It was hard to hide Levi’'s massive body in the open fields of Mireh. This should have been obvious, but still provided a huge challenge, regardless. Woodland had been quite surprised when the Tark'ee had showed up, purple-ish grey Tsabhua in tow, asking for help with gathering some- "information".

Levi and Moxie had explained that their colony had been looking for information about a certain beige Belemoid living in Mireh. Pistacho, as the Belemoid turned out to be called, had recently been spotted along the northern border of L'hatzif, and remembering their earlier encounter Levi had thought Woodland to be a great candidate to help them along through the swamp. 

Woodland supposed that she, too, would want to invite someone knowledgeable of the terrain when doing some espionage.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, by the time the three had made it to the latest spotted location, Pistachio had already gone home, and was no longer actually in the swamp.

Woodland sighed, looking around the slowly thinning out vegetation between the border of Mireh and L'hatzif. "Seems we're out of luck. Any idea where he might have gone?"

Moxie scratched his head, his eyes scanning the horizon. "We could try heading to Bitzaron. It’s possible Pistachio went there."

Levi, towering over both of them, rumbled thoughtfully. "We should be cautious. If Pistachio is aware someone is after him, he might be on the lookout."

The three of them began making their way through the Mireh fields, Woodland leading the way. The terrain between Mireh and L'hatzif was treacherous, with hidden sinkholes and thick, sludgy mud that could easily trap an unwary traveller, the features of both regions mixing together for a good bit before "stabilising" into their own terrains.. Woodland navigated with practised ease, while Moxie and Levi kept their eyes open for any signs of a Belemoid passing trough recently.

As they moved deeper into the fields, they encountered a group of local Xunari who were gathering berries from the bushes growing there. Levi approached them, hoping to get some information.

"Excuse me," she called out. "We're looking for someone. A beige Belemoid named Pistachio. Have you seen him recently? He's supposed to be around here, but we're having trouble finding him."

One of the Xunari, an elderly Tsabhua, nodded. "Pistachio? I saw him yesterday. He was heading towards the central market, and mentioned something about needing to find a specific merchant."

Woodland smiled, thanking the elder before turning back towards Levi and Moxie. "Looks like we've got a lead."

The journey to the market was uneventful but slow, as Levi’s massive form made it difficult to move both quickly and stealthily. By the time they arrived, the sun was high in the sky. Getting into Bitzaron was, as always, a hassle, and Woodland spent a good while convincing the guards that yes, she definitely had business there- important business that could not wait until tomorrow, even.

The market inside the city was a vibrant place, filled with stalls selling everything from exotic fruits to handcrafted jewellery. Woodland, Leviathan, and Moxie wove through the crowd, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of Pistachio.

After a while, Moxie tugged on Woodland’s arm. "Over there," she whispered, pointing to a small, nervous figure standing near a stall selling rare herbs. It was Pistachio.

Woodland nodded, signalling the two others (mostly Levi, it'd be nearly impossible to hide her in the crowd), to stay back and observe. Pistachio would likely recognise the two- or at least Woodland hoped so. If he didn't, she had to ask herself why Levi and Moxie were spying on him to begin with, and with Levi's size... Well, she hoped desperately that she'd never get on the Tark'ee's bad side.

Woodland positioned herself in between Pistachio and her companions, pretending to be very interested in the fruit the stand was selling.

Pistachio definitely seemed on edge, constantly glancing over his shoulder. He spoke with hushed tones with the merchants, hands moving rapidly. Woodland strained to hear the conversation, but could only catch fragments of it.

"...need it soon... danger... can't wait any longer..."

The merchant seemed apathetic towards his urgency, and pointed towards a sign. Pistachio sighed, grabbed a satchel from his purse and threw it over the counter. The merchant seemed to roll his eyes, shoving a satchel over the counter, and with that Pistachio was gone, disappearing into the crowd again.

Woodland re-joined her companions, and explained what had just happened.

"What do you think it was about?" Moxie whispered, eyes wide with curiosity.

"Not sure," Woodland replied, her voice equally low. "But whatever it is, he seems desperate and in a rush."

Woodland peered into the crowd, Pistachio nowhere to be seen. "We should check out the merchant's stall," she suggested, "Then maybe we can figure out what he bought."

The other two nodded, and followed behind Woodland as she weaved in between the stalls.

Once she got to the stall the Xunari running it, an old, rather rough-looking Belemoid, rumbled "All sold out. Sorry."

Moxie frowned "Ah, really? We desperately needed some-" he looked around, trying to find hints about what the stall was selling. Unfortunately, the merchant had already started clearing the stall out to go home.

"Well, that's too bad. I'd take the business any other day, but that strange fella just sold me out of all of my powders. Wouldn't tell me what he needed it for either. Gonna take me all week to stock back up." the Xunari huffed. "But hey, at least me and the wife will eat good this week."

Levi sighed, pretending to be annoyed "That's a shame! We really needed some... powders."

The old man shrugged, throwing the last of his signs into his cart and waving goodbye.

Woodland frowned. "I lost track of Pistachio in all that chaos... Sorry."

Patting her on the back, moxie seemed deep in thought. "No worries. I think that this has been very fruitful actually... Might be just the information we needed. I suppose we'll head back home, then. It'll be much quicker to go home from here than to travel back to L'hatzif with you."