After my visit at the temple I head back out of the inner city. My destination is the usual boarding house. I'm tempted to drop by the keep again, but as the memory of the head maid looking at me comes to mind I quickly reconsider. It's probably for the better if I wait for a reply. I already asked Justyna to speak on my behalf after all. It would be foolish beyond reason to ruin my chances out of a whim now.

I pay the usual penny and receive the key to a room. As much as I value my privacy for the night, the price I pay for it really hurts my purse and thus me. I need to make a little more money. Not a fortune. Schemes to get rich quick are much more likely to end with you real dead real quick instead after all. No, just enough so I don't have to worry about the next few days will already be enough for now.

That's what I think about as I wrap myself in my cloak and put my head to rest on my pack which still serves as a makeshift pillow. What am I supposed to do? Join another thieves guild operation and hope for a few coins in turn? Should I offer my still not very impressive healing services in exchange for a little offering at the market? I could check out the quests available at the adventurers' guild too though.

For once the next morning comes around entirely too quick for my taste. For a brief moment I lie there, staring at the ceiling, as I listen to the town waking up around me. The temptation to just turn around and try to sleep a little longer is great, but unless I find a way to earn some coin in my sleep, this really isn't an option. Thus I get up and dress.

Before long I'm back out on the street, returning the key to the room to the woman in charge today. The first order of business is breakfast. I'd love to get something warm, but that might just not be an option, or not an easily achievable one at least, as I intend to apply a five finger discount for a change.

Some fruit might be the most prudent choice. There are plenty of stalls at the market selling some. In the end I compromise though. I go for a bread instead. One of the stalls is of a bakery selling plain and simple breads. They really aren't big or anything fancy. They have one distinctive advantage though. They are still warm from the oven.

Even better, the couple running the stall is doing brisk business. They get crowded pretty hard as a result. And even with two of them minding the stall they can't have their eyes everywhere at once.

I weave my way into the flow of people drawing close, my [Stealth] improving a little again, as I blend in with the crowd. It will be a while, but I can't help but wonder if reaching level ten might earn me a special reward. Once I'm close enough and while the duo is a little distracted, I apply my [Sleight of Hand] skill and swipe a loaf.

I don't dare call it easy, but I certainly have pulled off more difficult heists already. Never mind though. I get a little more distance between me and the stall before I dare to savor the freshly liberated treat. It's just bread, but it's warm and to be honest, it's quite tasty too, especially considering it's just bread without any filling or the likes.

With my stomach appeased and busy for the moment, I start to think on my plans for the day again. What should I do? I could offer healing in exchange for donations, except I'd have to pay the guards controlling the market a fee first. No one gets to do business here without greasing their palms. Damn greedy rats!

Well, at least the duo in charge of this place today is somewhat creative. They are actually auctioning off the free spots, especially the popular ones, instead of charging flat fees. And at least some of their proceedings actually go to the city's coffers. It could be worse, even if not much.

The thought of offering my healing in exchange for coin, even if it's just donations, makes me smile though. A lot of my current Karma was received in exchange for the shilling from last night, which could be considered blood money. Would earning perfectly legal coin in exchange for that Karma now be considered money laundering?

Never mind. It's a silly thought anyway. No one knows, so why would anyone care? I decide against this particular venue in the end because I don't want to funnel any of my scarce coin into the pockets of these guards. Instead I make my way to the wall just out of sight from the gate. I cross over without any trouble, earning another partial increase for my [Climbing] skill and continue on my way to the adventurers' guild.

I go at street level this time around though. Let's have a look at the quests available there. Maybe there will be more than usual since Núira and her group are out of town. I can't claim that I have planned for this, but it certainly isn't an unwelcome change in circumstances. I will take advantage of this, if at all possible, for sure though.

Whistling to myself I enter the guild hall. The place is quite busy in the morning, although it's not quite as busy as one might expect. The sudden absence of one of the local groups making this place their base of operations is noticeable after all.

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I head over to the counter where refreshments are served first, not to buy myself a drink though. Instead I ask one of the serving girls a quick question. I hope she doesn't mind.

"Say, is Ediva still in town? Or has her group left already?"

The girl shakes her head, as she fills a mug for another adventurer.

"Sorry, you missed her by maybe an hour. The dancing Embers left at sunrise, bright and early."

Ah well, so much for getting another opinion on skills to boost my Mana regeneration. It would have been too convenient. I nod in thanks and am off to have a look at the board with the currently open requests.

