Inside of the tavern, Midhe looked around for the one-winged laguz. Tables and chairs were scattered around the dimly lit room in front of the bar. People, mostly men but a few women here and there, sat and drank at their tables. Some were cheery and would explode into laughter every few minutes, happily draining their glasses. Others were more quiet and talked low with an irritated glance at the nearby tables of loud customers.
No one looked up as they entered except the barkeeper, who only glanced at them before rubbing a glass with a bright clean rag.
"Who are you looking for?" whispered Nick, afraid of attracting attention.
"A one-winged laguz." She answered.
"Do you know him?" questioned Violet.
"No, but he may have some information." Midhe, not seeing the laguz, walked over the barkeeper.
"Excuse me."
The barkeeper looked up and set the glass down. "Yes?"
"Have you seen a one-winged laguz?"
"Unfortunately. He's been annoying my customers for some time now."
"Do you know where he is?" Midhe asked.
"I heard he's staying in an inn a few buildings down. The Mockingbird Inn, if I'm not mistaken."
"Thank you." The barkeeper only nodded his head and picked up the already sparkling glass to continue scrubbing it.
Midhe exited the tavern, blinking at the bright sunlight. She started walking down the street, searching for a sign.
"Wait, Midhe!" Violet exclaimed before grabbing her shoulder. Midhe impatiently turned around, eyes still examining the nearby stone buildings.
"Why do you suddenly need to find this person?" Violet asked. Nick came up beside her, finally catching up after being caught behind a few slow customers inside the tavern who took their time moving out of his way.
"I overheard a conversation. They said that a laguz was saying that my people are going to be attacked."
"Well, let's go then!" Nick said, starting down the street. Violet' was a little more reluctant, wishing she knew more about Midhe and her race, but decided that it could wait until later and followed.
Two buildings from the tavern, a two story structure loomed over the shorter buildings. At the top a faded sign said "Mockingbird Inn- A Traveler's Home Away From Home" in large black letters with a small gray bird in the top right corner.
Midhe pushed open the door and entered a small but cozy lobby with a desk on the right side of the room. Behind the desk stood a young woman leafing through a stack of papers. She didn't look up as they approached, but showed that she had their attention by saying, "Welcome to the Mockingbird Inn. Would you like a room?"
"No thanks. Could you tell me what room a one-winged laguz is staying in? It's very important." Midhe added.
"He's upstairs in the last room on the left." She answered, pulling out a paper with satisfaction. Midhe thanked her, but wasn't sure if the woman had heard, as she was quickly writing on a piece of blank paper.
The trio climbed up the steps, following the young woman's instructions. Just as they were about to open the door, they heard glass breaking from inside of the room. Midhe urgently flung open the door to see glass scattered everywhere and the window missing a large portion of glass. The group also noticed a few drops of blood among the glass.
For a minute, Midhe felt the urge to jump out the window and just fly down, but remembered why she was wearing a cloak. Instead she ran after Nick and Violet outside, not even bothering to look out the window. They rushed out of the lobby, irritating the owner as a few loose papers flew off of her desk.
I hope you enjoyed and please review!