Glancing at Asmani for backup, Rawiya smiles brightly.
"Yes, yes. We have enjoyed the beans from yesterday so much.
"But, dear friend, I have another request as well."
Rawiya crouches beside the coffee vendor and says softly, "We have been asked to get in touch with someone from the trading group "Hundred Fingers". Do you know where we might seek such information?"
The woman’s brow furrows. ”Trading group? That’s a weird way to put it, effendi. They’re nothing more than a gang of petty thieves, most of them children and halflings. Usually they are the ones who ‘get in touch’ with you when you walk around the market, relieving us honest people from our coin with their greasy little hands.” She spits on the ground. ”What’s your business with them? I can assure you they have no use for silks!”
Unfortunate necessity., Theshen thinks, leaving Rawiya to respond.
"Oh? Well, as usual, my information is not complete. Isn't that always the case with rumors?"
"Nonetheless, I have been tasked with getting in touch with them. Is there some way to have a short conversation?"
There’s a tint of suspicion in the saleswoman’s reply: ”My dear, are you really a merchant? You should know by now that incomplete information is worse than good information!”
The woman adjusts her headdress and starts collecting the coffee cups. ”Just run around the bazaar with an open coin purse and the brats will be upon you like devils upon a pure soul. Or, even better, go to Beggar’s Alley, if you’re in a rush to lose even the clothes you wear!”
Rawiya drags her fingers through the dust on the ground.
"This is the bazaar. And we are here.'
She makes a little X mark.
"Can you show me where this Beggar's Alley might be?"
The merchant shrugs and puts her finger on an alley close to the bazaar. "Here, this is where the little devils hide." She seems now in a rush to end any transaction with Rawiya and, once that is done, the woman turns to receive another customer. As a farewell, she mutters "I hope I won't be seeing you being dragged around by the guards anytime soon."
Quietly, Theshen says to his companions:
"My friends, we should get this over with soon. And as the good woman implies, mind our coin purses."
Asmani nods from the back of the group where she's been standing, watching the rest of the bazaar with a practiced eye. Seeking out a darting form, or itinerant shadows by the edges that could reveal members of the HundredFingers.
Theshen will also keep his eyes open for trouble, especially when the group is stuck moving through a shaded area.
Striking her hands to knock off the dust, Rawiya speaks politely "Thank you. I too hope this doesn't lead us into trouble. You have been most generous in your dealings with us. I will see you tomorrow for more coffee. "
She stands up and walks out of the bazaar toward beggars Alley, turning her head from side-to-side to notice any unexpected movement.
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A short walk later, during which the only thing that seems out of place is the lack of pickpockets around the bazaar, the group reaches their destination.
They see two rows of decrepit wooden shacks separated by an alley that serves more as a filthy runnel than a pathway. Broken wooden doors do little to keep the elements or vermin out, but it is clear there is little within to steal: few of the shacks boast more than a chair or two and several threadbare bedrolls.
A middle-aged woman dressed in a ragged green caftan and a red scarf is ambling up and down the street, advertising some sort of medicine. ”Effendis! You look like the adventurous type, I’m sure you would be interested in my poultices! Something against a serpent’s twisted venom? Or to clean wounds before bandaging? I can assure you, these are marvellous!”
The scholar and the seller of silks spot an interesting necklace peeking out from underneath the woman's scarf. Its tip is a fragment of red amber with a praying mantis inside.
Shu-kri’s blood freezes: she read many tales about the Red Mantis Assassins’s cruelty; these tales were always accompanied by drawings depicting very similar necklaces.
"Thank you, no, effendi. We are here to collect a message. Simply couriers."
Rawiya continues to be on heightened alert for pickpockets, large, strong people, and other threats.
Theshen keeps quiet in this place, at least until he has something important to point out to his companions.
The woman perks up, even more interested in the group than before. ”Oh, really? And from whom you need to collect this message? I know everyone around here, might be able to point you in the right direction.”
"I was told that the leader of the trading group 'One Hundred Fingers' had a message they wanted delivered."
Rawiya squirms a bit and looks uncomfortable. Are we even supposed to know who they are?
She looks over her shoulder, trying to find Asmani, but then returns her gaze to the woman.
