Before that evening Ethan would have never considered himself to be a sneaky boy. However, it would seem that his childhood antics with the other orphans had given him a certain amount of skills that, at least, made him look the part. Trying to stay within the darkening shadows he moved from corner to corner, box to box, cover to cover. The plan, which had been devised in secret as he and the group left the examination room with Lorelle and Cecelia, relied squarely on subterfuge and stealth, and thankfully the first hurdle had been... hurdled. Ethan was meant to make his way to the center of Old Town and wait for the arrival of the other team after they had given the guards the slip. They hadn't been certain the council would be watching but couldn't risk not preparing for such an occurrence. Unfortunately Ethan was much faster than even he could have guessed and the guards were much more dedicated to their orders than the others could have expected.

It was nearing the end of the second hour and Ethan remained hidden, and by himself, on the designated corner of Old Town. Back near the guild hall the second group continued to put on an act of cheers and drinking at an area pub, their outward display covering the frustrated and concerned gazes they passed to one another. They understood the delicate nature of this mission and the reasons behind their subtle approach to the entire venture, as such, despite their powerful, and fervent, desires to simply stand up and say to the hells with it all they didn't. Instead they quietly hoped Ethan wouldn't act on his own, while also wishing he would for the sake of the kidnapped children, though none of them would ever allow themselves to say so out loud. Of course, anyone who knew Ethan, which no one in Cloudcrest really did, would understand he would only be able to sit still for so long before acting.

He had waited until the edge of the moon touched the edge of the roof two stories above where he stood hidden in the darkness of the night. He decided once that time had come he would move on his own and see what he could find in the alleyway in question, and if needed, the surrounding buildings. He hadn't devised a plan on entering any particular place, whether by force or stealth, but finally accepted he would just have to deal with such situations as they arose. Finally, the bright whiteness of the moon was fully kissing the wood shingles and Ethan took a deep breath, focused his mind, and set himself in motion upon exhaling the air within his chest. He hadn't abandoned all stealth but moved more quickly as down the path next to the road, his body bent in such a way his footfalls were much softer than normal.

He made two wide passes around the alleyway he watched the men from before disappear down, watching for any movement or response. Finally he moved in and began to make his way down the alleyway, keeping close to the wall down one side. His untrained eyes scanned the buildings and their walls across from where he walked trying to find any sort of hint. The first door he came to was locked, as was the next, and he continued forward, his passing form causing the single rectangle of pale light within the building behind him to momentarily disappear. He had blocked the lamp across from the wall where a small slot had been scratched away, unintentionally signaling the hidden observer inside to take notice. After about two minutes passed and a coin wasn't provided the figure suddenly turned and picked up a small handful of pebbles in their gloved hand. Grinding them together he held his fist over a small hole in the floor by his one foot, sending small bits of dirt and stone sprinkling down into the darkness below. As the bits of earth impacted the ground below a chain reaction occurred where a hooded figure, their cloak hugged tightly around their body, suddenly stood up, their body having been propped up by the stone wall, before silently slipping down a dimly lit tunnel. Coming to a solid looking door a gloved hand emerged from between the folds of the cloak and tapped firmly three times, a second passing between each one. He then turned and made his way back to the place where he was sitting before and soon disappeared against the stone wall.

On the other side of the door several figures stopped playing cards and simply dropped them to the table while standing. As they all filed out one stood back long enough to check the other cards and spat in frustration... he would have won some money! Two ladders were climbed and several false walls were partially opened before the three emerged behind a wall that stood taller than them all but only extended halfway across the space between the buildings in front of them. The wall behind them, which was part of the building, looked exactly the same thus creating an illusion that the wall in front of them went all the way across. Three eyes, one for each figure, suddenly peered out through a vertical slit between two bricks marked on their side. From their location across from the wall with the hidden coin slot, they watched as a boy sulked past, looking all sneaky like. They quickly exchanged glances followed by foul mouthed grins filled with not so nice intent. Nodding together they moved in a way that was even more quiet than the boy and quickly got into position as he continued down the alleyway. When they were ready one of the three tossed a small stone from behind Ethan, letting it bounce off the wall the boy was against, but further down and in front of him. Ethan gasped and immediately froze while looking in the direction of the sound. At the same one of the two remaining figures rushed forward, one grabbing Ethan by his neck and mouth from behind, while the final figure suddenly punched him solidly in the gut, forcing any air in his chest to expel violently through the fingers covering his mouth. With the sudden departure of air, and the inability to intake a breath to replace that which was lost, a sense of floating and dizziness overtook Ethan's senses. He felt himself being lifted, or he thought he did, and then everything went dark as a hood was dropped down over his head.

Ethan had been captured...