When Hana Zuriko picked the Tea Kettle for her lodging, she never expected that Madam Freona's Tea Kettle would be so packed. Each of the tables had a patron or two occupying it. Some enjoyed their meal in silence while others took in the company of others in conversation. The traveling sorceress kept to herself, enjoying the tea that Blaizette, one of Freona's daughters, served her. The halfling woman worked alone in serving the different customers, trying her best to keep a smile. The human woman admired her server's persistence as the hard and busy work did not drive a wedge in her helpful attitude.

A wanderlust drove Hana away from her home, hidden in the shadows of the Dragonsword Mountains in the west. Her tribe believed that they were descended from dragons, and as such, revered them greatly. Still, she sought to see the world, although she could not explain why. Perhaps it was her draconic blood that moved her towards her next destination. When her eldest sister questioned her before she left, the sorceress simply shrugged and told her this was something she had to do. That was three years ago, and although she missed her home, she had seen many amazing sights that she would never have saw if she did not leave.

Hana was a slim woman with tanned, complex skin that marked her as a foreigner to Phlan. She wore bright yellow robes that covered her shoulders down past her knees, revealing her bare feet. She had a red scarf wrapped around her robes with red lines tattooed on her ankles, which ascend up towards the rest of the body. A yellow headband wrapped around her black hair, keeping it out of the way of her crimson eyes, a signifying mark of her draconic nature.

Although Hana thought she looked out of place, it seemed like the Tea Kettle accepted all sorts of oddities. Towards one table as an elven woman, her leather armor covered in dirt, and had a fine looking bow with a strange purple hue on the wood. At another table was a white dragonborn, someone who definitely stood out. The sorceress was interested in learning more about the stranger, but her paranoia drove her off. Asides from those two, a group of halfling men gathered, speaking loudly in their native tongue, and wore bright colors. Her sightseeing was interrupted when a half-orc approached her table, pulling up a table and sitting down next to her.

"Just act normal," the half-orc told her through a clenched smile."Listen closely."

"You have my attention," Hana sipped from her cup of tea.

"My name is Buhrell Caah, and I represent the Emerald Enclave," the half-orc introduced. "Everyone's life might be in danger."

"How so?" Hana questioned, setting her cup down on the table.

"An associate told me that a potentially devastating magical item was brought into the Tea Kettle," Buhrell explained. "We don't know what it looks like or who has it, but I need your help in finding it."

"You turn to a stranger for aid," Hana mused. "I can assist."

"While I talk to the management, I need you to talk to the customers, especially those you find suspicious," Buhrell directed. "Try not to let them know of your mission. We wouldn't want them to set off the item by mistake."

"It shall be done," Hana noded.

Buhrell returned her nod and stood up from his pulled chair. As quickly as he came, he was gone, walking up to Blaizette. Hana did not question his choice on convincing a stranger to aid him. He was a desperate man wanting to protect the people, and the tea here was quite good. The sorceress would prefer not to see the Tea Kettle destroyed by whatever magic the item holds. And if the item was really magical like the half-orc told her, she could find it easily. It would draw attention to herself, but that was a sacrifice she would have to make.

Hana clasped her hands together, concentrating with her eyes closed, and whispered in Draconic. She felt herself from from her seat, now floating in the air. Such was a consequence of using her powers, although she questioned why using them had her float in the air. Like the sorceress expected, she could feel all eyes drawn on her, but it did not matter to her. The spell was successful in detecting the magic around the Tea Kettle, making her job much more easier. She opened her eyes while she slowly fell down into her chair, quickly looking around at the patrons.

The elf ranger had a magical item in her pouch, although Hana was quick to rule her out as a suspect. Travelers like her carried magical items, so she doubt it was her. One of the halflings also held magic in their pouch, but they looked like they bore no ill will. An elderly woman had a magical necklace, which usually was more protective than dangerous. A man with a bowl of soup wrote with a magical quill, but who ever heard of a pen that could endanger the lives of many?

There was only one final source of magic within the room. A finely dressed man kept something in his pouch while he talked to a dwarven woman of similar status. A pack was between them, radiating magic. Even when she used magic, neither turned to take in on the sight, focused on their business. Neither of them had the look of adventurers about them, and the man looked too old to be traveling. It had to be him. Hana stood up from her chair and made her away over to the duo. Finally, the dwarven woman looked at her with a glare, and tapped her knuckle on the table to alert the man.

"We need to talk," Hana told them.

"Private meeting," the man told her, looking away.

"Aye, lass," the dwarf waved her off. "Ye best git movin' on."

"Your friend is trying to hide," Hana observed, reaching for his pack. "I'll give it back if you have nothing to hide."

"No you're not!" the man exclaimed.

The two humans grabbed onto the pack at once while the dwarf scooted back on her chair nervously. The two tugged on it roughly, and the man, who had his hand on the cover of it, pulled it free. A glass sphere fell from the pack, crashing into the ground with a loud crack. Before Hana could get a good look at it, the man dove for the object, but suddenly, lighting slammed into him. Nothing natural, definitely magic. He remained on the ground, clutching a dagger-like object while quivering on the ground.

