In the Dark of the Night

In the Light of the Day 2

The morning after, the group decided to skip their usual exercises, as they were still quite sore from their journey. Mapstone had told them that training thenceforth was at their discretion, as she couldn't join them in most activities, aside from archery practice at a nearby guard station. Instead, after some morning chores, they asked her to go over her ideas for work assignments.

"So, where to start..." Mapstone said, as she opened a drawer at her desk and pulled out a small stack of papers. She started flipping through them. "We often get requests from people in and around the city looking for help that the city guard can't or won't provide. They know we're always eager to train. Some are just blatant requests for free manual labor...I try to weed those out. Guard duty's not bad, though. It's good practice." She put one of the leaflets aside. "Others are just rich nobles looking for a misplaced trinket, like...this one. Lady Knickers Twistia has lost her favorite sapphire ring, and would be overjoyed if we were to help her find it...fat chance."

"I beg your pardon," said Del. "But Lady what?"

"Lady Nicole Wistia."

"Because I thought I heard..."

"You did, it's a nasty nickname she's earned at court. She's all sun and roses if you keep her happy, but as soon as she has the slightest problem, she soon makes it everyone's problem."

"I've known people like that," Sparrow said.

"She's not the worst noble I know of, but she might be the worst company. Anyway, she's lost her stupid ring and would be ever so grateful if we could find the time to search for it. I do keep a sort of Lost & Found vault, in case we find anything important-looking, but if we don't have it already, it's not worth wasting our time. She probably dropped it in her toilet. But enough about her, here's the one I was looking for. A good one for you to cut your teeth on - a missing person case. It's a bit old, but good for working on those investigative skills, and unlike rings, people don't just lose themselves down the loo."

She skimmed the letter, then handed it over to Del, who was nearest. The letter was written on the back of a leaflet with a woodcut of a fine-featured elf on the front, with the word 'MISSING' in large letters beneath. There were also some details about him in a smaller font. Trapys Verdan, eldakar, tall, with light skin and bright green hair. The leaflet also mentioned that he always wore a bronze brooch that depicted a raven, and finished with some contact details and the promise of a reward for any useful information about him. Del passed the leaflet around.

"It's the co-owner of a local tavern, The Fallen Spire, out in the Ditch - that's the part of the city outside the gates. Missing for almost a year. We actually did try to investigate it back when it happened. No luck, but frankly they weren't the sharpest recruits. That letter is from the other co-owner, Harry. It seems that he thinks there's something about the anniversary that makes it worth trying again. Who knows if you'll find anything, but that tavern's a great place to establish some connections, so the least we can do is try."

"Sounds good ta me," said Del. "Plus, it's gettin' on towards lunchtime. We could eat at the tavern, maybe meet some people."

"How strange that an eldakar could go missing here without any fuss," Eis'Libe said. "Due to our dwindling numbers, the Elvish Nation likes to keep abreast of our whereabouts. Was Landra'Feya contacted at the time?"

"We sent a letter to our ranger contacts there, but they told us that they knew of no one by that name," Mapstone said. "As far as why no one made a fuss, the official finding of the city guard was that he left willingly."

"It could be an assumed name," Eis'Libe mused. "Or perhaps he was born in Galea, and was never registered in Landra'Feya. Rare, but it does happen. Verdan is a common surname, that's not much help."