Holden, Sable, and Atticus spent several hours drudging through the sewers looking for any signs of the supposed caged dragon Atticus claimed to have seen. While Holden was motivated at first, those feelings were now starting to wane after exploring the dank and funky smelling sewers without anything to show for it.


    “Sable,” Holden grumbled while speaking in a low voice so he didn’t draw Atticus’s attention. “You might''ve been right. This guy is just crazy.”


    “Told you,” Sable said. “The guy’s probably dusted out of his mind.”


    “I’m starting to agree. What drug has got this guy so dusted he started seeing things?”


    The term dusted was slang in the world of Thanador for someone who was high. It originated from the fact that things like fairy dust and pixie dust were common ingredients for narcotics.


    Holden and Sable both sighed. Sable then asked, “What do we do now? Do we ditch him? He’ll probably pester us if we just leave him here, though.”


    “I don’t know,” Holden said. “Maybe we should-.”


    Piter, piter, piter! Sable suddenly heard the sound of feet slashing around in the sewers, and climbed onto Holden’s head. “Wait. What’s that?”


    “Ouch.” Holden yelped when he felt Sable’s claws jab his scalp. “Watch the claws, Cat. What are you talking about? I don’t hear anything?”


    Piter pat, piter pat, piter pat! The sound grew closer. It sounded like whatever was making that noise was coming toward them. Holden was able to hear it now, and drew the daggers he kept on his belt. He entered a defensive stance, prepared for a fight. Atticus stood behind him, waiting to see what would happen.


    Piter patter, piter patter, piter patter! The slashing grew louder and louder. There wasn’t much light within the sewers, leaving Holden’s vision obscured by the darkness. It was so dark that he likely wouldn’t see whoever, or whatever was making that sound until the very last second.


    Holden gnashed his teeth. The sounds were so close that he could tell whatever it was would be on them any second. Holden was about to swing his dagger when he suddenly saw a familiar goblin appear before him, running with an armful of stuff in a rucksack.


    Ahh! The goblin screamed when it saw Holden’s dagger rushing toward it. It dropped the rucksack it was carrying, and covered its face with its arms. Several items from within the sack, presumably stolen items, spilled out on the ground.


    Holden stopped his swing just in time to avoid slashing the goblin. He then exhaled heavily, and sheathed his daggers. “It’s just this thing again. What was your name?”


    Holden and Sable had encountered this goblin before during their investigation to Mathias’s missing sword. This goblin wandered the Undercity all day picking pockets, and stealing trinkets that might be worth something. Apparently, it used the sewers to hide out,. Holden assumed it probably had a home here as well.


    The goblin clicked its tongue. “You never asked for it. Jerks. Everyone always treats the goblin like some kind of savage monster.” The goblin then crossed its arms. “Since you asked, you can call me Spat. And I’m a guy. Not like you humans could tell the difference anyway.”


    Holden scratched the back of his head. It was true. Many races had a problem identifying a goblin’s gender, because their appearances were rather androgynous. Their voices were all deep and raspy, and goblins all wore rags. There were no obvious features that would help anyone with a keen sense of smell that was able to distinguish between a male and female that would be able to tell the difference without looking at their genitals. Who would even want to do that in the first place?


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    Holden cleared his throat. “Sorry, Spat. We’re here looking for something. There were some people dragging a caged dragon through the sewers last night. Did you see them?”


    Spat had begun picking up everything he had dropped, but paused when he heard Holden’s question. “A sewer dragon? You’re really looking for a sewer dragon? Those things are just myths parents tell their children to keep them from running around in the sewers.”


    “I didn’t say a sewer dragon. I said a caged dragon being drug through the sewers.”


    Spat continued picking up the things he dropped. “Well, I haven’t seen dragons of any kind. Who told you such a ludicrous tale anyway?”


    Holden gestured toward Atticus, who was still standing behind him. The goblin then grunted. “Are you sure that guy isn’t dusted? Kind of looks like the type.” The goblin then shut his eyes while reaching for the last bit of things he had dropped. “Regardless, nothing unusual happened around here last night. So, you can look for your fairytale sewer dragon elsewhere.”


    Holden put his foot on the goblin’s hand right as it reached for the last object on the ground. “You closed your eyes then. What are you hiding from me?”


    “I blinked. What’s with you? Are goblins not allowed to blink?”


    “Don’t play dumb with me. You closed your eyes so I couldn’t see them. You were trying to cover up a lie.” Holden then slowly started putting more pressure on the goblin’s hand.


    “Hey,” Soat yelped. “You’ll break my hand like that.”


    “Then tell me what suspicious activity happened here.”


    “Are you threatening to hurt me of I don’t talk? What a jerk.”


    “Don’t worry. I won’t crush your hand. I’ll just restrain you, and walk you back to the Undercity. I’m sure the residents will be happy to finally catch the goblin whose been swiping things from their pockets.”


    Soat shrieked at Holden’s threat. “Alright. Alright. I’ll talk. I’ll talk. Just take your foot off my hand, please.”


    Holden removed his foot, but kept his daggers in hand in case Soat tried to go back on his word. “So, what happened?”


    Spat sighed, while picking up the last thing he had dropped and stuffed it into the rucksack. “I didn’t see a cage or a dragon. I did see some people I’d never seen come through here before. Couldn’t make out their faces, since they wore cloaks. But I did follow them for a while.”


    “Where to?” Holden asked.


    “To the west side of town. I think they left the sewer through a manhole leading up to-.” Soat paused while trying to recall the name of the street. “I think it was Caster Street. But I could be wrong. They also had backpacks on them. Not sure what was in them. My best bet is they were drug runners, or something.”


    “Drug runners,” Holden said, scratching his chin. “You’re probably right. Drug runners make their products in the Undercity, then run them through the sewers and distribute them on Caster Street.”


    “I’m sorry,” Sable interjected. “But why do they use Caster Street?”


    “It was Chrimoria’s entertainment district about a decade ago, until they built a new one on the east side of town. It used to be a place where high society gathered. Now it’s just a bunch of low lives, stupid kids, and other idiots who just want to get dusted.”


    “Suppose this is the city of merchants. I shouldn’t be surprised there would be a thriving drug trade.”


    Holden nodded his head. “Yeah. And as much as I hate to admit it, this might have something to do with the fairy trafficking ring we uncovered.”


    “Wait. Really? Sable said with excitement. “So, you’re saying the pixie really is involved. This is definitely worth dredging through the sewers for.


    “Not necessarily,” Holden said, stopping Sable before he got too excited. “I’m just saying it might have something to do with the fairy trafficking ring. Fairy dust is often used in narcotics. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean your kidnappers were using fairy dust for the same purpose.”


    Spat waved his hands around to get Holden and Sable’s attention. “Uhm, am I good to go now? Or do you need something else?”


    “You’re good,” Holden said. “Right after you show me where you first saw the suspected drug runners. Also, if you know any local dealers, bows a good time to speak up.”


    “I don’t know anyone dealing in drugs. But I can show you where I saw them.”


    Spat led them all further into the sewers. The place where the goblin had first spotted the suspected drug dealers was near an entrance to the Undercity, meaning that was the next stop after inspecting the manhole by Caster Street.