Solo The hunt is on (Job Thread)

[Yisanareysin]

32nd of Winter, 514 AV

Yesterday, Rey had woken near lunchtime. Today though, he woke to a quiet inn, and a still darkened sky. Briefly, he considered rolling over and falling back into slumber, but it was nothing more than a wistful thought. There was an edge in him, keeping him awake and alert, almost jittery. He could feel it coursing through his body, a little tingle through every last part of him. Sitting up, he hissed in contentment. He knew the sensation well. It was a sliver of anticipation, of excitement for the chase to come.

It was the same thrill he had felt every time his father brought him on a hunt, every time he prepared to kill. And even if he had no intentions of spilling blood on this night, well. It was still a hunt, of sorts.

On a whim, Rey dressed, wrapping himself up in his new cloak, and quietly padded out the door, careful not to disturb anyone else. The empty silence of the common area was almost startling, a sharp contrast to the laughs and shouts that filled it in the daytime. He crept past a snoring Korin, and stepped out into the open. As freezing air nipped at his exposed skin, he pulled the cloak closer around himself, and settled down right next to the entrance of the Cave.

Back in the nest, Reysin and his brothers had prayed to Siku before every hunt, asking her favor and dedicating each drop of blood they spilled to her. It seemed only appropriate, then that he did the same for Akajia. In truth, he still didn't know if Akajia required or desired such prayers, but it alway felt right, somehow. He tilted his head back, his eyes settling on the deep shadows that shifted across the roofs.

Lady Akajia...

Rey was never really sure how to do this. He knew the proper prayers for Siku, had known them ever since he was but a little snakeling. But for Akajia, he knew none of the formalities, if there were any. He had eventually settled on a modified, slightly more informal version of the prayers he knew, and hoped that would be good enough.

This is Reysin again, though I suppose you would know that. I ask your favor for the hunt to come, for your shadows to hide me and your wisdom to guide me, so that I may uncover these secrets in your name. This has proved to be a most interesting job, and I ask that you help me see it to the end. As always, my Lady, my secrets are yours.

Wow. Rey sat back, grinning despite the cold. That had felt surprisingly good, better than even praying to Siku had ever been. He was going to have to do that more often. Even if Akajia never responded, the act of praying itself was cathartic, it seemed. Still, it would do him no good if he froze to death out here. Stretching, he stood, and made his way back into the common area of the Cave.

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Yisanareysin]

Inside, he found that Korin had apparently woken up. At Rey's questioning look, the wolf grumpily huffed at him. "Your stomping through the room woke me." Rey made a face.
"Wass not sstomping." He grumbled. Korin flashed him a grin with far too much teeth, and settled his head back down on the smooth boulder they used as a counter. Rolling his eyes, Rey made his way back to his room.

Inside, he tugged at the cloak, intending to drop it back onto the bed, and then stopped. Well, he already had it on. Might as well see if his vague plan for a disguise from the day before was any good.

Tying up his hair was simple enough. Wrestling it under the hat, less so. In the end, he tied it near the top of his head, wrapped it into a sort of tight loop, and jammed the hat on top of his head before it could unwind. Carefully, he tipped it forwards to cast a shadow over his face.

The transformation was astounding. Looking in the mirror, he saw, not regular old Reysin, but instead.... Reysin wearing a hat and missing all his hair.

Eh.

It wasn't that big of a deal, he supposed. It wasn't like he was trying to fool someone who knew him. As long it made sure that any description of him didn't include certain distinctive features, it'd be fine. Hopefully.

Carefully, he packed the hat and cloak into his backpack where they could be easily accessed, and donned his regular coat instead. Pulling the hairtie off and slipping it into his pocket, he headed out into the streets.

First (and only planned) destination of the day, the docks. Barely a chime after leaving the cave, Rey found himself on a street right next to a somehow-not-quite-frozen-over stream. He narrowed his eyes at it. In any other city, the logical thing to do would be to follow the flow of the stream, and trust that it'd probably lead him to the docks. But this was Alvadas, and it was suspiciously convenient that he'd find water so soon. So he trusted in his gut instead, and followed it upstream.

His contrariness paid off, at least on this day, and Rey soon found himself leaving the magical (or was that illusionary) boundaries of the city. The dependability of the docks was alway refreshing after a day of wandering around the ever changing city, and today was no different. Rey strolled around casually, trying, as he always did, to familiarize himself with the place.

