Late morning found Val standing outside a red brick tavern, listening to the raucous laughter and yelling coming from inside the place even so early in the day. The surrounding neighborhood was mostly built with similar bricks, with wood only being used for windows, doors, and a few other places. The streets were much wider than in the slums, with their brick and stone surfaces relatively free of any mud or other disgusting things. The street gutters were also all covered and seemed to be maintained well, as there were no 'leaks' or 'overflows.'
It felt almost like a completely different world to Val, as he watched men and women calmly go about their business dressed in a mix of properly tailored clothes made of linen, cotton, wool, and some other exotic materials. He saw maids in their black and white long dresses, shopkeepers in their in their clean shirts, vests, and pants, guards in blue colored tabards, and freemen wearing clean clothes under their overalls. There were still people in shabby clothing, carrying and moving things, but unlike the almost dead feel from the slums, Val felt the vitality in the merchant's district.
A mixture of stores, inns, guild halls, taverns, fine dining places, and dozens of other establishments spread out as far as Val could see. In fact, he was only standing at the entrance to the merchant's district, since The Hungry Mare wasn't exactly a 'fine' establishment. However, even then, Val felt out of place more than usual. It wasn't that he was the only 'street rat' nearby, as he caught sight of two others from a different gang, scowling at him from across the street, where they were crouching next to a sundries store. However, he felt more self conscious of himself, wearing what he was and covered as he was in filth.
However, he didn't shy away, as he needed to do something, even with what little information he had so far. For some reason, he felt like time was running out for him ever since he had woken up in that alley last night. Maybe he could force more information out of Reitz or Ribus if he was lucky and dared to, but trying to deal with the bald man from earlier was suicide. He knew he couldn't fight them head on, no matter how much his stomach burned in anger. The only choice he had left was to find some allies or at least find a way to spread the news about what he had seen in a safe way to the right ears. Everyone had enemies, but the trick was figuring out who those enemies were and getting those enemies interested enough to take action.
Looking at the Druken Mare, he bit his lips in annoyance but eventually forced himself to head to the back of the tavern using the nearby alley. Avoiding a couple of stray cats that hissed at him while protecting their meals, Val hoped the person he was going to meet would stick to her usual policy of fair trade. He knew he was one of her snitches in the slums, and she got a pretty good deal out of it by giving him leftovers, a few coins if the information was worth it, and some odds and ends if he could afford it. Val didn't trust most people, but she was at least someone he knew, who would deal fairly with him.
Slipping past a small cart, that seemed to be loaded with garbage, Val walked into the back yard of the tavern through a crude gate that was unlatched. It wasn't anything spectacular, but the cobblestone paved yard was a relatively safe place for him. A well sat in one corner of the yard, along with a few buckets and some partially enclosed stalls off to the side. In the corner of the yard, a middle aged man with graying hair and a squarish jaw was busy scrubbing some pots and pans near large, metal drain in the ground. As Val entered the yard, the man stopped, looking up with his stern face. “You again! Damn it, I told Bernice to not let you brats waltz en here all the time.” Getting up, the mans shook off the water on his hands as he walked threateningly towards Val, who held up his hands in front of him in a placating gesture.
“Calm down Fen. I'm not 'ere to cause problems. Just wanted to talk to Bernice is all.” Val backed off a it, while glancing at the open back door of the tavern, hoping the woman in question would show up already. The man named Fen stopped advancing but stood where he was, scowling. “Yer thievin' friends nabbed a bunch of the crockery last time they were here. Dealin' wih yer kind always brings trouble.” The middle aged man was too busy pointing accusingly at Val, that he didn't notice a relatively heavy set woman in a brown and dark green dress walk out of the tavern doorway, with her hands on her hips.
Val sighed in relief as he saw Bernice, whose florid face was facing Fen rather than looking at Val. The gray haired woman finally interrupted, her intelligent, blue eyes gleaming in what anyone, who knew her, was anger. “An' what do ya think, yer doing Fen. I told you to have them pots scrubbed clean hours ago. Still dickin' around back here ain't gonna earn you your pay.”
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Fen flinched, turning around while visibly becoming docile. “Bernice, I was just makin' sure them street rats know whas good for 'em. I was workin' on the pots, when he showed up.”
If it hadn't already been a long day, Val would have smirked at the man's 180 degree change in attitude, but instead, Val just stood off to the side, quietly. Bernice looked over at Val, her right eye cocked in question before waving at Fen. “Nevermind. Just get the damn garbage cart to the heap. It's startin' to stink up the place.”