These are really all over the place. Not physically, obviously. They are all pinned to the board in neat rows and columns. The hardest are up top while the easiest are found at the bottom of the board. The newest are to the right where they get continually added, while the oldest are to the left. It's both simple and neat.

No, what's all over the place are the contents of the requests. By far not all of them even originate in Riverrun. Some have been posted at other frontier towns too. Some are simple gathering quests while others regard exploration in general or monster hunting. There are a few bounty letters mixed in there too.

I blink in surprise as I find a request asking for a nanny amidst the others. It's near the bottom so it shouldn't be too hard. At the same time though I can't help but wonder why it isn't actually included in the very bottom row. It makes me suspect that there might be some special circumstances involved.

Most of these requests have been submitted by various people. Farmers, crafters or traders mostly. A few bear an official seal instead though, which suggests that the promised reward is paid for with tax money.

Even just studying all of the requests is apparently enough to progress my [Gather Information] skill a little. Very curious. I guess it's to be expected though. These requests paint a very interesting picture of not just this town, but the frontier lands as a whole after all. The problem is, this doesn't help me make up my mind on which one to pick either.

I decide to focus on the bottom most row with the supposedly easiest quests for now. I can still work my way up the board another day. I disregard any requests not submitted here in Riverrun either.

That official rat hunting request at the granary might sound like easy money in theory. The reward, two shillings, is pretty good too. There is only one problem with it. It's from Iron Hollows. And I don't even know yet where that town is. Too bad. I certainly wouldn't mind rightly ending some rats. The thought alone is enough to put a smile on my lips. For now something else will have to do though.

The only question remaining is, what though? I consider a herb gathering quest for a local alchemist for a moment. It seems easy enough. There are even pictures attached, showing the herb in question in great detail. With those even I might be able to find some. Well, I might be able to find some if it were early spring shortly after the snow melt, as that apparently is the only time these can be harvested in the required quality. I guess that means this one is not an option either. Not until next spring anyway. Another shilling I won't be able to collect any time soon. I'll keep it in mind though. The next spring will come around for sure after all.

Finally my gaze settles on something that seems manageable. I grimace a little as I study the details anyway. Someone wants the adventurers' guild to find out what happened to their beloved cat which disappeared recently. I grimace because I'm almost certain that whatever I find, it probably won't be good news in the end. My heart almost breaks when I see the picture attached to the request. It has been obviously drawn by a child.

Still, the quest giver deserves some closure, even if the worst of my fears come to pass. And who knows, maybe I'll find the cat whole and healthy instead. It could have just moved to another home after all. Or it could have snuck on a river boat and be halfway across the frontier lands by now. Cats do that occasionally. And the quests doesn't ask for me to retrieve it under all circumstances. It just asks for information on its whereabouts or its fate. I should be able to do this.

If the picture, childish as it may be, is to be trusted the cat should be rather distinctive. A red tabby cat with white socks and a nick in its left ear. A cute little troublemaker. I guess investigator Viviona can solve this case.

I double check to make sure the request really is recent. Yes, it has been put up only yesterday. And the owner lives near the downstream waterfront, which essentially means that I'll start my investigation on home turf as that is thieves guild turf for the better part.

I take the request down from the board and to the counter. I'm heading to a different guild clerk this time around though. Thankfully the responsibilities of the individual clerks are clearly labeled. The only downside is, that I have to actually wait in line for a while, as other adventurers check out their quests around this time too.

Eventually it's my turn though and I place the papers on the counter, together with my guild tag, as I have seen others do.

"I'd like to take this quest please."

The clerk, an older woman with a few clearly visible scars, looks it over. She has a look first at my tag and then at me too.

"First time?"

I nod and so does she before she provides some additional information.

"Alright. You picked a decent one. Looked it over for a while if I'm not mistaken, yes? It came in late yesterday and from what I can gather the cat has been only missing for a day before that so you might have pretty decent chances to find it or at least some satisfactory clues. There is no penalty on this quest either, should you fail to find anything, so you should be safe. There is one thing you should keep in mind though. The person who placed this request with us, she is a witch."

I raise an eyebrow, but I don't actually interrupt her.

"Even if there is no official penalty, she could still be rather cross with you, if you waste her time. There is a chance that she doesn't take well to bad news too. Witches can be rather temperamental and this is about her daughter's beloved cat after all. Whatever you do, don't take this job lightly."

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