average bandits.
"Looks like we found your 'wife'", whispered Rizaneth, pointing at Eskaria, who was wearing torn clothes, while tied up at one corner of the room. She was unconscious.
"And we found a bonus prize too", responded Reeve, pointing at Soren, who was also tied up next to Eskaria. Unlike Eskaria, he was wide awake.