Caravan Campsite
Just across the Milk Run bridge from Stonebarrow, this flat, clear area has been set aside for travelers and merchants. Two freshwater wells are on site, along with a large map of the area and some bathroom facilities next to the swamp (where nobody will notice the smell). A sturdy corral is set up for Dromodons or other drays.

After a flurry through the woods and streets, then a dash across a field, the intrepid rodents arrive at the gypsy campsite. Djivan wheezes and leans against a barrel. "Did ve haf to run?" he whines.

Olivia is just as winded, but more determined. "Yes," she says flatly, after a few gulps of air. "I need to see Natasha as quickly as possible."

"Den go see her. I t'ink I go' puke in a barrel," the rat complains, then limps off looking a bit green.

Olivia gives the Skreek a quick sympathetic pat on the shoulder before dashing off towards Natasha's wagon. "I'll come back for you when I've finished speaking with her," she calls to him as she goes.

"She has too much energy," Djivan complains.

In short order Olivia finds herself outside the easily recognizable wagon of Madame Natasha. The door is closed, but the glow in the window is indicative she is home.

Olivia gathers her wits about her for a moment before ascending the steps to the door of the wagon and knocking. "May I come in, Natasha?" she calls softly.

"Of course, Miss Weaver," comes the reply from Natasha inside. "I was just reading and enjoying some tea. The door is unlocked."

"You know, you really may call me Olivia now," the Skeek complains, as usual, before opening the door to the wagon and stepping inside. She pulls it shut behind her and peers around.

Natasha is sitting in her usual chair, sipping from a cracked up. She sets it aside and smiles in that sort of amused feline way. "Of course I may. The question is, will I?" she says good-naturedly. "What brings you here today? Djivan didn't do something, did he?" She's dropped her usual 'gypsy' accent, apparently."

"No, no, it's nothing like that," Olivia says quickly, pulling up another chair and sitting down near the older woman. "Although… I have had something of a shock today."

"Djivan washed his socks?" Natasha inquires next, looking amused, then picks up her teacup again. "Come now, Olivia, please tell me. There is no need for the suspense, is there?" she asks, then takes another drink.

Olivia bites her lip in apprehension, then says very softly, "That depends… does the name Lady Inaya Al Nadia mean anything to you?"

The feline coughs loudly and the cup she was holding finds itself quickly shattered upon the floor. It takes Natasha a moment to recover herself enough to speak. "Inaya? Y … yes, it does. Where could you have heard such a name?" she asks.

Olivia's gaze never wavers from Natasha's. "From her servant, Abdul-Azar. She, her daughter Kalila, and Azar are all in Stonebarrow. Right now."

Natasha leans back in her chair. "Inaya has a child now, does she?" she says, sounding wistful and a bit sad.

Olivia lets out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding and sits back in her chair. "It would seem so," she replies gently. "When I heard that last name, I thought you might recognize the rest of it. She is related to you, yes?"

"Olivia, Inaya was … is, my sister," Natasha says quietly. "She wasn't but ten years old when I left home for the last time."

"Well, I have not seen Inaya yet but I have seen and spoken with Kalila," Olivia notes to Natasha. "She seems a very likable girl – even if somewhat rambunctious. We met her on our way back to town. It seems she gave Azar the slip because she was tired of being cooped up inside by her mother." She smiles a little at this.

Natasha nods at this, then sits quietly for a time. "Do you know why she is here?" the Khatta asks, then finally starts to pick up the fragments of her teacup.

Olivia tries to keep her face as expressionless as possible. "Azar said that his mistress would not tell him why they were taking this journey but I have some guesses of my own." She hesitates, then adds, "When you first came to Stonebarrow… and when we defeated the necromancer… there were many witnesses to some of your displays of power, even if they might not have known their true origins. Perhaps news of this has reached your sister and she came to investigate? Azar did mention that she is very attached to her family."

"Perhaps. But … I cannot see her again," the Khatta says quietly and sets the broken remains of the cup on the table. "Like this cup, I am … broken. I am not what I was and she would not understand."

Olivia does not seem surprised or even disturbed by this. She merely nods and says, "I would certainly not presume to tell you that you should or should not see your sister again. That is a decision for you alone to make. I merely wanted to tell you of her presence here so that you would not be caught unawares. However, as to being broken… " Here the Skeek girl trails off for a minute and lightly covers one of Natasha's larger hands with her own small one. "You certainly are not that. Changed, yes. Broken, no."

Natasha smiles to Olivia. "Thank you, but I would be broken in her eyes, Olivia. I have violated the tenets of the college and sided with witches. I have joined up with a group that our family would have considered nothing better than thieves and lowlifes," she admits.

"Thieves and lowlifes that did save your own life in time of need," Olivia reminds her with a small smile. "I can't say if your sister would forgive the first 'offense,' as it were, but she might forgive the second. If she loves her family as much as Azar says, that is."

"It would get even more complicated. If the College found out I was still alive it could be … bad," Natasha admits with a sigh. "Plus, we don't even know why she's here."

"That's true, we don't… but if she stays in Stonebarrow long enough, perhaps I can find that out," Olivia answers. "In fact, since Amelia found out that Kalila has been bored most of this trip, she's offered to have someone in Stonebarrow escort her around so she can have some fun. So the information may even come from her, who knows? However, that reminds me… I can speak for my own discretion here, but I can't guarantee that your sister won't find out about you from someone else giving what they think is simply idle gossip. So you might want to be careful if you really don't wish to see her."

"All I am to the gypsies is a scary old Khatta fortune teller. I don't see how she would begin to draw the connection. She would not believe her sister became … this," Natasha says sadly and looks down at herself.

Olivia merely gives Natasha a shrewd, sidelong glance. "Hmm, I'd be careful all the same. Your sister's branch of the family seems pretty smart to me, if Kalila is anything to go by. Sharp as a tack, that one. She found out that Gunther Kettenrad was spying on her and followed him all the way out of Stonebarrow."