“But...” Fen tried to interrupt, but an intimidating scowl from Bernice stopped him from finishing. “Alright, alright.” His shoulders slumped in frustration, he brushed past Val, not bothering to acknowledge him further.
“So, what brings ya back here, boy? Seeing as how ya look like you been crawlin' through the gutters, nothing good, I bet.” The woman name Bernice was not a nice person by the technical definition of the word, and by the way she loomed over Val, he knew she wasn't in a happy mood. However, she was something that was relatively rare for a street rat: fair.
Val cleared his throat before muttering, “I need yer help.”
Bernice, who was not having a good day, looked down at the sorry excuse for a child, standing in front of her. As irritated as she had been with Fen, she knew he had been right. Dealing with these children was the same as waiting to bitten in the ass. However, she also felt some sympathy for them, considering the stories her late husband used to tell about what it took to survive in the slums and what it took for him to crawl out of there. It was the only reason she was willing to help out those of them, who knew how to keep their word. She sighed, cursing her soft heart. “What'd ya get yourself into, Val? I don' see ya for two weeks, and you show up now asking for help. Ribus and his dimwits already came by a week ago, saying I better not having dealings with you, if I knew what was good for me.”
Val flinched at the news but just gritted his teeth, starting to realize he was in a deeper hole than he thought. Looking up at the now annoyed looking woman, he felt throat go dry, wondering if he should involve her. The gray haired tavern owner had helped him enough over the years, that he did not want to put her life in danger.
Bernice, who watched all the changes that took place on Val's face, spoke again. “I'm not 'fraid of 'em lad. I've been here fer 20 odd winters. Seen thugs like 'em come and go. But you know my rules. Fair trade only.” Her rosy cheeks were firmly set, and for a second, Val swore he could feel an intimidating aura around her.
“I got news that I want to sell.” Holding his ground, Val choked out the words.
“Oh... what kind of news. You know that I don' need to know about which street hawker got his wares stolen or which dumb guard is dipping his hand into collectin' protection.” Bernice was all business like, but Val knew she was just setting her boundaries, regarding what she wanted to know.
However, he didn't have time to haggle with her about things. “Five street rats went missin' last night from the Bone Crushers.” As soon as he spoke, Bernice went quiet. The stout woman's eyes narrowed, and val could feel the tension in the air.
“What do you know, Val?” Her almost flat tone surprised Val, but he could feel the sudden seriousness in the woman. It was bizarre, and her gaze was almost demanding he speak. There was an awkward silence, as both individuals stared at one another, but it was Val, who finally broke the quiet.
“I can't tell you Bernice, not unless the person you are gonna sell it to is someone you can trust. If they're not the right kind, I'll be done for.” Val didn't feel he was exaggerating, as images of the skull and bones floated through his mind again.
Bernice finally sighed, deciding she might as well be honest, since if the boy did know something, that meant there was a chance the wealthy buyer may be happy with such quick news. “I'll be honest, Val. There's been somebody asking about people goin' missing, but they're not the type of people, who you wanna pull a stunt with. If what you've got isn't worth their time, you may piss off someone, who you shouldn't.”
Val froze for a bit, confused at what he had just heard. Someone had been asking about missing people in the city, which was unusual in itself, since none of the missing children had been anyone important. However, the timing of the request matching up with what had happened so far was too coincidental. There had been too many coincidences so far, and Val felt like he was caught in some massive maze, that was funneling him towards some exit he didn't want to get too close to. However, already being in the damn maze, he had no choice but to keep looking for the shitty exit.
Looking the tavern keeper in the eyes, Val calmly replied, “If they want to know about people missing, then they'll want to hear what I have to say. You can even tell them that I'm betting my life on this.” If the people, who Bernice was talking about, were useless, then there was a good chance Val would sink himself further into a mess. However, he was willing to gamble on the tavern keeper, considering she was one of the more trustworthy information brokers in the city and rarely put her informers in danger on purpose.
Bernice smiled slightly before waving Val over to the wooden stalls and the well and turning around to head back into the tavern. “You've grown some balls, haven't ya now. Anyways, I'll pass along the message to them. More than likely, they'll wanna see you later today or tomorrow morning. But, if you screw this up, then me and you are gonna have words. Now, get yer self cleaned up. You smell worse than the gutters. I'll have Nance bring you somethin' to eat, when yer done.”