Night enveloped the area, and the cold breeze in Lataran Ijo began to calm down, replaced by a thickening mist.
As the hour grew later, Agniran's mind increasingly questioned what he should do with the plaque he was currently holding. His eyes stared down and gently rubbed the object secretly beneath the table, unnoticed by Handoko and Joko, who were deep in conversation. He wondered what purpose this object actually served and why it had been given to him.
His gaze scanned the room, which seemed to be growing quieter as visitors thinned out. He also noticed two tavern guards in the distance still busy at the large round table in the middle.
"Here..." A visitor handed an identical plaque to a short male tavern guard wearing a black blangkon headpiece adorned with gold-colored sumping ear ornaments. The man's eyes squinted as he inspected the details of the plaque, bringing it so close that it almost touched the tip of his nose.
"Authentic."
The visitor then took back the checked plaque and walked toward the spiral staircase, climbing up.
Seeing this, Agniran immediately stood up, left his bench, and walked toward the round table in the middle of the room.
"Hmm, the sound of new footsteps." The man with the sumping turned his head, squinting as he looked at Agniran.
He hopped down from the small wooden stool (dingklik) behind the waist-high, large round table—a table that resembled a reception desk combined with a beverage preparation and food-mixing station.
His short body walked closer to Agniran, who was approaching him.
His eyes squinting, slightly tilting his head up, he placed both palms against the inner edge of the round table. "A young man from Wijonayem..."
Agniran raised the plaque, then placed it onto the table before the short man in the black blangkon with leaf-sized sumping ornaments adorning his ears. "This..."
The short man's hands reached out swiftly and examined it.
His face looked back up at Agniran. "You're new here, aren't you?"
Agniran was slightly confused. "Uh, yes..."
"Where did you get this?" The short man continued to squint at Agniran. His face looked stern, dark-tanned, with thick eyebrows, and a large, prominent nose. His grayish-curly mustache and beard reached down to his neck.
Agniran closed his eyes tightly. He knew that this time, he had to be honest.
"From my master," his voice sounded heavy.
The short man recognized the uniform Agniran was wearing. He then stepped out from behind the central round table, walking slightly bent over while keeping his gaze locked on Agniran.
Now his body drew even closer. He adjusted a small wooden stool, tilted his face up to look at Agniran, and squinted his eyes once more.
"Do you know Solor?"
Agniran opened his eyes wide in shock. He lowered his gaze slightly to look at the man.
"Yes, we know him. We just met yesterday," Agniran replied briefly.
"Well, well... So you're the kids he mentioned?!"
The man gave a small, sudden jump. Without saying another word, he hurried away from Agniran, who stood there full of questions. His steps were quick as he made his way to the spiral staircase, climbing it step by step until he disappeared to the upper floor.
"What is it, Kang Koro...?"
The braided-hair woman turned her body around, looking toward the direction where the short man with the sumping had vanished. She then stared at Agniran, who was still standing frozen in slight confusion. "You know Kang Solor?!"
"Why didn't you say so earlier!"
Agniran slumped down onto the stool, staring at the girl of his age who was busy behind the offering section of the round table. "Excuse me, what place is this actually?"
The braided-hair woman in front of him remained busy, her back turned to him. Without looking back, she answered, "Ah, I understand. You're new here..."
She turned around and walked over to Agniran. Leaning her upper body forward, she rested her weight on her hands placed atop the round table.
The woman flashed a smile, revealing her charm.
"If you already have the card..." She widened her smile, gently fluttering her long, curled eyelashes.
"You're an insider."