Swamped

"Hurry! Late!" Mortimer shouts. Then he growls something. He evidently doesn't know how to translate it.

The beast growls at him again. A clarification? Whatever it was, Mortimer hastily adds "Under!"

"This beast has an appointment?" Sunflower asks. "Under something?"

You glance at the time-frozen woman.

"Well, it could probably get there on its own, but wherever it's going, it probably means to bring her along. And she probably meant to take her sister there, or at least leave her somewhere she couldn't escape."

"So we're back to fixing that mess," Sunflower sighs.

"Well, whoever she was going to meet with might come looking for her. Although, without knowing more, I can't say if that's a potential asset or just another problem."

"We certainly have plenty of those already," Sunflower sighs. "Starting with how someone's got to keep an eye on things here. I'll leave Flame to you, and call in what few favors I can to find others to help watch. Unless you've got contacts you can think of in town?"

You technically do, but they wouldn't be familiar with your older self. And you certainly don't want to drag your younger self into this, not when you haven't the faintest idea what that will do to the timeline.

"Afraid not," you say. "Good luck, then. I'll be back after I talk with Flame."

You head out. Sunflower walks out a little bit after you and locks the door. Probably found whoever was carrying the keys.

"Quickest route to the hospital is down that way until you reach Feldspar's hostel, then take a right and you'll see Patterson's bar," Sunflower explains. "Since you're looking for someone at the hostel, you'll probably want to know where it is anyhow."

"Yes, thank you," you reply. You could probably find your way, but you weren't that familiar with the streets even when you lived here.

"No problem. Best of luck." He takes off in a different direction, and you start walking.

When you arrive at the hostel, you spot two people standing outside and talking. You wonder if they might know anything about the actor you were curious about, but you're also in a bit of a hurry.

It becomes less of a hurry when one of them excuses themselves from the conversation and jumps right into your path.

"Got a question for you, old-timer," they say.