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Yisanareysin]

Wandering into a back alley, Rey stumbled upon a sailor passed out on the ground, a bottle of what appeared to be distilled horse piss grasped in his hand. The Dhani snickered softly at the sight, but knelt down by the man. Rey suspected he looked out of place among these people. A bottle of this swill might help him to blend in, at least a little. And, like in inns, sailors liked to gossip while drinking, even this early in the day. He prodded the sailor's side, making sure he really was completely out, before gently pulling the half full bottle from his grasp.

Sniffing at the bottle, Rey made a face. The sacrifices he made for his work. Tipping his head back, he gulped down a mouthful of the liquid, making sure to swish it around in his mouth before swallowing. A little splash down the front of his shirt, and anyone who came near would smell that he'd been drinking. Add to that a slight swaying when he walked, and he (hopefully) looked enough like a drunk that he wouldn't arouse suspicion.

Now, where to find people? If it were late in the day, Rey would have headed for the nearest inn, but it was far too early for that. By the sound of it, many of the sailors and dockhands were hard at work, or at least wandering around the ships. But they had to take breaks, didn't they? Rey's experience with humans suggested that they liked to gather together like prey when they had any free time, so there'd probably (hopefully) be groups of off duty sailors drinking together somewhere around the docks.

A little bit of snooping around the docks, and some casual following of a couple of sailors, and Rey found what seemed to be a promising group. As the sailors he had tailed joined them, he settled in on the fringe of the group, trying not to draw too much attention to himself. More than a few sailors gave him suspicious looks, but, seeing that he was just going to sit and drink, simply shrugged and ignored him.

He sat with them for over half a bell, laughing when it was appropriate, making short comments when the chance came up, slowly shuffling deeper into the group when he could. The whole time, sailors would join and part from the group, so by the time he saw an opportunity to question them, half the original group had been replaced. That was good, he hoped. For a good half of this lot, he was already an established part of this gossip of sailors, not some interloper butting in. Hopefully.

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Yisanareysin]

While a few of the sailors, apparently the crew of the "Big Bertha", were complaining about a bizarre order from Charbosa, Rey was planning out his next move. He knew two things for certain: Pots had stolen the recipe for the glaze, and the creation of the glaze required particular ingredients. And since Alvadas was surrounded by mountains, there was a large chance that those ingredients had come in by ship. Perhaps someone here might know about them. And if the timing matched up, that was one step closer to finding concrete proof.

He'd pretend to be a courier, who ran errands for a number of potters. When the crew of the Bertha were finished with this tirade, he could jump in with his own "odd orders" story, and drop the name "Peter Pinewood". With luck, someone would recognize the name, and he could coax out the information he needed. He'd have to be careful, not to be too obviously leading the conversation. Still, if this failed here, he could try again another time, with a different group of sailors. He had it all planned out. And just in time, too. Rey tuned back into the conversation in time to hear "-never gonna look at coral the same way again." Leaning forward, he spoke up, trying to keep his accent in check.

"At leasst you only do it once. I've been running strange bundless for weeks. Peter Pi-"
"Hang on, you're a courier?" The interruption startled Rey, and he turned to the speaker, a tall human with short black hair. He had the look of a sailor, at least to Rey's eyes.
"Yess? I'm work for-"
"Sorry, it's just..." The sailor grinned apologetically. "you don't look like much of a runner." Rey bristled at that. He was a Viper, one of the fastest- "You're kinda short, and a little scrawny. No offense mate, but you don't seem that fast."

At the "short" comment, Rey scowled. "I'd be faster than you." He snapped, almost petulantly. To his surprise, the sailor seemed to brighten up at that.
"Wanna bet?"

Oh Hai. All around them, the watching sailors began to look far, far too interested. A few of them even started up a chant of "RACE RACE RACE RACE."

Well, there went his chances of getting this lot to answer his questions, now that they were riled up. All his planning, out the window. Or out the porthole, he supposed. Might as well soundly beat this vagik in a race. Maybe afterwards they'd be more receptive to his questions. And Rey hadn't had a chance to really stretch his legs for a while.

"Fine, fine. Race it iss."

The sailors cheered. One slapped him on the back, nearly pitching him off his seat. "There's a good lad." Rey sighed internally. He didn't look that young, did he? "Crow here's been tryin' to prove himself for the last season. Show 'im up for us, will ya?"

The sailor he was racing offered him a friendly grin. "How about to the Workshop? You know where that is?" Rey nodded. "Great. A silver to the winner?" Another nod.

The watching sailors hooted as Rey and his opponent stood. Rey bounced and stretched, expecting a countdown. Instead, what he got was "Well, whataya two waitin for? Race!"

