The hours slowly ticked away as it got ter into the night.

  Draained seated on a chair in the er of the on area, barely visible to most of the other patrons of the inn that came in te.

  He had a lot to think about during that time.

  Ever sihe attack of the one-eyed bck dragon, he sometimes had nightmares about it.

  The ses vividly repyed in his mind, rekindling the raw emotions he felt after realizing that his mother, father, grandparents, and teacher were killed by it.

  Sometimes those emotions had threateo e him, but being surrounded by his siblings, he had mao keep himself stable.

  He also felt as though he hadn't gotten any stronger sihat day.

  He had not met any spirits again sihen.

  Undine had said that he wasn't yet strong enough to uh them.

  Over the past four years, he had honed his abilities and even discovered new ones, a he still didn't meet them again.

  Did that mean that he hadn't gotten any stronger he often wondered.

  Sometimes he eveioned if the dream he had then was actually real or it had just been a figment of his imagination, a way his mind used to help him cope with the loss.

  Neigh!

  Suddenly the neigh of the horses iable disrupted his inner musings.

  'Have they e?' Draco wondered, getting up from his chair and walking outside towards the stables.

  As he approached the stables, he noticed two suspicious-looking men lurking in the shadows.

  They seemed to be carefully iing the area, occasionally gng around to ehey weren't being observed.

  Drachese men as the guild employees who had earlier that day ied their carriage.

  They had noticed the substantial amount of preetals and gems being transported and didn’t report it.

  They had seen it as an opportunity to liheir own pockets, they had evidently decided to wait for the opportune moment to strike.

  If they had reported it to the guild, the valuables would have been seized until an iigation was ducted.

  This meant that they would have gained nothing.

  They had assumed that sihe owners were kids ao the city, they were easy targets.

  Draco decided to take a bold approach, purposefully allowing himself to be seen walking towards the stable.

  ‘It was too easy to spot them, and there doesn't appear to be anyone else hidden,’ he thought.

  ‘They are guild employees, not adventurers, so I ot simply kill them here and be doh it. How troublesome.’ he pondered.

  As Draco approached the stables, the two men silently followed, their footsteps muffled by the soft earth, or so they believed, as Draco did not seem to be reag.

  "Hmm, why were the horses being so loud?" Draco said aloud, while cheg on the horses.

  "Yawn, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong," he tinued, pretending to be weary as he walked back towards the inn.

  The two men did not take any a, and simply waited patiently for him to leave.

  After Draco's departure, the two men cautiously peered into the dimly lit stable, their eyes sing the area for Draco's carriage.

  "There it is," one of the men, whispered, motioning to the familiar vehicle.

  They quied their pace, keeping their voices low to avoid dete.

  Reag the carriage, the men began to i it, searg for any signs of valuables.

  One of the men, a burly individual with a thick beard, turo his panion and whispered.

  "The carriage is empty. All the luggage has been moved." he said.

  The other man, a lean and shifty-eyed character, scratched his in ption.

  "What the... where did they put the stuff?" the sean muttered, a hint of frustration in his voice.

  The first man scratched his , thinking deeply.

  "Perhaps they took it to their rooms. Or maybe the inn has a ste room fuests' belongings." he deduced.

  They pted their options, aware that breaking into the inn or searg for the ste room would be a risky endeavor.

  The possibility of entering adventurers or uests who might raise the arm was not something they wao front.

  "We 't just leave empty-handed," the first man asserted, his greed clouding his better judgment.

  The sean held up a hand, a more cautious approabsp;

  "Hold on, we o think this through. If we cause a otion, it could draw unwatention. Those kids might be o Orario, but that doesn't mean they're easy to deal with. Didn’t you see those crazy ons they carried" he said.

  Disappoi etched across the first man's face as he scowled, clearly displeased with the prospect of leaving without their intended haul.

  "Then what do you suggest we do? We 't just let this opportunity slip away," he asked, his voice ced with frustration.

  The sean sidered their options carefully, weighing the risks and potential rewards.

  After a moment of ption, he proposed a pn.

  "Let's wait until m. The inn will be busier, and we might be able to slip in and search for the ste room without drawing too much attention. If all goes well, we get what we came for and be on our way before aices by tomorrow night." he suggested.

  The first maantly agreed, his greed tempered by the need for caution.

  "Alright, but we better not mess this up. I want to get our hands on those valuables. I am having my third kid, so I really he money," he replied, trying to appeal to the sean's sympathy.

  The sean, however, was not buying it.

  "Quite lying, like you care about your kids. You're just going to gamble most of it away like always," he said, a hint of disdain in his voice.

