"What is this place called?" I asked, looking around at the dark and dirty streets with an uneasy feeling. This place just oozed trouble, and I really didn't want to be here for long if I could help it.
"The Bottom," Connie said after a mont of thought as she led down one of the many narrow alleyways between buildings that looked like they were on the verge of crumbling down into rubble, with only a stiff breeze being needed to send them tumbling to the ground below. "I don't co over here often; it is too dangerous."
Connie led deeper into The Bottom until we ca to what appeared to be a dead end in front of us, but she turned towards one side where there was a door that I hadn't noticed before and knocked quietly. A few monts later, the door opened a crack, and I could see a woman's eye looking out at us warily for a mont before she opened the door all the way and stepped back to let us in.
The woman was around our age with long black hair that was done up elegantly on top of her head with so kind of jewelry woven into it, but her clothes were very plain compared to what I had seen from other won in this city so far. The most extravagant thing about her outfit was a long green cloak that covered most of her body, but even then, it looked like sothing you would wear while traveling rather than sothing ant for show or to attract attention.
"Connie, what are you doing here?" the woman asked as she looked at us both before her gaze lingered on a bit longer than necessary. "And who is this?"
"This is Galio. She's been helping out lately," Connie said, and the woman nodded before she turned to lead us deeper into the building; it was so dark in here after being out in the alleyway that it took my eyes a mont to adjust. "She is looking into Hilda's disappearance."
The woman led us into a small room that had a table with two chairs set up near a window that was covered by heavy curtains, and she gestured for us to sit down before she sat across from us. The room had a musty sll to it, and the air was thick with a strange tension that I couldn't quite place.
"I am Teresa, but I didn't know Hilda that well, but we are all trying to find her. She was the hope that everyone had for a better future," Teresa said, and I frowned.
"A better future?" I asked, and Teresa nodded.
"Hilda was going to be the one that changed things for us; she was going to make things better for everyone in this city," Teresa explained, and Connie nodded her agreent. "But now she is gone, and we don't know what to do."
I leaned back in my chair as I looked at the two won across from ; they both seed pretty broken up about Hilda's disappearance. But it sounded like there might be more to it than just a political move by Carrie because if that were the case, then they would have just killed Hilda instead of making her disappear without a trace like this. There had to be sothing else going on, but since I dealt with the cultists, I had no clue.
There seed to be a lot going on in this city, so I wasn't just going to be able to tackle this problem head-on. I needed to talk to more people and get a feel for the lay of the land before I could really start putting together what was going on and how I could help. But it sounded like talking to Teresa might be a good place to start.
"Do you have any idea what Hilda was looking into that might have gotten her into trouble?" I asked, but Teresa shook her head.
"No, my ears are only around The Bottom. This section of the city can be considered dangerous, but that is only because they think that having a good ti is dangerous," Teresa said with a shrug, and I frowned.
"Giving people drugs and sex for money is dangerous," Connie said, crossing her arms, but my ears perked up.
"Sex? Drugs? Where? Here?" I asked, and Teresa gave a knowing look.
"Your black ears and strange facial hair... you are that Cat God everyone had been talking about, right?" She asked, and I nodded, making a mischievous smile spread on her face, but Connie seed to know what was coming.
"Galio is coming ho with to enjoy so good Grashalor hospitality!" Connie said as she got up and pulled up with her.
"Kitten, don't worry! I can tell that you like this one, so I will let you enjoy her, but just know that my door is always open for you, Cat God. I might be a plain woman, but I have done a business of giving people pleasures that you can find nowhere else. Feel free to co back at any ti, and we can talk more about Hilda, and I can give you so more private information that I do not want to share with prying ears around," Teresa said, looking at Connie the entire ti.
I was more than interested in that, but I still needed to squeeze in so more information from the Grashalor family, and I did tell Connie I would be coming back with her.
"Well, I will co to stop by tomorrow. I am interested in all the things that you have to offer, but the information is sothing that I need," I said as Teresa nodded and got up to head back out to the street.
"I will be waiting for your return, Cat God. I am curious to know if the rumors of your excellence are true," Teresa said and then closed the door.
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