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Yisanareysin]

The human was off like a bolt, Rey following just after. He was careful to pace himself, well aware that despite his superior speed, he was only capable of keeping it up for short distances. Curse his noodley legs.

The sailor had, Rey suspected, chosen the workshop as their destination for it's convenience. Though it was a fair distance away, it was a straight run down a long stretch of the dock, far enough from the water that it wasn't too busy. It was, at least as far as Rey could see, empty ahead of them. Admittedly, the sailor running in front of him was blocking quite a bit of his view.

Already his muscles were aching, his joints were sore and his lungs felt like they were being set on fire from the inside. Also, there was a bizarre pinching sensation in his side, which was probably not a good sign. It had been so long since he'd had to do any real running, even at a reduced speed, everything hurt.

Ahead, Rey could see the workshop, not too far off. This last part was vital, but he wasn't sure what to do. Pull ahead now, or stay behind him until the last moment? Decisions decisions, and Rey wasn't even close to an experienced enough runner to know which was the right choice. Thankfully, or perhaps, unfortunately, the choice was made for him, by a piece of wood, of all things.

Ahead, the sailor swerved to the right, revealing a crate in his path. Lacking the reflexes to move out of the way, Rey smothered his cautious side, and vaulted over it. Surprisingly, he was able to get his legs over the box. Less surprisingly, he petched up the landing. Pain jolted through his leg as he landed stiffly, and he stumbled, costing him a few precious ticks.

The sailor now had a clear lead on him, and the workshop was just a building or two ahead. His pride would thank him for this, even if his legs would not. Plowing through the pain, despite every inch of his body screaming at him, Rey put on a final burst of speed, pushing himself to go as fast as he could.

As fast as he could go, as it turned out, was not quite as fast as his normal top speed, considering how exhausted he was by that time. Rey and the sailor were neck to neck when they reached the workshop, and stopped at around the same time. Rey immediately collapsed into a heap, his cheek pressed to the rough wood of the dock, while the sailor bent over, hands on his knees.

"I think" the human gasped out "that's a draw." He dropped down to sit as well. "You probably would have won if it weren't for that crate." Rey simply rolled over onto his back, and wheezed. Everything hurt, but at least he hadn't lost.

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Yisanareysin]

After they'd both recovered sufficiently, the sailor offered to buy him a drink, and Rey was too tired to refuse, which was how he ended up at a table in a dark room somewhere, nursing a mug of surprisingly decent ale, apparently making a new friend. "That was fun." The sailor said, grinning widely. "Most of the sailors around her just laugh me off. Doesn't help most of them still have sea legs." Rey raised an eyebrow at that.
"Not you?" The sailor shook his head ruefully.
"I've been stuck portside for a season now." For a moment, Rey thought he was about to say something, but the moment passed, and the man took a swig from his mug. "I'm Crow, by the way." He stuck out his hand. "Crowley, really, but no one calls me that."
"Reysin." Rey responded automatically, before realising he perhaps should have given a fake name. Crow let out a sharp, surprised laugh.
"Your name's Racing? Fortune telling parents, eh?" Rey rolled his eyes, trying unsuccessfully to hide a smile. "So, Racing,"
"Rey."
"Rey, what brought a courier down to drink with us sailors? It's usually just familiar faces around the docks." The question made Reysin hesitate. He'd hoped to talk to a larger group, so there was more chance someone would know. Still, he supposed it couldn't hurt to just ask him. Slowly, trying to keep his accent neutral, Rey began the little speech he'd rehearsed earlier.
"I've been running sstrange packages for weeks. Some clay..." Rey waved his hands vaguely, unsure of the word"pot maker persson has-." Before he could continue, Crow slapped his leg, again inturupting Rey's speech.
"Hah! You too? About twenty days back, right? That West guy who had a dozen packages from the docks? Hey, another mug here thanks!"

It was fortunate that the sailor had turned around to shout that last part, or else Rey's shocked face would have given him away. He quickly schooled it into a more neutral expression, or tried to, anyways. "Yess, maybe. It was, er, strange." Crow nodded empathetically, new mug in hand.
"You don't have to tell me. A dozen packages! I know some merchants like to split them up so they get them faster, but a dozen? Man must have really needed whatever was in there. Petching weird, but it was pretty good pay." The human leaned forward conspiratorially. "I was talking to the crew of the "Silver Swan", and they say this is the second time they've had to ship that stuff up from Eyktol. Different guy first time, apparently, Red or something like that. Weird stuff. Still, it's all merchant business, you know? None of our concern. Don't worry too much about it mate."

