Lost and Found

[Ickedu]

"... did you hear about the attacks out of the sewers? They say, the monsters come out every

night and take only people drunken enough that they can not fight back. I heard, the bodies they found were missing..."

"... I told you, he is a womanizer! Now he again has another concubine. And she even is said

to come from Serendipity. What, if she again is a mage, he will not bear if if she again will be ..."

"... yesterday, another one came to the Mug and Bottle. Someone is buying books. Nobody knows what they are about,

and nobody can read them, but they are said to be of immeasurable value. If we only knew, where we could find something like..."

"...there again is another one. All the current camps are already overflowing with mages. But my cousin said, the

tensions are rising moreand more. They even rumor, that there will be attack. By whom? I have no idea, but..."

"... Yeah, I fear, we will never see them again. They really were the best for our filthy city.

They were not afraid of standing up against the lowest of the scum here and

really had potential to move something. But now they have gotten silent. Nobody knows, where they..."

"... You want to have fun? Well, what is fun to you? I always say, the best time of your life you will

get in the Ice Sirens. Let me tell you, you never have seen something like that and never will see it again..."

The marketplace definitely was the best place to learn more about a new city. Always. Everywhere. By this means she often had gotten valuable information after coming to a area she didn't know about. And often she had found good starting points for her search. Here it had worked again.
The "Mug and Bottle". It sounded like a tavern or something similar. There she would start her search, and she would eat her hoopak if she couldn't get more traces there.

Swiftly Peya rose from her seat at the base of the fountain at the marketplace, swung her bag to her back and picked up her hoopak. The small bells that she had tied to it were jingling brightly. Several passersby were looking at her surprised, most of them hadn't noticed her until now. And even when standing, she surely was no usual sight here in Reajh.

But she didn't mind getting funny looks. With a cheerful smile and a confident stride she approached the next best person and looked up to him with puppy dog eyes. A short conversation later she knew where to go and began strolling into the direction where she now knew she could find the "Mug and Bottle".

When she reached her destination, the night was already falling. The tavern was situated in the merchants quarter. Not in the best corner, but far from the worst. The building was old and not in best shape. A wrought-iron sign was hinged beside the front door, showing a bottle that was emptied into a mug. The sign was swinging slightly in the connlaothian winds. The windows were dimly lit and muted murmur could be heard from the inside.

Peya took her time to look around the surroundings of the tavern. But when she couldn't find something of interest, she walked up the few steps to the front door of the Mug and Bottle and entered the taproom.

She again let the bells at her hoopak jingle brightly when she stepped inside. Then she walked in, smiling, pretending not to notice the looks she got from the patrons. Peya walked directly to the bar, dropped her bag, leaned her hoopak to the counter and climbed on a chair to be able to look over the countertop. Smiling she waved to the bartender.

"Hello there, good man. Ansgar be with you. Could you please get me a big bowl of stew and something to drink that deserves its name?"

[Corria Firegrass]

Little people. Not a common sight in Reajh, nor a welcome one; there were only two others who would regularly show their faces in the darker part of the city. Since then neither had shown their face. If this girl was looking for her kin she was in the wrong place. Chances are she was in the wrong place anyway.

The halfling had the good fortune of having entered a tavern frequented mostly by old sailors and some of the more liberal merchants of the city. The Mug and Bottle was not the Prudent Goose in the city's upper quarter by any stretch, but it certainly wasn't the Dragon's Head in the cities underbelly either.

It was a rickety old building but it was comfortable inside, a few skin rugs lay on the floor, the eastern was decorated with a picture of a couple and their young son, the man stocky, muscled and strong looking with a thick beard and long hair, the woman more delicate by comparison, with golden hair and a round face. The son had inherited the best qualities of both his parents, ruggedly handsome and yet with an underlying delicateness that gave him the look of a prime specimen of masculine beauty. A fireplace on the western wall threw a beautiful glow into the room that was further lit by several basic torches, and the place was filled with an exquisite warmth. The tables and chairs, in contrast to the building itself, were of rather high quality and seemingly new, as was the bar. The Mug and Bottle was clearly a tavern that could not be judged by it's cover.

Still, her entrance was met with a few glances from some of the pub's more... Colourful regulars.

