Vallum sat down at the table and pulled out the book that he had chosen from the shelf. He scanned a few of the pages, and muttered to himself, "Hmm. That is interesting." After a few more minutes, and a few more comments of a similar nature, Vallum turned to Vynn. "I don't know how to read."
"Hah! Dummy. Me neither."
"I don't even know what this book is supposed to be about."
"I am not even sure this is a library," Vynn said, "I just know there are a lot of books."
"So... what are we doing here?"
"Let's ask a librarian."
Vallum walked up to a woman sitting at a desk, "Excuse me ma'am, what are we doing here?"
"I meant about the Court of the Night," Vynn elbowed him and said in a low voice.
"Oh, sorry. What is the Court of the Night doing here?"
"You know your an idiot, right?"
"Oh, ma'am? Did you know I'm an idi-"
"Do you have any information regarding the Court of the Night?" Vynn broke in.
The librarian was not amused at the situation and only pointed at a shelf.
"I am sorry, but we don't know how to read," Vynn said, "Is there any other way that we could get the information?"
The librarian scowled and was in the motion of shaking her head when a coin fell on her desk.
"Whoops," Vynn laughed, "Sorry, I guess my coin is just eager to find information."
After that, the librarian was more amicable to their questions, though she didn't have much information. They did come away with more than they went in with, however. Vynn and Vallum learned that the court of the night had been recruiting a lot of people lately and that the recruits were all female. That made sense, given that they also learned that the organization was all female. Vallum thought back to the man in black from his village, 'So that was actually a woman in black, huh.' They also learned that recruitment always happened by one member of the court showing up on the doorstep of those with potential. The group was very spread out, so the only real way to get into contact with them was to find one of them.
"Looks like wandering around aimlessly would have served us just fine," Vallum shot at Vynn.
"Information is power. So is money," Vynn threw a coin at him.
"Will you quit throwing money at me?"
"Let's go find a nice inn to stay at tonight. One that has more people per room than roaches."
"Not even my house had more people than roaches."
"I just don't want any in my bed," Vynn made a face.
"Okay, okay." Vallum chuckled.
The pair walked around the city until they found an inn that looked well-kept enough for their stay. They got checked in and went to their room.
"We should probably head to the tavern next. We need to go somewhere where we can learn about recent recruiting from the Court of the Night." Vynn said as she laid out on the bed.
"After the last couple of days, we can just rest. We will worry about the rest tomorrow," Vallum sat on the floor, with his back against the wall, "How long will you stay with me?"
Vynn looked over at Vallum, surprised by the question. "Right now, my plan is to see this witch-hunt through to the end."
"You have already more than repaid me for what happened when we met."
"And now I am repaying you for saving me from that village."
"If you say so." Vallum leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. He fell asleep against the wall and woke after the sun had gone down. He looked at the bed and saw Vynn sleeping, so he unrolled the bedding that was kept under the bed, and laid down on the floor to sleep. There was a chill in the air, so he pulled his thin blanket tight over him. Whenever he woke up though, he was not cold in the slightest. He was actually quite warm. Warm enough that his eyes shot open when it registered. Laying right beside him was Vynn, the bed was empty. Vynn opened her eyes at the same moment.
"Hey, what's up?" She asked casually.
Vallum controls himself and calmly asked, "What in the actual mooing cow are you doing in my bed on the floor?"
"Mooing cow? Obviously, we haven't been in the city for long enough." She yawned, "I got cold."
"You were the one saying that it is indecent for a woman to travel alone with a man, but sleeping in the same bed as one is fine?"
"Oh, you're right. I need to get another girl to join this crazy witch-hunt."
"That is NOT what I was saying."
"Well, if I am going to be traveling with you, then I am not going to do it at the expense of my own comfort."
"I would hate for you to strain yourself," Vallum remarked.
Vynn tossed him a coin and winked at him.
"You sleep with money." Vallum stated blankly.
"Money and men are the same: you use them when you have them but when they aren't around you really start to appreciate the little things in life." Vynn smiled.
Vallum jumped out of the bed, "I don't know what that has to do with sleeping in my bed, but I don't want to catch your philosophical disease."
The pleasant smile on Vynn's face turned wicked as she remarked, "I wonder what this Kenra will think when she hears that you have been sleeping with other women."
Vallum's face paled, "Other? I haven't slept with her. And she knows me. She knows that I wouldn't do that."
"More like she hopes that no-one pulls you into bed without you even realizing it."
"That would never... I wouldn't let... I am not that ign..." Vallum failed to come up with a valid defense.
'Kenra, I hope I find you soon.'