If this isn't it, then I will resume my search after sunrise.
Out of the five taverns near his town this was the third he was visiting tonight. The other two were far away and both he and Kuai were at their limit for the night. He secured Kuai's reins on a pole near the tavern before walking in. He quickly scans the room as he walks towards the counter. It was like all the others. Men and women shouting at the top of their voices with big jars in their hands. In a corner, an organised fight had just ended and those who won their bets were ecstatic while the losers looked angry or disheartened. The Tavern Keeper was a short man with a bald head and a stock figure. His big round eyes and trimmed beard were hard to miss. He spoke to him in a low voice, keeping his cloak over his head in an effort to avoid being seen.
"Am looking for someone," he said as he placed ten copper coins on the counter. The tavern keeper stretched his arm to collect the coins but was stopped from doing so. "Man calls himself Taru. Has a scar above his right eye."
"Yes. He came in before the sun had completely set." Feng let him have the coins and asked "which room?"
"Upstairs, first door on your left."
As Feng left the counter, a tall, lean and hooded figure stood up from a dark corner.
Feng knocked on the door and waited. As he did so, he heard the sound of the wooden stairs creaking. He decided to knock again before stepping aside and facing the flight of stairs but just as he was about to do so, the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs quickened. He turned to face the stairs but then felt his hand being grabbed. He hadn't noticed that the door had been opened. The next thing he knew his cloak was pulled down to reveal his face and the person who had come up the stairs spoke.
"Feng! What are you doing here?"
"Zoraya?"
Taru released his hand and said with a hoarse voice, "Well, well. Look what we have here. The bounty hunter who recently became a father."
"Let's do this inside," said Zoraya as she walked past them.
----------------------------------------
"I came to warn you. Mawi is here."
"We know," said Zoraya. "We saw him in the city this morning. How about you?"
"He came home this evening."
"Did he try to kill you?" she asked with a teasing smile on her face.
"No. But he did try to hire me."
"Same thing." They all gave a light laugh.
Taru sat on the bed with his back against the headboard. His posture made him look a lot shorter than he actually was. "Did he tell you who he was hunting?"
"No. I don't think he would especially after our previous hunt."
Zoraya propped her feet on the table, leaned back in her chair and placed her hands behind her head. She stared at the ceiling as she said, "And that is what I find to be so surprising. Why get help from someone you hate?"
"I don't think he hates me. Well, not as much as you, Taru."
"He had it coming. So, are we going to see your little angel or what?
"No, not now. Tomorrow."
"Sure thing."
Feng was about to make himself comfortable on the couch when he realized something. "Wait. Hold up. Why is Zoraya here? You didn't mention her in your letter."
"Coincidence," she said. "We met on the way here, and am glad we did. How would you like to join us on a hunt?"
"The same hunt that Mawi is on?"
"No idea."
"Have you found the trail?"
"She is in Omashu."
Feng looked puzzled. "She?"
"Some rich girl who ran away from home."
"Oh. And you need me because?"
"I don't need you. But I do want your help. Are you in or not?"
"If her trail leads outside the city then I won't be able to help."
"Why not?"
"My wife is going to kill me. Normally I tell her before I go hunting. The last time I went hunting without informing her -"
"Oh I remember," said Taru. "She knocked you out cold with a frying pan." He burst with laughter. Zoraya couldn't hold it in and eventually she too begun to laugh. Feng just lay down on the couch, and covered his head with his cloak in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.