Tracking Thukeg

Jasmine pulls out a seed from her right pocket and drops it. "Sprout, grow, and blossom. Lead me to my prey's hiding place." As she speaks, a mixture of green and black light swirls around her hand before engulfing the seed. It begins to shake before erupting to life. Sprouting rapidly, soon growing into an eight-inch twig with three petals on top. Slightly above its midsection it sprouts two limbs akin to arms with black roses on the ends. It uproots itself and turns toward Jasmine. Two amber droplets form two inches below its leaves.

She softly smiles. "You grew up well, Sproutling. Now, I need you to find your sibling for me." Sproutling turns slightly to its left then right. Angelo watches Sproutling carefully before it points with its right arm in the direction Thukeg went before pointing upward then slowly swings to its right. Dubala picks up Sproutling carefully. "How long will this little one last?" Jasmine scratches her chin. "Hmm, Sproutling isn't very strong, but it should be able to last an hour without rest. So long as it doesn't take any damage, you can extend its time indefinitely by giving it some mana or letting it absorb some nutrients from the soil every hour or so."

Dubala grins, placing Sproutling on her left shoulder before cracking her knuckles. "That's plenty of time for me to catch up to that ugly Dwarf and rip his nasty beard off his lying face!" Angelo smirks. "You'll get your chance soon, but I want to make sure we find his accomplice first." She places a hand on her hip as her right eyebrow raises. "Hmph, of course. You aren't working with an amateur." She looks at Jasmine. "We got what we needed here. Take these goblins home. Rendezvous with us when you're done."

Jasmine walks over to Lena. "Got it. Come on, Lena. You're coming with me." Lena picks up Klas in his sleeping bag after she and Jasmine walk over to Stard. Angelo looks at Stard. "Get word to Slyka that we're close to finding the source of the corruption. The fewer that know this, the better." Stard nods slightly before looking over at Klas. "Understood. Good luck, Master Angelo." Angelo looks at Dubala. "Let's go." They leave the building, taking to the rooftops and follow the directions given by Sproutling.

After ten minutes of roof hopping, they managed to catch up to Thukeg. He was in the middle of buying a deep brown leather hooded cloak. It doesn't look like anything special. However, when he puts it on, it causes him to vanish from view. Dubala leans in a little closer. "That fucker..." She whispers, glancing at Angelo. Angelo looks at Dubala before looking at Spourtling. Sproutling's right arm slowly changes directions and soon points back the way they came. With Sproutling's help, they continue to follow Thukeg.

Dubala feeds some mana to Sproutling after thirty minutes of following Thukeg. "He's taking his sweet ass time..." She whispers, gently brushing against Angelo's side. "At least we can't see his ass." He smirks, looking at her. "You really hate Dwarves, huh?" She stares into the distance. "Yeah, but there is a good reason for that. They are repugnant, odious, and simpletons in all manners of speaking. Knowing I breathe the same air as one is repulsive..." The look of pure disgust on her face made her words more outstanding as she softly spoke.

He gently touches her back. "I hear you, but... Do you have any personal reason to hate them so?" She nods slightly. "A few Dwarves killed a couple of my childhood friends when I was little. One time, when we were playing hide and seek. I heard a few loud uneven screams..." She lets out a heavy, quivering breath. "I was used to them trying to trick me. That sort of thing is normal as a Drow. We're taught from birth to constantly train to be as crafty and cunning as possible to survive. So, I moved as quickly and quietly as I could from my hiding spot. My friends were very clever, but I wasn't about to let them win without a fight."

There was a short pause. "When I got to where I heard the screams coming from." Her breath hitched. "There was... So, so much blood. All I could do was hide behind the wall while those Dwarves laughed." Her eyes closed for a moment. "I was only eight years old. I, I wasn't able to save them." He gently hugs her, knowing that words wouldn't suffice within this moment. She hugs him gently back. "I, I haven't met a single good Dwarf since then..." About that time, Sproutling's right arm began to move again.

Angelo's hand moves slowly to her hand then gently squeezes it. "I understand. I know it won't bring your friends back, but you can do whatever you want to him when this is over, okay?" She weakly smiles and scoffs. "I won't turn that offer down. Thank you for listening, Angelo. You're a real sweet guy." She kisses his cheek before they continue after Thukeg. She provides some more mana to Sproutling as time passes. They follow Thukeg to a small but lavish gypsy shop near the edge of the marketplace.

Thukeg pulls back the hood of his cloak, causing him to become visible once again. Before he can knock on the door, a young woman comes out. She's wearing a maroon frilly cotton dress and a white blouse with puffed sleeves. She's wearing bright glittery bracelets, earrings, rings, and a necklace. They can't see her well from this distance, but they can see that she wasn't expecting him. She slaps him before bringing him inside. Angelo and Dubala look at one another before looking back at the gypsy's shop. Is this woman who they are looking for? Should they wait for Lena and Jasmine to catch up before going in?