Asmani trails the group as they enter the less savory areas of the city, allowing her natural instincts to come to the fore so that she's soon walking in the shadows, passing behind stalls, and otherwise fading from view.
She's standing back and to the far side of the street when the middle aged lady approaches her friends; not seeing any reason for concern, Asmani slows and stops behind a partially collapsed awning that blocks the entrance to an abandoned shop.
”Ah, yes, sweet Naleth! I see her often around these parts, such a lovely little lady, very bright future ahead of her, yes, she has,” the woman says very loudly. ”I can tell her you are searching for her, if I see her around. To whom is this message? That girl, I’ll tell you, she’s always running about, she gets so confused sometimes!”
The woman does not seem to have noticed Asmani and the rogue herself sees suspiciously little movement in the area.
You'd think the blasted woman would keep her voice lowered!
"Thank you effendi. You are most gracious in helping us complete our task.
"I'm a little confused myself about where we are actually supposed to deliver the message. I was hoping that talking to the person sending it would clarify the situation."
Rawiya looks around to see if she sees any movement, or any young woman who might be in hearing distance.
The stillness in the area catches Asmani's attention; an alley like this should be a busy little thoroughfare for all manner of rogues, ruffians, urchins and the like. For it to be this silent, this deserted...
Asmani lets the kukri's slide into her palms and turns to scrutinize the middle aged lady again, trying to get some sense of her, some confirmation as to her suspicions.
”I see! Where are you staying, my dear? I will pass your message along to Naleth as soon as I see her and she’ll no doubt send one of her little friends to arrange a proper meeting, I’m sure.”
Meanwhile, Asmani catches a glimpse of a small necklace peeking out from underneath the woman’s scarf, its tip a piece of red amber with a praying mantis enclosed – the symbol of the Red Mantis Assassins. She had seen the brutal handiwork of one of their members many years ago and her stomach still churned at the memory.
Processing this information makes it hard for her to be clear-headed on why Beggar's Alley could be this quiet.
A bucketful of adrenaline dumps into Asmani's veins as she realizes what the necklace portends, and she instinctively tightens her grip on the handles of her blades.
The Hundred Fingers have gone to ground. Beggar's Alley is silent as the grave. And a Red Mantis Assassin is waltzing around pretending to be a common street vendor.
Chest tight with tension, unsure as what to do, Asmani creeps through the shadows, reversing her grip on her knives and sliding their blades up into her sleeves to hide them but still keeping them in hand. When she's a few yards behind the middle aged woman, she steps out into view.
"Good morning," she says, voice taut with tension. "Would you know why the Alley is so quiet? Where Naleth is hiding, and why?"
Sorkesh is content to listen to all the goings on from the others.
He decides to keep his piece for now, since he realizes his usual blunt manner probably won't help here.
I do NOT wish to tell this woman where we are staying.
"Perhaps Naleth could meet me this afternoon? I need to inspect some silks at the shop of Yehud and we could meet inconspicuously there at noon."
The woman smiles at Asmani, somewhat startled. ”Oh, hello my dear! I was just telling this nice lady that I haven’t seen Naleth and her little friends for some time now.” She turns to Rawiya again. ”No problem, I will pass it along as soon as I see sweet her. Always happy to help when I can.”
She puts the wares she had tried to sell back on her purse and begins moving away. ”Very well, time to move along! Be safe now, and if you see Naleth tell her I said hi!”
Good, Rawiya is being cautious. This assassin is not to be trusted.
After the woman moves out of sight, Rawiya turns to the group, keeping her voice low.
"Perhaps if we wait here a few minutes, the activity will resume. I wonder what stilled it? What are we missing here?
"In any event, if Naleth doesn't contact us soon, let's grab a bite to eat and then we can wander toward Yehud's shop. "
Shu-Kri whispers, "She was a Red Mantis assassin."
Rawiya's eyes widen.
"Red Mantis? I have heard stories of them. No wonder the local gangs are hiding. Who would want to draw their attention!"
As she realizes what she just said, Rawiya's face looks even more startled.
"It cannot be a good sign that she was taking interest in us!"
