Leave Alrechi for another day.

As much as you want to destroy this Alrechi of Samos, you haven't forgotten that your main objective is Orestes. You have to get your **** on him and sneak out of the city before it falls. Alrechi can wait.

So you duck quickly and quietly down the alley, hiding yourself in the inky shadows. With the sensitive and experienced eyes of a master thief, which can see details in the dark a cat might miss, you see that the alley is pretty much a dead end. Both sides of the alley are tall, ancient townhouses and the end is a clay brick wall about fifteen feet high. It looks new. It must have been put up to stop thieves like yourself being able to sneak into the square.

You are only slightly alarmed at being effectively trapped, because the alley is so narrow Alrechi's goons can only come at you one at a time. You are confident of being able to beat them, especially fighting in near pitch darkness, but wonder how many of them you will have to kill before they leave you alone.

You hear one of the thugs ask, "Did you see where that sneaky bitch went?"
Then you recognize the voice of the serving girl. "Yeah, she ran down Noble street towards the blacksmith's." That's the exact opposite direction to where you actually went. Insanely grateful to the wench for lying for you, you make a resolution to find her when all this is done and help get her safely out of Athenapolis when the invaders come.

Deciding not to wait any longer, you run quietly to the wall at the end of the alley. You leap athletically into the air and plant your palms on the townhouses on either side. Scrambling up, you manage to get to the top of the wall. Then you leap down and land silently on the cobbles in the square. There's Orestes's mansion ahead of you.