The cold breeze of dusk descended further upon the world, as the city fell quiet, stripped away in the presence of the encroaching stars. Though, like any, there were exceptions to the norm. Like a ship tied to a dock, timber whined as each subtle movement fought against the tension of the knot, which in reality was a lock. It whined and rattled, as time and time again, like the consistency of the waves, it exuded a force that drove the nearest soul into a rage.

"Stop fighting," Paulus ordered with a flustered grunt, as his voice vanished into the night. He stood on two legs, though not upright, as his head and wrists lay bound by splintered timber. "That lock is locked. All your shaking isn't going to do anything more than put a thorn in my neck and split my head. You are just going to have to wait. You are just going to have to wait."

"Don't tell me what to do," the pickpocket ordered back, as he continued to wiggle. "Wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you. So, now I'm going to get out of this on my own. I got places to be. And who gets put in the pillory for such a long time? And how hard is it to get free? I am a master at my work, don't you know? Everyone knows who the great Lucas is."

"Who's Lucas?" Paulus asked.

"I am," he replied. "I am Lucas. And this is all your fault..."

Paulus turned as far as his head could, before the splinters that were by his neck burrowed deeper. "Want to explain to me how this is my fault?"

"You couldn't just have let me get away?" Lucas asked back. "Couldn't just have turned the other cheek and just let me do what I needed to do?"

"You couldn't have just not pickpocketed me?" Paulus asked with a loud scoff.

"Not so loud," Lucas quickly hissed. "Want me to get branded? That guard could be anywhere."

"Couldn't have just given me my purse back after I caught you?" Paulus continued, as he ignored his company. "Couldn't have just returned it like a normal person? You had to keep your hands on my coins. You had to get in the way of a man and his drink. And that says a lot about a man, just so you know."

Lucas was still for a moment, waiting within his own mind and thoughts to pull together some words of a rebuttal, though only the opposite fell from his tongue. "Sorry, didn't know it was for a drink."

A faint sigh left Paulus again, as he rolled his eyes and ever so slightly shook his head. "So, do you have any friends of yours that are going to come back and save you from here?"

"I might..." Lucas replied under his breath. "Might not..."

"Yeah, I got one too," Paulus said. "If he hears about it, he might just come to hit me with a shovel."

"Shovel?" Lucas asked, a smile slowly dawning over his face. "Wait, is that what happened to your face—?"

Before he could finish, a spatter of filth spewed forth and struck both men on opposite sides of their faces. Chunks of vile rotten food from a long-spoiled vegetable clung to them, as what remained of the thing fell to the ground with the sound of a plop that mimicked a wet mop.

"HEY!" Lucas shouted, spotting some mischievous kids running off. "When I get out of here, you are both going to beg I hadn't! Don't you know who I am? That's right you better run! Run home!"

With a spit that cleared the edge of his lip of the green and brown filth, Paulus grumbled under his breath. "Just leave it. You're only going to make it worse. Those brats don't have anything better to do. If it wasn't this, they would be scratching some mark into the walls."

"Leave it?" Lucas asked back. "They need to know who I am."

"That doesn't make any sense," Paulus replied. "You're a pickpocket, you don't want people to notice you."

"Not so loud about that," Lucas ordered with a loud whisper. "You have to stop saying that, before I get into a lot of trouble. They only think I'm a beggar. They don't know the great thief that I am."

"You would deserve it," Paulus explained, turning his eyes towards the lock that bound him and growing a faint smile. "Me on the other hand..."

"How much longer do we have?" Lucas asked with a groan. "I have places to be. I have things I need to do. You know the night is a very important time for someone in my line of work. Especially today, with all the drinking and moaning people will be doing. It's very important."

"At least it's not snowing," Paulus replied with a sigh, as his eyes lingering on the lock and his fingers beginning to wiggle. "And on behalf of all those you would have robbed, at least you're not able to and are being held accountable."

"I can agree with you on the snow..." Lucas said, lulling with only the faintest of noises that whispered of fiddling. "And no one can see us anymore," he added with a faint smile, as he stared out into the darkness. "You want me to sing a song?"

"Look," Paulus replied with a sigh. "We just have to deal with each other for a few more hours, then we can go on our own way and never have to deal with each other again. What do you say?"

