?Jewell, I know you have been under duress with some of the recent events going on in the city, but I must tell you that something is not right in this neighborhood that you have chosen for our habitation.?
?What do you mean?? She used her elbow to push a stray lock of blue behind her ear, hands busy and dirty with the task of cracking eggs into a large bowl. To Ishmerai?s utter horror, she was attempting to make a cake. She didn?t even let him explain his concerns as she began to prattle on, adding other ingredients willy-nilly to the batter, ?The family of Brownies that own the bakery are just lovely! And so were their scones. And that woman, the Dryad, who runs the flower shop.. what is her name again??
?Aemildil Branchmane.?
?Right her. She seems so sweet! I?ve been too busy to meet any of our neighbors who live in those row-houses across the way, but I did see that one family with the two little girls leaving the other day. They?ve got such pretty flowers in those big planters on their steps.?
?Yes, yes. I have noticed all that as well.?
?Then what?s the problem?? She looked from the recipe she was attempting to follow (kind-of sort-of) to her knight with a puzzled smile.
?If you would listen for a moment instead of talking and adding whatever is within hand?s reach into your cake,? he snatched a bottle of paprika away from her before a pinch of that ended up in the batter, ?I will explain.?
Jewell rolled her eyes. ?Fine.? She quickly cleaned her hands, drying them off on a towel as she turned to lean against the counter to face Ishmerai. ?You have my undivided attention.?
?The majority of our neighbors, or the few who show their faces, do seem very nice. There are also several well-run businesses. But you must have noticed how many closed store-fronts there are, and that the overall area is somewhat.. dilapidated.?
?Well, yeah..? she nodded a little. ?I just thought maybe some people have fallen on hard times?? In fact, she hadn?t really given it much thought at all.
?I thought the same at first as well, especially when I was overseeing the work on the house. Now that we have been here a while, and I have had some time to observe the area and its people more closely, I am not so sure that something deeper is not at work here. Even in some of the more run-down neighborhoods of the district, almost every shop is full, every living space occupied. Old Market does not have as many problems as say.. the West End in this regard.?
?Huh,? her brow furrowed as she thought this over, comparing what she had seen in other areas of the city to what is now her own. ?That?s a good point. I hadn?t really thought about it.?
?Moreover, the streets are often empty, even during the day. Yes, people are out and about, but they do not seem to linger long in the neighborhood.?
Now he really had her attention, ?What else have you noticed?? This was not the tone of an errant cake-maker, but the question of a woman whose mind is at work discovering truth.
?There seem to be a group of young men, a few women, about in the evening hours. Most of them do not seem to live in the neighborhood. They are loud, disruptive, and I believe they are responsible for the.. graffiti, I believe you called it, that now decorates what used to be the Tavern. I am sure they are also the ones that broke the windows of the neighboring shop.?
?And you don?t think they live on the block??
He shook his head slowly. ?A few of them, perhaps. I have not followed them far, and I have only seen two or three return to one of the apartments in the early hours of the morning.?
She took up the wire-whisk and started to stir the batter of her cake to give her hands something to do while she filtered through this new information. ?What do you think is happening??
?Some type of organized criminal activity, perhaps? I am not really sure how such things work in these cities of yours, but the pattern seems familiar enough.?
?Right,? she nodded absently, and he watched her stir the cake much longer than necessary before she spoke up again. ?What should we do??
?That, m?lady, I leave entirely up to you. I did not want to be presumptuous, so I have not spoken with anyone to see if I could find out more for you. If you would like me to, however...?
?No no. I have nothing planned for the next few days. I?ll see what I can dig up.? Having made that decision, she seemed to recall the cake she was stirring. Removing the wire-whisk, she held the bowl out to Ishmerai, ?Want to taste it first??
He eyed the brown substance, that did not smell at all of chocolate, dubiously. ?I will pass on the opportunity for now.?
?Suit yourself.? She dug her finger into the batter, gathering up a large glob of it, before sticking it in her mouth. Instantly, her eyes began to water and she started to cough. ?Not good!? She grabbed the glass of water Ishmerai had poured for himself earlier, draining it dry. ?Very not good.?
