Evy makes a circuit around to the front of the individual, keeping her distance, again trusting her dagger. She waits to see if Val’s question gets an answer.

As Evy moves around the individual, their eyes rise to meet her. She sees an elderly halfling man. He is small, but made even smaller by his defeated posture. His eyes are sad. He looks unkempt. In his lap, he holds ... a shoe.

"Panfer Swiftfound," he answers Val while looking at Evy. "But she used to call me Swift." He looks down again and runs a hand over the shoe lovingly.

"Well, Mr. Swiftfound, would you like to tell us about... her?" Val tires to engage further.

Evy comes forward, then crouches to hear more. “My name is Evy,” she says. “What was her name?”

He looks up, his eyes changing from sad to almost hopeful. His thin lips rise just a little at the corners, and he looks down at the shoe again as he talks. "Allee," he says in almost a sigh. "We met in Candlekeep, but we didn't work together. We met through a mutual friend. She was so beautiful," he says, looking up at Evy again. His eyes are sparkling. "But her spirit is what captured me." His slight grin fully forms. "She used to make her head librarian so angry. She was always telling her what to do even though she was her subordinate." He turns his head to look back at Val. "She asked me to dinner. I didn't dare say no, and I'm so glad I didn't." Looking down at the shoe again, he continues. "We had a nice life in Candlekeep together, but one day she came home excited and talking about helmthorn bushes and farming." At the mention of helmthorn, you both remember that is the name for the kind of bushes surrounding the house. "I was hesitant, but Allee was sure as usual. She had it all planned out." He looks up and around at the rows of bushes. "She even had this place picked out. 'We're going to be helmthorn farmers,' she said to me. I didn't know what to say, so I finally just smiled and nodded. Within the year, we had left the Coast, purchased this farm, and had planted our first crop of helmthorn bushes. That was ... I can't even remember how long ago. She never did tell me what had prompted the move, but I didn't really care. As long as I was with her, I was happy." Swift's tone, full of life during his tale, dips back into sorrow. "I don't know how to go on without her."

Evy makes. a sympathetic noise. "She sounds like a lovely soul. I am sorry for your loss. I do not presume to have any answers for you, but I think, if you look within, you will know what Allee would have you do now. Maybe you can trust her again?"

This doesn't seem like the time to ask about the Thessalhydra, so Evy just stays quiet a little longer.

Lacking his cousin's EQ, Val prods a bit further: "I am sorry for your loss, old man Swiftfound. Has you lady passed away long ago or was it a recent tragedy?"

Swift doesn't answer Evy, but simply looks at her until Val speaks up. He looks down at the shoe again. "Very recent. An owlbear got her."

"So there is a monster after all." Val says, being somewhat insensitive.

"An... an owlbear?" Evy asks. "Can you... um, was it... did it have snakes with it?"

Swift looks over at Val, then at Evy. "Snakes?"

Evy shakes her head, but still proceeds gently. “We’ve been tasked by Sir Tristan with ridding the world of a monster, a large, snake headed creature that seems to have killed several people nearby. But your tale is the first I’ve heard of an owlbear… can you tell me more about it?”

"Let us not forget we received information about a sighting of the beast we track in these parts. Are the reports wrong, Mr. Swiftfound?" Val asks, understanding if the man prefers to answer Evy's question first and extensively.

Swift scowls. "There's no 'snake-headed monster'. Only an owlbear. It's been on a rampage recently. Someone must have disturbed its nest."

Evy hmms. “It could be the monster disturbed the owlbear, there’s not likely habitat for both. Can you tell us where you think it might have come from, or where it lairs? That would help us immensely, and if we can take care of it, then others won’t have to suffer.”

"Two monsters for the price of one." Val complains a bit.

Swift scowls again. "The owlbear probably lives in one of the caves. There was a day when I'd be able to track it. No more."

"Caves?" Val wonders... "Are they nearby? How many are there? Could you point us toward them?"

Evy glances at Val. "The priest talked about caves, too, where he met this creature's devotees," she hedges on saying more with poor Swift here. "We'd like to explore these caves," she says to the halfling, confirming Val's request.

Swift looks both Val and Evy up and down, clearly sizing them up, but he has more compassion in his eyes than spirit. He finally sighs and gives directions to the nearest caves. "You'll know you're close when you reach the apple orchard."