They were located on the southern bank of the river reik, near the docks. Neil didn't want to make for the bridge straight away, and so he prowled through the alleys and lesser used side streets, moving further south so he could then make his way round and meet Emmaline at the bridge. Neil padded along a small street, keeping his eyes skyward to dodge any civilian dropping spoiled porridge or refuse into the gutters from a window above. Just as he suspected, a portly woman with a wart the size of a rat poked her head out to gaze at the weather, not the street below, and she unceremoniously dumped the contents of some chunky, smelly concoction out of an iron pot right atop Neil's position. 

Neil leaped to the right, the filth missing his dark head of hair, but it splattered onto the cobblestones and small droplets flecked his ankles. His skin crawled, and he waved a hand upwards and shouted. "Hey, be careful with that shit!" Though the woman had already retreated into the apartment. He shook his head, backtracking into the main street. He gradually became aware of a loud screeching, an odd wailing of metal on stone rapidly coming closer. Neil turned up saw a carriage, unbound by horses and wheels, rocketing towards him like the twin tailed comet itself. 

"Fucking balls!" He cried, sprinting across the street and hitting the wall just before he was crushed. Neil looked around and then back at the departing carriage, watching it slowly unravel into a thousand pieces of kindling and metal rivets. He had seen a lot of crazy shit in his day, but that was something new. He sighed. "This either has to do with the war or Emmaline. If it's her..." 

His question was answered almost immediately. What little crowd there congregated at the street, all gazing at the flying carriage and the guards chasing after it. All save one person, a shapely woman with blonde hair Neil could never mistake. She was at the lip of an alleyway, getting to her feet and looking away from the street, speaking to someone. Neil looked both ways to make sure there wasn't another projectile, and he hurried over to the otherside of the street, but she had begun to depart immediately. Neil followed her down the alley, the scent of human waste mixing with the aroma of freshly cooked meals from the windows above. 

Emmaline hustled away into a cross in the backstreets, next to an abandoned shed and a restaurant that had been converted into a closed shop of knicknacks. She suddenly stopped and turned, pulling out a dagger and glaring at Neil, her eyes glowing as the steel of the knife was transmuted into three smaller slivers, all floating in her hand, ready to plunge into her pursuers chest. Neil watched her intimidating manner dissipate like morning dew when she realized it was him. 

"You've got some explaining to do." Neil said, raising an eyebrow. 

"About what?" She asked, her eyes big and doe-like. Neil wasn't fooled, but he did smile. He waited until she knew he wasn't going take the bait. "Look, I had a little accident, but it's all solved now. We're away and we have uh... this!" The woman presented the case, fluttering her lashes. 

"I'm not mad, but next time you hop into something that starts careening down a street, I want in on it." He told her, jealous she got to fly out of that thing like a goblin doom-diver. Though his train of thought was interrupted when she showed the case, and he tilted his head, curious. "What's that?"