"What can I do for you?" the woman asked, and I smiled.
"I was wondering if you could help me. I am looking for someone, and I was told that they might have been here," I said, and the Peekaan woman shrugged.
"Who are you looking for?" the woman asked, and I shrugged.
"Her name is Katarina, and she was supposed to meet someone here," I said, and the woman's eyes widened.
"Oh, her. Yeah, she was here. Lady Katarina used to come in often. Always come to talk with Anex, our Bard, but she just came and got all of her stuff and left," the woman said, and I nodded.
"Do you know where she went?" I asked, and the woman shook her head.
"No, she didn't say, but she seemed in a hurry," the woman said, and I nodded.
"What about her room? Do you mind if I take a look? I have Della here from the guard, and I am willing to do you a favor if you would like. I can see you have a sore leg, but it looks like it's not from your leg. Looks like you must have landed on a slippery and uneven surface," I said after activating the runes in my eyes. There was a pinch in her energy flow in her lower spine, and that would be a swollen disc.
"Oh, you are good. Yes, that is my old injury from when I was younger. I was a sailor on a ship, but I slipped, fell on the deck, and hurt my back. The doctor said that I would never sail again, and now I am left with shooting pains down my leg. You can go look at the room if you want, I don't mind, but if you can make this better, that would be pretty nice," The woman said, and I nodded, walking around the bar.
I started to pull magic to me as I walked up to the dark-skinned woman, and I motioned for her to turn around. I placed my hand on her lower back and closed my eyes, sinking into the magic. I found the spot that was causing her pain, and I sent a pulse of magic into it.
"What was that?" the woman asked, and I opened my eyes.
"I just sent a pulse of magic into the spot that is causing you pain. You should be good to do whatever you want from now on," I said, and the woman nodded as she turned around to face me.
"Thank you. I am Lina by the way. This place is pretty dead during the day, but in the evening, it gets a lot busier. Not much else to do around here, so the girls like to have fun. Feel free to come back," the woman said, and I nodded.
"I am Galio, and this is Della," I said, and Della nodded.
"He is telling the truth; I am with the guard. We can go check out the room if you want," Della said, and Lina nodded.
"I know who you are, Della, even if you never come in here. The room is on the second floor, second door on the left," Lina said, reaching over to the wall to grab a key to hand to me, and I nodded as I took them.
"Thank you for your help," I said, and Lina nodded.
"No problem, and thank you for helping me, Cat God. Feel free to come back any time; I am always around," Lina said, and I smiled as I walked around the bar, heading to the stairs and starting to walk up the stairs.
I could feel Della following me, and I walked to the second door on the left and opened it. I walked into the room, and I looked around.
The room was small, with a bed in the corner and a small table with an electric lamp. I had seen the other lights, but I didn't think that they were running on electricity. I guess it made sense since this was a steam city, but I was still curious about what heated the water for the steam.
I walked over to the bed and looked at it, and I saw a few items on the nightstand. I picked up a small book, and I flipped through it. It looked like a journal, and I flipped through it, looking at the entries.
"What are you doing?" Della asked, and I shrugged.
"I am just looking through her journal. There is a lot of stuff in here, but not really anything that is going to help us," I said as I stared at my name scribbled on almost every page.
I put the journal down, and I started to look through the rest of the room, but I didn't find anything else. I turned to leave, but Della stopped me.
"Wait, what is that?" Della asked, and I turned to look at what she was pointing at.
There was a small box on the floor, and I walked over to it. I opened it, and I saw a few items inside. There was a small necklace with a pendant in the shape of a cat and a few other items. I picked up the necklace, and I felt a pulse of magic from it.
I put the necklace on, and I felt the magic flow into me. I could feel my body start to change, and I saw Della's eyes widen as I started to shrink. My clothes started to change as well, fitting my new form, and I felt my ears grow long and pointy.
I looked down at myself, and I saw that I was now in the form of a small black cat. I walked over to the door, and I saw that Della was still standing there, looking at me in shock.
"What did you do?" Della asked, and I shrugged.
"I don't know. I put on the necklace, and I suddenly turned into a cat. I think it has something to do with the magic in the necklace," I said, and Della shook her head. "It's not like I couldn't already turn into a cat, but now I am black and not fluffy! This is a perfect new disguise!"
"I don't think that's what happened, but whatever. You can turn back now," Della said, and I pulled the necklace off, transforming back into my human form. This will be extremely useful in the future, but what was Xena doing with it?