Added to hat to Violet's inventory, took 20 GP.

Is there anything else you lot would like to do in the shop? What would you like to do next?

"Could you tell us who these other mages are that might be getting hounded by the guards?"

"Sure... Let's see. There's Ada, the local sorceress with knack for Divination, she has a tent around here somewhere," Brennan makes an effort to remember. "Caress, she's a warlock, leads local mercenary company "Hellhorns". She's a tiefling, as are the rest of them, I believe, they're based out in the 'Drunken Undine". Sirin came to me a while back asking about similar problem, he's a bard, I think, makes his living by singing for the sailors in the port... Oh, and I'm not sure, but rumours are, guards have been chatting to the Elein, a priest of Ilmater. Just go to the North part of the city, you can't miss the temple."

Where will you guys be heading next?

Crassus wrote that he would prefer to go to Ada, and since it doesn't really matter right now,  to Ada we go.

The sorceress is easy enough to find - everyone just has to follow the smell of prophets laurel, a popular incense which oracles of many kinds use. There is a line to enter a tent, and the four of you need to wait in it. You pass time staring at other customers, but there's barely anything curious. City girls here for a reading on when will they marry, sailors wives and husbands here to find if their spouse will ever return, even a couple of merchants here to inquire about change in prices. You doubt the sorceress can help with that, but this is a good sign - it means she's well trusted. Suddenly, the voice booms from inside, bolstered by a spell, apparently.

"The three of you! With the dragon man! Come in!"

You look around only now noticing that Erlan, who's been unusually quiet for the last day has disappeared. And since there is no more people fitting the description, you decide to come in.

The  inside of the tent is everything you could expect from a fortune teller - it's abnormally dark inside, glowing crystals being the source of all illumination. Everything you can see is decorated in arcane symbols and amulets. At the center of the tent there's a table with a large bowl in the center. Insides of the bowl are polished to perfection, creating a mirror. The woman who sits at the table is, however, more interesting than everything else. Her heavy layered gown is adorned with with metals and pieces of colored glass, she has an overwhelming amount of rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces which make a jingling sound when she moves. Her skin is copper-colored, and dark hair is braided into a single.

"Greetings, travellers. My name is Ada, local expert on all things hidden by mist of time. I could sense your coming for a few days now, but couldn't tell what brings you here. Maybe you can enlighten me?"

"We're doing a job for another one of the wizards around here who tells us that mages have been getting hounded by the guards. Have you been given any trouble by the guards lately?"

Pict scoffs a bit, but tries to hide it with a cough. He has been a bit quiet as they worked their way through Brennan's store and the market, marveling at some of the wares as they went along, but having no money with which to purchase any of it. He regards the fortune teller with a bit of distrust, naturally wary of anyone that practices the art of divination. He defers to Crassus for the questioning, gauging her response instead.

Insight: 10

"Ah, I see," Ada responds, standing up from her chair. "Brennan must have sent you... Yes, some mages, me included, have been having trouble with the city guard as of late. It is strange - lieutenant Jarvey went through a lot of trouble trying to find something illegal or harmful in my business. It is clear he acts on someones behalf, most likely his captains, that much I've been able to gather. From there, things get a bit more difficult - for all its might, Divination School is one of the most easily defended against, it's the matter of a right amulet. And Captain is careful, I'll give him that. His subordinates - less so."

She waves her hand and the curtains at the entrance close. Almost instantly, all sounds from the outside are muffled. You suspect, that whatever it is she did made eavesdropping impossible.

"I have caught glimpses of the young lieutenant in the 'Sinful Blossom', he goes quite often to someone there. The woman is brown-skinned half-elf, if that is of any help. He might loose more than his pants with her. And I reason, if he's collecting information, he doesn't trust his memory - or, rather, his captain doesn't. Maybe he has written down whatever he has managed to find? Maybe you can figure out what it is he's after if you find it. That's about all I can say on the matter. Now, the reading of your future is 3 gold, and 10 for a real one. Are you interested or will you be leaving?"

"Thanks for the information. I'm not interested in your fortune telling, but maybe my companions might be."

"I'm interested in all kinds of magic being a wizard myself. Maybe you  can show me what you do." Violet hands her 10GP. She whispers some words and with a gesture of her hand producing some tiny clouds above it. "Looks like it's going to rain soon."

 "Wizard? Dear girl, I'm no expert myself when it comes to arcane lore, but I can feel the power crackling around you. You are no wizard. Just by looking at you I can tell that your power is inborn, rather than learned, much like mine. And there's something else, I think... Another kind of power? The one that is borrowed? Like a bond? What wicked pact did you make? Well, whatever that is, I recommend you sort that mess out. These things are dangerous. As for your reading..."

Ada takes the gold and closes her hands around hedge witches palm. Then continues, in sing-song voice:

“No wizard dreads an earthly lord!” The womans scornful answer flung. “And naught availeth bribe or sword to loose or bind the prophet’s tongue. Heaven’s secrets are bought and sold, the future’s veiled in mist and gloom, yet, as a tale already told, on thy bright brows I read thy doom. Thy book that dreads no furious fray has helped thee well in many lands. It's voice, like rock amid the spay, among the whistling shafts it stands. Or bears thee through the brunt of spells, obedient to thy lightest breath... No strife, no fight it let's you fear, yet even it shall be thy death."

"Well, if that's everything, I think we should be heading out. We've got some more work to do." Says Crassus, who really doesn't want to be here anymore after hearing that.

Violet seems shocked and angered by these words from the old woman. "What do you mean? You are mistaken. Yes, I unfortunately have some inborn power but I'm learning to control it with my wizardly studies. Also I have this spellbook just like any other wizard. I may not know all the etiquette of wizardry since I'm self-taught but that doesn't mean I'm no wizard. And all that talk about death. What do you mean are you trying to scare us?"

"Forgive me, girl," Ada sighs. "Foretelling is tricky, I know not what it meant. I glide across the weave of what if probable and possible, and as I do, it finds words for me you can understand. What it means, I'm afraid, you have to figure out yourself. As for the other part... That's my point precisely. The whole idea of being a wizard is having no inborn or granted power whatsoever. Wizards don't channel it, they use different technique, instead altering the flow of ambient magic around them. That's why they have broader arsenal of spells compared to you and me, and that's why they never accidentally set things aflame, for example. Their way is not fool-proof, of course, and the consequences of a mistake are much higher than someones face set alight."

"So we agree to disagree." Violet is throwing a tantrum. She grabs Crassus arm and heads towards the exit. "You're right. Let's go. I don't wanna be here anymore."

"This is why I don't deal with fortune-tellers, they're too damn vague." 

"Goodbye, then."

Where to next?

"We can either go see Caress or we can go off of what Ada told us and go back to the Blossom. What do you guys want to do?"

 "Let's first visit the people Brennan named. So I guess Caress is next."