Keeping up with Lilah was easy enough at first, but as soon as they reached a busier street, it became significantly more difficult: her legs might be short, but her smaller size let her weave easily and unnoticed through clusters of people that Ishtal would have to politely nudge her way through or find a way around. It took her guide a few minutes to notice that she was being left behind, but finally Lilah caught on and moved out of the flow of traffic, letting Ishtal meet her at a street corner.

“Sorry, I should’ve remembered that you wouldn’t be used to this yet,” she commented. “Also that you’re bigger and less maneuverable, I suppose. It’s nothing we can’t work on, but for now I’ll try and stay close.”

“Where exactly are we going?” Ishtal asked. She glanced around, then lowered her voice. “Is this the kind of area we’re supposed to…um, work in?” It occurred to her that she didn’t know all that much about the actual mechanics of stealing anything on purpose. Was she supposed to rely on instinct?

Lilah gave a decisive shake of her head. “No, definitely not. And we’re not starting you on that today, anyway; this is just so you can find your way around the city. But when you do start working crowds, you’ll be on the north side. That’s where you’re more likely to make it worth your while, not to mention that you’ll find marks up that way who can actually afford it. On the south side, most people are too close to broke for us to bother.”

Ishtal nodded slowly, not sure she understood. In the Onena villages, there were rarely more than two dozen houses, and everyone mostly had the same amount of resources, with the village head and the guardians getting a bit more.

Perhaps sensing her lack of comprehension, Lilah launched into a further explanation as they continued walking. “The north side is mostly humans; it’s the older part of the city that was built back when it was only humans living here. When other Peoples came, for the port trade and then for the crime, the city expanded southward, but it’s still mostly humans in charge, the noble Houses. It’s not just them—some elves and half-elves live up there, because even humans who look down on the rest of us can’t help but be in awe of them. And some dwarves and halflings rent in that area, the ones with trades that the humans find useful. But everyone else lives further and further south, based on respectability and what you can afford. That’s our territory—the Dragons’. There’s another gang, the Blue Krakens, that’s based on the north side because they’re right snobs, and of course the unaffiliated ones aren’t centralized anywhere. But you shouldn’t need to worry about them; they’re Kosef’s problem, and they’ve been pretty quiet lately.”

Then they had reached a new intersection and both had to focus on not being separated, so there was no more opportunity to expand on that topic.

“And here is the main watch-house and the city prison,” Lilah declared, gesturing at the squat building of gray stone across the street. “If I do my job of training you right, this will be the closest you ever have to get to it.”

The watch-house didn’t look forbidding, exactly, Ishtal decided. It didn’t have enough menace for that. It was simply there, giving the impression that it was an absolute fact and didn’t much care if you disagreed with it, and that you would break yourself against it before being able to budge it one inch.

“It’s relatively new,” Lilah continued. “The old watch-house was half-empty and clear up on the north side, and the old prison was in the middle of the south side and was falling apart and ridiculously easy to escape from.” She had a slightly concerning air of confidence about that last part, as if she had personally proven it true. “But the new head of the watch, Captain Alfweard, badgered the Mayor and the House heads until he got this built right in the center of town a few years ago. Apparently, he’s got some idea that he’ll be the one to permanently root out all crime from Lozhapad.” The rolled eyes that accompanied that pronouncement suggested that she didn’t consider such a thing especially likely.

“Is it really that bad?” Ishtal asked, meaning the crime rates, but Lilah didn’t seem to understand.

“It should be fine. Every so often some noble idiot comes along to try and clean house around here, but they never get very far. The Krakens are too entrenched, and Mr. Trippingly and Madam Akiba are too clever.” Lilah cracked a grin. “A few of us do have a betting pool on how long it’ll take Alfweard to either give up and leave or turn corrupt. Once you have some regular income, I can get you in on it, if that’s your kind of thing.”

There didn’t seem to be any point in explaining what she’d actually meant, so Ishtal settled for a shrug that could have meant anything, and for following Lilah on to the next destination.

“And these are the main noble houses, this street and the next one over.”

Ishtal could only stand still and blink up at the massive edifices. There were five of them on each side of the street, and another ten on the neighboring street Lilah had indicated, and each one seemed enormous enough to house everyone she’d ever met in her life, at a pinch. They were all made of pale stone, often with elaborate carvings at the corners and around the thick glass windows, and had large fenced-in gardens around them. Everything was in immaculate repair, with seemingly nothing out of place, and the street dividing the two rows was broad and paved with pristine cobblestones, like all the streets this far north.