Rey frowned. "And, you hear of a man name Pinewood?" He asked hopefully. Crow raised an eyebrow, and shook his head. "Doesn't ring a bell. Why, did you run weird shyke for him?"
Rey nodded absently, and hummed to himself, digesting this new information. Perhaps this was a coincidence. But the timing seemed to match up, and the mention of another potter... Perhaps Pinewood had an accomplice? It was a bit of a stretch.But, it was a potential lead, the only one he had. Something to follow up before he had to report that night. Still, before he left, there was something that was bothering him.

"You're a courier?" He asked, puzzled. "Not ssailor?" To his surprise, Crow winced.
"I am a sailor." The man said defensively. "I'm just- I've been doing odd jobs around while my ship gets repaired." Rey blinked in surprise. A touchy subject, it seemed. Somehow Rey doubted that was the whole story, but he could look into that later, when he had time. "Ssorry." He held up his hand, wanting to placate the human. The man shook his head
"No, it's alright. It's just- I've been a sailor all my life. That's all." He smiled at Rey, suddenly back to his cheerful mood. "Anyways, it's been nice meeting you, Racing."
"Reysin."
"Uh huh. Come around anytime, maybe we'll have a rematch, chat about weird packages. It'd be nice to talk with someone other than the sailors who come and go." Rey smiled back, mind already ablaze with possibilities.
"I will." After all, having a friend familiar with the docks would be a very useful thing in the future. This was, perhaps, a relationship worth cultivating.

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Yisanareysin]

Asking about the name Adrian West turned up some very interesting results. "Never heard of him" was, unfortunately, the most common by a large margin, until Rey conked himself upside the head and started focusing on asking stall owners in the Bizarre.

"Adrian? Sure, I know him. He has a stall," the woman waved her arms vaguely in the direction of the rest of the Bizarre "somewhere around here. He's usually in the middle of a group of other potters. Er... why do you ask?" Rey made a face, and patted his bag, feigning annoyance.
"Courier. Late package." The woman nodded understandingly. "Aah, I know how that is. I once ordered a shipment of gems, and didn't get it for a season! That's life in Alvadas for you. Well, good luck to you lad."

Rey nodded politely, and turned to go.
"Hang on a moment!" Rey paused, uncertain if that was a bad sign or not. "Listen, if you can't find Adrian, maybe go to his mentor first. James Reed. You can't miss him. Tall, grey hair, missing one eye, sideburns. He'll know where to find West. Hope you find him."

Rey beamed at her, only half acting, and slipped away into the crowd. So, West was definitely a potter as well, with a mentor? So Pinewood did have an accomplice, or a go between. Or perhaps he was chasing a totally irrelevant lead. He needed more information. He needed to find a courier.

So it was back to the taverns, and yet more poking around, until finally, Rey found himself watching a tall, lanky boy from across the room. Rey's eyes flickered shut briefly, and he took in a deep breath, gathering himself. Exhale, and heat flowed up his throat and into his mouth and nose, settling into him with a soothing tingle. He turned his sense on the boy, specifically focusing on the flavors of his emotions, and padded forwards to sit down across from him. The boy looked at him, black irises ringed with yellow, (and Rey forced down his unease at sensing a bird of prey, a predator, his natural enemy) and raised an eyebrow.

"Hear you are runner." Rey smiled at him, reaching into his bag.
"I don't run."
"Apology. Flier." The boy smiled, eagle eyes flashing (A tingle of chocolaty amusement, that was good). "You fly package, recently? Adrian Wesst." The boy merely blinked at him.
"What if I did?"
"Want to know what happen. Jussst ssome talk. Between... friendsss." At the word friends, Rey pulled his hand from his bag, bringing out a few silvers (Vanilla interest, a twinge of meaty greed, followed by bitter disappointment. At how small the amount was, most likely). Those coins were followed by more, until the disappointment cleared from the eagle's mind. "Who would know? More than you carrying packagess that day." He flicked the stack of coins, letting it spill towards the courier (tangy indecision, overwhelmed by greed).

"I see. Well then, friend. Let's talk."

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Yisanareysin]

The boy scooped the coins up, slipping them into his pocket, and Rey hid a triumphant smile behind his hand. Kyla would have had this boy paying her by now, but this wasn't bad for him on a solo contract, so she could shut it.

