The Search for Haley Taskle (Kella Greeran/Open)

[Jenny Yiyu]

Continued from here

ooc: Kella Greeran had volunteered peermod Others are free to join the fun

Jenny went out into Old Prime, where many lived to look for the bounty requester, Mr and Mrs Taskle. The problem was, she did not know how the couple looked like, but it was easily solved by seeking information from the Aedile Office. The information did not came easily. She had to question, used every bit of her charm, a little legal bribery like asking the clerk whether he had time to join her for a meal, and every bit of persuasion skills she possesses. It was all in vain, until she almost screamed at the clerk that she needed their address so that she could help them find their daughter. That did the trick, which made Jenny stumped and felt stupid, for the clerk simply replied, asking her why hadn't she said so earlier, and wasted so much of time. He promptly gave the address to Jenny and entertained the next in line.

The cool winter air from the Aedile to the Taskle house had cool her temper by much, and at the door, she breathed deeply. Not much point upsetting the couple any further. She knocked on the door, and waited for the reply.

If there was no reply, she will knock harder, until someone came out, or went over to her, telling her where the couple went.

If the door opened, Jenny would had greeted them. Serale Mr and Mrs Taskle? I am from the Bounty Office, and wished to find your most wanted in question. I guessed that she must be your daughter, but may I know more information, any information you could provide on her?

[Kella Greeran]

A round woman with a hairdo that resembled a turnip, filled the door frame.
"Whaddya want? I've got a pot roast on, and my hubby is very particular about his meats."

When Jenny began to explain herself, the woman's pink face forced itself into rapturous mask of relief.
"Oh praise be Materna, Goddess of motherhood!"
Before Jenny could articulate a response, the woman threw her flabby arms about the Elf and forcibly held Jenny to her all too ample bosom. To the Elf's dismay, the heat of the hearth had made the woman a little "dewy".

After a breath, Mrs. Taskle peeled Jenny off her, but kept her hands on the Elf's shoulders.

"I'm so glad, someone's responded. Oh my little Haley! She's gone missing."

The woman unhanded Jenny to wring her apron between her fingers.
"What's a mother to do when your whelp has a bit of a rebellious streak in her?"
She lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned in.
"I blame her father's blood. He's got some gypsy relatives."

The woman straightened and assumed her worried mien again.

"Little Haley, she's a lovely thing, but irascible. Hair like flax and pretty green eyes like her grandmamma. Last I saw her she was wearing an old brown shift and a jade locket, but gods knows where the jewelry is now! Probably sold for liquor or wasted in the company of wild men."

The woman gave a short sob, that sounded more like a wet hiccup.

"Just bring her home to us. We've checked the Crown a hundred times over, but you never know. She's a smart girl. Too smart for her own good. But she's got some naughty tavern wench friends that work there. I 'spect they're hiding something about her."

[Jenny Yiyu]

"Gypsy? Alright then, I would be off to hunt for your daughter, and praise Materna that you have found me, as I knew no tavern wench that would not tell me much" Jenny spoke in a highly confident voice, gave a farewell and began walking towards the Crown and Inn.

Whilst walking, she wondered who in Telath is Materna, she had to read her materials more carefully from now on, and where to start the search first. An old brown shift would be difficult to locate, and a jade locket, could she had pawned it. Jenny doubted that, as that would had made the search a load more easier.

Jenny arrived in the Crown, and was stared by many men as usual. She had always smirked when she remembered what was stopping them from approaching her too closely. She had learnt a highly effective poke that would cause all men to howl in pain, especially when it was used with a well hidden needle coated with a small layer of poison that increased pain.

Jenny began walking toward a senior waitress, one that had been working in the in the Crown for many patterns, and pulled her to one side. The crown was empty enough for one less waitress to serve, and she doubted that the owner would had minded if she would provide a little bluish potion that would make their customer thirsty for more drinks.

"Serale my friend, and really apologise for not giving excuse to the men out there to look at you." Jenny smiled, picking the complimenting lines she had always used with waitresses and wenches of the Crown. It almost always seemed to please them much.

"I am here for a sad reason, for my client had looked for me to search for their precious daughter, though I think its the jade locket they would want. They wished for the incident to be cleared before they report this to the guards for this theft. They might even report that one of the wench they had suspected for eyeing on the locket of kidnapping. That would tarnish the name of the Crown, and both you and me might fall into trouble too... Those men out there might take the chance pointing out us as accomplices just for revenge." Jenny spoke in the way she always did when she suspected something more. These suspicion had always proved right. "Its a pity they would not tell me who they had suspected, else I would ask her to let me see their daughter and reclaim the locket for them."

Jenny then began describing a little of the girl, then went on into some gossiping talks of handsome guys and which tavern wench would most likely be marrying off to one of those guys out there. She had much time to spare waiting for the other wenches to report for work later in the darkening.

[Kella Greeran]

The waitress smiled at Jenny.

"You're worse then the men with all your talk to charm and convince me."
She gave a brief sigh as she tried to think about a jade locket in particular.
"A lot of people come in and out, especially girls with all manner of jewelry. I can't recall a thing in particular, but I'll give it some more thought."

As they continued to cluck and chat over all the news like a pair of hens, a silver haired Elf with pale eyes floated in. She went briskly about her work swabbing sticky tables and gracefully avoiding trays that floated about her head.

The waitress paused a moment in her discussion of the bartender's foppish new hairdo.

