My first move after accepting the request to look for the lost cat is to go directly to the cat's owner. Or possibly the humans adopted by said cat, depending on perspective. But who am I to judge? I talk with Fox after all. And sometimes Fox talks with me too.

Even on my way there I already keep my eyes wide open. Cats are not the most common pets around here. Dogs, usually not exactly small ones either, are by far more common. Even they aren't terribly numerous though. At least here in town. I suspect that there are a lot more of them out on the farms surrounding Riverrun.

It's not just the actual animals I keep an eye out for though. I listen to the cooks of the small eateries along the roadside as well, trying to figure out what meat they use or at least claim to use. I really hope that isn't the fate that befell the cat in question, but I can't exactly rule it out either. At least I don't spot any immediate suspicious signs that would make me fear for the worst either. There there is that much at least.

Overall my efforts are good enough to help progress both my [Perception] and [Streetwise] skills too. That's a nice bonus. Both will come in handy for sure, completely independent of my success regarding this quest.

Eventually I reach the address specified in the request. Well, calling it an address would be a bit much, but the description of the house and the alley where it can be found is rather distinctive, even considering that it is a little out of the way and pretty much invisible from any of the larger streets.

The place is not quite like the other buildings surrounding it. It's smaller for one and it somehow seems older too, like it has been here maybe even before the town sprung up. It is no hut. No, by no means. It is a nice little house. Yet I can't help but think of a witch's hut when looking at it.

There are other impossible to miss details too. On one hand the place is one of the few in all of the city where smoke is coming out of the chimney pretty much all day around. On the other hand, unlike in the rest of the town, none of the surrounding houses are built right up to it. No, they keep a little distance instead.

Is it because people don't want to get too close to the witch? The guild clerk's warning about the witch being temperamental comes to mind. Or could it be that the witch's house and her profession are considered a fire hazard? Well, maybe it's a little of both. I really doubt that the latter is much of an issue though. More serious precautions would be taken if the witch were too prone to alchemical mishaps after all.

I'll get to find out for sure before long anyway, as I need to talk with her. There might be additional information that has not found its way on the adventurers' guild request after all. Something that didn't seem important at the time. Anything, even the smallest detail, can be important after all, when looking for a missing person or, in this case, cat.

The place actually seems pretty inviting too. A tall wooden board besides the open door advertises the witch's services. She sells potions and balms. She does fortune telling too. Neither surprises me. Charms and wards don't seem out of character either. Magical cures for all ailments might sound a little suspicious under other circumstances, but as a witch I pretty much expect her to know magic like that. The only thing on the list that really makes me raise an eyebrow is the last entry. Magical tattoos? The thought sounds both exciting and terrifying.

How does that even work? Is it like a magic item you can't lose? How do you activate these? Or does it only work with passive effects? And how would these interact with my [Change Shape] racial skill? I probably could mimic normal tattoos. At least I think so, even although I haven't tried it so far. Magical tattoos though? And would I be able to cover one of those up using my power? Or would it be plainly visible no matter what shape I take? That might be rather inconvenient. I decide then and there to not get any tattoos, magical or otherwise, anytime soon. Yes, any skin ornament I use, if I use any at all, will be of my own making.

That will all have to wait though. I need to get my priorities straight. I have to deal with another problem right now. The cat comes first. Everything else can wait.

I enter and knock on the open door to announce my presence. The shop, which clearly doubles as a workshop, isn't as cluttered as Beldragor's, but it might just come close. Especially the herbs hung for drying obscure the visibility in here quite a bit. They certainly smell pleasant though.

"Welcome! What can we do for you?"

The words don't sound as cheerful and welcoming as they probably should and it takes me a moment to spot the girl behind the counter. She is the one who welcomed me. She is ten at best, as far as I can tell, and stands on an upturned bucket to appear taller. Most importantly though, she looks about as distraught as she sounds. I guess that makes her the damsel in distress. The one who provided the picture of the missing feline attached to the request.

I flash her a smile, as I make my way through the shop to join her at the counter.

"I'm Viviona. I'm with the adventurers' guild and just accepted the request to look for your cat. I decided to drop by and talk with you first, just in case you can provide any additional information before I head back out and turn the neighborhood upside down."

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The little girl perks up immediately.

"You'll do it? You'll go looking for Captain Whiskers?"

