They do some investigating

"Tey, come on. Let's go see our contact. We're wasting time here." Aliara tugged on Teysa's arm and pouted. "Come onnnn, I'm huuuuungry!"

Teysa smiled. "Twenty minutes, ok? Come on, you can wait that long."

Aliara crossed her arms and stuck out her lower lip. "Fine. Twenty minutes. Then we go get something to eat."

They visited two more silk stalls in quick succession. One was run by an elderly drow so wrinkled and toothless that she was barely comprehensible. The other was owned by a pair of humans-- brother and sister, by the looks of them. Neither proprieter had any clues, though they were not as emphatic as the gnome had been. Teysa had to admit that they were getting nowhere. "Fine, Li. Let's go. Do you know how to get to this place?"

Aliara studied the map. "Think so. It's pretty central. Come on."

They pushed their way through the crowd towards the market exit. All around them, humanoids of all descriptions shoved, jostled and elbowed each other in their haste to shop. Teysa had to use the bulk of her armor as a weapon just to get through the mass of people.

Wham! Something heavy crashed into her from the side. Teysa caught a glimpse of a surprised drow face as she toppled over. Shoppers scattered as she collapsed onto the cobbles with a sound like a bag of chains dropped down a staircase.

Teysa rolled over, slightly dazed, and saw a drow in a long green robe picking himself up off the ground. He looked worse off than she was. "Sorry, so sorry," he was mumbling, rubbing his forehead. "Wasn't looking where I was going, sorry..."
"THIEF!" Teysa turned to her right. A pair of Fangs was pushing through the crowd. One pointed directly at the drow who had collided with her. "Stop that man!" he called.

Teysa scrambled to her feet, shaking her head to clear it. The drow who had hit her let out a low moan of fear and bolted into the crowd. The guard cupped a hand to his mouth and shouted, "Thief! Someone stop him!" Teysa felt for her satchel, realized it was missing and cursed herself. Oldest trick in the book, and I fell for it. Damn! She turned to Aliara. "Li, come on! We've been robbed!"

She charged into the crowd without hesitation. Her armor slowed her down, but not as much as if she had worn her full plate. And it gave her serious momentum-- people scattered before her, while the fleeing thief had to squeeze his way through. The guard continued shouting, and Teysa sensed a growing agitation in the crowd. She plowed forward without waiting to see if Aliara was behind her.

Up ahead, the drow looked back, saw her and blanched. He climbed on top of a fruit-seller's basket. The merchant jabbered and waved his arms, and the thief leapt into the crowd. Teysa bulled past the merchant's stall and scanned the crowd for her quarry. There! He was making for an alley at the edge of the market. If he gets there I'll never catch him!

Up ahead, Aliara darted out of the crowd. She had somehow looped around Teysa and come out ahead of her. The drow saw her and hooked left, but she doggedly stayed on him. She was smaller and more agile, and the press of the crowd was obviously slowing him down. She lagged him by ten feet... five... three...

Near the edge of the market, the crowd thinned out. Aliara lunged at the drow, who twisted frantically to escape. She stumbled but managed to maintain her footing, and now she stood between him and the alley escape. The drow looked back and forth as Teysa pushed her way out of the crowd and advanced on him. She could see her satchel clutched protectively to his chest. The drow seemed to come to a decision. He picked up the satchel with both hands and threw it overarm at Aliara. Instinctively she reached up to grab it, and took a couple of stumbling steps backward under its weight. "Oof!"

That was opening enough. The thief darted past her and into the alley. Aliara waited for Teysa to jog the last few feet over, thoroughly out of breath. "He's gone," she observed. "Do we care?"

Teysa rested her hands on her knees and panted. She had definitely lost some of her muscle tone in the warren. "No, it's fine. Open it up. Is it all in there?"

Aliara rummaged through the satchel. "Looks like it. Waterskin, some extra clothing... hold on, what's this?"
She pulled out a glass phial. It was plain and unadorned, with a simple cork in the top. Inside was a wrapped piece of vellum. Teysa pulled it out, smoothed it over her knee and read.

"Friends of the arakeen: speak to Mish'li at the Chapel of the Veil of Sorrows if you seek answers."
She turned the scroll over and over, but it said nothing else. "It's unsigned. That's one way to deliver a message."

Aliara covered the scroll with one hand. "Better put that away. The cavalry's here."
A pair of Fangs pushed their way out of the crowd. "You! Women! Did you see the thief?"
Teysa smiled. "Yes, he stole my bag. We got it back, though. He went that way." She pointed down the alley.

The guard's eyes narrowed. "You didn't detain him? You didn't think to stop him?"

"We tried, but he slipped away. I'm sorry, sir." Teysa tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. She could see Aliara's mouth tightening. The guard looked them both over, then scoffed. "Civilians. Next time stay out of our way. Go about your business." With that he turned to his partner and stalked off into the crowd.

Teysa and Aliara walked off down the alley together. Once they were sure they were a safe distance from the market, Teysa spoke. "Veil of Sorrows, huh? Let's check in with our contact and see what that's about."

They set off into the main body of the city. The streets were cobbled in some places, bare dirt in others. The buildings were squat, low things of dressed stone-- some kind of black basalt, by the look of it, though some had additions of stucco or more exotic parts. There wasn't a wooden construction as far as the eye could see. Even the street-vendors' stalls were colorful canvas stretched over metal poles. As the women passed, the vendors tried to entice them with all manner of strange wares.

"Amulets! Protective amulets, blessed by the Arch-priestess herself!"

"Cloth! Dye straight from Underhill, the finest you'll ever feel!"

"Rat! Fresh rat, onna stick! All flavors!"

They followed the narrow, winding roads for a short time. Periodically Aliara would pause, then direct them down some side alley. They didn't seem to be making much progress-- the only landmark, the distant cathedral, barely seemed to move. Just as Teysa was about to say something, though, they stepped out of the mouth of the alley into a wide-open plaza. The cobblestones here were clean and neatly fitted, the buildings well-scrubbed and respectable looking. On the other side of the plaza was an impressive three-story structure with smoke curling out of its chimneys. Hanging from a sign over the door was a massive oval of granite, etched with the words THE STONE EGG.

"We're here! Come on, let's see what we can find."