Shadows

[FlyingSquirrel]

Shadow of a Trail
50 years ago, Gilneas

Gilneas was in the midst of a torrential downpour. The Priest, dressed in a simple black jerkin and pants, hurried down the washed street. Everything about the solitary man, from the way his shoulders hunched against the wind to his stained apparel suggested that he was one of those many men who the world had chewed up and spit out, that he was a man who's only company in life had been that of misfortune.

He cut through an alley, stepping over the accumulated trash and the beggars who slept in it. Everyone but the shadiest or roudiest characters had long since gone to sleep, other then the guards who tried to keep a leash on these people. Even these people had the sense to find some shelter, and many of them had found what they looked for in one of the many local pubs. The Priest, however, had someone to meet and two in the morning was the best time for this.

He exited with the gaping mouth of a tavern in front of him, the light pouring out like flame out of a dragon's own maw. The smell was evident across the small street and forced the Priest to wrinkle his nose in response. The lightning above him roared in it's murderous fury across the reason and illuminated a mark carved in side of the doorway. He nodded indiscreetly to himself and entered.

There was a crowd of young people crowded around the bar as a lone bartender tried desperately to contend with their demands. He caught the eye of the Priest and the Priest shook his head no, much to the man's relief. Two of the young boys shouted and fell onto the ground as their cohorts laughed and shouted encouragement. Before the Priest could get engaged, a sharp, high whistle assaulted his ear from the left. The Priest turned. Before him sat a short, stalwart man with a potbelly that he couldn't reach his arms around, dressed in the latest Gilnean fashions. The overweight man grinned widely, navigating his way to the Priest before clasping the Priest in his meaty paws. The Priest plastered on a smile and responded with the courtesy that social courtesy demanded, before taking a seat opposite the man. The source of the tavern's smell became apparent as he got closer, and he couldn't help but cough into a hand. However, it was nothing the Priest was not accustomed to. Over the years the Priest had known this little man, the smell became almost as familiar as the sight.

Before the Priest could speak, the overweight man raised a single grubby finger, "Yes yes, I know, I know. You don't have but a breath for anything outside of your strict formalities." The overweight man let out a hefty sigh, the Priest temporarily fascinated as he watched a drop of saliva slide from the man's agape mouth and drop down his double chin. "Your man's dropped off the stage. No one's heard from him in over 24 hours and no one but a beggar had any clue where he was." He fixed the Priest with a stare, despite his inebriated state, "And you know how reliable there are."

The man rabbled on as the Priest produced a notepad, "The beggar swore on his mother's rotting corpse that he saw the man you're after talking with the stablemaster about getting a horse to go east with. Said something about visiting a friend. Apparently, he looked like a man possessed. Then the beggar asked for a few copper." The fat man shook his head and took a long drink from the mug that nearly dwarfed him, "My guess is he's trying to go to Loch Modan. I'd hurry. If he gets there, then there's where the trail will probably go cold. At the speed the beggar suggested he wanted to go, you'd probably have about a week."

The Priest tucked his notepad away and got up, sliding a bag across to the overweight man. "One more thing, old friend. There's a boat to Menethil leaving tomorrow in the morn. Best bet would be to buy passage on that, however you can, then intercept him before the dam. Good luck." The Priest looked at the man, nodded, and exited once more into the pouring rain. The drumming rain greeted the Priest as one of it's own and, for the first time in a long time, the Priest felt almost excited.