All that glitters

[Inali]

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Bounty information: Someone has stolen an antique bracelet from Isabella Doracre's home. As it is a family heirloom, she is desperate to see it returned to her.
Reward: 40gn and 1 free baked good from the shop

Saun 2, 716 – Early morning
City Center, Ne’haer

Inali pressed her back against the wall on the eastern edge of the city square. The first sun had yet to reach the top of the sky and so her position remained cloaked in shadow, her blue skin blending into the inky darkness. An astute citizen could pick her out if they looked directly at the wall, but few had any reason to do so. Conversations flowed around the Edisi and she breathed slowly, listening to snippets of each one in turn. The majority of conversations concerned the potential fishing spots for the day and whether the wind would be favorable to the Biqaj and humans who sought to eke their living from the lake. Inali shifted her attention to a group of fashionably dressed women who had just rounded the corner to enter the city square. They giggled and fanned themselves with delicate paper fans as they made their way from business to business. She could hear fragments of their conversation and slid against the wall, edging closer to the group in order to hear more.

The obvious leader of the group smiled cruelly as she spoke,

“…she deserved it, I think. No husband, no…”

Her voice faded out as she fanned her cheeks. Giggles erupted from the group moments later. A second voice joined the conversation, providing a counterpart to the first,

“Caerith, you’d be furious if your necklace was stolen like Isabella’s bracelet was, it’s hardly fai---“

Caerith shot a sharp glare at the woman before interjecting rudely,

“But I am not a widowed Doracre. I am a proud Lidanse, and I am well taken care of. It would never happen to…”

Their voices faded out as they entered a nearby café. Inali pushed herself off the wall with the palms of her hands. Was it true? Had Isabella Doracre really been stolen from? Inali pulled out her journal and jotted down the current date, her location, and a brief notation about what she had heard. She included Caerith Lidanse’s name hesitantly. While some of the gossip she had collected from the rich women had been truthful, about half of their stories were simply made up.

Invigorated by her newest lead, the Eidisi made her way to Doracre’s Delicacies. It was staple among the wives of the fisherman. They could sit at an outdoor table and split a pastry with their children right before their husbands finished the last haul of the evening. Isabella was gracious through it all, often offering a cool glass of water and a smile to the fisherman who came by during lunch to visit their partners.

[Inali]

When Inali arrived to Doracre’s Delicacies, the front doors of the cafe had been propped open to allow the lake breeze to cool the growing number of patrons that mingled around the large cases of freshly baked pastries and cakes. Isabella and her staff carried trays of pastries, took orders, and carried empty plates back to the kitchen in a dizzying dance. Inali placed her order for a berry tart and coffee and then paid one of the servers four silver nels. It would be foolish to try and speak to Isabella now. She would have to wait a break or two until the sun caused all but the most ravenous of patrons to seek shelter within their homes. For the time being, the Eidisi nibbled at the tart and listened to the conversations of the Ne’haerians around her, marvelling at how busy they all seemed.

After a break and a half, Inali stood and approached Isabella. The blonde shopkeeper was counting the remaining number of blueberry muffins on the table when Inali approached her. The Eidisi looked from left to right before speaking in a low voice, ensuring that no nearby patrons were within earshot.

“Are you missing bracelet?”

Isabella’s eyebrows raised and she saw the woman pivot and look for the nearest staff member. A tall human male with a flour coated apron approached and placed his hands on the counter, looking between Isabella and Inali. He didn’t speak, and instead watched the two women converse. Isabella looked visibly relieved and took a moment to study Inali before replying,

“I am, but I took down the bounty board post a few days ago. The stress of having so many people ask me about the ordeal has been too much. They mean well, but they haven’t found anything. How did you learn of this?”

The mistrust was clear in the woman’s voice. Inali chuckled to herself and replied,

“I do not have bracelet. I heard woman talking about jewels. Cae-ryn...?”

The Eidisi frowned and flipped through the notebook she had been holding in her hand. She studied the page for a moment before correcting her previous pronunciation.

“Cae-rith. Lid-anse.”

Isabella’s eyes narrowed at the mention of the arrogant Caerith. She turned to the male human and he shrugged his shoulders, obviously unsure of what he was to contribute to the conversation. Isabella sent him back to the kitchen with a light wave of her hand and then gestured for Inali to follow her to the back corner of the store. When they arrived, Isabella began speaking again.

“Caerith shouldn’t know of this. While the people that have approached me have been… eager, they aren’t the type to gossip. They’re too busy searching for the bracelet at the market, as if it would ever show up there.”

The woman shook her head and clasped her hands together.

“And I posted the bounty in a tavern… I know Caerith would never be caught dead there. How did she know?”

Confusion and pain colored Isabella’s face and the Eidisi reached out a hand to gently pat the woman’s shoulder. She would feel similarly if she lost one of her own prized possessions.

“Tell me about bracelet. What does look like?”

Isabella wiped the tears away that had begun to well in the corner of her eyes and began describing the ornate silver bracelet in great deatail.

“It has flowers on either side of it, with three small dots to represent the middle. And there are five yellow gems, all cut in half spheres. Three are arranged down the middle, diagonally, while the last two are arranged on opposite ends of the bracelet.”

Inali nodded and scribbled the description down in her notebook in her coded script.

