A young woman passed through the northern gates to the city of Adeluna. The woman wore a grey robe with a hood that covered her head and face. On her back was a greyish pack and on her feet were worn purple slippers. She carried a bo staff with her and used it as a walking stick. She seemed incredibly energetic despite there being evidence that she had walked a long way. Her robe was dirty and worn which indicated she had been traveling for a while. The red hair that sticked out of her hood was frizzy and tangled. Still she didn't seem to have a problem walking around. In fact she was practically skipping with joy. Her name is Tristana. Tristana Deformem. She walked down the streets of the city and wanted to take in every single little thing she saw all at once. There were so many people surrounding her. Far more people than she had ever seen in her entire life. They were bustling around going from place to place. Then there were the sounds of the city. From the horses neighing in the distance to the men laughing at the bar, everything sounded incredibly. Tristana felt as if she could just sit all day just listening to people talk or the animals or the life in the city in general. Then there were the smells of the city. Of course not everything smelled perfect but Tristana just concentrated on the stuff that smelled good. Like the bread from a nearby bakery or the smell of incense that somebody was selling. Finally there was the sights of the city itself. All she could do was to stand in wonder and awe. 

White walls surrounded and most likely were meant to defend the city. Inside these walls the city buildings itself were beautiful. Even the simple small houses that you would see just entering it were beautiful. Some of the houses were small then there were large houses that were bigger than three small houses put together. Tristana wondered what each home contained. Did one home contain a small family who loved each other very much? Did another home just contain an old man ready to retire? Or was there another empty house that was waiting for some sort of traveler to come home? Did one just hold a woman working her way to become the top in her job? Did another hold a man who worked from home? So many possibilities it seemed. Yet Tristana felt as if each home held it's own story. It's own life. As if each home itself held it's own little story. Then there were the massive towers which seemed to stretch to the sky and higher. Perhaps wizards or warriors lived in these towers? Is that where heroes lived? There were large bells in one of the towers. Which caused Tristana to wonder what these large metal things were called and what they were used for. Tristana had never really seen a bell as large as that. Then there were the markets. Each market stand had it's own merchant and it's own customers. Not to mention the beautiful fruits and vegetables it held. Yet food was not all that the market seemed to sell. Some sold these golden necklaces. Others sold weapons. Some even sold potions. Tristana watched as an older woman bought apples and a young boy was running through the streets.

There were so many people bustling about. Some of these people wore fancy outfits with lots of colors. Those outfits reminded of birds and she couldn't help but see the nobleman's resemblance to a bird. Then there was a man with poorer clothing but he was happily holding a young child, whom Tristana assumed to be his daughter. There was a blacksmith, a mage, a guard, and a merchant. So many people going on with their lives. Tristana could imagine where they were going and how they lived. Suddenly Tristana saw an older man sitting by the side of a building. He was frail and seemed to be wearing rags. Instantly Tristana felt pity for the man and noticed that he was holding an box and asking for money. So Tristana gave him ten of her silver coins. Then she continued on walking, firmly believing that she had helped out the beggar man. Then she spotted one of the most magnificent sights of all. The castle. It's fine stone towers reached to the sky far taller than any of the other towers. She could see the huge wooden drawbridge and the windows that scattered along the walls of the castle. It looked old. Incredibly old yet it still retained some of it's greatness it seemed. Although to be fair this was the first time that Tristana had ever seen a castle. So she didn't exactly have an expert's opinion on castles or any buildings. 

Tristana stood in the middle of a great city and she was thrilled beyond all belief. She wanted to watch everything, see everything that the city had to offer. Taste every pastry that she saw and smelled. Smell every fresh rose at the market. Listen to the sounds of the city and the music of random bards out in the streets playing for money. She wanted to touch every building and learn it's secrets. Meet every person and learn their stories. Do everything. See everything. Experience everything. That's what she wanted to do. Tristana ran from building to building observing it as if it was one of the most incredible things she had ever seen. Eventually she had gotten tired and took a rest be a small tree that stood in between two homes. Tristana supposed it was best if she continued with what she came here for. After all she came here to discover the truth. Not to explore. Although she wanted to do that later. For now she just wanted to know if she would discover what she came here for. Will Tristana find them? Her parents?

