Day Six-Hundred-Nine: Not mauve nor teal nor feldgrau

Snotballs. This is unexpected.

When we decided to go looking for Logan, I didn't really expect to find him. I didn't even expect to find traces of him. Now, not even a week later, we've discovered that he's grown up into some kinda master thief in the Imperium - and he might have a girlfriend, to boot. 

(Wonder if Eve would be jealous. They used to be engaged. Probably not, but you never can tell with my psychopathic little girl. Wonder how she's doing...)

After bribing the guards to at least turn Jeffrey upright so he wouldn't die from an excess of blood-to-brain, I called a meeting back in our tavern. With no small amount of shock on my part, I explained the situation as best I could.

"HA!" Grylock shouted happily. "Still screwin' over the old man! I love that kid, I do. What a bugger."

"So he is alive." The slightest hint of sisterly joy tugged at Celine's vague smile. "Mother will be so happy. I will be forced to kill him for running away, of course, but a brief reunion is better than none at all."

"Er... great." I cringed, wondering how much of Celine's words were in jest. Tough to tell at times. "Happiness aside, we've got a problem with Jeff. Gotta get him out of that jail. Any suggestions?"

"We look for my brother." Celine peered out a nearby window. "There is a possibility he's here. If so, he can help clear our father's name."

"That's a stretch, kid." Bora, sitting on a bed, shook her head. "He could be anywhere. The Imperium's a big place, 'n a 'master thief' like this Mr. L would probably stay on the move."

"Nevertheless, I will search." 

With that, Celine clicked open the window, stepped onto the windowsill, and slid outside. We haven't seen her since.

"Ooooookay, that's one way of doing things." Bora mussed with her hair. "Where do you find these kids? Every one of 'em's been a weirdo."

"Better weird than slutty," Libby muttered under her breath. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who heard her. Way to hold it in, Libby.

"I'd, ah, prefer we not just all vanish, 'kay? No more mystery excursions to the roof." I shook my head. "Any other ideas?"

There was one, and it came from Edmund. "We could don a cape and a cowl / And tread somewhere deemed largely foul."

"Gonna need more than that, rhymester."

"In places all urban, / Where life's at its darkest, /  It is almost certain / You'll find a black market."

With time and rhyme, Edmund elaborated. Apparently it's standard procedure for towns and cities the size of Trademore to have a seedy underbelly, staffed largely by shady criminals whose wares are ill-gotten - and often outright illegal. If a thief wished to turn thefts to coin, they would go to a black market. The trick, Ed says, is finding such a place without already knowing where it is..

Grylock agreed with Ed's idea (what a surprise that he knows about black markets), so the two of them have set off into town to search for a way in. The rest of us continue to search the pub and tavern scene for hints of Logan's presence in Trademore - or even just hints of where else he might be - though our luck is somewhat lacking so far.

Yeesh. Logan. That kid was always trouble. It seems that growing a face full of stubble hasn't improved him much. Still, considering the last time I saw him, it'd be very, very nice to confirm that he's alive.

I really hope he's alive.

Sincerely,

Dragomir the Wanderer