The dwarf woman shot from her chair and made a dash for the door. Hana was not going to let the woman get away and quickly launched herself in a tackle. She collided into the suspect roughly, grabbing at her arms while positioned her weight to keep her pinned. All eyes were drawn to the scene, although no one was sure if they should intervene. The dwarf struggled against the tight grip, not ready to give up just yet.

"You're going to talk, or else you'll end up like your friend," Hana threatened, her teeth clenched.

"Aye," the dwarf sighed in defeat.

"Who are you with?" Hana harshly questioned.

"Th' Ironclad Guild," the dwarf admitted. "That man wanted te sell me a blue dragon tooth te help us. I didn't know it had any magic, I swear!"

Hana grunted, and shoved the woman towards Buhrell, who was quick to restrain the dwarf for further questioning. She made her way over to the man as the lightning from him jumped towards the man with the pen, sending him crashing down to the ground with a scream. The sorceress ignored him, focusing her attention on a curved tooth in the man's hand. She grabbed it, feeling a painful jolt go through her arm. She gritted her teeth as she pulled the item free.

Yet, much to Hana's surprise, the man, whom she thought was killed, stood up, and without another word, made his way out of the Tea Kettle. She thought about restraining him, but remembering the electricity, stepped away from him. The magical lightning from the writer jumped into the elven ranger, who likewise collapsed in agony. The sorceress stood about helpless, clutching the tooth in anger. While the writer walked out to the streets and held hands with the old man. The woman had no idea what was going on while Buhrell ran over to the writer's old table, reading from his parchment.

"Safflower oil," Buhrell muttered, his eyes drawn towards the woman. "And that purple hue is wood from the Quivering Forest."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Hana asked.

"It's jumping from people who have been in contact with the Quivering Forest," Buhrell concluded. "That's how we can bottle up the lightning!"

The lightning shot out of the elven woman and through the door. While the ranger made her way to join the old man and the writer, Hana and Buhrell pushed her aside from the entrance and made their ways onto the street. During their short time in the Tea Kettle, the lightning jumped into a dwarven girl with a necklace of flowers. She made her way to join the others, the lightning now in an elven man, who was writhing by his cart of flowers.

Taking a moment to watch, Hana came upon a single observation: the flowers on the girl's necklace and the flowers in the elf's cart were the same. She knew what had to be done next. The sorceress rushed over to the cart, grabbing a handful of flowers and covering the tooth in them. She stepped back from the elf and held the tooth out towards him. She prayed to her ancestors that the lightning would not harm her as it did the others. The woman hoped her last ditch effort to put this lightning to an end would actually work.

The lightning surged from the elf, who collapsed onto the ground with a thud, and towards Hana. She held her eyes closed, her hair twitching while the lightning circled and wrapped itself around her forearm. Thankfully, instead of going into her, it surged into the tooth. The victims in the circle collapsed onto the ground with Buhrell rushing over to press two fingers against the old man's neck. With a sigh of relief, he nodded, and made his way over to his ally.

"They live," Hana commented. "That's good. The man probably didn't know the trouble he was getting himself into."

"You can say that again," Buhrell nodded, holding his hand out to her. "The tooth is too dangerous. I can take it off your hands and deliver it to the Emerald Enclave. We can handle the rest from there."

Hana looked down at the tooth slowly. Buhrell did not realize it, but it held a certain significance for her. Although her tribe revered dragons, only the elders held items that belonged to the mighty beasts of legends. Those elders were considered legends who faced these dragons in their own tales. The sorceress thought she could return home and become like those heroes, like her sister. But this was not how she wanted to do it. She needed to encounter an actual dragon for her claims to work.

"Take it," Hana placed the tooth in the half-orc's hands. "And make sure it doesn't harm anyone else."

"Of course," Buhrell pocketed the tooth, then handed a pouch to her. "For your services: gold, and a potion of healing. May it serve you well."

"Thank you," Hana took the pouch. "I will return to my tea now. With this coin, I can stay in Phlan for a few more days."

"Be aware of the guilds then," Buhrell advised. "I've been keeping an eye on them, and they've been gaining more power. Who knows that they will accomplish in the upcoming weeks and months."

"Of course," Hana agreed. "Take care."

Buhrell nodded and quickly rushed over to help the unconscious victims. Others from the crowd joined to aid him, but not Hana. Her work her was done, and she had a cup of tea waiting for her. She made her way to the Tea Kettle, hoping that it would be in service despite the incident that took place. The sorceress was curious on where her journey would take her and if the guilds had something planned. Only one way to find out: watch the events unfold before her.

A/N: One scene, no combat. I suppose this chapter will serve as character interaction then. Like with my previous works, I balance interaction and action to maintain a good story. Hoped you enjoy part two.

Until next time.