"Thank you." Markus told the man. he entered the tavern shortly after him, and approached the bar. Markus inquired about a night's stay and made arrangements for a room. (I am unsure how much this would cost.) He decided to sit in the bar for a short time and observe the townsfolk, and maybe learn about the current events. What he heard gave him plenty of food for thought.

"People have been vanishing." With those words, it was as if the whole pub collectively calmed down for a minute, before resuming to it's usual noise level. 

[i]People, vanishing?[/i] Markus thought. [i]Certainly someone has to have been investigating...[/i] But based on the tone of her voice and the words she chose, this was an ongoing problem that hadn't been solved yet. Markus approached the woman. "I'm sorry, people have been vanishing? How?"