"Twenty days ago, I was hired by the docks to pickup a few packages. They were sealed boxes, fairly light, if bulky. I dropped my clothes off with them, carried the packages, and went on my way." Rey frowned, disappointed. That was more or less what he'd already known. But then the boy continued. "Five days later, I was hired again, by West himself this time." The boy smiled (An odd mixture of sweet amusement and peppery irritation).

"I don't think he recognised me as a human. Had me bring these packages, to a man named Peter Pinewood. Not the boxes I'd flown to him earlier. Little jars." Rey felt his heart skip a beat. He was right! He was on the right track! He hadn't just wasted two bells and nearly killed himself racing a crazy sailor for nothing!

"I only had to carry a few of them, but I caught a glimpse of his storage. Man had maybe fifteen, twenty of those jars, all the same. More than I'd brought to him, but that's not that unusual."

"Why?" Rey asked, curious. The boy smirked.

"This is Alvadas. One courier could take ages to run a package, or no time at all. Lots of merchants don't want to take that risk, so if they can afford it, they split up whatever it is they've ordered into separate parcels, and give one to each courier. That way, even if some are late, chances are, at least a few will arrive early, or on time." Rey blinked in surprise, then laughed (eliciting velvety smugness from the boy). Ingenious, if chancy.

"Most merchants split their orders into three, maybe four parts. West must have hired half a dozen couriers, maybe more. Must have really needed whatever was in there. That's all I know."

Rey hummed thoughtfully, and released his sense. As far as he could tell, the courier was being completely truthful with him, which meant... what? So the packages were going from the docks to West, and then totally different packages were going from West to Pinewood? Given the timing, it couldn't be a coincidence, but it made no sense to Rey.

Ugh, and he had to report in tonight. What a joy. The courier seemed to realise Rey was done with him, and stood. "A pleasure to meet you. Friend." Then with one final smirk, he was gone.

Rey sighed, resting his head on the table. He took a few chimes to rest, recovering from his extended use of his sense. He was getting better though, he was certain, lasting longer before succumbing to the various physical effects of pushing himself too far. Still, he'd give it a few days before he did anything more with his sense. Just in case.

After recovering his strength, he headed off to the meeting point behind a particular building. Ionu favored him today, it seemed, and he arrived early. Hmm.

Rounding a corner, Rey quickly swapped out his coat for the cloak, and slipped into his makeshift disguise, tying up his hair and hiding it under his hat. Pulling the brim down over his face, he settled back against the wall to wait, deliberately keeping himself within the shadow of the building. He kept as still as he could, alert for the sound of footsteps.

There. It was beginning to grow dark when Rey heard someone approach from his left. Closer, closer....

The figure that stepped out was hooded as well. Good enough. Rey stepped out into the light, and tilted his head towards the man. The figure nodded curtly, and pulled down his hood. A tall human man, with greying hair and sideburns, with one eye a milky white.

Oh petch.

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Yisanareysin]

For the second time that day, Rey was glad his face was obscured, by his hat this time, as he was certain his face would give away his shock. James Reed... J.R. ... the Jar... Adrian's mentor... All the puzzle pieces in his mind snapped together. So, Pinewood had managed to hire an inside man. He was still missing a few pieces, but he had enough of the shape to guess what had happened. And a few questions of this James Reed would assuage his lingering doubts, if he was correct.

"Well? Report?" The man looked down at Rey, his one eye boring intently into the spy. He seemed composed enough, but Rey thought he heard the barest trace to tension in his voice. Rey couldn't blame him, really. Three years of work, he'd written, stolen in an instant.

"Hass quesstions firsst." The man narrowed his eye at Rey.
"I reserve the right not to answer." He said sternly. That was fine, Rey didn't need any information that was that sensitive.

"Who you work with on pot? No name" He said hurriedly at Reed's glare. "But iss much known? Done thiss long time?"
"My associates are all well respected, and experienced potters, if that's your question. And if you're hinting at what I think you are, I would think very, very hard about reconsidering. None of my associates would risk their reputations selling out our work to an amateur. Besides, whatever profit Pots has made off of his theft, it's but a fraction of what my associates and I stood to gain. Betrayal would be simply unprofitable."

Rey frowned at that. Now, that poked a hole in his theory. Or.... did it? All of his associates were experienced, he said. Was he counting his apprentice among their numbers?

"Are otherss? Helperss, cleanerss, apprenticcesss?"

"Bring in outside help? Certainly not. We are professionals, and we take the secrecy of our work very seriously. We did have two apprentices working with us, overseen by my own apprentice." Oh dear. Was that a note of pride in Reed's voice? That didn't bode well for Rey.
"Our apprentices assisted in the preparation and testing of the glaze, but the finer details were kept between my associates and myself."
"Not have-" aw petch what was that word in common? "detailss write down?"

