She treads her practiced path down the familiar street, though the neighborhood is depressingly devoid of its usual inhabitants. Averting her eyes from the collection of Zoluren's finest outside, she forces a formal salutation before hustling inside to her home behind the black wooden door.

Glad I haven't been staying here at night, she thinks to herself. Even with all those... other... noises, the sound of hundreds of restless soldiers would keep anyone from normal brain function.

A discreet knock emanates from the lower half of the door. Knowingly, she cracks it open to allow a small figure to squeeze through.

"I have a message for you to pass along, if you find him," says the resident.

"Of course, though I am not sure when or if I will see him again," responds the visitor.

"Oh, you will see him again. I am certain."

The small figure nods apprehensively.

"I will impart it to you, listen close. Are you ready?" she asks. Her eyes close briefly. She imagines him sitting on the same chair where her guest now sits, silver against tan, lounging and sipping his liqueur. Her eyes reluctantly open, and she bites her lower lip.

She struggles only for a moment. Then, the words wend their way over her tongue and out of her mouth, deliberate in syntax and diction.

"He is smart." She nods, satisfied. "Don't forget this," the tall one adds, handing her friend a white towel with colorful stitching. The shorter one tucks a lock of hair behind her ear as her lips move, practicing the recital to herself.

"I have already been away from where I am I supposed to be for too long. Let us depart," says the tall one. Her companion nods, then reaches up to hug her legs. The Human smiles, then kneels down to hug the Gnome properly.

"Thank you," she whispers.