The hunter and the seamstress turned to face each other, both staring into the other’s eyes. Daego's smug glare jumped between the pair, watching them blink as they waited for the other to say something first.

"Should we?" Miwah whispered. "Should you?" she said with a finger pointing at Tamma's chest.

"You think I should explain what we're up to?" a startled Tamma responded.

"One of us has to!"

"Or we could just not talk to him at all."

"Wait a second, there... Tamma," Daego replied, keeping his smirk on his face. Tamma's face quickly turned sour as she adjusted her hands to be tighter underneath her arms. "No need to get so frustrated." The man took a vacant seat from the table behind him and plopped it down in between the other two. He sat with the back of the chair facing the two women, his arms resting on the edge of the wood. "Like I said, I just want to help. You two ladies look lost. And I'd hate to see a couple of young women as yourselves waste your time wandering aimlessly. Or worse."

"I think we can handle ourselves," Tamma said as she winked at the seamstress. "Ain't that right, Miwah?"

"I... I mean we... appreciate your concern." Miwah's hands were pressed against her heart. "But we can more than handle ourselves if something were to happen."

"If only I had a coin for every time I heard someone say that," Daego replied with a coy smile. "Then I wouldn't be living in Farrowport."

"Well, we're not just somebodies, lad. Let's just say that we've got... secrets that set us apart." Tamma's confidence returned, matching Daego's smugness with some of her own.

"Is that so, huh? What kind of secret?"

"If I told you then it wouldn't be so secret now, would it?"

"I see. And does this secret of yours have anything to do with why you're here?"

Tamma quickly shook her head. As soon as Daego's eyes shifted to Miwah, she quickly turned her head from left to right as well. "Two completely different things, lad."

Holding onto the back of his chair with one hand, Daego leaned his entire body back and flicked away some loose strands of hair away from his face. "Right. You know? You two girls are some of the weirdest folks I've seen come across these parts. Any other time, most people would just tell me to get lost the minute I started talking to them."

"I can't imagine why," Tamma snapped.

"You might be acting annoyed right now, but something tells me that you like being challenged," Daego said. He wagged a finger in front of Tamma's face. "Any other patron would have turned around and went back to their booze right about now."

"The only reason I haven't is because I don't have anything to drink."

Another confident smirk appeared on Daego's face. He reached into the pouch fastened to the side of his hip and dug around in it before flashing a shiny coin in front of the two women. "How about this, huh? I'd be more than willing to cover your tab if you'd let me know what exactly it is that brings you to this part of Farrowport."

Both Miwah and Tamma stared at the money but with different expressions. The seamstress looked on in awe while the hunter gazed past the coin to look at Daego with contempt in her narrow eyes.

"You sure are dead set on trying to get us to divulge our plans. You've definitely got something planned. And I don’t like it."

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"Like I said, I'm just trying to be friendly."

"Never trust something that sounds too good to be true," Miwah said quietly.

"There we go lass! That's the Miwah I know." Tamma reached over and patted Miwah on the arm. "Seems like you've finally broken free from your infatuation."

"It was not infatuation," Miwah refuted.

"Oh, bartender!" Daego called out to the woman working behind the counter. She quickly turned her head and watched the flip the coin high into the air and then catch it with the flick of his wrist. He slammed the piece on the table and wagged his finger, making her dart towards him.

"This coin is for me. right?" The woman scooped up the small chunk of gold and stashed it away in her side pocket. "What can I do for ya, Daego?"

"Tell these two ladies how honest I am," Daego replied. "They're suspicious of me. Obviously because they're not from this part of town. Maybe you could act as my character witness, eh?"

"Daego's the real deal," the bartender said with her arms crossed. "Never met a man truer to his word."

Daego leaned forward with a bow. "See? Told you. I know it's rare, but there are genuine people on this island, and you just happened to stumble into one."

Tamma scooted her seat next to Miwah and pulled her in close by the arm, forming a small huddle. Yalch floated down, hovering between the two women. The bartender walked to the other side of the bar, leaving the other three to have their conversation as Daego kept his distance. "What do you two think?" the hunter asked quietly. "Should we give him the details?"

Miwah looked at the ghost. "What about you Yalch?"

Yalch hovered just above their heads, narrowing his eyes and rubbing his round chin with the corner of his pointer finger and thumb. "Hmm... He seems like an interesting character," the ghost said, just loud enough for the two Purifiers to hear. "I say you tell him just enough to help you two get closer to whoever has Potential in this place. But don't let him know everything."

"Yalch?" Daego muttered, trying to wedge his head into the Purifiers' conversation. "You two ladies talking to someone that I don't know about?"

"It is... a nickname!' Miwah replied, nodding her head quickly while forming a phony grin. "Right... Yalch?" The seamstress nudged Tamma with her elbow.

"Sure," the hunter replied coldly, not breaking her gaze away from Daego. "Tell ya what, lad. We'll let you help us out. But only a little bit." She pinched her fingers together while squinting her eyes. "Like I said, we've got some private information that we're going to keep between the two of us. But if you really are as genuine as you and that bartender claim, you'd be willing to lend a helping hand out of the kindness of your heart, correct?"

Daego pressed his hand against his chest. "Of course. Good deeds require no reciprocation."

"Fine," Tamma replied with a huff. She briefly Miwah to receive a bit of validation before looking at Daego again. "The two us are from the middle section of town. And we need to find someone who can assist us."

Daego raised his eyebrow and cocked his head sideways. "You mean... like how I've been trying to do all this time?"

"No, no," Tamma replied with a wag of her head. "You can't help us in the specific way that we need. And we already know that for a fact." Tamma's eyes followed Yalch as he floated in front of Deago's face. He waved his hand in front of his eyes before following it up with a mid-air somersault. "So, with that said, we're looking for someone who can actually help us."

"Sorry. I'm still lost." Daego shook his head. "Still too vague. I can't help you out when all you're doing is giving me cryptic hints to work with."

"We need other girls," Miwah said. "Like us."

Daego paused, his face shifting to an expression of utter confusion. "Right. You need other girls. You know, if you had just told me that bit of info earlier, I would have been more than willing to show you around this part of the island. But with Tamma here being so secretive, you got me questioning your motives."

"You think we're up to no good?" Tamma stated.

"Don't know. Can't say for sure." Daego shrugged his shoulders. "But I can't help but have my suspicions with how you've been so reticent up until now. And now your friend is saying that you need young women? I don't think I'm in the wrong for being skeptical."

"Listen here, Daego!" Tamma darted up from her seat and pointed a finger into the man's face. He took a step back, staring a Tamma's hand with worry as she followed his every step. "I'm through playing games, lad. We've got a lot to deal with. The entirety of Farrowport is at risk and you're here wanting to waste our time! If you actually plan on lending a hand, then get on with it! If not, Miwah and I will carry on fumbling our way through the lower part of Farrowport by ourselves. I'm sure we'll come across what we're looking for eventually. All you'd be able to do is help us find… this person… faster! Either way, we'll make it work. With or without you."

"Fine, fine." Daego put his hands up almost defensively. "You need girls? For whatever reason. I know there's a few on the floors above." The main pointed towards the ceiling, prompting Miwah and Tamma to do the same. "If you want to get up there to make some new friends, I can get you through. I'm good pals with the employees that work here, after all."