Sam woke up groggily, feeling pain in the back of her head, where Jones hit her last night. Speaking of which, she started to recall what happened. But everything she remembered was coming close to the door. Sam snuggled into the pillow she was lying on. It was comfy, hard yet soft. Then she realized that she wasn't lying but sitting, and there was shaking under her. Sam opened her eyes slowly, morning sun hitting them with all it's might. She saw what she assumed was a pillow and blushed brightly, getting into straight position and looking away. The 'pillow' was actually Danny's chest. Phantom chuckled with a smile on his face.

"Morning," he said cheerfully.

"Morning," Sam mumbled, "Where are we?"

"Good news or bad news?" Danny asked.

"Start from the good one"

"We will be in the city until noon"

"And the bad news?"

"We will stay without breakfast," he chuckled. Sam's stomach made low sound. They didn't have food since the last afternoon. The only one fed here was Bucefal, but this guy wasn't picky with the food. Danny wasn't hungry, Jones' whirlwind of emotions gave him more than enough energy. They changed positions on the animal's back, so it will be easier for Phantom to control the horse.

"Danny, what happened last night?" Sam asked the question bothering her. Phantom stayed quiet for a while, she almost thought he hadn't heard her question when he answered. He told her about what happened. Needless to say, Sam was terrified and disgusted at the tavern owner's actions.

"You...let him go?" She was even more shocked at the ending of the story then the rest of it.

"Jones was grieving, Sam. Regret is one of the steps to redemption, if you turn in the right direction"

"Are you sure you aren't some kind of monk?" Danny laughed loudly.

"Never, I would never shave this hair," he pointed at them with his finger and they both started to laugh.

The road was quiet, and neither of them spoke for the rest of it, enjoying the comfortable silence. But the sounds were becoming louder and louder, Danny of course was the one to hear it more properly. The sounds seemed to be coming from ahead. The sounds of living city. Once they approached, they got a good look at it.

It was surrounded by thick stone walls, and surprisingly it looked more presentable than the capital. The walls weren't so battered and not a brick was missing.

"So, where are we now?" Danny asked. Sam, however, didn't share his enthusiasm.

"Rifton, don't be fooled by appearance, we call it 'The city of Thieves' for a reason"

"The city of Thieves, huh? Let's see them try to steal anything from us"

They approached the wooden gates of the city. There stood two guards. They were wearing identical armor, the same as in the capital, but in purple color. Sam took on the hood to hide her face. The two almost passed the gurads, when one of them turned to the group.

"Stop," he said. Their heart and core stopped. Danny turned to face the guard, "You need to pay for pass"

"I don't recall such rules in the other city. And judging from the necklace on your neck, this money don't go into city's treasury," the guard raised his hands.

"Alright, alright, you may pass, just keep quiet," Danny smirked unnoticeably at his small victory. City shows its true colors quite fast.

As if it wasn't enough, there was another annoying guy. When Danny and Sam rode on the surprisingly less crowded entrance, their way was interrupted by gruff voice.

"Hey, you," They looked to see a man with a big amount of muscles and short black beard, "looking for troubles?" He asked.

"We are just passing through," Sam said, just as confused as Danny.

"Everyone says that at first. Don't mess with Baxters and your head will stay on your shoulders," Phantom turned the horse away without saying a word. Once they got away, Danny spoke again.

"What's wrong with this people?" He said. Sam's look hardened.

"See what I've been talking about? This is a horrible place"

"Still, we would need to stay here for a while," Danny stated.

"What?!"

"Do you remember what I told Jackson?" Sam started to recall the story.

"There was a story about...Reality Gauntlet?" She said.

"Exactly. I...asked one guy and he told me that someone named 'James Faloy' is searching for the gems. But you know that already. I must ensure the safety of the Gauntlet. For that I need to find this guy"

Sam wanted to argue, but she understood that he has his own responsibilities.

"Anyways, who are this 'Baxters' this weirdo told us about?" Danny changed the topic.

"'The noble house of Baxters', one of the most ancient families in the country," Sam grimaced, "my birth parents wanted me to marry one of them. What an idiot he is"

"Arranged marriage," Danny said sarcastically, "Is there any normal place we can stay? Hopefully better than the last one"

"No, I don't. We stayed at Baxters' place every time"

"Well, I can haunt their attic," Phantom laughed, "But I doubt you can. Now, how about we have some food?" Sam nodded in agreement.

They found a pub 'The bee and the sting', it didn't look like much, but at least more presentable than the others. Danny tied Bucefal. He fazed the rope inside the wall so no one will be able to untie or tear it. And he had a feeling that the colt will leave a few hoof marks on the thieves. Danny and Sam went inside. The transpiring scene was both unusual and the same time expected. They had expected a bunch of drunkards, and there was a bunch of drunkards, but seeing a priest in front of them wasn't what you see daily.

"...That's what I'm trying to make you understand!" The priest exclaimed. He was a tall dark skinned man in brown robes, with dirty black hair, "The Devil has come to our world, and that's all is a punishment for our sins! You must stop living such a life, throw away the bottle and take the holy..."

"For goodness sake, Maurice," the bartender interrupted, washing the mug with dirty rag, "We aren't against your preaching, but would you kindly to preach in the church? Just let us sin calmly here"

"That's exactly what the Devil wants!" Maurice exclaimed, waving his hands rapidly.