"Wait, you might be in luck. The lady Elf who just came in, That's Celuna. Been here for ages, she's usually among the higher ups, but lately she's been pulling the slack round here."

The waitress shrugged.
"Bit beneath her, but she'll do anything that needs doing. And she knows everything that goes on with the staff."

As if fulfilling the description the Elf approached the chatting duo. Her hands were covered in a spider web of celestial designs and folded calmly around the cloth she had been using.

"Poppy, would you be so kind as to help May with the plaken in the fifth corner. It's a bit of a crowd."

Poppy blushed at being caught lollygagging, "Yes, Miss. This lady was asking about a girl with a jade locket. Maybe you saw her?"

The cool eyed Elf gave Jenny a serene, but restrained smile. Her eyes did not leave Jenny as she dismissed the lingering waitress.

"Thank you Poppy."
With a quick curtsy the girl was gone.

"Now, what do you need with such a guest, stranger?"

[Jenny Yiyu]

”No, that’s sad, but do give it more thoughts.” Jenny said before moving on to mindless gossips, when she spoke of Celuna. The elf that knew everything that had to do with the staff. She might me the one Jenny needed for such quest.

”And here she comes” Jenny watched Celuna’s dressing. ‘Spidery’ was what Jenny would said if she had to comment on the dressing with just one word. It might just be her hands that had the design, but that was the part on Celuna that attracted Jenny most. Poppy had said that she had been here for ages, but Jenny doubted she had ever saw Celuna before, but as Poppy also said, she was usually among the higher up, people Jenny did not want to have too much fame with. The trouble knowing these people might not worth what Jenny would have had to give.

After Celuna had given her command to Poppy and her tone which she had used to question, Jenny took a short second to valuate her. Conclusion, someone with a position much higher than other common waitresses and wenches, and one that commanded certain respect amongst the workers. Jenny knew that it would not be wise to patronize her nor it be proper to hold a common gossip session with her. Jenny then decided that beating the bush with Celuna might prove to be the long way, if not wrong way, out, so she gave a small curtsey and replied in a soft yet firm voice. Soft to show the respect she had given Celuna, firm to show that she meant business, or rather she was here on official work.

”Serale, I am Jenny. I was sent in search of Mrs Taskle’s daughter, and all she could inform me of was that her daughter frequently visited the Crown, had a few close tavern wenches as friends and had a jade locket. I believed she had not pawned the locket in any common shops, but rather, she had sold the locket to a customer.”

The hunter frowned and wondered how she could phrase the next few sentences so that it would not sound threatening. ”If that was really the case, she selling the locket to a customer of this fine establishment, I am afraid that Mrs Taskle might use formal actions for hiding a kidnapper of their child, and selling stolen items. I would rather locate the two before such things happened. I love the Crown, and this is a place that I enjoyed coming for a short drink after each brightening was over, so I wonder if you could help me in locating the missing girl and her locket.”

Jenny smiled pleasantly, hoping that Celuna had not mistaken her words too much. It was difficult to rephrase the wordings, as if she had spoken too indirectly, Celuna might believe that Jenny was testing her, but speech too directly might sound overly accusing. Internally, Jenny sighed and wondered why Poppy did not know the answer.

Jenny also believed that she might had left out something Celuna should know, but had not idea what it was.

[Kella Greeran]

Celuna listened to Jenny with an even expression. Her hands were held in front of her resting one atop the other. It was almost a ceremonial pose, adopted for occasions such as this.

Her mask broke with a wry smile.
"Respectable as the Crown is, it's had its fair share of scandal. One more may add a little flavor to the place."

This flare of personality did not last long, Celuna became cool and airy once again, but her words had slightly more gravity than before.

"No locket has been sold here, Miss. I do believe it's still in the possession of the girl."
She lifted a hand to bar any interruption.

"Yes, I know who you're talking about, and last I saw she was keeping company with a well dressed young man and doing quite well. Which hardly amounts to a kidnapping."

Subtly, Celuna began to walk towards the Crown's doors. She continued to talk, so Jenny was obliged to follow her to the exit.
"Before you ask, the man was around her age long blonde hair, an earring like the sailors wear."
Celuna touched her own hoop earring to clarify.

"Before you run after the pair, though, I might suggest that sometimes people don't want to be found."
Celuna's expressive eyes told Jenny she personally understood the idea of wanting to disappear.

"So I'll give you a dilemma."
The Elf's look was a strange one, bordering between mischievous plotting and warning.

"You can go find the girl, send her home locket and all and collect the reward I'm sure you're after. Or you can leave well enough alone. I believe they'll be about the docks around sunset. Or so I overheard."

The Elf began to turn away, back to her work.
"I've done all that's required of me."

[Eyvind Redbeard]

Sitting on a table close to the way out door Eyvind barely noticed the conversation between Jenny and the elf woman. He was too deeply focused on drinking his ale and planning his own future he only paid attention to what was being told next to him when he heard the end of Celuna's sentence: "...sometimes people don't want to be found."

Raising his head and looking to the "senior waitress", Eyvind followed her with his eyes as she walked back to whatever she was suposed to be doing. Turning to the door the Legionnaire spoke.

"I don't really know what you were talking about but what that woman said is true, sometimes people don't want to be found...right now I would like to disappear, sadly I can't..." Eyvind laughed a bit with somewhat miserable tone of voice and took another sip in his ale. "But who am I to speak like this? No one actually..."