Sounds of people talking animatedly started to penetrate his sleep addled mind, then he snapped open his eyes, suddenly remembering where he was. Another heap of cloth started to stir within a doorway opposite, and the stink of last night's alcohol washed over him as a vagrant growled irritation and rolled over. Lucius sat up and scratched at his hair, conscious that he still reeked of the sewers himself. At the far end of the alley, he saw people moving in the main street, and gradually became aware of a low, deep chiming. It took him a further moment to realise he was hearing the newly installed bells at the Cathedral, now used to summon the people of the city to the Square of True Believers. Standing up and shaking the last dregs of sleep from his system, he wandered out to see what was happening. After leaving the sewers the evening before, Lucius had not found Hengit and the other thieves at the docks, nor had they been present at the pre-arranged meeting point behind the silversmiths' near the cliffs.
