Fallapede

My apologies, I am unused to intrusions in my mind. I will endeavor to be more organized in the future, Sait replies with no trace of sarcasm.

Is it possible for me to respond to you in the same matter?, Sait pondered. Is it simply a matter of projecting my thoughts? Would you mind identifying yourself, and revealing your location?

Sait was so excited by the prospects of the message that he nearly twitched. He had no desire to take shortcuts, but such mystical interaction might prove to be the necessary catalyst for opening his Fourth Sight, which would allow him to sense the flows of magic energy in and around him. In his excitement, he nearly ignored the message itself. Without altering his pace, Sait cast out his spiritual awareness as broadly as he could, hoping he might be able to sense whoever had contacted him.

Sait held himself motionless, briefly opening his Third Sight to fully still himself before he attempted once again to extend his awareness. He had failed dozens of times before, and would likely fail hundreds of times more before he succeeded, but for the moment, he was certain of his own success. After a lengthy effort, he could no longer ignore the burning in his lungs, so he rose and took a deep breath. Another failure. He would try again tomorrow, and the day after that, and every day, until he was successful. He had heard any number of insults against his character, but no one had ever said he gave up easily. He took a brief moment to collect himself, then opened his First Sight and began walking.

"In that case, I'd recommend that you go down to the parlor on the edge of Ninth and Vaunt and ask about dragonfly wings. Failing that, there's a night market near the Upside, though you'll need to have the proper referrals to be allowed in. I can arrange that, of course, for a small additional fee. I don't have much to offer to you directly, unfortunately. I tend to keep away from such lines of work in the name of professionalism." @Rushu42

"That certainly isn't true. At the very least, we can help each other."

Thalise steepled her fingers. "Ah. That's more worth what you were offering. I do know a few individuals in that line of work, though for something of this nature I can't make guarantees. Before we get into that, however, are you simply seeking information, or are you after something more... practical?"

"I don't intend to demean you, but... is that all you required me for? Information like that isn't exactly hard to come by, though I'm certainly happy to provide it to you, especially for the listed price." @Rushu42

"You as well. I'm sure you value your privacy, as I value mine, but might I inquire as to what exactly you wanted? Your correspondence was somewhat unclear."

"It's just something I've always been aware of. I'm not sure how I might practice it. I've tried shutting the voices out before but the level of focus required means I can't do anything else. I don't think it would work for her anyways. She's louder somehow. Perhaps there's simply a technique I'm missing, however."

"I see. I know this is rude of me, but could you please try to... keep your thoughts to yourself? You're crowding me out of my own head."

"Hello. You're doing... better, I see, Rose. That's good. Who is this Selene, exactly?"

Thalise stepped up quietly behind Teresa and murmured "The lights down here are lovely, aren't they?" The client's description had been vague enough that Thalise wasn't entirely sure she had the right woman, but the phrase she'd been given should help clear that up. @Rushu42

Thalise raised the glass to her lips, not taking a drink but giving the impression of doing so, as a dark brown shade slowly bled through her hair and her eyes turned a bright green. Once the change was complete, she stood and moved away from the bar, seeking out her next client.

"This is going to cost you extra. It took me weeks of digging to uncover anything about that incident, but it definitely wasn't a false alarm. I don't know exactly what happened that night, save that the Wraith definitely didn't get in the building and that there's a missing guard. I only found out about it at all when I was looking through the guard roster on another matter and noticed a name change. I went back through the records I have, and the missing man was definitely posted that night. I've been trying to track him down since, but odds are he's dead and all I have to go on is the name: Varsh Licti. My guess is there was a scuffle and he was killed by the Wraith, and the STA has the body stashed somewhere. I can't back that up, though. For all I know he and the Wraith are one and the same. Either way, it'll be a while before there's another attempt." Thalise stretched, flexing her fingers, and signaled to the barkeep. "Do you have any new work for me? If not, I do have other clients to attend to tonight." @ZincAboutIt

Thalise eyed the money, taking out a small file and using it to check the composition, then stowed it away. "That'll do fine for the moment. As I said, I don't have as much info as I'd like, but there are a few interesting tidbits that might be useful. First of all, there's no way the Wraith is actually going after Thread. The houses hit are understandably cagey about the exact amount stolen, but even a vague estimate tells me that it's a pitiful amount compared to their supply. If whoever it is had gotten spooked and run off with what they could grab, that would be one thing, but it seems like no one even noticed the thefts until well after the culprit had left. The Wraith had plenty of time on their hands within the compound, and I'm highly doubtful much of it was spent on the actual theft. I apologize for not being better informed this time around, but my idle speculation is that the actual goal was intel on those houses' operations, and that the theft itself is a coverup by both the thief and the marks to respectively cover their tracks and take eyes off something shady." Thalise rattled off the information with a bored tone, but there was clearly interest, or at least avarice, in her eyes. "The dead crime lord is harder to pick apart the reasoning for. The goal may simply have been the chaos it's caused, which is sure to have a destabilizing effect on the Thread market. Or there may be some personal connection. I'll leave that to the side for the moment, since I don't believe it's your main interest." She pulled out a small envelope from inside one of her gloves and slid it over to the other woman. "I know I said the amount of Thread was a pittance, but it's still a large enough amount that it would hard to use or sell without attracting notice. That's a list of Tailors, both sanctioned and Underground, that I think are likely to have had either a fencing or a suspicious appointment. If it has been sold, I'd expect that the goods have been broken up among several places in order to avoid suspicion. The possibility does remain that this thief is doing their own Tailoring, which will make it much harder to find a lead, but it should still be worth looking. Do you have any questions?" @ZincAboutIt

"I obviously don't have as much information as I normally would, but I do have a few leads that you should find helpful. Before we get to that, however, there is another matter we need to discuss: payment. I'm willing to negotiate on the exact price, but you know the deal for working with me: half upfront, and at least a quarter of it in Thread."

Kieran rounded the corner, rubbing his temples and avoiding looking at either of the two. "Anguish, despair, and bloodlust," he muttered. "Lovely."

Thalise sat at a table near the center of the room, drumming her fingers against the table and checking her watch every few minutes as she waited for the agreed upon time. She'd found her contact already, of course, but it simply wasn't polite to begin before the proper time. She tried for what felt like the thousandth time to ignore the prickling at the back of her neck. Something felt oddly tense, more so than usual. This kind of job was usually a simple affair, but that didn't mean there wasn't danger involved. Eventually the watch's hand crept past the hour mark, and Thalise stood, moving quietly over to the designated meeting point. "I'm starting to get tired of this Wraith business," She murmured to herself. "Good for whoever's getting the Thread, but much more of this and it's going to start cutting into profit."