"I had a bad dream last night," Arwen remarked while seated in the living room across from Alex.
It was quite early in the morning as the Call of Dawn had only sounded a few minutes ago.
Alex took a moment to calm his nerves as he asked. "What kind?"
"I dreamt that something was chasing me."
A sigh of relief escaped Alex’s lips as he muttered. "So not the bad kind."
Then, noticing Arwen’s displeased expression, he added with an awkward cough. "Go on."
"I can’t remember much, only that something was chasing me."
"Do you remember what it was?"
Arwen pondered briefly before ultimately shaking her head. "No."
"But that’s because it didn’t have a physical form." Arwen quickly added. "It was... like a disembodied voice."
"A voice?" Alex furrowed his brows. "So how did you know that a voice was chasing you?"
"I don’t know, all I know is that I was running and whatever the voice was, I felt that if it caught up to me, I would suffer."
Pursing his lips, Alex inquired. "Is this the first time something is happening?"
"What?... Me being chased in a dream?"
"The dream you had last night, is it the first time you’ve had it?"
Silence followed as Arwen delved into her memories for an answer.
It didn’t take too long before she remarked. "... I can’t remember."
"Is that problematic?"
"Considering my heritage, the fact that I can’t remember my dreams is a problem."
Alex stroked his chin as he tried to make sense of everything.
Unfortunately, he had very little to go on, which made it difficult to do so.
"Record every detail you can remember from your dream. Understood?"
"Alright." Arwen nodded as she hurried to her bedroom to get some ink and a quill to write in her journal.
Soon, she returned, and only after documenting everything she could recall did Alex speak up. "We will pay a visit to the lower district."
"For Leokhares or Sir Theoren?"
"Both," Alex replied. "It might be that their cases are related somehow."
"They do feature a missing person," Arwen admitted, with Alex nodding.
Once their discussion ended, both left to prepare for the day, and roughly thirty minutes later, they were back in the room with Alex sporting the same look from yesterday while Arwen went for a more tomboyish appearance.
It seemed she was anticipating some form of combat with Alex anticipating the same.
With their itinerary for the day sorted, they stepped out and quickly made their way to the lower districts.
It was the same as yesterday, with the people of the lower districts greeting Alex in friendly tones while he responded in kind.
But for some reason, Alex couldn’t help but feel like something was off.
"Has that building always been like that?" He would ask a passerby, with the individual nodding in response.
"Of course!... Most of the buildings in the lower districts are poorly made, so it’s not surprising that some would collapse."
"What about those living in the building?"
"Huh?... What are you saying? No one has stayed in that building in a long time. We all knew it was a hazard waiting to happen."
As the beggar continued on his way, Alex watched his back with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"Is everything okay?" Arwen asked, aware that Alex was pondering a certain matter.
Instead of answering, Alex asked a question of his own. "Don’t you think the population in the lower district has reduced?"
"Reduced?" Arwen raised a brow, taking the time to scope out the street they were on before replying. "I never really paid attention."
"Same here, but one thing I do recall is that the lower districts are meant to be congested and significantly overpopulated. Yet for some reason, it’s almost like there’s a lot more space with a lot fewer people." Alex remarked.
"It’s not surprising," Arwen said, trying to make sense of the situation. "It might be that some of the people have moved to the middle districts and some others have decided to migrate to another city for better opportunities."
"Both valid points but still..." Trailing off, Alex sighed. "Perhaps I’m just overthinking things."
After saying that, Alex turned and continued forward with Arwen following closely behind, while noting down Alex’s observation.
Just as they turned a corner, they bumped into Madam Dolope and her lovely daughter, Philo.
"Oh my, Sir Smith, it’s you," Dolope said with a warm smile.
"Fancy seeing you here," Alex replied. "Where are you headed?"
"Ah, I’m off to meet with my grandmother. I’d like her to speak with our ancestors to bless Philo. You know I told you I planned on enrolling her in boarding school. I just want to make sure she’s protected."
"Understandable." Alex nodded before taking the time to wave at Philo, with the nine-year-old waving back with a grin.
As Arwen did the same, Alex asked with a friendly smile. "What about Hermione?... I presume you kept her with a neighbor since she’s a bit too young to stay home alone."
"Hermione?" Dolope displayed a confused look. "Who is that?"
Alex’s expression fell, as did Arwen’s, with the duo exchanging looks with one another.
"Hermione, your younger daughter," Arwen said after breaking off the exchange with Alex.
Dolope furrowed her brows, slightly amused as she replied. "What are you talking about?"
Just as Arwen was about to say more, Alex placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from speaking up before proceeding to inquire.
"How many daughters do you have, Miss Dolope?"
"One of course," Dolope replied. "What sort of question is that?"
"Are you sure?" Alex probed.
"I’m sure I’d be able to recall how many times I’ve visited the midwife. Unless you are saying that there’s a young lady somewhere claiming to be my daughter." Dolope remarked, this time, sporting a slight frown.
"Of course not," Alex said.
"Hmm, I see," Dolope muttered with a suspicious look in her eyes.
Alex didn’t say anything as he glanced at Arwen and, with his eyes, gestured at her journal.
Nodding in response, she stepped aside and took out a bottle of ink and quill from her satchel before proceeding to find a place to sit and write.