Tattletale|Aegestrom, Maelstrom

[Kender Bard]

Virgo had watched with disapproval as Tuono brought his lover (and daughter? If she'd heard right and true) into the guild without so much as a 'by your leave' from their Lord and Lady.

Well living in Maelstrom had this perk at least; she could report to them much easier. So as unobtrusively as she could manage, she slipped away from the guild to go visit the Sanderson home in person.

[Northen Light36]

Bas was particing with her dagger by the gate. She looked up and paused when she saw Virgo. "Oh, hello Virgo," she greeted the older thief, politely but distantly. She could put a name to the face, mainly because one of her friends these days was Roni's little sister, but she didn't actually know Vi. "Are you looking for Mum and Dad?"

[Kender Bard]

"Mmhm," Virgo agreed. And because it wouldn't do to be caught at 'reporting' she even had an alibi ready and offered Bas a candied apple on a stick. She also had a small bag of sweetmeats. "For you, kid. And I got something for your folks to parcel out to the rest of you."

There, if anyone from the guild was watching her, they'd only see a thief over-eager to get in her Lord and Lady's good graces.

[Northen Light36]

Bas accepted the treat and gave Virgo a mischievious grin. "Sucking up to mum and dad through us kids?" she asked. "That's good, keep it up. But next time bring more then that." Pleased she'd got a treat and 'seen through' another guild member's trick, Bas added, "Muma's in the study and Daddy's in the nursery. Do you want me to take you to one of them?"

[Kender Bard]

"You just want more because you have to share," Virgo teased. "And an escort would be nice, thank you. I don't think I've been in their house before. I don't want to bother your baby sister, so how about you take me to your mother?"

[Northen Light36]

Bas grinned at Vi. "All right, this way." As she lead the way through the house, Bas added, "And of course I want more cause I have to share. Have you noticed how many brothers and sisters I have to share with?" She grinned and took a bite of her apple. "Don't have to share this though," she remarked happily.

"Here's the study," she annouced and knocked on the open door. "Muma?"

Acqua was in the middle of re-braiding one of Letha's pigtails, but she looked over and smiled. "Virgo, what a surprise. Come in."

"She brought sweets," Bas annouced, taking another bite of her apple. Then, as Letha gave her a pleading look, Bas sighed and handed the treat over to her little sister. "One bite only. It's mine."

[Kender Bard]

"And sweetmeats for all," Virgo added, setting the bag down near Acqua. With forced cheerfulness but a serious glint to her eye, she remarked, "Not to mention tidings from work, if you care to hear now?"

[Northen Light36]

"Sounds good," Acqua murmured. "I've been out of the guild gossip circle lately." She finished off Letha's braid and passed the little girl the bag of sweetmeats. "Bas, Letha, why don't you two go share these out with your brothers?"

When the girls were gone, Acqua rose from her chair to close the door, then sat down again. "So, what's happened to bring you here, Vi?" She smiled and added teasingly, "No problems between you and Roni, I hope?"

[Kender Bard]

Virgo smiled more genuinely at that. "No. Not at all. He's a true and loving gentleman. Things between us are fine; he even performed admirably at that wretched dinner my mother insisted on throwing."

Her smile faded. "No I came here to perform my duty to you. Tuono has brought outsiders into the guild. A woman and a babe. If I heard right, it's his... lover and child? A bit out of the blue... But he didn't even ask anyone to bring the two in."

[Northen Light36]

Acqua sighed, but she also smiled slightly at some small, private joke. "This would come to me," she muttered ruefully. In a more normal tone of voice, she added, "I must admit to being surprised. I've never known Tuono to be so careless before. Vi, can you tell me anything about the woman and child? Has Tuono given any reason for why he'd bring in outsiders?"

[Kender Bard]

Virgo shook her head. "It's hard to say, I didn't stick around as long as I'd like because I wanted to do some damage control. Um, the woman is a Fire. She looks... Exotic. Not sure how to put it but she's definitely not from here. Maybe she's a native Naurite? They didn't look in poor condition so it's not like she was sick or hurt and the kid looked okay too. They seemed confused but that was all."

[Northen Light36]

"Hmm," Acqua murmured thoughtfully. "Well I'll certainly have a word with Tuono. Possibly this afternoon or tomorrow morning. Don't want to head up there too close to your visiting here, just in case anyone puts two and two together and comes up with four. In fact..." Acqua reached into a coin purse on the study desk and passed a few copper to Vi. "Why don't you and Roni go get a nice dinner tonight? Gives you an excuse to be in Maelstrom other then simply gaining favour with Mat and I, since I think Roni's working the market place today. There's already rumours we favour you, might be wiser not to risk adding fuel to that fire."

[Kender Bard]

Virgo beamed brightly. "Thank you, my Lady!" If she were the type, she'd have squealed and hopped in place. "I'll do so in a mark, after I let my father know where I'm going to be at tonight. It'll be a refreshing change for him."

And she could let Roni know what was up too. Together, the two of them could glean whatever they missed that night with rumors in the morning. "Is there anything else you'd like me to be keeping an ear and eye out for?"

[Northen Light36]

Acqua's expression darkened just a fraction and she muttered, "If you could find a way to make Echo's bitch of a mother fall down a flight of stairs and break her neck, I'd approve." She sighed. "Just keep doing what you're doing, Vi." Acqua paused, then added, "Actually, there is one thing. How are the Ilyamen thieves settling in with the Maelstrom group? Any problems I should be aware of?"

[Kender Bard]

"Eh..." Virgo rolled a shoulder in a half-shrug. "It's about what you'd expect. There's no real hostility I don't think. But there's no 'we're all one big family here' feeling either. There's Maelstrom thieves and there's Ilyamen thieves and everyone makes sure that they're on their side of the line, so to speak. It's causing some rivalries. There's some name-calling and taunting amongst the young thieves and the kids too."