1.1 The Singing Sword

Slink shrugs.

It is still early morning, as the unexpected encounter in the alley only took a few minutes. Finally the orphans decide to escort Slink to the Singing Sword. Rufio warns the less streetwise among the group that they may be entering a trap by going to Slink's home territory, so the orphans acknowledge this, and approach the building cautiously. The only other alternative would be the orphanage, but insight and investigation by some individuals suggests that they are unlikely to get Slink to talk in unfamiliar surroundings.

The Singing Sword is at the eastern end of the area known as "The Market", imaginatively named, because this is the area of the daily market in the city. The inn is a traditional looking building, three stories high, constructed of timber. The area in front has a number of tables that allow customers to sit with a beer and watch the bustle of the market and interesting individuals go about their business. The front door is propped open, and about 10 people are sitting outside.

Slink says, "Well, if you wait here a minute, I'll see if there's any private seats inside for us to talk."

"Fine. Let's go in" says Slink to Weylan.

They enter the inn and the inside is fairly quiet, with most of the patrons sitting outside. The burly barkeep looks up as the nine youths enter, and he immediately recognizes Slink. "Hello Slink, usual table?" Slink nods and walks over to a vacant table in the corner of the room. He pulls up a couple of chairs, then sits down as if he owns the place.

Slink seems a little more relaxed in his own space, and he accepts the drink from Weylan. When Alanya starts to sing he cocks his head and listens to the lyrics. followed her at a fair distance when a couple of thugs grabbed her and dragged her into an alley. "Wow that's an incredible talent she has. Much like Milly, I suppose. I will level with you, and I won't play any more games. You did save my life after all." He pauses to take a sip of the bitter draught.

He then goes on to tell his tale. It seems that a couple of evenings ago Milly was in the Singing Sword and she spoke with the barkeep, Gregory, looking for work. Slink calls over to Gregory looking for collaboration on the story, and Gregory nods, while examining the inside of a glass he is polishing. Gregory said she was too young to perform in the inn, and turned her away. Slink was curious about her and followed her discretely out of the inn, wondering where she would go next, where she lived, you know, the sort of youthful curiosity most teenagers have when sighting a pretty girl. He saw a couple of thugs grab her and drag her into an alley. Being evening it was fairly dark and not many people were around, so the assault was achieved flawlessly. Well, almost. Being a curious halfling He followed the thugs stealthily, and traced them to a Surface shaft that descended into the sewers. After cross examination, Slink revealed that the shaft was located in the northwest corner of an alleyway that opens off Golden Serpent Street and Nindabar street, just east of Mhalsymber's Way. After that he decided it was too risky to enter. Nasty critters down there.