Lynch was still being carried deeper into the street by the three Wanderers. He could clearly smell the putrid stench gradually spreading around him, and not far away, hear the faint squeaks of rats. The Eye of Insight allowed him to remember all the streets and corners he passed by, and to identify every pair of watchful eyes hidden in the corners. He could even clearly see the daggers and cocked crossbows at their waists.

The three guys didn't know that the person on their shoulders was a Great Mage, so they didn't treat him with any politeness. Walking in the dark was inevitably bumpy, and the sturdy muscles on the strong man's shoulders made Lynch's chest and abdomen ache in waves. If he hadn't witnessed more brutal situations and tests, the Mage might have already vomited all his dinner.

The place where these kidnappers took a break was in the basement of a warehouse, piled with bundles of dry straw and a faint smell of horses. This place was likely underneath a stable. However, they didn't throw Lynch onto the comfortable piles of straw to allow him a moment's rest. These three thieves were more concerned about when they could start collecting the ransom money. So, they turned the lever on the wall and took the Mage through a hidden passage.

They couldn't possibly take the captive directly to their headquarters, so they tied the Mage in a hideout in a sub-area. After taking all the items from Lynch's body—left intentionally by Lynch, such as half a bag of coins and some trinkets of the lower class—the Great Mage was thrown into a locked cell, without even leaving any guards. They probably didn't believe that this coachman with his hands tied had any ability to resist.

Lynch stood up, shook off the dirt and straw clinging to him. With a gentle shake of his wrists, he freed himself from all restraints. The cell door, to him, was merely a formality. Even though those common thieves couldn't touch the lock from outside, the Mage's spiritual power was all-encompassing.

The cell door was gently pushed open, and then lightly closed again. Lynch walked deeper into the passageway following the kidnapper's route. The passage was crudely built with bricks and clay, materials easily bought in any human-dwelling places. However, Lynch knew that the thieves' abodes had no use for luxurious materials, using dampness and rot to ward off those attempting to enter.

Besides, there were numerous traps, dutifully fulfilling the role of guardians. The reason for using brick to build the passage was that this material was easily hollowed out for setting spinning blades or poisoned daggers. Despite his caution, Lynch was no expert at disabling traps. The Eye of Insight could detect many hidden devices, but he didn't want to spend too much time wandering in this passage. For those mechanisms that couldn't break through his Protection Magic, he simply stepped over them.

This winding place was simply a large maze, with the city's sewers and the thieves' dug tunnels intertwining intricately underground. Even if all the Knights in Pate City were deployed, they might not find the thieves' true hiding spot. But this didn't trouble Lynch; even if the "guide" in front disappeared from his sight, he had ways to find traces remaining on the ground.

The farther he walked, the more the nauseating stench faded. The ground was no longer covered in black sludge or garbage, revealing some clean stone slabs. Although there were still many dust-covered cobwebs in the corners, it was obviously more like a place where people might live.

"It seems the Wanderers would still spend some money to arrange their surroundings," Lynch mused, casting an Invisibility spell on himself and gently floating off the ground. He knew well how keen the ears of those accustomed to working in the dark could be. The shallow puddles on the ground weren't there due to carelessness or the passage's age, but rather served as an alert system, waiting for careless adventurers to step on them.

A decaying door appeared in front of Lynch, with scorched marks on its mottled wooden boards, and splinters secured by rust-covered iron bars. Even a Mage like Lynch, who wielded no physical strength, could easily yank this door off the wall. However, the door, which served no protective function, was tightly bound with a wrist-thick chain and secured with three rusted locks.

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