"Excuse me, have you seen a woman with four scorpion tails?"
The imposing Kulshedra warrior stared at Moryandal as if he grew a second head. "Haven't the foggiest."
Clearly, she was at the limit of how much time she could pay to strangers. Without further words, she pushed past Moryandal, almost shoving him to the ground. He swallowed an apology - she was out of sound range anyway, and the best recourse would be to just let her on her way and continue his search.
He turned around, combing the crowd of the passers-by. There was no sight of Nepaket, and he was still as much at a loss as he was when he began. He hoped that he could find her quick - she could probably escape from most predicaments, but additional caution never hurt. What if someone tried to capture her for their own nefarious gains?!
He had to hurry. As he headed towards the large building, presumably an inn; a dirty-looking elf in tattered leather whistled at him. "You. Yes, you. You're looking for that scorpion creature?"
Finally, a lead! Moryandal breathed a sigh of relief, jogging up to him. "I am! Have you seen her?"
The elf tittered, folding his arms. "That'll cost you, kid. Nothing is free here in Zantaric."
Right. That sounded fair - he was familiar with the work of information brokers. He reached for his purse, but his fingers just grasped at empty air. Confused, he looked down, only to see it missing. Of course. He should have listened to advice and left it at the circus - he couldn't even recall when was it that he could have gotten it stolen.
The broker let out a disappointed sigh at his pathetic scrambling. "Figures. Bye, kid."
Moryandal almost felt bad for taking up his time. He muttered an apology at the elf's back before awkwardly shuffling away. Perhaps he should stop asking locals for help - now he didn't even have anything to offer.
A sudden crash nearby alerted him. He was so startled he almost jumped, but the people passing him by on the street didn't even seem to have noticed. Was it commonplace here in Zantaric?! He couldn't imagine why would Nepaket want to take a stroll around here - or why would anyone choose to live in such a dangerous town!
It could be not related to their runaway, but Moryandal couldn't just let it be - someone could be hurt! He justified it to himself easily; maybe if he helped out, people would be willing to give him some information without payment. He quickly headed in the direction of the sound.