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Marbyn rolls on up to see what is going on with Bethana along with everyone else. She doesn't ask what's bothering her because that being done once already is enough.
Bethana's face shines with gratitude as she hurries everyone into the Rusty Dragon.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, wiping away the tears on her cheeks, she begins, "I can't find Miss Ameiko! When I woke this morn, I found that she hadn't started breakfast...for the first time since I can 'member! I knocked at her door and when i din't hear nothin', I dared to go in. Her bed wasn't messed up and I found this..." she says, pulling a rumpled piece of parchment from her pocket, offering it to the group.s
Hello, sis!
I hope this letter finds you well, and with some free time on your hands, because we’ve got something of a problem. It’s to do with father.
Seems that he might have had something to do with Sandpoint’s recent troubles with the gob-lins, and I didn’t want to bring the matter to the
authorities because we both know he’d just weasel his way out of it. You’ve got some pull here in town, though. If you can meet me at the Glass-works at midnight tonight, maybe we can figure out how to make sure he faces the punishment he deserves. Knock twice and then three times more and then once more at the delivery entrance and I’ll let you in. In any case, I don’t have to impress upon you the delicate nature of this request. If news got out, you know these local rubes would assume
that you and I were in on the whole thing too, don’t you? They’ve got no honor at all around these parts. I still don’t understand how you can
stand to stay here. Anyway, don’t tell anyone about this. There are other complications as well, ones I’d rather talk to you in person about tonight.
Don’t be late.
Tsuto
Marbyn reads the note, but it doesn't mean much to her. She doesn't know Ameiko well enough to have ever discussed Ameiko's family with her.
"Okay. She has a brother, and he wants to talk to her about their father because he might be mixed up with the goblin attack..."
"That tracks well with what I've been thinking about a resident of town being behind it. But, why meet at the glassworks? Ameiko has a whole inn where they could meet easily enough if the idea is privacy."
"Do we go to the glassworks to look for her?"
Bethana nods at Marbyn's observation, "Indeed...a half-brother! " she says conspiratorially, "You see, his birth caused quite a stir around these parts...he's a half-elf! And Ameiko's parents are both human! so it was obvious that old Lonjiku, Ameiko's father, wasn't the boy's father, and his rage at his wife's indiscretion was the talk of the town for months! Atsuii, Ameiko's mother, never revealed who the father was, and it's a testament to Lonjiku's stubbornness that they remained married. Tsuto was shipped off to the Turandarok Acadamy here in town, ignored by his father and forbidden visits by his mother. Ameiko visited him in secret. That changed when about 6 years ago, they had a big fight in which Tsuto struck Ameiko. I dunno what the fight was about, but it was about then then Ameiko when off from Sandpoint for a year, galivanting about as an adventurer. She returned five years ago for her Ma's funeral. Tsuto was very vocal about his theory that Lonjiku had pushed Atsuii off the cliff to her death, and there was another fight at the funeral. Longjiku almost broke Tsuto's jaw with that cane of his. After that Tsutu cursed his father and left Sandpoint. Ameiko was never able to track him down after that!"
Marbyn certainly listens to Bethana, it's a juicy, if rather sad, story as it turns out. One thing about it leaps out at her to ask Bethana about.
"So, Lonjiku the father and Tsuto are on very bad terms. Ameiko looked for Tsuto and was never able to find him. The last time they were all together was 5 years ago at Atsuii's, Ameiko's mother's, funeral. Tsuto left Sandpoint at that time and hasn't been back since?"
"Am I right thinking that if Tsuto came back recently it would be really hard for him to go unnoticed? I mean, if he had contacted Ameiko she would have told you right? And the letter makes it sound like Ameiko and Tsuto haven't seen each other for a long while."
"It doesn't seem likely, but if Tsuto and Lonjiku buried the hatchet at some point somehow, and Tsuto was staying with Lonjiku, either or both Tsuto and Lonjiku would have let Ameiko know? Does that make sense?"
"So if what I've said so far sounds right, how could Tsuto blow back into town at just the right time, somehow knowing that a person he hasn't spoken with for 5 years has a new big secret?"
"It wouldn't be that hard to hide during the festival, and it's not like the town guard is all that big. If he was careful, Tsuto could have slipped in and stayed hidden. Given the history between him and his father, I don't think they'd be working together." Joanna shrugs.
"I wonder if Jubrayl could have smuggled him in," the young bard says to herself after pondering how Tsuto could have come back unnoticed. Half-elves were not common, and Tsuto's parentage meant that he'd stand out even among them. She shakes her head, none of that was important at the moment.