"The only written copy of our final formula" (Aah. Rey had been thinking the word recipe, but formula seemed to work better) "was- is kept with me, in a secure location in my workshop. I take security very seriously. I assure you, if someone had broken into my workshop, I would know."

But the apprentice would have had access to the workshop. It was all fitting together now.
"How apprenticce worksss?" Reed frowned at Rey.
"My apprentice? Or.." Rey shook his head.
"How apprenticce... together? How you find, how you pay."
"Ah. I fail to see how this is relevant." The man crossed his arms,

"Our apprentices approach us individually. If we feel up to taking on students, we test them. Those that meet our standards are then apprenticed to us until we judge them ready to join us. It's technically unofficial, but we take it very seriously. We pay our apprentices a fixed amount, but-" The man trailed off, apparently realising what Rey was getting at.

"No. Absolutely not."

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic

[Yisanareysin]

"No?" He had to say, it was sort of adorable how naively loyal the man was to his protege. In Sunberth, the apprentice would have been the first suspect.

"Absolutely not. Adr- My apprentice would never betray- Listen here. Our apprentices are paid a fixed amount, yes, but they are rewarded for assisting in large projects like this. All three apprentices would have gotten a small cut of the profits." At Rey's blank look, the man sighed. "They would have gotten a fraction of what we earned. Not a flat fee, not a single payment. A cut of the profits. Selling out our formula to Pots, on the other hand, would only merit a single payment. However large that payment was, the amount my apprentice stood to gain would eventually, but inevitably be larger than that. I set up this sort of financial incentive specifically to discourage betrayal like this. You understand?"

Rey considered that, mulling it over. Reed seemed to be assuming quite a bit, but aside from that his logic seemed sound.

"Why Potss not pay.." he waved his hand, struggling for the word. "cut ass well?" Reed scoffed at that, a vicious sneer curling across his face.

"He might offer, but no intelligent person would accept. Once the formula is in Pots' hands, he has all the power. What incentive does he have to continue the payments? And it's not as if there's any legal action that the thief could take against him."

Well Hai. Reed made a good point there. But it didn't make sense otherwise. Those packages had gone to West, then he'd sent those jar's to Pinew-

Those.. jars... Jars of what, exactly? What had changed in those five days between West receiving the packages and sending out the jars? Rey had thought it was to throw off the scent for anyone snooping, but it was an almost painfully terrible decoy. What if that hadn't been the intention at all?

Pots had felt almost bitter, yesterday. The more Rey thought about that, the odder it seemed. Even if he hadn't done the work himself, he'd pulled off the heist, hadn't he? That was something to be proud of. Unless he hadn't been the one to pull it off.

"Who say Potss have your formula?" That seemed to throw the human for a loop.
"What?"
"Iss right, Wesst will not work for Potss, I think. But if is Potss work for Wesst? Is enough.... what you ssay? Inccentive?"
"I.. I suppose if he kept a large enough portion of the profits.. But you have no proof of that! This all just baseless conj-" The potter paused, visibly distressed. "How did you know his name. How..."

Well, that was his cue to explain, Rey supposed.

"Sspeak to ssailorss in dockss, they ssay a man call Adrian Wesst buyss many thing from Eyktol." Reed flinched as if hit, his face draining of blood as Rey continued. "Runner ssay from dock, box iss light, big. Five day later, iss paid to bring thing from Wesst to man name Peter Pinewood. Potss. Iss not box. Iss small jar. Many of them."

Reed closed his eyes, clearly pained. "A small jar, rounded, with brown glaze?" He asked quietly. Truthfully, Rey had no idea, but he guessed it probably was. He simply stared at the man, trying to imply a yes without having to actually say it.

"Those jars are the ones we use to hold glazes. Oh Izurdin..." Rey waited patiently as the man fell silent, his head lowered.
"You're certain?" He whispered, finally.

Rey nodded.

"You'll understand that I'll have to verify this, but if I do.. you'll have your payment. I no longer have need of your services."

Rey typically disliked leaving a job without being paid immediately, but under the circumstances, he could accept it. Of course, just to make sure, perhaps a little.. not a threat, of course, but a little reminder that Rey knew who he was was in order.

"Of coursse... Jamessss." Rey let his hiss linger a little longer than usual, then turned to leave.

This had turned out to be a most educational job indeed, he had to say.

Snake Tongue | Common | Arumenic