Meanwhile, when Supreany saw the opportunity to sneak away, she took it. It was apparent to her that they were not going to get what they wanted unless they just took it. What she didn't expect was for Blaizen to follow her. After disappearing around the bookshelf, Blaizen tagged along and nearly scared her half to death when she noticed he was there.
"Why are you following me?"
"Why are you sneaking away?"
"Just ... just be quiet and follow me."
"All right, all right. Man, you're bossy."
They began to weave their way through the maze of books.
"What are we looking for?" Blaizen asked.
"Some material from a prophet named Cardin Ferris."
A somewhat-weak voice came out from behind them. "Cardin's material is locked away on the bottom floor."
They turned to face an elderly man.
"Are you serious?" Supreany's voice reflected her aggravation.
"Positively, they've had it down there for years. Only certain library staff get to go down there."
Supreany paused to think. "You wouldn't happen to know where the entrance to the bottom level is, would you?"
"Why ,of course. It's right over there." He pointed to a large, heavy door. "But knowing where it is won't do you any good, if you can't unlock it."
"Thank you very much. You certainly don't act like the rest of the people here."
"At my age, there's no point in putting that much time into being mean to people. Well, anyway, good day to you." Not a moment later, he disappeared into the maze of books. Supreany leaned up against a bookshelf.
"What to do, what to do …" She looked over at Blaizen. "Could you stop goofing off and help me find a way to get through that door?"
"Sure thing." He ripped some pages out of a book. "I say we hop out that window and find your friends before we get caught, and then we can figure out how to get through that door."
"Is that your idea of helping?"
Their attention was caught by movement a couple of bookshelves down, when a man's voice came out. "Do you see anybody?"
"No, but I thought I heard something back here."
Their eyes widened.
Blaizen stepped in front of Supreany. "After you."
"All right, all right." She swiftly went to the window and slipped out.
Blaizen was surprised at how silently she did so. But this was no time to stop and admire; he must follow her. So, out the window he went. They made a point of trying to quickly blend in with the crowd but that would prove difficult, not only because of Blaizen's abnormal apparel but because a long robe was a staple in Sophiapolis apparel.
They worked their way over to a cloth merchant, Supreany in the lead. And when the merchant's back was turned, his attention elsewhere, Supreany nabbed five robes and they disappeared into an alleyway. She promptly handed one to Blaizen.
"Here, put this on."
"Just my luck. You guys are a bunch of criminals, aren't you? It's bad enough I was marked as one on my own planet and now I'll be branded one here too."
"Oh, whatever, Shiny Pants. Hurry up and put that on or you'll be a caught, branded thief." They put on the robes and were soon joined by the other three.
"What happened to you guys? Did you get thrown out?" Ean asked.
Supreany handed them each a robe. "We didn't get caught but we did find out where Cardin's prophecies are. The only problem is they're in a hard-to-reach place."
Cecealye unfolded the robe and held it up in front of her. "Where did you get this?"
Supreany's eyes drifted over to Cecealye. "Huh? You don't want to know."
"She stole them," Blaizen butted in.
"What!"
"Okay, okay," Ean called them to order. "Let's focus here. Everybody just put the robes on. We need to blend in. Especially now that they know that you're here," he said as he looked at Cecealye. "Now, what do we know?"
Supreany rubbed her face, "I know where the door is that leads to the bottom level. However, it's locked."
Ean stroked his chin, thinking. "That does create a problem." A moment of silence followed.
Blaizen tapped his foot. "You know, I may be new to this little screwed-up group of ours, but I have an idea, if you're willing to hear me out." Their eyes locked on him as he pulled some papers from under his robe.
"What are those?" Cecealye questioned.
"They're the blueprints to the city's entire sewer system." He handed them to Ean and glanced over at Supreany as a look of realization washed over her face.
"So, that's what you were doing."
They began to extensively look over the blueprints.
After a moment, Cecealye backed away. "Wait, what do you think we're going to do, break in and steal the prophecy ourselves?"
A smirk came across Ean's face. "That's exactly what we're going to do."