• Closed • Descending

[Harpy]

14th Ashan 717

Moira sat outside her house in the middle of busy Ne'haer, crying. Her children were inside, knowing their mama was distraught. Where was Papa, they would ask, and Mama would always shh them, send them off with their dolls. No answers. Never any answers. How could she give them answers, when she knew so little herself?

Her husband, Gregory Hart, had been missing three trials now. It was far too long. Something terrible had befallen him, Moira knew. Her sister whispered that men were men, and when they disappeared like this, there was only one place they would go, but Moira knew that Gregory would never leave her and her three children alone. He was their only breadwinner, a merchant of local herbs he foraged himself from the Willow Woods. Unforgiving work, but easy enough for the unskilled.

But with such a lifestyle, Moira knew he had to make dealings with some ... unsavoury people. The herbs he sold were innocent enough, but she knew they could be mixed into some dangerous concoctions. He never spoke about these dealings, and she never asked, but she knew they happened. And she knew they had to be the reason he was gone now.

She had checked all his old haunts, she had looked everywhere he could have been. Had sent her friend Kana out into the Willow Woods. Nothing. There was only one place he could be, and she knew where it was. The Underground. Surely the Underground.

Moira had posted a notice on the board, looking for anyone who could help her - anyone brave enough to go looking for her husband. She couldn't go herself, she had three mouths to feed. She could only wait, and cry, and hope someone would answer the call for help. Anyone.

[Ismene]

Something about the little scrap of paper fluttering in the wind had caught her eye. It was just a few short sentences scribbled onto what looked like the torn-off edge of one of the larger notices pinned to the board, but there was a desperation in the hurried scrawl that drew her to it before all the others. The writer needed help badly, and was willing to pay well to anyone who could provide it. Ismene had been feeling restless lately. The excitement of arriving in Ne'haer had begun to wear off as she settled into the city's ways and routines, and so she had come to scan the noticeboard in search of a little adventure - and a welcome addition to her rapidly dwindling coin purse, too.

She read the notice more carefully. A missing husband; the worried wife thought he might be in some underground tunnels. Ismene had heard whispers of a world beneath Ne'hear in the taverns she had taken to frequenting, but they were no more than that: whispers. Nobody seemed willing to talk openly of the tunnels; what happened in them or even how to get there. That reticence alone was a clear enough hint that what went on down there was... interesting. She decided on the spot that she would take the job. She considered the few details Moira had provided. The most obvious answer to the question of a missing husband was another woman, but presumably the writer of the notice would not be stupid enough to start throwing round 200 gold nel bounties without having very good reason to think there was something more sinister going on. She would need to find out from this woman exactly what she thought her husband had been doing in the tunnels.

Soon afterwards, she was standing in front of a woman who was sitting on an upturned crate outside the address given in the notice. The woman was sobbing gently. Ismene glimpsed a row of tiny faces peering out of a window in the house behind; like pale upturned moons, watching, waiting. She was suddenly struck by the reality of the situation. The interesting way to make some coin she had been considering just a little while ago suddenly rearranged its features into the shape of a broken family. Ismene was an ambitious woman; could be calculating and ruthless when it suited her; but - perhaps simply because they reminded of the brothers and sisters she had left behind - the sight of those watchful little faces touched something in her, and she knew she would not just be doing this job for the money.

'Moira?' she said softly. 'I saw your notice. About your husband.' The woman looked up, apparently startled to see her standing there. She had been so absorbed in her tears she had not noticed the world around her. She wiped her cheeks on a corner of her apron, and stifled another sob. 'Could you tell me a bit more about him? Ismene asked.

[Harpy]

Moira was startled by the soft voice that addressed her, and she looked up to see a thin and wispy woman standing above her. Wiping her tears away, Moira stood, and nodded, hurriedly. "Yes, thank you," she said, reaching out and clasping Ismene's thinner hand in her own. "I was starting to wonder if anyone would help." She hadn't expected a woman. Not many women she knew were able to brave horrors. Kana was different - her friend was a huntress - but Moira looked over Ismene, and wondered if she would have the skills necessary to do so.

"I'd bring you inside for some tea to talk about it, but, well..." Moira gestured helplessly towards the children looking out the window with curiosity. "I don't want to upset the children." Sighing, she ran a hand through her frazzled hair. "He... well. Gregory is a herb gatherer, out in the Willow Woods," she said, wringing her apron in distress. "He just does it for money, I swear, but herbs, well, they can be mixed into lots of different things, and I know some ... people buy them for dangerous things. Gregory wouldn't get involved, but we need the money..."