Two teens just watched for exchange with interest. But the stomach said it's final word and they came to the bartender.

"Excuse me, sir," Sam said, "Do you serve any food here?" The bartender looked at them and shook his head.

"No, for two reasons. First, this idiot is still here," he pointed at Maurice, who continued to preach in front of the half unconscious group, "The second reason is, our cook is right there," he pointed towards the one from the half unconscious group, "he usually wakes up until dinner. I can offer you dinner"

"And do you have any rooms to stay?" Danny asked.

"Yeah. You know what? Get Maurice out of here and you get to stay here for free," Phantom smirked.

"Very well"

Danny came to the priest from behind and tapped him on shoulder, making him turn around.

"Good day, young man, are you here to listen to the bringer of Holy word?"

"Eh...in a way, yes. Why are you here?"

"I'm trying to teach this people about how they should live!" Danny clapped his hands together.

"Not to offend, but this people don't seem to realize that someone is talking to them," one of the drunkards fell unconscious, knocking over the table and falling on the ground.

"And what do you offer me to do?"

"Just go outside and preach there. Better do it before they will start to drink. It's easier to prevent people from getting the habit, than trying to stop it," Maurice hummed in thought, contemplating what the teen in front of him said.

"You are right, my boy, I'm going to do just that!" He shook Danny's hand and ran outside.

"Not right near the doors, Maurice!" The bartender shouted after him.

"Wow, I'm impressed," Sam commented with a smile.

"Yeah, I have never seen him to hurry somewhere so much," the bartender laughed, "alright, lad, a deal is deal. This night you stay in third room on the left. Second floor," the teens' stomachs rumbled, "But you still need to pay for food," Danny hunched his shoulders.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Wow, five stars," Danny said sarcastically with crossed hands.

The room was small, and dark, but that was mostly because of cushion over the window. Phantom's eyes glowed with their true colors for a brief moment as he was searching for that window. He removed it and they got a better look at the room. There were a small wooden desk, a double bed...again, and a wardrobe. Everything was covered in the thick layer of dust.

Sam didn't ask what Danny's remark meant. She just traced her finger across the wall of the wardrobe, leaving a straight line.

"Do you know any trick for cleaning?" Sam deadpanned, causing Phantom to rub his chin, realizing that there was a stubble already. He smirked evilly, so Sam even shivered a bit.

"Please, step outside of the room," he said calmly with a grin not leaving his face. Sam was confused, but still did as was told. Danny sat on his knee and his eyes glowed once again. He put a hand on the ground. Sam didn't understand what happened after that. One second the room was covered in dust, then it dissapeared in a blink. Literally. Then a loud yell was heard.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" The voice of the bartender sounded across the pub and living floor. Danny roared with laughter, falling on his back and rolling on his butt.

"What have you done?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I *gasp* made the dust *gasp* fall through the floor," he continued to laugh and Sam joined him. She realized where the dust went. Danny got up, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Alright, I'm going to find some money. Stay here"

"Why?" Sam asked, crossing her hands.

"Because, my dear, the whole city will be able to recognize you. I'm surprised that people down there didn't"

"Ugh," Sam exclaimed, before dropping on surprisingly soft bed and throwing her hands in the air.

"Don't worry, I'll return before you say 'blackberry pie'"

Danny went downstairs and held his laugh at the hall full of dust. The bartender was cleaning the floor, muttering something under his nose. He looked up and saw Phantom exiting the house.

"Hey, you! Would you kindly to explain this?" He gestured around him.

"What do you mean?" Danny played dumb, dying from laughter inwardly. The bartender gestured around himself again in response, "Ah, you mean this mess? Don't think I can help you here...unless you can give us some food..."

"Why you little...just get lost," the bartender shooed him away.

Of course, what Phantom had done was unfair, but, hey, he is a son of the Devil, surely he would do something like that once in a while.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sam was bored out of her mind. Everything she could do is blowing raspberries, lying on the bed. There was no one here to scold her for that. Deciding to explore the room, she got up. She didn't want to touch the thermos, left by Danny on the desk. What if she will befree the guy inside? Sure, you can't call Skulker a menace without his suit, but calling unneded attention wasn't part of her plan. So, her attention was caught by the wardrobe.

It was old, empty on the inside, with different figures engraved on its top, hanging out like gargoyles. It sure was eerie, but that weren't figures which caught her attention. Legs. There was a small trail on the floor, which ended next to them. Someone must have moved the wardrobe, but why? Her interest peeked, Sam tried to move the wardrobe. Sadly, it was too heavy for her and she was able to move it only on the length of ant's leg, no more. Sam tried again and again, but it didn't have the needed effect. In exasperation she hit the wardrobe with her leg.

Suddenly something fell down inside of it. Sam didn't wait long before opening the doors. One of the planks on the backside fell down, revealing a hole behind it. Sam hesitated to put her hand inside, but in the end curiosity won. She found something there and took it out.

It looked like a book, she couldn't make the name because of all the dirt on it. Sam picked the end of her clothes and wiped the cover. She read what was written on it.

'The History and Nature of Ghosts by Frederick Isak Showengower'