“I will find bracelet. Do not talk to Caerith. Act…”

The Eidisi paused, searching for the word.

“Normal?” Isabella interjected helpfully.

Inali nodded.

“Yes, act normal.”

[Inali]

Inali peeked out from the side of the building, her shoulder trailing behind her, pressing against the hard stone of the eastern wall. She had waited within the small shadowed area between two buildings for over two breaks. Caerith and her entourage would eventually resurface from the restaurant they had chosen to eat lunch in, but they could easily spend another break hidden within the eatery. Her own stomach protested loudly at the treatment and the Eidisi shot a sharp glance downward. She had already been spotted more than once. Children, stray cats, and perceptive merchants had all scowled into the darkness of the small alleyway, not so subtly announcing that her hiding spot was far from perfect. Of course, anyone would be hard pressed to find an adequate hiding spot during the heat of Saun. If she was more agile, she could hide atop the roof of a nearby building, but Inali knew she wouldn’t be able to lift her body weight by more than a few inches. Such tricks were best left to well muscled miscreants.

After another half break, Caerith and her group finally exited a building a few shops down. The group was giggling incessantly, and she saw that a few of the girls in the back were struggling to draw breath. After a few more jokes, Caerith waved her hand - the customary signal that the shopping marathon of the day was finished. Inali stifled a yawn and reviewed her plan in her head for the tenth time. She would simply need to follow Caerith until she was alone. Nodding to herself, Inali slipped from her hiding spot and followed ten steps behind Caerith. Inali smirked to herself - the arrogant sow didn’t look back once. After six bits, Caerith was turning the corner on a nearly desolate street only a few blocks from her sprawling home. Inali picked up her pace until she was jogging directly behind the woman. She pushed her right shoulder into Caerith’s left shoulder hard as she passed the woman. A few trills later, Inali turned in mock surprise. Caerith was red-faced and swearing loudly about a ‘damn blue skinned mongrel’.


Inali surged forward and grabbed Caerith’s delicate wrist as she towered over the lithe human. Inali did not mince words - she had no time to savor the shock on Caerith’s fearful face.


“Isabella Doracre’s bracelet. You will show me where is. I know where is. If you lie, I will…”


Inali paused and grinned.


“Hurt you. You will be not normal, Caerith. And Isabella will know of bracelet.”

Inali quickly recited the description of the bracelet and shoved Caerith forward roughly.


The terrified woman turned on her heel and began marching back to the center of the city. Inali began to worry, wondering if she had miscalculated this part of the plan. Was Caerith simply running for help? Inali remained a few paces behind the woman and ran through the list of excuses she had prepared earlier. In the moment, none of them seemed promising.
After a few tense minutes, Isabella stood outside a nondescript shop and pointed to the door with a shaky hand.


“I gave it to a merchant in there. Jek. He was to hold onto it for me. I can’t keep it in my home, my maids might see it. I promise you, that’s the truth!”


Inali smirked again, and breathed in deeply before replying. As she drew the air through her nose and into her lungs, she searched her body for the gift that the Goddess Audrae had given her. She had never used it before, but the Immortal had been clear enough in the sharp burst of images. As she exhaled, Inali called upon the power of her mark, smiling at the cold shiver that ran down her spine.


“I know. Jek gave me bracelet before your lunch. I have give bracelet to Isabella. I wanted to see if you lie.”


The color drained from Caerith’s face. The shaking in her hand spread to entire torso as tears began welling in her eyes. Words tumbled out of her mouth in a jumbled mess,


“I--I was just so j-jealous. Isabella has everything. Everyone l-loves her.”


Inali stepped clear of the woman and left her to her crying fit. The door of Jek’s shop opened easily and she pointed to the crying woman just outside the doorway.


“Caerith has had regrets. Want bracelet now.”


The young shopkeeper laughed and nodded, pulling the felt wrapped parcel from a cabinet to his left. It seems that he had witnessed Caerith’s mood swings more than once. Inali retrieved the bracelet from the countertop and checked it against Isabella’s description. It was genuine. Smiling, the Eidisi exited the shop and looked at Caerith once more. The woman had managed to regain a bit of her composure.


Her gift was fading already. Inali pushed past the woman and made her way back to Isabella’s shop with the wrapped bracelet clutched tightly in her fist. By the time the gift wore off, the Eidisi was too far away for Caerith to confront. Many Biqaj reported hearing Caerith’s screams of rage from the Academies. With a sly smile, Inali walked into the open doors of Doracre’s Delicacies, glittering prize in hand.

[Djinn]

Inali

Story: 3/5
Collaboration: 0/5
Structure: 5/5

Knowledges

[columns=2]Isabella Doracre: Wealthy and Beloved
Caerith Lidanse: Jealous and Bitter
Intimidation: Threaten to hurt them
Audnev: The Blind Leading the Blind makes finding easier[/columns]

Loot: The promised bounty

Comments: I love how you write. Inali, for a character that should be dull, is very vibrant and cerebral. That being said, this thread was confusing in parts, and I didn't quite follow along. The story itself was very straight forward, but I don't know if that style lent itself to the thread. Audnev could have been used for a really great whodunit? thread. That aside, though, I still love Inali's internal thoughts and processes. Well done.