Moira sighed, dragged another crate over, and gestured for Ismene to sit before doing the same. "Sometimes people buy them from him at the Crazed Corner, and I know as well that people in the Underground are interested." Her voice was shaky, a healthy dose of fear lacing through her words. "The trial he disappeared - three trials ago - he was going to meet people at the entrance to the Underground tunnel. He didn't tell me, but I overheard him talking to a friend. He never came back." Another sob burst out of her.

"I just know he went missing in there! I told him - I told him it was dangerous, that he shouldn't go there, but we needed the money, and he went anyway. I think someone took him, that he went missing in there." The obvious she did not say aloud. That not only could he be missing, but he could be dead. "Can you ... please miss, can you go and find him? We need him. My children and I need him back."

Tears were streaming down her face. "Poor poor Gregory. My friend, Kana, she can come with you - she offered to go but going by herself is dangerous, especially after what happened to Greg. She knows how to use weapons, but she, well, she's used to taking orders. I need someone a bit ... more discerning to go find him. I just can't go myself. I need him back, I can't leave my children without a father."

[Ismene]

The woman stood and clasped her hand, taking the opportunity to appraise the dark young woman standing in front of her. Ismene could detect a faint hint of surprise in her gaze; perhaps at her youth, perhaps at her gender, perhaps at both. But Moira was too polite to let it stay there for long, and she quickly seemed to decide Ismene would do; or at least that she had no better option.

Ismene listened carefully as Moira explained Gregory's situation. It definitely sounded as if there was more to it than a man's bit on the side. Gregory appeared to have got himself mixed up in things that were over his head. Dark things. This Underground was turning out to be very intriguing indeed. Ismene nodded sympathetically as Moira struggled to contain her sobs, venturing to reach out a hand and touch her gently on the shoulder as she looked her in the eyes. 'I promise I will do all I can to find your husband, Moira. Please, try not to worry. Your children will have their father back soon.'

Moira asked if she would accept a companion for the trip to the tunnels; a huntress, Kana. Ismene suppressed a brief moment of annoyance - she did not normally enjoy teamwork, and hoped she would not have to share the bounty - but almost immediately she recognised the sense in what the woman was suggesting. There had not been much opportunity to fight in Treth, apart from the occasional bar brawl, and she had always chosen to avoid those. Anyway, she suspected that head-on scrapping would not solve much down in the darkness. Someone who could actually wield a weapon would certainly be useful, and it would be foolish to turn the offer down for the sake of her pride. 'Yes, I will gladly accept your friend's company,' she told Moira. 'I'm sure I'll be grateful for the extra pair of hands and eyes. Where can I find her?'

[Harpy]

Moira reached out and grasped Ismene's slender hand in her own. "Thank you, oh, thank you!" she cried, sobs choked back, her voice emotional. "I can't offer much to reward you, but I promise you will be. Thank you." Moira reached up, wiped her tears from her cheeks, and managed a brave smile. Finally someone who would help.

"Kana can meet you by the Western Temple, in one break - later this trial. I will go to her now, and let her know. Please bring anything you might need with you." A hand through her hair, and she bit her lip, looking briefly towards the children in the house, their little faces still pressed against the window. "Thank you. Really. I will pay you when you return with my husband." Moira would pay her regardless, but she could not - would not - entertain the thought that he would not return. "I should..." she gestured back to the house. Again, she reached out and held Ismene's hand. "Immortals guide you," she whispered, and with a final weak smile, hurried back into the house.

Later That Trial

Kana waited, leaning against the sandstone wall of the Western Temple. Her arms were folded, and she tapped her foot impatiently. She was a tall and slender woman, with tanned olive skin, and brown messy hair cropped into a haphazard bob. A well worn bow was slung across her back, as well as a full quiver. She had two daggers, curved and dangerous, sheathed on her hips. She had a pack with her. Kana was ready. For anything.

Her eyes scanned the people coming to and fro, even as she stood in the shadows. When she saw Ismene, who matched Moira's description, she pushed herself up from the wall, and strode over to the woman, a grim smile on her lips. "Ismene?" she called, stopping the woman in her tracks. She thrust a muscled arm out to her, waiting for her to shake.

Kana would not say nice to meet you. It wasn't, under these circumstances. "There's an entrance close to here," she murmured, getting right to the point. "Come," she said, heading back to where she had been standing before. "So, what's the plan?" she asked bluntly, when they were alone. She was a huntress - not an investigator.