The looks she was getting were less than pleasant, halflings were trouble, whenever one showed up in the merchant quarter a jeweller was put out of business for using fake gold or a slave trader lost all his best slaves. Halflings were bad for business, merchants turned a blind eye to the dealings of their compatriots but consumers did not. A man in the corner of the room who was playing cards looked up and saw the little imp, his face was painted with disgust and he laid his cards down before standing up determinedly and walking towards the halfling threateningly.

That was, until the bartender, cleaning a tankard with a cloth that looked ever so slightly too greasy to do any good shot the man a glare that could have melted ice or frozen over hell. In response, the man froze and went back to his chair, grumbling something about "Giving the imp what's coming to her". Ori had no problems at all with halflings; his dealings weren't shady, and even if they were, not all halflings were vigilantes. Judging a race entirely by a few individuals was ridiculous, but then again, Connaloth did seem to be going mad around Ori.

After shooting down the man, Ori turned to Peya, who found herself staring at the boy from the picture all grown up, as handsome as expected, soft, golden brown hair on his head, a slight amount of stubble and a prominent cheekbone and jawline. The kind of man you would expect to be leading a slightly more glamorous job than a bartender. But it wasn't a job he had any aspirations to leave.

Ori gave the halfling a smile, before focusing on the staff "I'm afraid if you're plannin' to stay you're gonna have to hand that over. I don't want no trouble here, you'll get it when you leave, I'm the only one here who gets to carry a weapon and that's just fer protection. Them's the rules" his voice was not unfriendly, but it was firm.

[Ickedu]

Peya had followed the bartender's glare at the man, but at first did not say anything about it. When she was asked to hand over her hoopak, she gave the bartender a cheeky grin.

"I don't suppose you would belief me if I told you that I have a bad leg and need it to be able to walk? No? Shnookerdookies! Well, here you go. But only because you really seem to be able to handle your guests."

She turned around for a moment to look at the man from before. When he gave her another angry stare she waved and smiled cheerfully at him. Then she gave her hoopak to the bartender with a wink. "But be careful to my cutie, sometimes he is a bit sensitive."
Then she even fetched a little dagger that she had hidden inside her jacket and put it onto the bar.

When the bartender had put away the weapons, Peya got a little more serious again, but not without a smile. "I really don't want to make any trouble. I just was hoping to find something to eat and drink. And maybe some information. And as sooner I am satisfied, the faster your guests will be rid of me."

[Corria Firegrass]

Ori raised an eyebrow at the girl, she seemed to not have a care in the world about the man who almost certainly was about to pick a fight with her, either she didn't understand or she was deliberately baiting the man, both options were possible and both gave pause for thought.

Still, he took the... Stick thing, away from her and put it behind the counter in a locked compartment with the other weapons. He didn't want violence in his tavern. It was bad for business, and unpleasant to look at. Stick thing safely locked away he grinned at the girl and set a mug before her, opening and emptying a bottle of ale in it "Your stew will have to wait I'm afraid, I'll get Alianna to put some on" he went back into the kitchen and could be seen through the door talking to a girl about half his age and looking thoroughly disinterested. The girl nodded and seemed to get to work, though slowly and reluctantly.

Ori came back through the doorway and stood opposite the halfling "Apologies, when yer running a family business you have to contend with workers who don't do it for the passion of the career, I guess my folks were better at instilling pride in the field in me than I am."

He paused for a second "Y'know, it's been a while since we've seen a halfling in here. Even longer since we've seen one who didn't seem to want to turn the whole city upside down." He hoped he didn't come across as offensive, he was curious, shocked even, but not confrontational or distrustful of his guest.

Information though... Halflings were always looking for something it seems "I'm just a bartender but I certainly hear stories, what would you be looking for in terms of information?"

[Ickedu]

Peya watched and listened very attentive when the bartender locked away her hoopak. How the compartment opened, what else could be in there, where the bartender put the key... It was always good to know such things. Just in case.

When her ale was finished she took a hearty gulp and relaxed in her chair. "Thanks. I am already feeling better. The stew will do when it is ready."

While Ori was in the kitchen, Peya looked around the tavern and tried to guess for each of the patrons what their business could be. She easily recognized the fur trader at the table near the entrance. His clothes were just too typical. The man sitting at the same table seemed to be a customer of him.
At the next table there sat a man and a woman of which Peya guessed that they were no merchants at all. They just seemed to be workers, maybe in some shop in the quarter. But they obviously were either in a relationship or working very closely together.
Another table further was seated a man with very fine clothes but very rude manners. So he obviously also was in the clothes trade in some way or another. But she could not really guess what he was doing.
The next one was easy again. His traditional clothes clearly indicated that he was carpenter on his travels.

