A black cat lay curled on a nearby chair, apparently asleep, although the ears perked and swivelled occasionally, and the tail tip, dangling off the seat of the chair, twitched constantly back and forth. It is a feline trait to be alert while fast asleep, though and no-one in the bar of the Lion Inn paid the feline any attention, except one gruff dwarf who tried to turn the cat off the chair and was hissed at and scratched for his trouble.But when people started arriving at the next table and discussing some secretive business in hushed voices, the cat yawned and stretched lazily, almost seemed to half fall, half flow off the chair, and tail High, it stalked it's way out through the back door of the inn and over to the stables.<br/><br/>In a quiet stall the feline scratched urgently at a pile of straw in the corner, but instead of doing anything one might expect a house cat to do in such a situation, it uncovered a black cloth bag buried in the straw. "Phew, thstill here." The rich, almost musical alto voice coming from the cat's mouth did have a distinct lisp due to the cleft upper lip and long tongue but was none-the-less definitely a humanoid voice, speaking in the common tongue.The cat sprang nimbly to the top of the stall and took a look around then dropped back to the straw and began to grow and change shape.<br/><br/>The one massive disadvantage to being a feline shape shifter was that for some reason her clothes remained stubbornly solid and visible and the same size and shape. The naked woman peered over the top of the stall to make sure she was still alone, then reached into the cloth bag and pulled from it a brightly coloured dress, a linen loin cloth and pantaloons, a head scarf, ear rings and wrist bangles, necklaces and ankle bands, and lastly a leather jacket, a belt with a short dagger on and a lute, that she slung over her back.<br/><br/>Striding into the inn, the gypsy woman caught many an eye with her dusky beauty and the sway of her hips that set her skirts twirling. She paused and looked around, saw the gathering in the corner of the room and sauntered over. "Oi be lookin' fer travel companions. Moi name be D'lilah. Delilah Connaught. Oi'll earn me keep, Oi sing an' Oi dance, An Oi do cook well enough of trail food so 'ee others hunts it up fer Oi!"<br/><br/>She paused, looked at the others gathered there and shrugged, grabbed the chair recently vacated by the cat, and sat down.<br/><br/>==========================================================================================================================<br/><br/>Above a small patch of woodland about two easy bowshot from Evidalier's city wall, a small spire of brown smoke drifted up in the still morning air. Follow the smoke down and at its base was a small campfire, burning cheerfully in a small clearing. A tarpaulin was strung between two saplings at the edge of the clearing, supported by a rope of plaited horsehair and pegged down in the corners with carved wooden pegs. A small metal pot hung on a hook over the fire, steam beginning to rise from it, as a cheerful soprano voice that couldn't carry a tune in a bucket and probably should be forbidden ever to sing in polite company, came out of the trees.<br/><br/>"Oh hey to the hay for the ponies of Belblade,<br/>Sing hay to the hoe for the fine steeds of Seele.<br/>The fillies of Avendeer I shall ne'er go near,<br/>For I am a Greyhoof, the finest of all!"<br/><br/>The owner of this contender for the worst female singing voice in all of Uanenoa emerged from the undergrowth, a fine looking and tall centaur. she smiled as she dropped the armful of leaves, fungi and tubers she was carrying and began to clean, peel chop and slice them as appropriate into the now boiling water. She had sneakily raided a farmer's field for the potatoes, carrots and cabbage leaves, but she'd only taken what she needed for this meal. The herbs, mushrooms, wild garlic and wild onions she had found growing in the woodland, along with a real treat, some wild celeriac. This would be the best lunch she'd eaten in almost two weeks.<br/><br/>Her kind was generally not treated kindly in the cities of Men, so she preferred to camp nearby and approach travellers for any news of her lost herd.