Nasperge kept the corner of an eye on the young centaur watching from beside the next booth. She clearly had a question, but her legs were firmly set against movement in his direction. A mature patron may have overcome that apprehension in time, but the adolescent needed a push. Nasperge indulged a small sigh before turning his most disarming smile toward her.

“Can I help you?”

That broke her stalemate, allowing her to approach, though with downcast eyes. “I—” she started, before taking a breath. “They say you can answer questions?”

“I do what I can to convey the information that the cards see fit to provide,” he replied, pulling his Aubedore deck from a pocket that didn't exist.

She looked up, the worry replaced by puzzlement. “Huh?”

Nasperge suppressed a second sigh. “Yes, little one.” He started shuffling, allowing the deck to attune to her. “What would you like to know?”

She hesitated, before blurting out, “Why did daddy disappear?”

Nasperge paused mid-shuffle. “Weighty thoughts for one so young,” he said. “Let's see what the River pattern can tell us.” He finished shuffling, then started laying out cards in a curving line. “The River flows from its source,” he said as he placed the first card in front of his right-hand side, “through the upper course and the bend,” as the line reached the center of the counter, “into the lower course and the delta,” placing the end of the line right in front of his patron. “Into the bend flows a tributary,” placing a card diagonally behind and to the left of the card in the center, “fed by a lake.” The final card went perpendicular to the tributary, parallel to the river.

He allowed his patron to ponder the pattern for a moment, before continuing. “We start with the source, which indicates the main reason for what happened.” He turned over the card closest to him. “The Priest, inverted, indicates a lack of religion, or a focus on the here and now. Your father was very practical, focusing more on what you needed than how you felt about it.”

The filly nodded, eyes wide. “Uh, huh.”

Nasperge touched the next card in the line. “Continuing dowstream, the upper course describes the direct cause of the action.” He revealed the inverted Horse, eliciting a snort from his patron. “Indeed, there might be an obvious meaning here. However, each card has multiple interpretations; this one often indicates speed or travel. Inverted, it may mean that your father was unable to run, unable to get where he wanted to go, perhaps due to an injury.”

“Oh!” The centaur rubbed a hoof, almost unconsciously.

“The bend, in the center of the pattern, represents the event itself.” The Shadows, again inverted. “It seems that something emerged from the shadows, revealing itself to your father. Something in which he had not believed.”

“What was it?”

“Let's see what we can find out. As the tributary flows into the bend, it shows us something that influenced the event, often something that was meant to be prevented.” He turned over the Hourglass. “Hmm. Not the answer we could have hoped, but this tells us that your father was under some time pressure. What he learned made him decide quickly.”

The girl's brows furrowed. “That can't have been easy for him.”

“Indeed. It appears that he did not leave lightly, nor entirely of his own volition, whatever became of him.”

“So he was taken.” A weight left her shoulders.

“Perhaps, though he might have had a choice to make. In any case, it's certainly not your fault.” Nasperge offered a kindly smile, but his patron kept her eyes down on the cards.

“What about the other three?”

“These concern the other aspect of your question. Thus far, we have looked at causes; now, we look at results.” Nasperge touched the leftmost card. “The lake is something that could have been. In this case... the Jester, inverted, is who you might have become. Entertaining, but forthright; trusted, but not widely respected. You've become more reserved and quiet since your father disappeared.”

“Yeah,” she replied, eyes watering.

“That's nothing to be ashamed of. You've been grieving. Your life changed, suddenly and drastically. Speaking of which...” Nasperge turned the the card on the patron's side of the bend. “The lower course lets us see what happened instead. Here, the inverted Angel indicates that you've become a protector and peacemaker. You've had to help raise younger siblings, haven't you?”

“She's beautiful,” breathed the filly, blinking.

“So are you, young lady.” He granted her a full second of his best showman's smile before touching the card closest to her. “Finally, we reveal the delta, telling us about consequences yet to unfold.” He turned it over, and momentarily debated how much to tell the little girl. “The Solder, in this position, warns of hard fights in your future, perhaps even combat.”

“Really?” She cringed, brow furrowed.

Nasperge nodded gravely. “Not soon, I suspect, but it may be best to prepare early.”

The centaur bit her lip. “What do I need to do?”