Tristana enjoyed sitting down and taking in a little bit of peace. After running around like that, having a nice rest was rather nice. She closed her eyes and leaned back onto the base of the tree. She could feel a soft breeze blow gently across her face. Today has been a good day so far. What could go wrong? As if the universe was replying to her, she suddenly heard a loud thud on one of the roofs. Her head snapped in the direction that she heard the sound from. What was that? Perhaps some sort of loud bird? Before she could go see what was going on, a lute case suddenly hit the ground a few feet away from her. Tristana felt nothing but confusion run through her mind. Was somebody throwing instruments? Was there a new spell to make it rain music instruments? Only a few seconds later a louder thud followed and she saw a person rolling off of the roof of a building. Was it raining men now?! Tristana was still currently stunned and could only observe the strange person before her. His clothes were simple but the most interesting thing about him was the two curved horns atop his head. Perhaps this was a bard of some sort? Tristana finally was able to stand and thus stood up. Then the man….person spoke to her. A simple hello. Tristana gave him a little wave back, still quite stunned that this happened. But then she noticed how he seemed to be in pain and quickly rushed over to him. Of course Tristana was careful not to show her ugly face. After all nobody needed to see Tristana’s ugliness. But at the moment this wasn’t about her. This was about somebody who seemed to need help. Then he asked her a question. 

“Oh, we are in Adeluna City. In Canelux.” Tristana explained.
The man asked for a moment so Tristana let him be for a while. He seemed to be quite upset at the sky for some reason. Although she couldn’t name that reason whatsoever. Did he come from the sky? Was it a spell that went wrong? These and other questions swirled through her mind but for now she decided to let him be. At least until he spoke to her. Which after a few moments, he did. “My name is Tristana. Who are you?” She asked curiously, “And why did you fall from the sky? Did a spell go wrong?” 
She then remembered something. Tristana had a healing spell. So she held out her hands in the direction of Ozzet and spoke the healing spell. An emerald green circle appeared in front of her hands and suddenly his injuries were healed. Then the circle vanished and Tristana put down her hands. A little bit of her energy was gone but it was a basic spell. It seemed his injuries weren’t too bad so it didn’t take as much of her magical energy. “There. You should be healed now.” Tristana declared then thought of something, “Oh! I probably should have asked first. I’m sorry.”Everything about Tristana seemed genuine. Her emotions were presented easily and she was willing to help a complete stranger whom she didn't even know. It was obvious she hadn’t developed a sense of distrust for people yet. Tristana seemed relatively happy that she had healed him though. She was glad that he seemed to recover from the fall just fine and even seemed able to focus on his instruments. Maybe he was really a bard? It never hurt to ask but she decided to ask after she gave him a chance to respond to all of her other questions. After all it was difficult to answer questions when another one followed right after it. Tristana observed his looks better now. He had black hair and a bit of a beard. His ears were like an animals although she hadn’t seen enough animals to really tell which one. Perhaps a cow’s ear? Tristana also wondered what this stranger’s species was. Did he even have a species name? Or race name? She didn’t know the exact term to call it. Was it alright to call him man? Tristana had no idea since she didn’t exactly encounter people very often. After all she had spent most of her life in a room. Logically Tristana wouldn’t be all knowing about this kind of thing. Suddenly Tristana noticed a different man walking around worriedly. The man was older, almost a grandfather it seemed. He had gray hair but still walked around just fine. The man had a blue shirt, apron, and trousers along with some boots. Tristana and the man made eye contact and suddenly the man began walking over to them. He looked very tired and his face was full of concern.  Almost to the point where it looked like he was about to cry. Tristana couldn’t help but sympathize with him, even though she had no idea what was wrong.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ozzet." Tristana said with a genuine smile. 

Ozzet seemed like a very nice guy, although she didn't know him very yet. It was just a hunch that Tristana had. Or it could be the fact that he smiled and was friendly. Tristana was trusting towards almost everybody. Especially since she had little experience with talking with people. From her point of few there were people that wanted to murder her or kill her and there was people who were nice who didn't want to do that. So Ozzet seemed nice to her. She had listened to him and determined that he seemed lost. Poor guy. Perhaps traveling a bit would help him find out where he is. Or maybe using a map. A map was probably a much better idea. Still Tristana felt sympathetic for him. She too knew in a way what it was like to be lost. Although not as lost as he but she still felt in many ways, a wanderer still looking for her place. Tristana then refocused her attention to the man that was approaching them. She made sure her hood was pulled down so that the man wouldn't see her face. After all it was best to hide her ugly side and let people see her for everything other than that. Nobody liked to look at monsters. So as long as she didn't show her face then she would be fine. The man approached Tristana and Ozzet. He seemed to be a bit out of breath and rather worn out. Quickly Tristana felt worried for him. She wondered what was the matter. Tristana then heard what Ozzet had said. She leaned over to him and whispered so that the man wouldn't hear what she had said. 

