The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'
Chapter 253 - The Intentional Space Between Tents, Thieves, and Thoughts

Chapter 253: Chapter 253 - The Intentional Space Between Tents, Thieves, and Thoughts

Nohre held her braid from swinging over her shoulder as she crouched to examine the ground. The grass near one of the Wing & Talon’s storage tents held no obvious signs of passage, though she wasn’t entirely sure what she expected to find. She had studied animal tracking at the Youth Guild, but this area was so filled with people that it wasn’t of use.

Green eyes swept the area methodically while her mind looked for details that seemed out of place. However, it was Fusand who observed something and spoke first.

"The tents are spaced oddly here compared to the rest of their camp."

It drew her attention to the broader layout for a moment, but quickly back to her companion. The teen usually excelled at spotting patterns, but something felt off about how he stated it as well as how long it took him to say it. As if he had missed an obvious connection and was a little frustrated by it.

"Like they wanted more space between them for a purpose? Or..."

"No, more like... hmm."

The sandy-haired teen scratched at his hair as he stared at the gap. His usually quick analysis seemed caught on something just out of reach. The sense that he should recognize why this detail mattered teased at the edges of his thoughts.

"Are you feeling alright?"

Her question came carefully, not wanting to interrupt his concentration entirely. They had been skulking around for almost a half hour... and she had noticed after they arrived that his usual sharp insights were coming slower than normal.

"Just... fuzzy. Like when you wake up from a really vivid dream but can’t quite remember what happened."

His spirit churned with frustration as he tried to grasp the slipping threads of whatever insight kept dancing away from him. Nohre stood and moved closer, studying his face with concern. A hand softly touched the side of his shoulder.

"Maybe we should take a break?"

"...Okay. It’s there, just... not quite coming together."

As they moved away from the general location of the crime, a merchant walking past drew both of their attention. The woman’s gaze lingered on the storage tents before she shook her head and hurried on her way - after thinking that things were not safe anywhere these days!

Still, something about her moment of interest sparked a thought in Nohre’s mind.

"We should ask the folks that set up nearby about yesterday - see who spent too much time watching this area. Someone must have noticed a person being overly interested in the setup."

The orphan pair started with the closest stalls and Nohre led them with a slow gait despite her eager thoughts. Their first visit was to a woman selling early morning tea and breakfast rolls. Her cart’s position would have given her a clear view of the entire storage area throughout yesterday’s event.

’Though maybe seeing too much at once would make it harder to notice...’

"You’re asking about people watching the birds yesterday?"

The vendor’s weathered hands never stopped working as she spoke. Steam rose from her kettle while she prepared orders for a small waiting line of mortals and a couple cultivators. Many had already started gathering at the event grounds, but some still lingered - slow risers or those with other tasks to accomplish first.

"Yes... or anything else out of the ordinary you noticed. Any detail at all."

"There were certainly plenty interested after the announcement. But before that..."

The woman’s voice trailed off as she wrapped a meat bun before handing it and the simple clay cup to her customer. Nohre waited patiently for her to continue speaking while Fusand started sketching something in the dirt with his foot. Her eyes glanced over and her lips pursed.

’Another crab... does he really love them so much?

Fusand’s often organized note-taking seemed a bit forgotten in his current state of recovering his wits - and it was affecting the girl as well. It was hard to be completely serious when the one you liked was also being ridiculous!

"There *were* two men who spent hours ’browsing’ my neighbors’ wares. Kept ending up with views of those tents between looking at baubles they clearly had no interest in buying."

A cultivator stepped up to order and the woman turned away. After realizing she didn’t have much more to say on the matter, Nohre purchased tea for them both Instead of immediately moving on. The vendor smiled at her when she handed the set of cups their way.

Some information could be given freely, but why should she *not* make even a bit of coin for the good stuff? Plus it was nice to see young folk enjoy food on their date.

"Actually, one of them asked about my hours today. Said he might want breakfast."

She gestured at her remaining inventory with a knowing look.

"But they aren’t here now, are they? Pretty strange to make plans and not keep them. Though I guess things do happen."

Fusand’s head snapped up from the third detailed crustacean the tip of his foot had etched.

"Did they seem like cultivators or were they mortals?"

His question earned a thoughtful frown from the vendor.

"Hard to say. They didn’t show off any abilities, but they moved like they weren’t simple. Like the way they kept space between themselves without looking at each other... despite moving around the event in pairs."

She shook her head and turned to help another customer. Nohre guided Fusand a little away from the cart and the tea vessels warmed their hands in the morning air. While watching her fellow disciple, she took a sip and tilted her head before speaking.

"What made you ask that so hurriedly?"

"I just wanted to know who we were going to be dealing with. But... the spacing? Like the tents, but... with people."

Green eyes squinted at him as his face scrunched up. He tried to articulate the connection floating just beyond his reach and found the edges of it just fuzzy enough to be unable to voice. He usually jumped straight to complex theories that went nowhere, but this morning he seemed stuck on basic observations.

’He had so many wild ideas about why master’s bird was escorting us... did he use all his brain on that?’

"So they are trained to maintain formation without obvious signals. In a crowd... what does that mean?"

"Yes! Not like the Order’s groups or the army’s squads. More like..."

He gestured vaguely with his free hand before a gruff voice called out from the nearby stall.

"If you’re asking about those loiterers, there were three of them."

The old man running the stall waved them over, all too happy to vent his annoyance.

"Three? But the lady over there only saw two."

"That’s because the third one spent most of her time by the training fields. Only came to check on the others a few times throughout the day. Real subtle about it too - if I hadn’t been watching for pick-pockets trying to grab my displays..."

The bauble seller had set his wares out on a bright cloth spread across a wooden table. His weathered fingers gestured at various spots between the stalls as he spoke.

"They kept a pattern. One would drift over here to look at pendants, then the other would end up over there by the cloth merchant examining silks. Never bought anything despite handling plenty."

His voice held the particular bitter irritation of someone who had watched potential customers waste his time. Buyers coming in and leaving quickly with smiles drew more customers than someone hemming and hawing as if your stuff was no good or too expensive!

"But this other one, the woman you mentioned... you said she stayed at the training grounds there?"

Fusand prompted carefully when the man paused to reorganize a row of brass trinkets.

"Actually, she made purchases. Small things, but from different stalls throughout the day. Kept moving around the grounds like she was looking for something or someone specific."

The teen turned and caught the eyes of the girl with him. His head buzzed with ideas that struggled to turn into complete bubbles of thought. Nohre took the chance to ask her own follow up.

"Did she seem interested in the birds too?"

"Not exactly. More like... she was watching the watchers."

The bauble seller’s hands paused in their nigh eternal adjustment of his merchandise. Getting everything arranged just right was something that changed with the level of light. What looked good next to each other in the early morning wasn’t as impressive as at noon.

"Come to think of it, she spent some coin at every stall they stopped near. Almost like she was paying for their right to observe."

The teenager’s brows both scrunched. Even through the boy’s mental fog, something about that sort of behavior pattern seemed significant beyond the idea that they were all together. Before he could voice his thoughts, a commotion from the direction of the storage tents drew their attention.

Several cultivators in nice looking attire were gathering and growing noisy. It was obvious that some were the staff and guards from the Void Defense Society that had been out and about, but they were being grouped with members of the complainant’s organization.

The Wing & Talon Enclave members looked quite displeased. Their eyes looking at the scene caught a female official who stared back. Though they were not sensitive enough to tell at this distance, their spirit radiated authority and just as much displeasure at being saddled with all this.

And then... she spoke to her group and stepped forward towards the teenagers.