  The first man clicked his tongue in annoyance, realizing that his attempt to garner support had failed.

  He was already pnning to use this as an excuse ter to try a a higher share of the loot, but the sean had seen through his ploy.

  Unbeknownst to the two men, Draco had been watg and listening from above, perched on the roof of the inn.

  He had not actually gone baside but had simply preteo do so.

  As he observed their versation, a pn began to form in his mind.

  'Hmm, what to do. They will be a bit troublesome if I don't do something now,' Draco wondered, his gaze narrowing as he sidered his options.

  With a decisive nod, Draco decided to follow the men and elimihem before they could carry out their pn.

  'I should probably follow them and kill them off far away from here. From their versation, it seems they haven't told anyone about it, so all this should end tonight. Besides, they are thieves after my treasure, it's fair enough that they die for it, right?' he thought, his eyes glowing with a predatleam.

  He had slowly been being more and more cold-blooded over the years, this was something he was subtly aware of.

  As the two men slipped bato the shadows, Draco took to the air, his wings unfurling silently.

  He trailed behind them, keeping a watchful eye on their every move, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

  The men, unaware of Draco's presence, decided to head to a nearby tavern, seeking liquid ce to bolster their resolve.

  Ihe dimly lit establishment, they ordered a round of strong ale, the amber liquid providing a familiar warmth as it burned dowhroats.

  "A few drinks should help calm our nerves before we make our move. We have the day off anyway, so it should be fihe first man suggested, a sly grin on his face.

  They had settled into a secluded er, their voices lowered as they discussed their upi.

  "Today was a huge waste of time," the first man growled, smming his mug down on the wooden table.

  "We should have struck while the iron was hot. Who knows if things will go as pomorrow?" he pined.

  The sean sidered his panion's words, swirling the remaining ale in his cup ptively.

  "I know, I know. But we had to be careful. One wrong move and we could end up dead. Or worse, rotting in some cell." he replied.

  The first man scoffed, draining the st of his drink.

  "Bah, you worry too much. We've dohis before. I bet if we take one of those kids hostage, the rest might just hand us the loot easily" he said.

  “Watouth, someone might be listening. We may be bottom level guild employees, but we still represent the guild” the sean whispered.

  As the alcohol took effect, their inhibitions began to fade, and they started to boast about their sexual exploits.

  "You know, I've always had a thing for those Amazoniaies down in the red-light district," the first man slurred, his eyes gzing over with lust.

  "I 't wait to have a little 'fun' with them after we've scored our loot." he said.

  The sean chuckled, raising his mug in agreement.

  "Ah, yes, those warrior women always know how to show a man a good time. Maybe we'll eve lucky and find a few willing to join us on our little adventure." he replied.

  Draco, who had taken a seat in the shadows nearby, listeo their versation while taking small sips from his mug.

  He had no i ihieves' debauchery. He just wanted an opportunity to kill them off.

  As their voices grew louder and their gestures more animated, the two mehe curious gnces of the other patrons iavern.

  Eventually, they decided to tiheir versation elsewhere, away fr eyes.

  With unsteady steps, they made their way towards the outer yer of the red-light district, their minds already ed by visions of the riches they hoped to obtain.

  As they stumbled down the dimly lit streets, their drunken chatter remained being about the women they frequented in the area - the supple curves of their favourite women and the sultry gazes of the exoticers.

  The first man boasted about his exploits, while the sean listened ily, nodding along with a lecherous grin.

  Unbeknownst to the two men, Draco had been trailing them the eime, his presence cloaked in the shadows.

  Sensing an opportune moment, Draco silently pulled the two men into a nearby alley, away from the prying eyes of passersby.

  The road they were currently on was filled with many dark alleys and most of the people still oreet at such a te hour in the night, were mostly drunk people.

  The men, caught off guard, barely had time to react before Draco struck, his cws slig through their throats in a swift, precise motion.

  He had coated his cws with wind magic whicreased sharpness, he wahe wound to look like a sword wound.

  The men gurgled and choked, their eyes wide with terror as they stared into the glowing red reptilian eyes of their assaint.

  Draco watched impassively as the life drained from their bodies, the blood seeping into the hole he hand made with earth magic.

  He didn’t want their blood to spill into the street.

  Ohe st breath had left their lips, Draco closed the hole and checked the surrounding to make sure that it was clear.

  He then unfurled his wings and took to the sky, quickly returning to the inn to get some rest before the m.

  There, he settled into slumber, his mind already focused on the ask at hand.