#ginelle

To her relief, he nodded. “You’ll want to talk to Ginelle.” He nodded to a point behind her. “She's at that table in the corner. Can’t miss her.”

Gitana twisted a little to look where he had indicated. Back near the hearth, a small group of Organization members crowded around a table, most of them cheering or making similar noises of encouragement. Seated on opposite sides of the round table were an elf and a half-orc, their arms propped up on the tabletop, ready for a test of strength. As soon as the human serving as their moderator told them to start, the elf almost instantly had her opponent's arm pinned to the table.

Gitana’s heart skipped a beat. Well, that was hot.

She glanced back at the bartender to thank him, and then made her way across the room. She hovered at the edge of the small crowd as the half-orc was switched out with a human that seemed more muscle than man.

Once the moderator started the match, Ginelle was, once again, almost immediately victorious.

Groans and laughter mixed together as the human stood up. Ginelle laughed with them, and her green eyes fell on Gitana, whose cheeks suddenly felt warm.

The elf’s lips quirked into a slight smile. “You wanna give it a go, newbie?”

“Oh, no, I'm not…”

Her protest died as the spectators around her egged her on. Sighing a little, she stepped forward to take the seat opposite the elf, propping her arm up at the table. Now with a full grin on her face, Ginelle clasped their hands together.

As the moderator announced the start of the match, something miraculous happened - Gitana pushed Ginelle’s arm to about halfway pinned to the table.

As the crowd around them broke out into excited shouts and cheers, elf and half-elf alike stared at their locked hands in mutual shock. Slowly, a grin returned to Ginelle's face.

“Well, wouldja lookit that,” she laughed.

“I…”

Still chuckling a bit, Ginelle flexed slightly and pushed Gitana’s arm back to the starting point. Even as she strained and pushed back, Gitana watched as Ginelle pushed her arm further and further until it finally THUNKed against the tabletop.

While there were some groans of disappointment, there were still some calls of “Good job!” and “I didn't expect that.”

Ginelle chuckled, giving Gitana a huge smile. “So, what can I do for ya?”

“I'm actually looking for someone. The bartender said I should talk to you.”

She nodded a little. “All right. Well, this might take a bit, then. I'll grab us a few drinks, and then I'm all yours.” She barked out a laugh at Gitana's startled expression before she stood and headed to the bar.

The small crowd dispersed now that the small competition had ended.

Ginelle soon returned with a couple of tankards of mead. She passed one to Gitana before resuming her seat. She took a drink, and focused her gaze on Gitana.

“So, who’re you looking for? Family member?”

Gitana shook her head, and took a small sip of her mead. As she lowered the tankard, she bit her lip as she tried to think of a good way to word her predicament. She sighed, knowing that there really was no way for her to sugarcoat or skirt around the answer.

“No. I’m actually trying to track down some slavers.”

“I see.”

“Specifically the group led by Nathaniel Ward,” Gitana added quickly.

Ginelle lifted a brow, leaning back a little. “Ol’ Nate, huh? He’s a pretty nasty one.”

“I know.”

“Why do you wanna find him?”

“Let’s just say that I’ve made it my personal mission to put him down like the mongrel he is.”

“Hah...Well, lucky for you, I’ve heard some rumors that he might be hiding out in Upland. You know his base was raided a couple months back?”

Gitana simply nodded. She had intimate knowledge of the fact, but was still hesitant to share as much. “I was in Upland myself not too long ago. I think I would have found him already if he was already there.”

“Like I said, they’re just rumors.” After a beat, she continued. “Look, I’m interested in taking down people like Nate, too. And I’m actually about to head down towards Upland, anyway. How about I check it out, and if you can meet me there by about this time next week, I’ll help you track him down.”

“Really?”

“Why not? If I get to punch people like Nate, that’s all I really need.”

Gitana laughed a little, and took another drink, contemplating her offer. “Okay. Upland, this time next week, if not sooner.”

“Then it’s a date,” Ginelle said easily, leaning further back in her chair as she winked at Gitana.

She felt her cheeks warm considerably, and then moved to down the rest of her mead. Once the honeyed drink was finished, she slammed her tankard down on the table and abruptly got to her feet. “R-right. Thanks. See you then,” she blurt out, possibly in a higher tone than she would have liked.