[b]Riley[/b] and [b]Lothair[/b] were able to stalk the stranger for a while as he left the inn and went out the door, the young lord and the mercenary girl watching him from a safe and careful distance. It was not a difficult task to keep pace with him. He seemed to be moving at a steady pace, unaware of those following him, walking like a man on his way to work, making his way deeper into the poor residential district they were in.

The pair noticed a few more gazes settling on them as they went into the narrow and winding corridors of the slums. While relatively empty (thankfully), it seemed as if those still walking the street were against the two youths. Their faces wore a myriad of expressions, and their stances were reserved or defensive. It was odd. Were they all part of some plot? Was-

"Oi, oi!" called out a drunken man in his forties, snorting a little as the pair passed. "D'you buttercups got room for a third? Three men's better in bed than one, innit?"

Oh. [i]That[/i] was why they were getting odd looks. Riley [i]was[/i] a boyish girl.

The outburst from the sot was enough to make the pair's quarry turn his head. His eyes went wide, and he immediately went into panic mode, grabbing the nearest things his hands could find: pottery, empty crates, and an unattended lantern. He quickly threw all this these onto the ground behind him in a flash of motion, smashing them upon the rough cobblestone and bolting down into the twisting paths of the slums.

The pair had time to catch up, though the man definitely wasn't going to make it easy. However, that moment was when someone threw the door adjacent to the broken stuff open, and out stepped an alarmed and angry looking man with a spiked club.

"You rat bastards!" he snarled. "You breakin' my shit, are ya?" He hefted his club up menacingly.

[hider=Lothair]Lothair felt pretty sure he could talk the angry peasant down, though it would take a moment. Otherwise, given how angry he seems... It seemed entirely likely that the hunt for his stalker could end with them being chased in turn by this furious commoner.[/hider]

[hider=Riley]Riley noticed a glint of steel from beneath the otherwise impoverished looking fellow's old cloak. He was armed, though she couldn't be sure with what.[/hider]

[hr]

As it was night still, the open market itself had wound down already. However, there were a few shops which would be open still. With any luck, there'd be a jeweler open, or at least a pawnbroker. [i]Someone[/i] would be available to gauge the value of their gemstones at the least.

Of course, anyone up at so late an hour was certain to either be wary of their customers or to be untrustworthy themselves.

As luck would have it, there was a shop with a sign of a statuette, some coins, and some gems painted onto it. The building's windows windows were lit by candles. The words "Ghilas' Appraisals" were written in colorful font over the entryway. It was a small building, but it was well-maintained and well decorated.

[hider=Boran]Boran was familiar with places like these. His father used to run a few less legitimate pawnbrokers and appraisers, selling illegally procured wares through them. By the looks of the place, this particular company leaned more toward the respectable side... which meant that the man running the place, Ghilas, probably had hired help.[/hider]

[hider=Flint]Each of the windows is lit by precisely two candles: one red and one blue, representative of the sun and the benevolent moon. In Westerling folklore, this is a means of warding off evil spirits. Has evil befallen this place recently?[/hider]