?What do you mean?? She used her elbow to push a stray lock of blue behind her ear, hands busy and dirty with the task of cracking eggs into a large bowl. To Ishmerai?s utter horror, she was attempting to make a cake. She didn?t even let him explain his concerns as she began to prattle on, adding other ingredients willy-nilly to the batter, ?The family of Brownies that own the bakery are just lovely! And so were their scones. And that woman, the Dryad, who runs the flower shop.. what is her name again??
?Aemildil Branchmane.?
?Right her. She seems so sweet! I?ve been too busy to meet any of our neighbors who live in those row-houses across the way, but I did see that one family with the two little girls leaving the other day. They?ve got such pretty flowers in those big planters on their steps.?
?Yes, yes. I have noticed all that as well.?
?Then what?s the problem?? She looked from the recipe she was attempting to follow (kind-of sort-of) to her knight with a puzzled smile.
?If you would listen for a moment instead of talking and adding whatever is within hand?s reach into your cake,? he snatched a bottle of paprika away from her before a pinch of that ended up in the batter, ?I will explain.?
Jewell rolled her eyes. ?Fine.? She quickly cleaned her hands, drying them off on a towel as she turned to lean against the counter to face Ishmerai. ?You have my undivided attention.?
?The majority of our neighbors, or the few who show their faces, do seem very nice. There are also several well-run businesses. But you must have noticed how many closed store-fronts there are, and that the overall area is somewhat.. dilapidated.?
?Well, yeah..? she nodded a little. ?I just thought maybe some people have fallen on hard times?? In fact, she hadn?t really given it much thought at all.
?I thought the same at first as well, especially when I was overseeing the work on the house. Now that we have been here a while, and I have had some time to observe the area and its people more closely, I am not so sure that something deeper is not at work here. Even in some of the more run-down neighborhoods of the district, almost every shop is full, every living space occupied. Old Market does not have as many problems as say.. the West End in this regard.?
?Huh,? her brow furrowed as she thought this over, comparing what she had seen in other areas of the city to what is now her own. ?That?s a good point. I hadn?t really thought about it.?
?Moreover, the streets are often empty, even during the day. Yes, people are out and about, but they do not seem to linger long in the neighborhood.?
Now he really had her attention, ?What else have you noticed?? This was not the tone of an errant cake-maker, but the question of a woman whose mind is at work discovering truth.
?There seem to be a group of young men, a few women, about in the evening hours. Most of them do not seem to live in the neighborhood. They are loud, disruptive, and I believe they are responsible for the.. graffiti, I believe you called it, that now decorates what used to be the Tavern. I am sure they are also the ones that broke the windows of the neighboring shop.?
?And you don?t think they live on the block??
He shook his head slowly. ?A few of them, perhaps. I have not followed them far, and I have only seen two or three return to one of the apartments in the early hours of the morning.?
She took up the wire-whisk and started to stir the batter of her cake to give her hands something to do while she filtered through this new information. ?What do you think is happening??
?Some type of organized criminal activity, perhaps? I am not really sure how such things work in these cities of yours, but the pattern seems familiar enough.?
?Right,? she nodded absently, and he watched her stir the cake much longer than necessary before she spoke up again. ?What should we do??
?That, m?lady, I leave entirely up to you. I did not want to be presumptuous, so I have not spoken with anyone to see if I could find out more for you. If you would like me to, however...?
?No no. I have nothing planned for the next few days. I?ll see what I can dig up.? Having made that decision, she seemed to recall the cake she was stirring. Removing the wire-whisk, she held the bowl out to Ishmerai, ?Want to taste it first??
He eyed the brown substance, that did not smell at all of chocolate, dubiously. ?I will pass on the opportunity for now.?
?Suit yourself.? She dug her finger into the batter, gathering up a large glob of it, before sticking it in her mouth. Instantly, her eyes began to water and she started to cough. ?Not good!? She grabbed the glass of water Ishmerai had poured for himself earlier, draining it dry. ?Very not good.?