[Ismene]

Ismene accepted Moira's heartfelt thanks in silence, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the outpouring of emotion and eager to get started with the investigation. With one more squeeze of Moira's hand and a firm, confident nod, she turned on her heel and left the woman to tend to her children.

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'Bring anything you might need with you,' Moira had said. Ismene pondered the question all the way back to her house. After a quick internal debate, she decided to leave her journal at home. It might be handy to have somewhere to keep track of whatever information they uncovered, but she didn't want to lose it and anyway she sensed the tunnels were not the sort of place you could go around taking notes. She would have to trust her memory. She considered what else she might need. A weapon was the most obvious thing, but she owned nothing that could be wielded except a blunt pair of eating knives. And, she remembered more gratefully than she would have cared to admit, the huntress would be there to take care of the dirty work. It did not come naturally to entrust her fate to a stranger's skill, but in this particular situation it was the best option.

She scanned the small room that contained all her worldly possessions in case anything else jumped out at her. Looked at with this sort of appraising eye it was depressingly sparse. Some basic toiletries, arranged neatly on a table; a plate and bowl, a tinderbox... She put the box in her pocket and picked up her half-full waterskin. She would fill it up at the well on the way to meet Kana. On a whim she grabbed one of the eating knives and tucked it awkwardly into her pocket. She decided she liked the unfamiliar feeling of the hilt pressing into her hip as she walked. The feeling of power it gave her was completely unjustified given its poor quality and her own lack of experience, but ridiculous or not she enjoyed it.

Not long afterwards Ismene was approaching the Western Temple, looking for someone who looked like a huntress. She caught sight of a muscular woman striding purposefully through the crowds towards her, weapons bristling from all over. She was pleased when the woman stopped in front of her and held out a hand. She had been half expecting some kind of grubby woodswoman with a slingshot and a dead pheasant slung over her shoulder, but she was gratified to see that Kana was properly armed, and to feel the determination in her firm handshake. She followed the huntress over to one of the temple walls, and began to talk in a low voice, thinking aloud as much for her own benefit as Kana’s.

‘Here’s what we know so far. Gregory is a herbseller. The herbs he sells include some that have to be sold in secret, to customers who would presumably also prefer to remain secret. One day he went to meet some people at the entrance to the tunnels, and never came back. That’s all the information we have.' She stopped for moment, took a deep breath, and then continued. ‘Well, nobody said this was going to be easy. The way I see it, there are two options for why he might never have returned from that meeting: One, he pissed them off. Maybe he didn’t deliver what he was asked for, maybe what he delivered was sub-standard. Whatever, they were angry.’ As she spoke she extended first her forefinger and then her middle finger, counting them to emphasise her words. ‘Two, he knew too much to let him walk free after he’d completed his job.’

Ismene paused briefly, letting what she had said sink in. Her expression hardened, and she looked Kana straight in the eyes. ‘I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that either way, we have very little chance of finding him alive. Our best hope is that whatever’s going on is more complicated than that, in which case we’ll need to work out what it is, and we won’t do that standing around up here. But before we go down there, we need to agree a few things. We can’t go storming in waving weapons around, alright? We’re going to do this slow and quiet. I want to try and avoid talking to people as much as possible until we get a better idea of the lay of the land, but if anyone does ask, we’re looking for someone who can sell us Ambrosia.’

She glanced at Kana to make sure the huntress had got everything. ‘Oh, and I want you to tell me everything you know about Gregory, too. What he looks like, but also anything you think might be useful – his interests, whether he ever mentioned anything in passing that made you think he might be involved in something like this – anything at all.’ If Kana was a friend of Moira, she probably knew her husband as well, and she might just know something his wife didn’t.

[Harpy]

Kana leant against the wall, regarding Ismene shrewdly as she spoke. It seemed the woman was thinking aloud, and it did not inspire the greatest confidence in Kana. But she knew how much this meant to Moira, even though the huntress was privately doubtful that it would make a difference. If they found her husband, and it was a big if, it was likely he was already dead. The Underground was not a place to be taken lightly. Kana had been there a few times, but even she, a seasoned hunter and skilled with her weapons, was given the heebie jeebies by that place. It was only as a favour to her friend she was even going back there now.

"You're the boss," Kana said, shrugging, in response to Ismene's lengthy monologue. "I'm just here for backup. If you haven't been into the tunnels before, you should know you need me. I won't be waving my weapons around, as you put it, but just the sight of them should ward off unprovoked aggression. Nobody's going to jump someone who has these on her hips." She caressed her knives as she spoke. The handles were well-worn, and the blades, though Ismene could not see them sheathed, were nicked from use.