Before she could examine more of the customers, Ori came back and talked about family business. Peya giggled. ,,Yeah, family business is often a struggle. You always should have a big family, so the chance is bigger to have someone that really likes to continue the family business." Again she giggled. ,,They didn't have this success with me though. So here I am, the black sheep, the rotten apple. Oh, don't worry, I'm absolutely with the law! Mostly. Usually. Well... at the moment. But they wanted me to become a florist! Can you imagine that?"

Peya really seemed to be in high spirits, which also didn't change when Ori talked ,bad' about halflings. ,,No, no. I'm not interested in upside down. I always get so dizzy then. But it really is a pity that there are no more hin here. You say, there were hin here? Are they on their travels again? Or what did become of them?"

,,But yes, back to business." She took another sip from her ale. ,,As I said I am not here to turn the city upside down... I am more interested in turning it inside out." Peya grinned cheekily and winked at the barkeeper but then immediately got more serious again. ,,Actually I am searching for something. A book, to get to the point. Word is, here would be a good place to start looking for something like that?"

[Corria Firegrass]

Ori thought for a second. The little girl was enthusiastic but she talked about being the black sheep of her family the same way one would talk about a minor inconvenience, like losing some trinket that was perhaps pretty, but not at all useful in any way. He honestly felt a little bit stung, though he wasn't being personally insulted in any way. The concept of family was absolutely sacred to Ori and he felt like this girl's lack of much bother on the topic of losing hers was tantamount to sacrilege.

Still, her comments made Ori think to Alianna, his beautiful but aimless daughter, always getting into trouble and talking back. He didn't want to make his daughter feel the way that this girl's family obviously made her feel, but he didn't want her to really have the same attitude to family as the little woman either. It was quite the conundrum.

He also raised an eyebrow at 'mostly' with the law. That sounded like one of those shaky statements that one says purely to leave someone confused as to whether they're trouble or not. Something about the girl worried Ori, but honestly, something about her very much endeared itself to him.

He looked the girl up and down. Messy white hair, pale, dark eyes. She looked as enthusiastic as she spoke though she did seem kinda tired, not overly so, just a little worn out. Perhaps it was the fact that until Ori took it she had been leaning a little bit on her stick thing. Or perhaps it was the way her mouth fell. Who knows. Still, she didn't seem like a bad sort.

"A book?" Ori enquired. He wondered what she could mean by that "What kinda book would ya be lookin for? Can't say we usually have people lookin for them kinda things, s'not like most of the population can read" the bartender leaned across the table and spoke in a low voice to the girl "And it'll cost ya"

[Ickedu]

,,Well, yes, that's where it gets a little embarrassing." Peya also lowered her voice and smiled sheepishly.
,,Actually, I do not really know what I am looking for. I just know a... title... kind of. I know the looks of it and how it should sound, but I have no idea what it means. I even don't know the language."

The halfling hesitated for a moment. There in fact was a little more she knew... but here in Connlaoth something like this could get her in trouble... and there was no use in telling everything as long she did not know if the bartender could help her.

Ah, yes, and there was the other thing she had expected. Information never was for free. She did not like these parts of her searches and she didn't really understand them. Money still was a strange thing to her, she just could not grasp the value of it. Of course she knew how money worked and which things would cost her how much. But there just was no emotion in all this... Money was too abstract to her mind.

But she was used to it and she probably could deal with it. Well, at least as long as money was the required payment. Her customer already had provided her with a small fortune, and had indicated that she could get even more if required.
But here also applied... nobody had to know yet how valuable the information was to her or her customer.

,,Costs should not be the problem. Here's a little one for my ale for a start."

She took out a gold coin that was much too much for an ale, a bowl of stew and even for a night in the best room of the tavern.
She put it onto the countertop with a smile that was intended to seem lavishly. But the look in her eyes was nauseated. She really couldn't stand this part.

,,I already have some gold and coins with me. And I can get some more if it should not be enough."

As soon as the money-part was dealt with, her smile got upfront and honest again.
,,So... what can you tell me about books?"

[Corria Firegrass]

Ori raised an eyebrow and took the coin. The girl clearly had not been digging for information for a very long time and she didn't really know how the mechanics of payment worked. Still he was going to sweep it under the rug for now, if nothing else, because he didn't exactly know what he wanted for this information.