Asmani observes the woman as she walks away with a feeling the poultice seller was hiding something – what exactly it was difficult to say.
Theshen gulps at the name of the Red Mantis'.
"Hopefully her interest was more curiosity than specific."
"No, I'd say not," says Asmani. "She was definitely lying to us. I'd wager her presence is why the Hundred Fingers have gone to ground. Perhaps they've done something to draw her ire? Stolen something that she wants?"
She rubs the back of her head in frustration. "Either way, this complicates matters greatly. Shall we continue?"
Slipping her kukri's into their sheathes, she resumes prowling along the alley, searching for likely members of the gang.
Rawiya moves slowly through the alley, dawdling and looking around to give someone an easy chance to approach her.
The group starts looking around the alley, mostly finding broken pieces of furniture, rats and all manner of junk inside every one of the 15 or so shacks. They are about to leave the last of the shacks when a loud bang echoes outside, leaving everyone’s ears ringing; they only have time to look at each other before another three thunder-like bangs.
”Vermins, come out or you’ll be getting a beating! Actually, you’ll be getting a beating anyhow, but it'll be worse if I have to look for ya'll!” Bellows a guttural voice. There are no windows in this particular shack and there’s no way of peeking what’s outside without risking being seen.
Theshen looks at the others.
"That sounds like a vile person, whom we should stop.", he says with mounting firmness of tone.
Rawiya pulls a piece of wool from her pouch and begins humming softly and moving her fingers.
Everyone hears the bark of a pit bull, sounding as if he were next to her.
"Stop where you are and let us out! Or I will send this dog out first!" she shouts.
Shu-Kri quietly sets up near the door, bracing with her longspear.
There is a moment of silence before another voice – a woman's – replies: "That dog of yours is sounding mighty strange, halfling! Bet fleas bite harder than this pooch!"
Shu-kri manages to dart a quick look outside whilst she positions herself and sees a man and a woman wielding saps; the woman is walking towards the shack where the group is, but the man seems unwilling to move forward.
Shu-kri also spots the Red Mantis agent from before on the roof of another shed. She has a hand crossbow aimed at the entrance of the group's shack.
The situation becoming ever more dire, Theshen decides to pray openly for aid from Isis.
Theshen is right, it's time to prepare for the worst
Rawiya draws her bow and nocks an arrow.
"I thought this errand seemed too easy!
Sorkesh draws his gladius and casts a spell on it: « կախարդական զենքը » . .
A short woman with dark hair and skin reaches the shack entrance and squints at the group inside. Without turning her back, she yells, most likely addressing the Red Mantis agent on the roof: ”Ma’am, there’s people here, but they ain’t halflings and they sure as hell ain’t kids.” And then, to the group: ”it’d be a good thing if y’all stopped with this hullabaloo and scrammed before things get painful.” She wields a dirty and overused baton, repeatedly hitting it against her hand, waiting.
The agent, perched on the roof, remains silent, most likely still aiming her crossbow at the entrance.
"Are you Naleth? Or do you know where we can find her?"
"Hello to you too", Sorkesh says drily to the bossy newcomer.
Theshen nods at the newcomer.
"Many greetings. We seek Naleth. Could you direct us to her?"
”Do I look like some s$%#-eating half-arsed halfling pickpocket to ya? Stop asking questions and scram before I lose my patience, knobheads! And shove those many greetings where the sun don’t shine,” the woman says after spitting on the ground. She stops playing with her baton and points her thumb towards the alley’s exit.
The female thug moves to the side, freeing the shack's doorway. Theshen sees a man placing himself at the other side of the door, wielding a similar baton – albeit slightly less worn down.
So Naleth is a halfling.
Rawiya steps between the two thugs, peering carefully around the alley and rooftops before moving out into the alley.
Keeping her bow ready, she walks in the direction of the main bazaar, intending to find Yehud's booth.
"Perhaps we should find a bite to eat, since it's getting towards midday."
Shu-Kri crinkles her nose in disgust at the thuggish behavior. SOMEthing untoward is going on here. But what?
Theshen blinks in surprise at the crassness of the woman. He normally got a better response even in the slums of Sothis.
He replies to Rawiya:
"Yes, let us go elsewhere."