"Anyway, that's all speculation at the moment. What we do know is that Ameiko's missing and Bethana's already searched the Dragon for her. That just leaves the Glassworks."
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Sergyn is taken by waves of emotion. First dread, that something could happen to his friend as Bethana shows her concern. As he reads the note, he feels confusion, then a bit of curiosity. But as the others start to discuss the possibilities, the mage feels anger. He says "Well, something's wrong. The note says that she was to come at night, which means that it's been many hours. If he wanted to talk, wouldn't she be back by now?"
He says firmly "We can't wait around, we have to go and find out. We'll ask the details to the two directly when we find them."
"Sounds right Joaanna, Sergyn. Whatever might be behind these things, going to the glassworks is the first thing to do."
Joanna makes certain she's ready for anything they may run across. She hopes they'll find Ameiko unharmed, but something about this feels wrong to the young noblewoman.
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The coins make her blush.
The first is a copper, pressed into her palm by a freckled boy who looks at her as if she hung the stars herself. She tries to give it back, but he bolts before she can close her fingers around his wrist. After that she doesn't argue. Each coin lands in her pouch with the weight of debt.
"I didn't do it for this," she says more than once, smiling in apology. "Truly, you should keep it."
But they will not. The children beam. The old fisher nods as if settling an account. Even the grumpiest faces soften when they look at her. Heroes. The word does not sit right in her chest. She feels more like a girl who was frightened and refused to run.
When Bethana motions them inside the Dragon, something in Esgean’s stomach twists before the halfling even speaks. Esgean listens as the story unfolds. It sounds unreal, too tangled to belong to the bright woman who sang from the stage only nights ago. And Ameiko is gone.
Esgean feels heat rise to her face, then drain away. She had asked Ameiko about her place here, about why she chose to root herself in Sandpoint. She had thought it a strange match, this fierce, wandering spirit and a tavern hearth. The thought makes her stomach churn now.
"Oh no," she whispers, almost without meaning to. The family history makes her head spin. It is ugly in a way she does not know how to hold. Secrets and resentment, blows struck in grief, a brother vanished into the world. It feels like rot beneath polished wood.
When Joanna speaks, Esgean clings to the steadiness of it.
"You're right," Esgean says quietly. "We only know one thing. Ameiko is not here." Her hands fold together, fingers cold.
"We don't know that Tsuto wrote that letter. We don't know that he has returned. We don't know that Ameiko answered the summons." She shakes her head faintly. "It's all smoke."
Her eyes drift toward the empty hearth. "All we truly have is her absence."
She draws a slow breath, trying to settle the sick feeling in her chest. She finds herself nodding along with the others; they must see the Glassworks for themselves, and do it now. As quickly as her spindly legs can move her she runs with Rejke at her side.
When the group arrives at the Glassworks she raises her hands in caution. "There may be danger, but if not, we must be careful not to muddle evidence in our haste."
Joanna nods at Esgean's words. True, all they have is Ameiko's absence, but at least they also have a place to look for her.
After hurriedly getting ready, Joanna brushes her fingers across the holy symbol on her breast and says a quick prayer for Ameiko's safety before tucking the silver pendant under her tunic. She hopes that they'll find brother and sister safe and sound, but the way Bethana was worried and the ominous feeling that's settled over her doesn't bode well for that possibility.
Do what good you can, where you can, she tells herself. It was a lesson her father had taught her when she first learned that not everyone lived a nice, comfortable life. She only hopes she can do good here.
Marbyn has to roll her eyes at Esgean's argument that only the intangible is truly tangible. But she is at least discrete when she does so.
"Sure sure, we know nothing and so forth. Doesn't matter, we need to do the same thing regardless. So let's be on our way and get it done."
A purpose determined, the group walks quickly through town towards the Glassworks. On the way, all can see that the factory seems to be in operation, as is usual, plumes of smoke billowing from it's tall smoke stacks.
However, upon nearing the factory, they see that all of the windows facing the street have their curtains drawn.
Trying the three sets of doors, one to the loading area, one to the display area and the last to the reception areas....all are found to be locked!
The outside of the glassworks.
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As Sergyn arrives, he opens his mouth ready to say something without thinking and probably very unwise. He clothes his mouth again and after visible effort to calm himself down, he says "Maybe we try the special knock that was on the letter. What was it, two knocks then three?" After thinking for a while he says, "No, it's three then two. Oh, please just check it will you?" He doesn't seem to be addressing anyone in particular.