Right, so she was looking for a book without a title, or without a title that meant anything to her, and expected a bartender to be able to help her with it. Ori knew right off the back that he directly would not be able to assist the little person in her task. He could only read Connlaothian, and wasn't exactly well read. But he was a bartender and people came in and out all the time. He might have some knowledge the girl could find of use. Still...

"Right, Bar's closed for the next fifteen minutes, anyone who fancies going behind, over or through the bar, ya know what to expect if ya do"

The announcement elicited groans from the patrons, but they all seemed to be very understanding of the boundaries that had been laid out by their landlord, he had a pretty high level of authority over his patrons. He turned to the lass with a smile and spoke "Right, lets go into the dining room|

[Ickedu]

Peya grinned like a cheshire cat when the bartender invited her to the probably more private room. This had to mean that he knew something to help her and that her search once again was off to a good start.

Quickly she jumped down from the chair she had sat on.

"Thanks. But don't do something indecent back there. I'm too small for that."

Still grinning she once again looked around the room to memorize the present persons and who was seated where. It often was good to know things like that, in case a quick escape should be necessary. Or just to know who had arrived or left while she was talking in the private room.

Peya even took a few moments to plot out a possible escape route that would allow her to try getting back her hoopak.

Then she followed the bartender, curious about what would happen next.

[Corria Firegrass]

Ori entered the living room, much less finely furnished than the tavern and sat at a large oak wood bench around the fire, with a stew bubbling in a cast iron pot over it. The smells were delicious, and it was nearly ready. Next to Ori was a woman who looked about his age who greeted him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek as he sat down, and who greeted Peya with a small smile. Her hair was bright red and her dress was green, they offset eachother well and though she wasn't as attractive as her husband, Helena was certainly a beautiful woman. Ori decided that he would take some time out to eat too. He motioned to Peya to sit at a bench opposite him.

"This is me wife, Helena, I'll introduce ya to the lass if she ever shows herself with bowls and bread"

He picked up a lute beside him and played a few soft notes, speaking over them "Right, now I'd rather ye told me the whole story, whatcha tryin ta find?"

[Ickedu]

Peya waved at Helena, answered the greeting and looked at her candidly.
"Nice to meet you. Hey, I like your hair!"

She giggled and nimbly climbed onto the offered bench. When she looked around the room and  noticed the stew at the fire, her eyes lit up even more and a low growl could be heard from her belly. Apparently she was more hungry than she had thought herself.

Ignoring it for the moment, she looked to Ori again and sat there silently for a while, listening to Ori's lute and thinking.

"The whole story, eh? Well, I like you, so I want to try to be honest with you. And that means, that I really can't tell you the whole story for a start, as long as I don't know, where you stand in all this. But I will tell you as much as I can."

"My name is Perindyenna, the Seeker, of the clan Whistlewood in Summervale. Yep, that's in Serendipity. But I like you, so leave out most of my title and just call me Peya. Currently I'm on my journey through the world, and while I'm traveling anyway, I offer my knack for finding things to anyone who has lost something. Sooo... If you are missing your bottle opener or your missy or the diary of your grandsire or anything like that, I am your girl."

Peya appeared proud when talking about her talent. And not in a exaggerated way, but she seemed to be really honest and certain about it.

"Well, maybe not really right now. Because at the moment I am on the search for another customer. Please don't ask me about who my customer is, I never talk about something like that."

"For this customer I am searching for a book. And word on the street is, that here in your nice tavern might be a good place to start the search. As I have told you, I do not know very much about the book, just the title and..."

Peya hesitated for a moment and from now on seemed to be very careful about what she wanted to tell and what she still wanted to keep secret.

"...and kind of how it looks. I can't describe it to you right now, but... yes, I would recognize it when I see it... and... could show someone... how to be able to do the same."

"Of course I could have asked in the libraries or the church, but... as long as I do not know more, I thought it would be better to try more unofficial ways first. Not everything... is met with an open mind here in Connlaoth."

"There's not much more that I can tell you at the moment. Maybe that I have quite some coins and gold that my customer is willing to invest into the search, and that I am willing to do everything in my power to find the book."

"For a start I thought about not even searching for the book itself, but for someone who knows about books or deals with them, or someone who knows about languages, about the old tales or about... other... arts, in which books are important."

"Oh, and don't worry, I am not here to steal the book or something like this. My goal at the moment is only to find out where the book is located. So there's nothing against the law."