Those Who Wait

After getting some night air, Audric and I landed back on the wall and snuck back to the inn. As we entered, I noticed there were a few people still up in the common room. Two men, and a halfling. I was just dismissing them in my mind when I realized that I knew that halfling from somewhere. A moment's thought and a glance at Audric confirmed my suspicion: She was the halfling that picked my pocket the other day! What could she possibly be thinking, sitting there in plain sight, as Audric nearly knocked her senseless the last time we met.
As Audric and I made our way towards the stairs to head up to bed, it became clear that the three of them wanted to speak with us about something. I was much more interested in heading to bed with Audric than I was in finding out what they could possibly want with us at this hour, but they were kind of in the way of us getting to bed in the first place. Begrudgingly, I sat down with them to hear them out.
Apparently my public take-down of that gnomish lock has given me a bit of a reputation in town. One of the men informed me that they ran a Trading Company, as he idly traced the Thieves' Guild symbol in some spilled ale on the table. They were appreciative of the way Audric and I had handled my would-be pickpocket, and wanted to let me know that if I ever needed any information, or assistance while in town, I could always come to them at the... Trading Company.
Somehow they had also found out about our interest in the bell tower. They had already sent associates to investigate the situation, and, big surprise here in Brindinsford I know, they were never heard from again! According to the man, the tower has not previously been a source of trouble for the city. It has been run by a nice family that is known in town. I refrained from asking if the family name happened to be "Ratcliffe" or "Rattagan" or something equally hilarious to probably only me. I instead tried to assure them that we could handle whatever was lurking in that bell tower, and thanked them for their offer.
As Audric and I got up to go, our guests made their way to the door, but not before the female halfling smacked Audric on the ass! I was so mad! Words cannot describe how many evil thoughts tried to cram through the door of my mind at once! Thankfully(I suppose) they all just ended up getting stuck in the doorway, and I did nothing but fume. I hope she enjoyed that, because the next time she does anything of the sort, she is going to learn the virtues of one-handed lockpicking. Incensed, I crawled into bed and fell asleep thinking of all the things I should have done to that little trollop.
I awoke the next morning, still a little mad, and headed down for breakfast. The others joined us soon, and we explained Toreal's presence to Nialia, along with what our guesses were about the trouble at the book store called "The Reality Wrinkle." It was decided that we should all meet at Toreal's place, then head over there to investigate. Hopefully, we would find Alaine there, and maybe our evil sorceress as well.
Grumble seemed to be more somber than usual this morning. He tried to hide it, badly, and wandered out the door on some errands without saying anything about it. I know the two of us were never close in the way I am close to my family, but I have always thought of Grumble as an extra brother, albeit a quiet one. I also know that since Audric and I have grown closer, Grumble and I have drifted apart a little, and I feel guilty for that. Still, I would like to believe that if he was truly troubled by something, he could feel able to talk with me about it. Not like he would ever take me up on that. He has never even told me what happened to him before the two of us met. Just that "something bad happened." Maybe one of these days I'll get to find out. I can't help wondering what could be so bad that he would lose both name and beard, and have drunk himself to the bottom of a very tall glass...
With that in mind, it was decided that if Grumble wasn't back in time to go meet Toreal, Nialia, Rowan and I would head out to the shrine to meet her, while Audric stayed behind to meet Grumble and catch up with us after. We waited, and waited, and when it was time to go, Grumble was nowhere to be seen. Us three ladies headed off in the direction of Toreal's shrine to let her know the plan. I hoped Grumble would be along soon, as I figured Toreal would be chomping at the bit to get Alaine back, and she doesn't strike me as the type of person to handle delays with grace.