A still silence held the night for a moment, as not even the distant sounds of stray animals, or the turbulence of the drunks permeated, or even the trivial whispers of fingers at work.

"Sounds too good to be true," Lucas finally said with a faint laugh, returning to his task of attempting to wiggle free.

"It almost does, doesn't it?" Paulus said with a dwindling chuckle. "Now, stop that shaking or you're going to get it when I get out of here."

"Oh, yeah, and what are you going—?" Lucas began to ask, though was silenced by a sight that suddenly caught his eye. "My God!"

"What?" Paulus asked, taking notice of his company's composure and quickly catching sight of what lay before them.

Through the darkness eyes peered at them and seemed to burrow into their souls. It was not those of a human, but of an animal that lay just above the ground.

"It's a cat," Paulus said annoyed.

The two men and the cat looked at one another with suspicion and curiosity. Though, with a slow soft laugh that broke into the air, Lucas seemed to enjoy the company, as well as that of his own thoughts.

"What?" Paulus asked, as the cat rushed away. "What's so funny? It was just a cat."

"Hope this night does not end in a catastrophe," Lucas finally said, laughing loudly at his own joke. "Get it? Catastrophe. Cat."

"Cat?" Paulus asked, turning his head as far as he could, before looking at what he could see of his company. "I don't get it."

"What?" Lucas asked baffled. "What do you mean you don't get it?"

"It's not important, so be quiet," Paulus ordered, as his fingers continued to fidget until suddenly, the very lock and timber that bound him in place released its grip. "There we go."

"HEY!" Lucas shouted with wide eyes, watching him in disbelief stretching his legs. "How the—How the hell did you do that? Get me out, quick!"

"Not that hard," Paulus replied, rubbing his wrists and continuing to stretch his limbs. With a slow sigh, he lowered himself to the ground resting against the very timber that had held him. "And keep your voice down before you get me in trouble."

"Wait, what are you doing?" Lucas asked. "You going to get me out? Hurry. Let's make our break for it."

"No," Paulus stated. "No, I'm not."

"Wait, what?" Lucas asked in disbelief, trying to no avail to catch a sight of him.

"Not so loud," Paulus warned again, shifting where he sat and trying to find comfort.

"You're not going to run away?" Lucas demanded.

"No, that would just cause me more trouble," Paulus explained. "I want to come back into the city. If I'm not here when the guards get back, I will be in a lot of trouble. Don't want that."

"That doesn't make sense," Lucas replied.

"Well, then it means it's none of your concern," Paulus said. "So, what do you do? And I don't mean as a pickpocket."

Lucas turned his head as far as he was able with a sense of disbelief. "You being serious right now? Did you seriously ask me that?"

"You have something better to do?" Paulus asked back. "I suppose I could always close my eyes and get a little sleep before the sun comes up again."

"Wait, wait, wait," Lucas pleaded. "Fine, we can talk. What do you want to know?"

"What do you do when you're not robbing good people?" Paulus asked.

"I don't rob good people," Lucas replied. "Just fools."

Paulus was silent for a moment, staring out into the dark. With a faint scoff, he shook his head, closed his eyes, and began to snore.

"Fine, fine, fine," Lucas said. "I travel. I go where I need to go."

"You mean, you leave a place after you have taken what you need from it, but not before you are caught, is that it?" Paulus asked.

"You going to let me out, anytime soon?" Lucas requested.

"Sure, before the guards come back, but after the sun comes up," Paulus replied. "After that, you can call us even for stealing from me."

"Wait, really?" Lucas asked. "You're being serious?"

"No," Paulus replied, as he closed his eyes. "Just make sure you wake me up before the sun comes up and the guards with them. If you don't, then we will get in real trouble."

Time drifted away as the night gave way to the endless repetition of the heavens, yet there was one figure who advanced through the city streets ahead of the rising sun. His pace was slow, as his limp tried to drag him back. His armor chimed in his ears, while his spear tip pointed to the sky and its base thumped on the ground.

"I guess I was a little rough with those beggars," Andreas said to himself, as the faint and earliest rays of light began. "Wife always makes me soft... Except in one way."

He laughed to himself, approaching the slumbering fools oblivious to the consequences of his company. As when he would descend upon them, a fury filled with punishment would be theirs, all within the confines of a place far worse than the pillory.