Arc 721, 10 Vhalar
It was an overcast Vhalar trial, which happened to be a perfect reflection of the mortalborn’s mood. Unsure exactly why she was so vexed, Natalia simply went about her business in Almund. There were taverns to frequent and things to learn, and Grayson was expecting to meet up with her in the afternoon for some sort of lessons. He was determined to cram as much knowledge into her head as he could, as quickly as he could, while the young woman was simply content to survive the instruction with most of her brain cells intact. Perhaps that was the source of her irritation – being tired.
Her cousin had been adamant that her life depended on what she learned now as opposed to over a natural course of time. The faster she learned, the more able Natalia would be able to survive should someone catch up with her. Now that she was aware of varying groups of people – family and beyond – that were interested in her, in one way or another, time was of the essence. There was additional talk of perhaps leaving Scalvoris for the time being, but she hadn't made up her mind on that matter yet.
Grayson had a lot to offer in the way of skills and experience, but there were moments where he failed to realize he was pushing Natalia harder than she had ever been pushed before, with very little downtime in-between. She was a quick and clever student, but the nuances of teaching could be lost on those who had never done so before. Time to process information was often crucial, but it was a luxury they couldn’t afford.
Her task for the morning was to go and collect interesting tidbits of information from the locals. Grayson hadn’t been specific, other than ‘interesting’, depending on his protégé to separate garbage from gold. The young woman had set her sights on the Prospect Tavern, just outside Almund. There were some odd rumors around about the place and its location was just off the beaten path enough to gain her interest. The trek out didn’t take long, and before she knew it, Natalia was walking through the front door.
It wasn’t the worst place she had seen, nor the best. According to Grayson, one generally needed to hedge their bets. Seedy taverns were great for information, but someone such as Natalia would stand out a great deal, and there was a higher likelihood of a nefarious sort taking exception to nosing around. Higher-class establishments, which she could easily blend into, were not often hotbeds of intriguing rumor, unless one was interested in how much money someone was wasting on frivolous things. The Prospect happened to be in that sweet spot of catering to a variety of sorts, and a well-dressed young woman wouldn’t appear too out of place. At least not enough to attract the wrong sort of attention. Keeping a low profile was essential to melting into the woodwork of an establishment.
Nodding to the barkeep, Natalia kept her head up, heading to a corner table. Positioning herself in a corner allowed maximum visibility of the room, which seemed to be quite busy for the time of trial. An ale was quickly ordered, and while waiting for it to arrive, the young woman cast golden eyes about the room. From what she could observe, there were all the typical pairings and personalities one might come to expect in a tavern. Something she knew from all her previous experience people watching, however, was to pay particular attention to the seats at the bar.
Letting her eyes travel across the room to that very location, she noted exactly what she expected to find - individual people who hadn't arrived with others. In her experience, solitary people tended to sit at the bar itself, looking for conversation. When one was trying to initiate conversation, it always helped to have a juicy morsel of information to interest others. Failing that, the barkeep was generally a very good source of information and most times wasn't too concerned about who said information was given to, or who might be listening.
Two gentleman sat at the bar, deep in their cups. Perfect. Perhaps she wouldn't have to employ any of the normal shenanigans Grayson had taught her to loosen lips. Besides, shenanigans were best employed by people more experienced in their use, and Natalia was woefully light on trade-craft currently. She knew people though, and could stumble through investigating in a competent manner when required.
Her ale arrived promptly, and wishing to get back to observing, she paid for the drink, provided an ample tip and sent the server on her way. Once that was done, Natalia noted conversation at the bar, turning her head to look out the window, but clearly able to hear the two men chatting. "I was talkin' to me neighbor a few trial ago, and heard that no one still knows what happen'd to Berlewin. He jus' vanished! Shop's got sum weird noises goin' on too. All sorts of weirdness around that place." The man speaking, who looked to be older, was probably one drink past where he should have stopped, judging by the cups in front of him, but his words caught the interest of the other man sitting at the bar. "Still? I heard from a traveler that came through the port that that Liza from Egilrun is missing too. And wasn't it The Bones that died? All about the same time too."
Mention of The Bones caught her attention. Woe had mentioned a fortune teller by that name that was either missing or killed. Apparently, it was option number two - killed. And more people were missing. Cassion had mentioned both groups to her at the Feast - the missing and the dead. There was a correlation between the Immortal Audrae, the Warden and the missing, or at least Cassion had felt Audrae was hiding them. The ones that had been killed, Natalia wasn't sure what part they played, or if they were part of some other situation. It seemed in Almund that they had one of each and that was good enough for Natalia. It was a place to start at least.
Their conversation wore on, and apparently mention of the port in Almund triggered something in the older man. "I try no' to go to the docks anymore. Dangerous place, Port Diablo. I hear there's a mage there that can near get anything one's heart desires. For a price though." Shaking his head, the other man took a drink from his own cup. "Damn mages. Dangerous lot, right there. No business mucking about."
Smiling a bit, the young woman committed what she had overheard to memory, delighted in the fact that all that had been required to complete her assignment for the trial was to sit down and open her ears, proving that information gathering wasn't always a chore. Quickly finishing her ale, she waited until a few more people had entered and left the tavern before making her own retreat and swiftly moving back towards Almund. Grayson would be irritated if she were late and besides, Natalia was never late.
The Sapphire Inn was bustling with activity, but she quickly moved past the tavern portion and up to where her and Grayson had rented rooms. She needed to grab something out of her room before meeting up with him, only needing a trill or two. Unlocking her room, the young woman quickly moved into the room, mind focused on the item she needed to take with her.
Where her mind should have been focusing, was the interior of her room. As soon as the door shut behind her, a masked figure moved from behind it. Natalia, hearing the floorboard squeak, whirled and spotted the intruder, hand immediately going for the dagger at her waist. The attacker's hand shot out to stop her motion, grabbing her wrist quickly. Luckily, Grayson had just gone over how to break a wrist grab with her, so she focused all her strength on breaking the point where the thumb and other fingers met on his grasp. It was a weak, mechanical point, and easy to break if one knew how. Pushing her wrist against that spot, Natalia managed to get her wrist free and immediately stepped back, using the separation to finally pull her dagger.
Golden eyes sparkling with a bit of mischief, she quickly figured out what was going on and decided to play along for the sake of training. The 'attacker' didn't have a weapon, but that didn't really concern her. She did, and if Natalia had to guess, that was the whole point of the exercise. Keeping her elbows in, as Grayson had shown her, she waited for something to happen. Apparently, elbows telegraphed one's attack more times than not, so he had told her that keeping them down and in would help catch another off guard.
What she hadn't anticipated, however, was how difficult it actually was not to throw an elbow out on occasion. He always responded by whacking it hard, trying to teach her the lesson, but it was slow going. Raising her other hand in front of her face, she knew that when using a dagger, the free hand was needed to block and protect, and shouldn't be out wiggling about.
Before she was able to respond, the figure shot out a hand and tweaked her nose, causing her to push the hand away with an annoyed grunt. Chuckling, Grayson pulled off the mask and tossed it at her. "Better. You got out of the grab. That gave you the chance to get to your dagger. Everything fell apart after that, but still, it's progress."
Arching an eyebrow gently, the young woman re-sheathed her dagger. "I figured out it was you the moment you pulled the exact maneuver that you had just taught me how to escape from. Sloppy." Shrugging, he flopped down in the chair nearby and lounged, considering her. "Did you uncover anything while you were out and about?"
Indeed she had.