There we have it, a first little additional clue even if it may seem of little consequence at first. It might come in handy anyway. Maybe the missing feline will react to its name.

"Captain Whiskers? Is she a pirate?"

The girls is quick to shake her head, whipping her braids around in the process.

"No! Nothing like that! It's just that she is the boss of this neighborhood. Well, as far as the cats are concerned anyway."

That too is an interesting bit of information. I guess that might be how she got the nick in her ear. You don't become the boss of a neighborhood without getting in a little fight or two. I decide to say as much, as I continue my subtle questioning.

"Is that how she got the nick in her ear?"

The girl nods.

"Yes! That was a year ago, when she got into a big fight with Old Gray at the downstream waterfront. They were fighting over who got to have first pick of the fish leftovers in the morning."

At this point another person joins us. A voluptuous woman, quite obviously the girls mother. If the girl is the damsel in distress, she might just be the femme fatale. It's not just her looks in general either. It's the way she carries herself. And the way she dresses actually makes me blush. It probably isn't even to show off her assets though.

No, it's in all likelihood the tattoos she wants to show off. Are those some of the magical tattoos she advertises out front? I can't help but stare. It's not pictures or even symbols as I expected. No it's a string of letters of a language I'm not yet familiar with. They in turn curve and twist to form a picture of intertwining tentacles of ink that seem to cover her body from the neck down.

"Well sweetheart, like what you see?"

I gulp, blush some more and finally manage to tear my gaze away. It's almost like the squiggly inky scrawls are moving and trying to draw my attention back in. Oh, there definitely is magic at work there!

"I'm … uh, I'm Viviona. I'm here for the quest. The one about the cat."

She gets serious, not playing any more games, at my words.

"So, you accepted our request to look for Brygida's familiar? I'm glad. This is already quite traumatizing for her."

There we have another little piece of information omitted from the request. It's not just a pet. The cat is a familiar. I look over at the girl behind the counter again.

"Captain Whiskers is your familiar? You have a magic bond with her?"

The girl nods, but it's her mother who actually answers the question.

"Indeed. That is how we know that she is … well, not exactly well but alive and uninjured at least."

I actually feel a little relieved at that revelation. That is some good news.

The girl, Brygida, speaks up again before I or her mother can say anything else.

"She is being held captive. Someplace dark! Someplace that smells fishy! There are tall folk close by talking at times but only rarely."

The mother perks up at that point.

"Oh dear! You learned to link your senses with hers? This is great, except, what did I tell you about learning new skills just like that?"

Brygida seems a little torn, as she gets both praised and scolded, even if just lightly, in short order. She pouts and crosses her arms, which makes her wobbled atop the upturned bucket. Finally she calms down again, just as she catches herself, before she can actually fall.

"I'm supposed to ask you first. But … but …"

She seems close to tears and her mother gives in and runs her fingers through the distraught girl's hair. She turns to me to explain.

"The familiar bond goes both ways. Strength is shared in both directions. The same is true for pain though. That's why I only formed a bond with my familiar when I became an adult, after finishing my apprenticeship. I was quite shocked when my little Brygida revealed that she had formed a bond with the cat."

I learn quite a bit of useful information here. Not just in regard to the quest either. As such it's no real surprise that my [Gather Information] skill improves a little.

"It sounds like bonding with a familiar is a big deal for a witch."

Both the mother and the daughter nod in response, but it is the mother who elaborates.

"It is. Very much so. There are three ways a witch can grow and prosper. Through personal growth, through her link with her familiar and lastly through the pact she enters with her grimoir."

The juicy information just keeps coming. I have to return the focus of our conversation back to the missing cat though. There is one more important question I have to ask.

"Do you have any enemies? Someone who would be foolish enough to try and get at you through your daughter's familiar?"

The witch mother looks downright shocked at the suggestion, but she gives it some serious thought before she finally shakes her head.

"The only ones giving us trouble at all are the guards. And it's hardly worth mentioning. They just skim a little extra for themselves when they collect the lord's tithes. It's more of an annoyance than any actual trouble. I don't even bother objecting anymore."

I'm tempted to groan and roll my eyes. Good gods and goddesses, why am I not surprised. Not even a little. She is right though. The guards filling their own pockets would hardly be stupid enough to get the witch upset with them. Well, most of them wouldn't anyway. I can't rule out the possibility completely that one of their number might be as stupid as Barandon is among the ranks of the thieves guild.

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