"HELP!!!" The broken mess of a man cried out amidst his weeping, his face stained with mucus and blood.

"No one will hear you, even if you scream." The bandits had naturally created a small magical barrier to hide the place.

"P-please let me go already." Their victim resorted once more to begging.

The bandits clicked their tongues in annoyance. What a shameless guy! Even now, there was a hint of hope in his eyes, somehow.

"You still think your family will save you? Keep dreaming, hehe!" Thus started another round of torture.

In the meantime, a few of them were sent out to investigate and mislead. This was a basic skill anyone in the thieving business had to master.

They assumed plenty of innocent-looking personas: the drunk laborer, bumpkins brothers looking for the red-light district, the kind old man searching for his long-lost son.

Their best tool for misinformation were rumors. They would hide in the crowd and start new discussion topics.

...