"Ambrosia? That's a good lead, actually. Some of the ingredients Gregory sold." Kana brought a hand up to her jaw, and stroked it as she spoke. "Gregory... hmm. What can I tell you?" As she thought, it might occur to Ismene that she wasn't so much thinking of what to tell her, as how to phrase it. "Well... he does sell herbs, that's true. What Moira doesn't know--" She broke off, her gaze sharp as she looked to Ismene with piercing eyes. "And you better believe if any of this gets back to Moira, I will hunt you down personally. And you know I could do it." A breath, and she composed herself.

"Gregory doesn't just sell herbs. He sells the poisons and drugs made by his suppliers, too. He gives them the herbs, and then they give the finished product back to him. He then sells them. Up on the surface some, but his main buyers are in the tunnels. I know this because I often go in there with him as backup." Her lips tightened. She wasn't saying something - that much would be obvious to Ismene. "So I can help you by taking you to his suppliers. They'll definitely know more, as they're the ones who would have last seen him." Ismene might notice Kana hadn't touched on any of her other questions. Nothing was said of his interests. "Oh, and he's about six foot. Stocky. Bearded. Handsome."

Kana shrugged. "That enough? You ready to go, or do you have any other questions?"

[Ismene]

Ismene couldn't help a faint eyebrow raise at Kana's response. Despite the careful nonchalance of her shrug, it seemed as though Ismene had found a sore spot. Perhaps she had been a touch dismissive of Kana's beloved weapons, but she was surprised her words had provoked such a defensive reaction from the huntress. She sighed. There would be enough to think about down in the tunnels without having to worry about bruising the woman's ego. As far as Ismene was concerned violence was an unsubtle tool, even in the hands of the most skilled fighter equipped with the keenest blades, but maybe it hadn't been the best idea to voice that to a fighter.

As Kana continued, it quickly became clear that she knew more than she had let on. Some friend, Ismene thought with an internal grin, letting Moira stew while she knows precisely what Gregory's been up to. She looked at the woman with a new appreciation; she had plenty of respect for people who knew when to ration the truth, although the huntress would do well to make it a little less obvious she was hiding something. Ismene decided not to press for more detail for the moment. If Kana was anything like her, nothing was less likely to produce a useful response than trying to force information out of her.

As the huntress continued talking, Ismene wondered whether her first instinct had been partly right all along. Was there more to Kana and Gregory's relationship than the huntress providing a bit of backup? There was a hint of studied indifference in her curt description of the man as 'handsome,' but apart from the intensity of her stare as she warned Ismene not to reveal anything to Moira, her steely face gave little away. It was something Ismene would bear in the back of her mind, but did not seem like an important question at the moment.

As Ismene had half expected, it turned out there was more to the man than Moira's image of a simple herb-seller trying his best to put food on the table and getting mixed up in things he didn't understand. It now sounded as if Gregory was an integral and willing member of a large, illicit operation. In that case, they would have to tread even more carefully. If there was a well-organized and powerful gang behind Gregory's disappearance, it would be disastrous if they found out Ismene and Kana were looking for him. Otherwise they might find themselves next on the missing list. So when Kana suggested going to see the suppliers, Ismene tilted her head on one side and looked hard at the woman. 'Don't you think that's a little risky? she asked. 'After all, if you normally accompany Gregory down there, they'll recognise you. If they're behind his disappearance they might not take kindly to you asking awkward questions. Just a thought.'

She watched Kana's face carefully for a reaction as she spoke. Was the huntress's suggestion just badly thought through, or was it a revealing slip? If Kana was confident the suppliers were innocent, then she must have an idea of who was to blame. In which case, was her offer just a way to distract Ismene from the real solution? Alternatively, perhaps it wasn't that the suppliers were not guilty, but that Kana was on their side after all... if so, this would be the perfect way to deliver a pesky investigator straight to them.

She would not reveal any such suspicions to the huntress now, however. She would let Kana take her to the suppliers, who would probably have useful information even if they weren't involved in Gregory's disappearance, but she would make sure it was her, not Kana, who approached them. That way, in the probably unlikely event that Kana was in league with them, she would not have the chance to warn them that Ismene was investigating. 'OK, let's go,' she said. 'But before we get there, we'll find somewhere close by you can hide. That way they won't know you're with me, and I'll just seem like a normal punter looking for a fix. You'll also be able to keep an eye out for any trouble, and you'll be nearby if I need you.' If Kana agreed, Ismene would follow her through the hidden entrance and down into the tunnels.