“You said just one family lives in each of these?” she said, a little faintly.

“Well, one family and their massive amounts of servants,” Lilah allowed. “But yes. There are a few here that have multiple generations and branches of the family under one roof, for what it’s worth, but there’s also a few with just one or two people of the House left. Don’t expect it to make too much sense, or you’ll give yourself a headache.”

“And you…we…steal from these places?” Ishtal added, more quietly.

“Well, not all the time, and not without a plan, but yeah.” Lilah shrugged. “The Houses have been rich for so long that they have a ridiculous amount of valuable knickknacks lying around. They hardly ever miss them, if we pull it off properly, but the right take can line our pockets and pay the Dragons’ expenses for weeks. Once I nicked a bracelet set from House Kinnaird that put our accounts in the black for a couple of months, or at least that’s what Madam Akiba said, and paid for a whole season’s worth of tailoring.” When Ishtal didn’t seem duly impressed by this, she added, “Hardly anyone in this city sells halfling-sized clothes that I can actually work in and that look like real clothes. If I don’t want to be mistaken for a child wherever I go, I have to get things made specially, and it’s unfairly expensive.”

Ishtal glanced over Lilah’s current outfit, closely fitted to display every curve. She wasn’t sure how practical some of it was, but no one would ever mistake Lilah for a child dressed like that.

“I think we might be lost,” Ishtal mentioned, halting as they passed down a side street. “That’s the third time you’ve pointed out a nondescript building as the black market.”

Lilah snickered. “This is Lozhapad. There isn’t just one. There would be more, but not a lot of salable goods are actually controlled or illegal here. The only reason these exist is because some merchants like to falsify their tax paperwork to say they’re selling something they’re not, for a lower sales tax, and they can’t exactly be working out in the open if they’re doing that. It’s not the safest business plan—every so often some people will get caught paying less than they’re supposed to and get fined or arrested—but the rest of us get to enjoy the lower rates in the meantime. Anyway, that one we just passed is mainly medicinal substances and magical components, the one back by the docks is mainly imported goods smuggled in, and the first one was weapons. That one’s the largest; nobody likes to have to pay an extra fifteen percent just for a new knife. Of course, we have our own weapons supplier, but she makes everything custom, and it can be cheaper to get something pre-made.”

“Am I going to meet the weapons supplier today?” Out of the many questions that might have followed such an explanation, that seemed like the most relevant.

“Later this week. She doesn’t like to be disturbed while she’s working in general, but there are scheduled days where she’ll tolerate it more than other times.” Lilah strode ahead. “Come on, it’s getting towards the end of the day and we’ve still got ground to cover.”

“All right, no looking at the map this time: names of the main streets that run west to east?”

Ishtal concentrated, trying hard to picture the city map Lilah had just folded and tucked out of sight. “Mm…Bolshoy, Gluasad, Vysota, Baileguail, Bufhliche, Skalisty, Duby, and Lang.” The names felt strange in her mouth, and she stumbled once or twice on the unaccustomed combinations of syllables.

To her relief, Lilah gave a firm nod. “Excellent. And the main streets running north to south?”

These were easier. “Treun, Pech, Razum, Balla, and…Sitheil.” This time, Ishtal nodded, sure she’d gotten it right.

Lilah grinned and clapped her on the small of her back. “You’ll do—you’re picking these up a lot quicker than I did. Hopefully, you’ll learn the whole street grid eventually, but the main ones will be most helpful for if you get lost.” She produced the map again, handing it over. “Keep that handy in the meantime, though, just to be safe.”

She glanced up at the sky, which was starting to darken as the sun set. “Better get you back to the Salamander before I make you late for dinner. Kleev makes a roast on Wednesdays, and it goes fast.”

Still speaking, she took off down the street, and Ishtal followed, feeling as though her head was slightly crammed with everything she was trying to retain from the day. She didn’t think she’d ever spent a day like this in her life, even when she first started training as a child and had so much to learn.

This hadn’t been so bad, though, and there was something oddly homey about the prospect of supper at the Salamander and her little room. Maybe, just maybe, life in Lozhapad wouldn’t be terrible after all.