A night fog started rolling over the port city. The bright moon's luster was dulled by the cloud of mist. It would soon wash over the quiet town as dusk turned into night. The streetlamps seemed to glow more vibrantly with the halo of mist around them. Visibility down the city's cobblestone streets was only a few yards, which made it seem like the road could go on forever into oblivion. Night had come quickly with the coming of the low clouds.

Caleb stared intently at the man he was currently engaged with. With a fiery deviance, Caleb smirked, night had come fast and he was already late, Caleb concluded he could finish this business faster on his own without this imbecile. "I'm finished with you." were the only words Caleb offered the stout man as he flashed his ornate knife quite extravagantly, then brought the hilt of the blade down upon the man's forehead with enough force to knock the man unconscious for quite some time. The blow drew a little blood, and would swell enough to make the man remember Caleb for a week or two, but Caleb knew when to show restraint and not kill someone off on a whim. This man might be useful to him at some later date. It wasn't the first time he spared this ingrate's life.

With the resident incapacitated, Caleb straightened up and sheathed his dagger within his left sleeve, then dusted himself off seemingly absentminded. Where would this guy hide it...? was the topic of Caleb's thoughts, training his eyes over the living area of the little shop. He walked slowly back out from behind the curtain, studying the place, looking for something that wasn't there. He went to a lacquered wooden cabinet, already collecting moisture due to the weather, and began to tear through the shelves and drawers inside like a man possessed. He sifted through vials of faintly glowing liquid, drawers full of herbs and spices, and pillaged through sacks of ornate coins, but didn't show any signs of discovering what he was after. He took no coin, no valuable though; Caleb was no petty thief. He had better things to do with his time, though he had the skill. Though, if Caleb lingered here any longer, it was likely some devious thief would discover the shop owner temporarily disposed of and make quick work of the shop, right after trying to dispose of Caleb. No honor among thieves. This was taking too long, Caleb complained to himself, maybe he shouldn't have knocked out Georgie. He turned on one foot to return to the curtained back room when one of the cobblestones beneath his feet made a peculiar noise when stepped upon. He crouched down and examined the mortar around the stone, there seemed to be a dark outline around this stone, and it wiggled slightly when stepped upon just right.

Reaching into the leather bag at his waist, Caleb produced what could only be described as a long, relatively thick, metal needle. He used this implement to carefully pry the rock up out of the floor. Having a little difficulty, the dusty rock slipped back into it's hole once or twice while trying to pry it out, but it eventually gave in and revealed the hole in the concrete foundation beneath it. Hidden here was a small cylinder container, diameter only a couple inches. Caleb pulled it up and out of it's hiding place and uncapped one side. Success. Hidden here were several gold pieces, and when removed, a small vial of thick red liquid in the bottom.

He took the small bottle and uncorked it with his metal needle. Pulling the cork off the end, he dipped the spike into the liquid in the bottle and pulled it back out, testing it. The red liquid dripped off the end slowly, onto Caleb's pants. He touched the red liquid on the end on the spike while palming the small bottle and rubbed the crimson substance between his thumb and forefinger. The tips of his fingers glistened a silver-white color, far from the red the substance once was. He grinned with satisfaction, and re-corked the bottle. He then put the small class bottle back into the cylinder and put the cap back on, then put this into his small bag. He wiped the needle clean and his fingers, then stood up stretching. Looking down, he kicked the rock back into it's hole, but it didn't fit quite right. This didn't matter anymore to Caleb and he just left it, walking towards the front of the little shop.

He propelled himself over the wooden counter and looked once more back at the small glow of the light in the back room behind the curtain. Without a second thought, the man put his hands back into his pockets and began to walk back to the main street in the same manner he had came several minutes prior. Again, he avoided eye contact with anyone still in the market square at this hour, and kept to his own business. It was then he heard footsteps in the mist, someone running, he judged the running to be a little frantic. She broke through the mist as she ran past the alley he was walking up. She was a younger looking girl, with skin that almost glowed its own brilliance in the reflection of the street lights. She had long, ebony hair to contrast, as it flew behind her like a shadow. Caleb recognized this woman, this girl, and removed his hands from his pockets involuntarily, instinctively stanceing himself for anything that might be advancing on him. "Shit..." he spat, and took off after her, oblivious as to why she was running, but not really surprised that she had gotten herself into trouble... It was almost like Deja-vu. He was unsure if she was being chased, but he tried to keep up with her nonetheless, lest he lose her and have to search the town at night for her. The mist was fairly thick at this point, and Caleb neglected to think that she might mistake him for an assailant chasing her.