There was a moment of apparent confusion as it took the men a moment to digest the unexpected and surprisingly blunt and straightforward presence that inserted herself in their midst. They didn't even bother to clear away the dice and cups scattered about, even though there didn't seem to be a game in progress.<br/><br/>The confusion gave way to a few hushed whispers between them before one of them finally spoke up. He was a tall man, but thin as a skeleton, with clothes that looked like they hung off of him. He would have seemed like some kind of criminal boss, the way he exuded a sort of oily confidence, but his fellows didn't seem to defer to him at all, he being simply the first one to speak up instead of being in charge.<br/><br/>"Not going to help little Suzu? She could certainly use it, she's spread so thin." The question generated a few chuckles and a leer or two in the direction of the catgirl. The man didn't wait for a response, though, just shaking his head. "You don't look like the type," he declared, "Looking for something a little<em>rougher</em>."<br/><br/>Another chuckle or two as he leaned back. "As it so happens, I know a man who needs something like that. He has a shrine outside of the walls, in a little grove nearby the cliffs that overlook the city, not far from where Iyo castle sits."<br/><br/>He took a draw from his drink. "He says the winter is angering the spirits, and the place is no good to anyone for anything, but I don't believe that. I think someone is trying to give him a scare, and it's working. What say you go up there and find the someone so we can show him what a fool he's been?"