"I don't mind helping. Besides it's difficult to ask for help. Or at least it is for me. Maybe it's the same for him and asking for help is actually really tough? I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt." Tristana said softly.

She then turned back to the man and listened to what he had to say. 

"Excuse me, have you seen a little girl with long black hair and green eyes? She has a blue dress and black shoes. Have you seen her at all?" The man asked, his voice filled to the brim with worry. 

"I'm sorry sir." Tristana said, "But I haven't seen this girl. Where have you searched for her?" 

"I've searched everywhere. The market, alleyways, every house I could, and every inch of town. I've put up paintings of her and have been searching for three days and have had no food or sleep. I think somebody has taken her." The man said, "My name is Daniel. I'm the girl's grandfather. I'll give you a reward if you can find her. Please! If there's somebody helping me I'm sure we can find her quickly." 

Tristana instantly felt massive amounts of pity for this man. Even though she had only met him a little while ago she felt like she wanted to do everything in her power to help. Especially since it wasn't just her own life on the line. The life of this little girl seemed to be in trouble and she wanted to help as much as she could. Tristana tried to recall anything strange that she had seen earlier today but she couldn't think of anything. And this man seemed to indeed be worn out. He looked like he hadn't been eating or sleeping whatsoever. She deeply wanted to help him. 

"Of course I'll help you!" Tristana exclaimed, "I'll just need you to answer a few questions. First, what is her name? Secondly where was the last time you saw her? Finally when was the last time you saw her? I really want to help but I'll need to know these things before we can start properly." 

Tristana needed all the information she could possibly get. After all it was impossible to be able to find somebody with no information at all. Tristana was also careful to make it clear that she was willing to help and made it clear that she couldn't speak for Ozzet. She didn't want to offer the help of somebody whom she barely knew. That would be incredibly rude. So Tristana decided to assume that she would be doing this alone unless Ozz said otherwise. Tristana began thinking of where would be best to start. Perhaps the market but this time just asking about the last time that people had seen the child. Maybe it was just the little girl had gotten lost and a somebody assumed she was an orphan and took her in. Or maybe she was just lost. Of course there was the possibility that the girl had been kidnapped but Tristana didn't want to jump to conclusions. Even if there was a good chance that happened. She didn't want to make the man worry more than he already was. Maybe Tristana needed to find her way to a bar. Most adults ended up their and if anybody had seen anything they might be more willing to talk after they have received alcohol. Tristana turned her attention back to the man. 

The old man seemed grateful for the help and quickly began telling Tristana and the mysterious guy with her all the information he had. 

"Her name is Jalia Davenport. I last saw her in the marketplace three days ago. One moment she was right by my side then the next she was gone." The grandfather explained, "Please find her!"

Tristana did her best to try to calm the old man. 

"I will do my best. But I will not guarantee anything." Tristana said honestly, "Please keep searching here and don't ever give up." 

The old man seemed a bit relieved and began to leave. Tristana really hoped that she could find the child. She then heard what Ozzet asked. 

"I'm certain. If he needs my help I will be perfectly happy in providing help." She responded as if it was the simplest thing in the world, "Thank you though for offering to come with me. You don't have to do this but I really appreciate the help." 

She then turned to Ozzet and began to think. 

"Now let's see. I suspect that we will have to visit the marketplace first." Tristana said out loud, "But from what it sounds like it seems that the grandfather Daniel has already visited the area. But I wonder if he actually talked to everybody." 

Now she had her attention fully on Ozzet. 

"Come!" She said with a smile, "I'm sure we'll be able to find somebody at the market who might know something." 

