Yet Another Brief Investigation

Avery strutted down the main thoroughfare of Manot, waving to and greeting those he passed. He knew the vast majority of them by name, having made it a habit to get to know Manot's residents in the last couple of years while on his other trips to the village. He glanced back, spotting Anya walking towards the other side of town. She was probably wanting to check what he gad said about Sern. He smiled to himself a bit as he walked. Even if Sern hadn't actually seen his father or Anya's parents, it had managed to get Anya down to the village, so she could interact with people besides himself.

Avery spotted the person he was looking for up ahead of him, and sped up a bit. "Kerel!" He shouted the man's name as he got closer, then patted him on the back. "How've you been?" He asked, grinning at the surprised look on Kerel's face.

"Fine, kid, but you just saw me last night. What are you doing down in Manot again?" Kerel asked. He was human, appearing to be in his mid-30s, a little over six feet tall, with pale hair and blue eyes. He was well built, and burlier than Avery.

"Trying to get information on my father, what else?" Avery was still grinning. He had found it generally helped people's opinion of him. Except Anya. It just annoyed her, which meant he did it all the more.

"Told you everything I knew last night, kid. Sern saw him, and two others with him, traveling south just a week ago." Kerel had been the one Avery asked about his father's whereabouts on his previous visit, and was the one he tended to ask every visit, since he had connections to nearly everyone in Manot as the proprietor of the local tavern.

"Oh, I know, but Anya wanted more solid sources. You know how it is."

"She the cousin? Haven't seen her around since Althea, Parek, and Renihyn skipped out. She down here somewhere, or did she just send you to get more information while she stayed up the mountain?" Avery's face screwed up at the mention of his father and Anya parents having "skipped out". Everyone, including Anya, thought they had just left, since the Mad King's laws were especially harsh on those with children in the household. Avery, just on a matter of principle, had to believe otherwise.

"She doesn't like being away from the cabin, but she did come down with me. She's asking around on the other side of town. Where'd you hear that Sern saw them?" Saying she didn't like being away from the cabin was easier than explaining she didn't like people.

"Heard it from Sern himself. Asked me if I'd seen them when I went to buy some of his moonshine." Avery nodded slightly. It made sense. Kerel kept some of Sern's moonshine stocked at the tavern. If you wanted to forget something or drown your sorrows, you asked for the moonshine. Anya had been exaggerating about it killing anyone who wasn't a dwarf. Last time Avery got it, mostly out of curiosity, he'd been out of sorts for a week, then hungover for a month, but he'd been... fine after that. Ish.

"Know if anyone else has seen them, or just Sern?" Anya would be asking around on the side of the village Sern was on, and probably ask Sern himself, so he needed some sources ideally on this side.

"Try some of the farmers, or merchants. They're out most of the day, and the merchants especially have a vested interest in spotting travelers." Avery nearly slapped himself on the forehead at that. Of course the traders would've noticed. Anyone new to Manot was a potential buyer, so they would be specifically watching out for people passing through. He glanced to the sides of the thoroughfare. There were a few stalls here and there, selling food, furs, small household objects an average villager wouldn't make themselves.

"Of course a merchant would... Thanks, Kerel!" Avery patted him on the back again before jogging off the side, and the nearest stall. A woman, selling some crops.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Were you at this stall about a week ago?" He smiled at her as he approached.

"Buying anything?" She asked, ignoring the question. He blinked a few times, caught off guard.

"Uh... no? I just want some information, and you didn't look particularly busy..." He gestured to the lack of customers around. She sighed.

"Yes, I was here a week ago. Why?"

"I'm looking for some people. Group of three, two men and a woman, one of the men's elven. I was just wondering if you'd seen them." He returned to smiling.

"Sure, they walked past. Don't see many full blood elves around here, so I remember it pretty well." Avery's smile widened.

"Thank you very much, ma'am. My descendants will tell tales of your generosity!" He wandered to the next nearest stall, and had a rather similar conversation. This repeated a few times, most people agreeing that they had seen a group matching that description heading south about a week ago. Near the end, people had started just telling him as he approached their stall, as they'd seen and heard his interactions with the other traders.

After feeling content with what he'd gathered, and sure that Anya wouldn't be able to refute so many people agreeing, he returned to where the two of them had entered Manot, and found Anya not there. A bit more asking around showed she had already left, which wasn't particularly surprising. He started the walk back up to the cabin.