The cobblestone streets of Alverith stretched like veins through a slumbering giant, twisting and turning with no apparent pattern. Mathew Uloy moved with determined urgency, his boots clacking against the cold stones. His keen eyes scanned every shadowed corner and every flicker of movement in the bustling market square.
The girl with the red hair. It was a peculiar clue, yet no one he approached seemed to know anything.
"Red hair?" a portly merchant echoed, stroking his thick beard. "Haven't seen anyone like that. Not around here."
Mathew frowned and nodded, moving on. His dark cloak trailed behind him like an ominous cloud, and the occasional glance from the townsfolk carried suspicion or quiet judgment.
He entered a dimly lit tavern next, the smell of sour ale and unwashed bodies filling the air. "Have you seen a woman with long red hair, fair skin?" Mathew asked the barkeep. The man shook his head, his expression uninterested.