Then she began to walk down the path that would eventually lead to the marketplace. Of course Tristana didn't expect that this would be easy. It would be extremely difficult no doubt. After all they were looking for one little girl in a huge city. It seemed almost impossible. But there was something that Tristana had wondered when she had met the old man. Had he bothered asking any of the homeless, thieves, or anybody else of that sort of manner any questions? Tristana suspected not since he seemed to be an easily frightened man. However Tristana couldn't help but wonder how much these people saw in the marketplace. When she visited there was always at least one thief or one homeless person. They always seemed to be the same person too. No doubt they spent most of their days in the market and thus might have been able to see something. This was just a hunch though. There wasn't a way to be certain. Besides it was best to start out in the last place that the little girl was seen. 

Tristana quickly realized that she didn't exactly think her plan through. As always. She had got too caught up in trying to help somebody that she didn't plan out how to actually help them. She also suspected that Ozzet may have been suspicious of the old man. Perhaps Ozzet hadn't seen how desperate the man looked? After all the child had been gone for three days. And the old man had been asking others around him to help after he left Tristana. She knew that she was uneducated about the outside world but that didn't mean it was right to be overly suspicious of everybody. Yes, there were monsters and villains. Yes, people try to murder or steal. But that didn't mean that either of them had any right treating everybody like they were criminals until they actually did something wrong. However Tristana decided not to say anything on the matter. After all she couldn't read minds so perhaps Ozzet wasn't suspicious at all and maybe Tristana was just worrying too much.

"Well… I do plan on buying them a drink. Then I plan to talk to them. Perhaps the alcohol will make them more willing to talk." Tristana suggested. "Maybe not thieves. But what's wrong with the homeless? Just because they are poor that doesn't mean they are bad."

Even she knew that people would talk or at least be friendlier if you buy them a drink. And the fact that alcohol affected people's minds. But Tristana was a bit concerned about the way that Ozzet spoke about the homeless. Thieves she could understand since, well they stole stuff. But the homeless? Those were just people who were too poor to afford homes. Did the city really view them as automatically bad just because they couldn't afford a home? If that was the case then Tristana would be seen as bad too. Especially since she didn't have a home herself. Not to mention Ozzet would also be in the same boat. Since at the moment, it seemed that he didn't know his own name let alone have a home. But the main reason she was thinking of asking thieves or the homeless was because they seemed to stay around the market area. So maybe they saw something. Tristana let that go too. Perhaps he had just misunderstood what she had meant?

As she walked through the marketplace with him she noticed that he seemed to be out of breath. So she stopped so that he could catch his breath. Tristana then listened to him as he made a suggestion. He had a good point. It would be wise to ask the guards first. That's probably where she should have started with her plan, she realized. Yes, asking thieves and homeless might have helped but it wasn't who she should have thought of first. Tristana should have thought to ask if there was more missing people first. That was her own mistake. But there wasn't any point on dwelling on mistakes. She would just have to learn from it. 

"Good point." Tristana commented, "Let's ask the guards. After all they would know if there were missing people." 

Tristana then continued to walk with him through the marketplace. The market was busy with many different kinds of people. Every stall had at least three, not including the merchant, people. Tristana made sure that she stuck near Ozzet so that they would stay together. Although it was pretty difficult to lose Ozzet seeing as he didn't blend in with the crowd much. Tristana then spotted two guards leaning up against a stone building talking to each other. Tristana then walked up to the both of them. 

"Excuse me," Tristana said politely, "We are looking for a little girl and I was wondering if anybody else has been missing recently?"

The guards looked rather confused but then seemed to quickly realize what Tristana was asking. 

"Oh, sorry was that old man bothering you too?" The guard asked, "We already told him that we are doing everything we can to find the girl. People have been missing but we will find them soon. In fact the gaurds have already been working on finding them."

"Not that we're finding much." The second guard mumbled. 

"Hey! We aren't supposed to talk about that." The first guard said sharply then turning back to Tristana, "So don't worry yourself mam. We have it perfectly under control." 

The two guards were young and looked as if they had just joined the guards. Which probably explained their behavior. Tristana didn't realize though that this wasn't how guards were supposed to act since she had never really met a guard before now. 

"That's good I suppose." Tristana commented but then walked back to Ozzet. 

It didn't matter if the guards said they had it under control. Tristana had already agreed to help and she would help them. Whether they wanted it or not. Tristana looked at Ozzet. 

"It sounds like there have been other missing people." She explained to him, "Where do you think we should go next?"

She wanted to give him the option of deciding where to go next. Especially since his first idea worked out so well. Maybe they would get lucky again?