Stockbon, Docks
Early Morning
Early Morning
The sun rose slowly on the horizon, like a quill that sat too long in an inkwell that bled out across the water. A pastel stain illuminated the murky ocean as he turned from the light. "Tell me again what happened?" his voice cracked, though he managed to keep the obvious doubt from his tone. "You were traveling the market road past midnight, and...?" why anyone would brave the streets in the dead of night was a mystery unto itself, but the Bloodsworn kept his expression neutral.
"My sister," the young boy huffed. "I didn't see their faces, or anything, it was too dark- but someone grabbed her-"
It was not unusual for crime to occur in the capital, and kidnappings were relatively common among the middle and upper classes, but this child bordered on poverty. His clothes were ratty and caked with grime, and they bore none of the finer fabrics or emblems that distinguished nobility. Jin watched the child work through the emotions that gripped him with a thoughtful gaze. If it had happened in broad daylight, there might be cause for concern, but this was brazen stupidity. That was hardly the response to give a hysterical child, however.
What did make this interesting was that the boy deigned to interact with him over it, rather than one of the guards. The situation usually played out something like that. "Did you go to someone with authority and let them know that there's a snatcher on the loose?" he asked lazily. Going through these motions was boring, repetitive- but to get the answers he needed, at times, the process was necessary. "What I mean is, has someone already told you that this was futile?"
Harsh. Cruel even, but necessary. The boy's eyes stung with tears as he wailed at the dark haired man. "It's not!" he whined. "She's alive, I know it!"
"Aye, perhaps," Jin shrugged. "Perhaps not. If you can't give me more information than 'she was grabbed,' then even if she is alive, she won't be for very much longer."
The child burst into tears proper, and Jin felt his shoulders sag. Utterly pathetic, and absolutely annoying. "Where did she go missing?" he asked, gritting his teeth. In reality, the Bloodsworn had no desire to help the child, let alone go off on a crusade searching for a woman who was probably not even alive at this point. The child choked out several words between sobs.
"Near... the crossroads on market way," he blew snot into his sleeve and fought to compose himself, but ultimately failed. More tears. More wailing. More annoying. "We were making our way back to the housing district," the child spoke of the meager homes that were built to accommodate the less fortunate members of Stockbon's society. Jin had a general understanding of the area layout. Labyrinthine in terms of alleys and dead ends. The perfect place to disappear, if one felt so inclined.
He neglected to mention that to the child.
"I will look into it," he said, "but I won't make any promises that I'll find her."
"Oh thank you sir," the boy wiped his eyes and went to hug Jin. The man pulled away, instead giving the boy a few firm pats on the head. "You won't regret it, I promise! I'll... I'll tell my dad, and you'll get paid!"
"Yeah, thanks," Jin muttered as the boy hurried off, excited. "I won't hold my breath," he said at last, when the boy was well out of earshot.
@Zelrius