The warrior pushed off of his stool as Kelder entered, her eyes bright. That was a good sign. He’d had no luck finding a guide for the ruins, he’d hoped she’d had better trying to locate a freelance mage. Since they’d left home for the surface world together, they’d had little fortune to speak of.
Well, besides being together. Now, things were turning up. Kelder had already “found” the Elven girl who happened to be good with a lock...and a purse. If the girl hadn’t had so many powerful enemies, the two dwarves would have had found her, much less convinced her to join their expedition.
Kelder approached, flushed with her trademark excitement, "According to the baker's daughter, there's a young, but talented, mage who's been in town for a few months. That is, between" she paused for effect, as she loved to do before she finished with excited glee, "trips to the ruins!"
He nodded, "His name?"
* * *
"Shale Sunblade," he took a moment to aim, then hurled piece of metal at the board a few feet away, it struck just to the left of center as the crowd cheered, and he turned to the pair, "Archaeologist fair."
The Halfling stepped from the play line as he opened his purse and withdrew several rectangular stones, each bisected by a thin band of metal with inscriptions, counting them out deliberately before handing them to his burly human competitor with a hearty pat on the arm and a healthy grin, “Five sir. Good game.”
He returned his attention to the dwarves, "And yes, I have been to the ruins. On many occasions." He shot a familiar glance at a nearby maid and led his guests to a quieter portion of the bar.
"But have ye-"
"Retrieved The Eye of Thr'r'r'rn? No. No one has even gotten deep enough into the ruins to see it." Shale took a seat at one of the bar’s lower tables, close to the traffic flow, and motioned for the dwarves to join him.
"They quit then?" The warrior was cheered by this; no doubt he and Kelder were braver than whatever dabbling adventurers had come before and left empty-handed.
The Halfing’s glance to the side was hard to read, but of no real consequence; it were words that mattered, "Close. My fee is sixty of the local tender...ah..."
"Cairns," Kelder offered helpfully, "Funny name for a thing," she added chuckling a little bit at the human world's strange ways.
"Right. Sixty cairns. Forty up front, just for looking at the place again. The only shares I want are of anything of strictly academic value that might be down there." He didn’t seem too interested in going back. The warrior guessed he'd recovered everything of value on earlier trips.
"Maybe I should just pay you forty total and give you a share of whatever's left," his voice was a mixture of wary and amused, feeling out the Halfling's intentions.
The young mage leaned forward, eying the dwarves' gear pointedly, "There are plenty of axes, and plates, and books, and staves, and archaeological...things left in the ruins for you to turn a tidy profit selling everything you don't need. You'll make that forty back on useless artifacts,” he then leaned back again, "Besides, you're only really interested in The Eye." He thanked the maid as she delivered a drink for each of them.
The three continued talking, mostly about the finer points of the ruins. Some of what Shale said didn’t match the texts that he and Kelder had been raised on, but the Halfling spoke with confidence and detail befitting someone who’d seen and touched the remains of the once-mighty city. Kelder was more knowledgeable about these things, and when she inquired about the inner sanctum or the lower levels, the mage honestly confessed his lack of information.
While the two continued speaking, the warrior thought about it. Forty was tight. Not unreasonable, but tight. He was friendly enough, and he had been to the ruins, and back, several times. He may not have ever gotten far enough to see The Eye of Thr'r'r'rn, but he was smart enough to make it through the perils of the now-subterranean spires to the Blackrock Streets and back again, alive.
He felt Kelder's hand tighten around his wrist and looked down into her smiling hopeful face, "We'll get you your forty."
Next Chapter
Well, besides being together. Now, things were turning up. Kelder had already “found” the Elven girl who happened to be good with a lock...and a purse. If the girl hadn’t had so many powerful enemies, the two dwarves would have had found her, much less convinced her to join their expedition.
Kelder approached, flushed with her trademark excitement, "According to the baker's daughter, there's a young, but talented, mage who's been in town for a few months. That is, between" she paused for effect, as she loved to do before she finished with excited glee, "trips to the ruins!"
He nodded, "His name?"
* * *
"Shale Sunblade," he took a moment to aim, then hurled piece of metal at the board a few feet away, it struck just to the left of center as the crowd cheered, and he turned to the pair, "Archaeologist fair."
The Halfling stepped from the play line as he opened his purse and withdrew several rectangular stones, each bisected by a thin band of metal with inscriptions, counting them out deliberately before handing them to his burly human competitor with a hearty pat on the arm and a healthy grin, “Five sir. Good game.”
He returned his attention to the dwarves, "And yes, I have been to the ruins. On many occasions." He shot a familiar glance at a nearby maid and led his guests to a quieter portion of the bar.
"But have ye-"
"Retrieved The Eye of Thr'r'r'rn? No. No one has even gotten deep enough into the ruins to see it." Shale took a seat at one of the bar’s lower tables, close to the traffic flow, and motioned for the dwarves to join him.
"They quit then?" The warrior was cheered by this; no doubt he and Kelder were braver than whatever dabbling adventurers had come before and left empty-handed.
The Halfing’s glance to the side was hard to read, but of no real consequence; it were words that mattered, "Close. My fee is sixty of the local tender...ah..."
"Cairns," Kelder offered helpfully, "Funny name for a thing," she added chuckling a little bit at the human world's strange ways.
"Right. Sixty cairns. Forty up front, just for looking at the place again. The only shares I want are of anything of strictly academic value that might be down there." He didn’t seem too interested in going back. The warrior guessed he'd recovered everything of value on earlier trips.
"Maybe I should just pay you forty total and give you a share of whatever's left," his voice was a mixture of wary and amused, feeling out the Halfling's intentions.
The young mage leaned forward, eying the dwarves' gear pointedly, "There are plenty of axes, and plates, and books, and staves, and archaeological...things left in the ruins for you to turn a tidy profit selling everything you don't need. You'll make that forty back on useless artifacts,” he then leaned back again, "Besides, you're only really interested in The Eye." He thanked the maid as she delivered a drink for each of them.
The three continued talking, mostly about the finer points of the ruins. Some of what Shale said didn’t match the texts that he and Kelder had been raised on, but the Halfling spoke with confidence and detail befitting someone who’d seen and touched the remains of the once-mighty city. Kelder was more knowledgeable about these things, and when she inquired about the inner sanctum or the lower levels, the mage honestly confessed his lack of information.
While the two continued speaking, the warrior thought about it. Forty was tight. Not unreasonable, but tight. He was friendly enough, and he had been to the ruins, and back, several times. He may not have ever gotten far enough to see The Eye of Thr'r'r'rn, but he was smart enough to make it through the perils of the now-subterranean spires to the Blackrock Streets and back again, alive.
He felt Kelder's hand tighten around his wrist and looked down into her smiling hopeful face, "We'll get you your forty."
Next Chapter
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