Luciano and Emerico stayed together initially, slowly meandering through the busy marketplace and onto the adjacent road which gave place to the merchants who came too late or could not afford space on the main square. There were visibly less people here, which meant a smaller, more easily discernible flurry of noise. The two Templars scoured the area and listened intently, but for now they heard nothing but the general rambling and haggling between the potential buyers and the merchants who were hell-bent on selling.
“Are you sure we will find something of value here?” Emerico spoke up after several minutes, trying to repress his irritation towards what he started seeing as a waste of time.
“No, I'm not. But the [i]possibilità[/i] alone makes it worth our while. Remember, we're after someone who hides better than any Assassino. Any little bit of information would be a great victory already.”
“Well, excuse me [i]il Mentore[/i], but I do not see much happening over here. I would rather head back into the crowd.”
“Do as you will, Emerico. Try to find Elena and Alessandro too, while you're there. Maybe they had more success than us.”
The apprentice nodded and turned around, leaving Luciano on his own.

The Templar reclined on the wall of a nearby building, arms folded and ears sharp. Truth be told, he himself did not have much faith of catching anything here. Yet, he still preferred this ‘quiet disorder’ to the pure madness that was going down the main square, something that—he hoped—had nothing to do with his age, for he was still well in his prime. It was, as said before, a simple preference: hearing the distinct shouts of every merchant along the road as they advertised their wares, and watching as the variety of people from almost the entirety of Italy walked past him. The richer had hirelings carrying wooden crates full of goods, while the rest were careful to only buy as much as they could bring home.

Suddenly, a harsh shriek ended the silent observation. Luciano instinctively turned his head towards the source, and so did everyone else who heard it.
“[i]Al ladro![/i] Someone stop him!”
A moment later he saw the culprit whiz past him with great speed. He did not care about who they were or who called for help, but instead sprung up immediately and bolted after the thief. Much to his frustration, his initial dash was not enough to reach the surprisingly nimble man who ended up taking the Templar on a merry chase. Persistence prevailed in the end however as the thief finally made a mistake and ran full speed into the side of an unsuspecting passer-by. Luciano took the opportunity and tackled his target, forcing him to the ground and reaching for his blade to make sure he stayed there.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now,” he uttered, wheezing and exhausted—but still very aware of what he had to gain from the encounter.
“Ah, [i]cazzo...[/i] Take the pouch. It's all I stole.” The thief, who kept one hand in front of his neck to make sure the swordsman had no...unwise ideas, reached with the other to his pocket and tossed out the small bag of florins. “Like that [i]pezzi di merda mercante[/i] would miss it anyways... He bathes in riches while my brothers and I are barely scraping by...” he hissed angrily at the injustice of life.
“I'm sure this merchant would pay handsomely for the head of a filthy [i]ladro...[/i]” Luciano inched the blade closer.
“What?!” Pure shock sat out on the face of the hapless man who tried desperately to wiggle out of the Templar's grasp. “Monster! Does the life of a man not matter to you at all? I've only filched a few [i]florini[/i], not murdered the [i]Magnifico[/i] himself!”
“Shh, shh, before I end this discussion right now...” Luciano looked around for a moment to make sure this tussle did not particularly catch anyone's attention. Else the stakes might have turned on him. “Are you part of the Thieves Guild here?”
“[i]Sì, sì.[/i] Like all the others. What do you want from me?”
“What do you know about your leader?”
“Ah...” The thief realised the real reason for this sudden ‘interrogation’. “He is as much of a legend to me as he is to you. If you expected me to lead you to him, then I'm afraid I'm not the right thief, [i]buon signore.[/i]”
“That's a real shame.” Luciano lifted the sword for a moment before bringing its razor-sharp edge dangerously close to the man's head once more. “It looks like I'll have to take the consolation prize after all...”
“No! Stop!” he squealed. “Okay, listen here, you [i]porco demonio...[/i] I know nothing of La Volpe. What I do know is that a few of us are meeting tonight at the church where—”
“Which church?”
“The [i]Basilica di San Lorenzo.[/i] La Volpe's...right hand man will be there. He'll know how to get to him.”
“Excellent. See? This wasn't so hard.” Luciano put his blade away for good and stood up. “Now leave...and not a word to anyone of anything that's happened here! Else we'll go for a second round...”
“[i]Sì.[/i]” The thief dusted himself off and walked away. The Templar heard one last word muttered from his mouth: “[i]Bastardo...[/i]”

Satisfied with the result, Luciano de Vicari headed back to the marketplace. The mob has barely diminished since he left, it took him a couple minutes of search before he finally stumbled upon his allies. As per his words, Emerico was already with Elena, blending into the crowd and talking.
“[i]Il mentore.[/i] Find anything useful?” The apprentice greeted him.
“I have indeed. A group of thieves will meet at the [i]Basilica di San Lorenzo[/i] tonight. We might make a visit too.” He turned to Elena. “What about you? Did you catch anyone else mentioning this meeting?”