<div dir="ltr">The six guards dispersed then, each heading to their assigned duties. Gallus returned to Gawyn's side throughout town. Rodrick and Nathan returned to the inn to guard their master's room and cargo, although Rodrick would break away and join Jerrod in ongoing games of cards and coins to win some extra bread and ale. Aldwin, minus Jerrod, went off to check the other taverns for other merchant caravans, seeking news on the road south and the usual market gossip. Which left the last guard to roam the streets for further intel and other buyers Gawyn might've missed. Only Gawyn knew this guard's true name, but he became known as Reed among the guards for three reasons: his rail-thin stature, his silent movement, and the sharp low whistle he gave on spotting a trap. He was not particularly skilled at the sword or staff or bow, but his stealth and observation were invaluable for avoiding ambushes. If the rumors were to be believed, he had gotten his skills not as a scout, but as a thief against the city watch of Salinon. It was also rumored that he had no qualms against killing friends who knew his secrets, that Reed was loyal only to himself, and might even backstab them once they left the watchful eye of Metamor. And Reed didn't trust them either. He had indeed once been a thief, though nowhere as cruel as the rumors made him out to be. It was in fact for those same skills that Gawyn had tasked him with a secret mission for today. He was to find the mysterious Thieves' Guild rumored to exist in Metamor, as such guilds always did beneath the public squares and open markets. If the carpets couldn't find a reputable buyer, then an underground buyer would do, so long as the coin was good. Reed had already warned Gawyn that he had little chance of succeeding. It was no easy task to contact the Thieves' Guild, doubly so as a foreigner, triply so in Metamor where secret passages came and went like smoke. And the prices wouldn't be great, especially since trade among thieves tended to be cut-throat in more ways than one. Still, Reed enjoyed the urban wilderness even more than the uncivilized one, and he set about investigating the many marks etched into the city walls. Very few of them were likely to have been made by anyone but street kids, common thugs, bored warriors, and accidental wagon crashes, but it was as useful an exercise as searching for master thieves. A flash of movement caught his eye. He saw a rat dart into a small mousehole along the castle walls. Normally Reed would have ignored the rat, but here in Metamor, any animal could be a spy, and his old suspicions of the city watch flared up. He began scanning the walls for other exits the rat could appear from. --[Next part below]-- </div>