"Shale Sunblade,” the dart flew straight into the weathered board, landing just above the bullseye, “Archaeologist fair.” The crowd booed this time, and he again paid out his competitor before escorting his newest visitors to a table. An Elven male and a human female this time, “and yes, I have been to the ruins, on many occasions.”
"But you’ve never-“
“Retrieved The Eye of Thr'r'r'rn? No one has gotten deep enough yet."
"How close have they gotten?" He saw the grin. The grin that each one of them had, confident that they had the wisdom, the wits, or the courage to do what others hadn’t.
But there was no use telling them. Adventurers laughed in the face of danger. Well, the dead ones did. No use letting them die with their cairns. Besides, he looked wistfully away for second, betraying himself to the Elf--however unknowingly--maybe he was right, "Too close. My fee is sixty-five of those shiny local things...ah..."
"Cairns," the wiry human on the right offered before shooting her companion an amorous look.
"Right. Sixty-five cairns. Forty up front, just for looking at the place again,” what would it matter if it were twenty or twenty-five Cairns he never collected?
“The only shares I want are of anything of strictly academic value that might be left down there."
The Elven man crossed his arms, revealing bracers with dark-gold edging and typically Elven wards, "but how do we know there's still anything of value down there that's worth your hefty fee?"
Shale took a sip of his ale, "You don't, but you want The Eye. Don't worry though, there are things down there,” he gestured at the Elf’s bracers, “for you to turn a tidy profit selling everything you don't need. You'll make that forty back on useless artifacts."
His customer wanted to haggle, Shale could see it, but quite simply no one had the experience he did in the ruins. Besides, anyone who looked at the two could tell they had the remainder of their afternoon pretty well scheduled. He could’ve gotten another five out of them for that alone, but he couldn’t. He hoped they enjoyed it.
"Here's your forty. Williamson's Tavern. Dawn tomorrow," then the two made a hasty exit, hand-in-hand.
Shale put the forty in his purse and sighed.
Next Story
"But you’ve never-“
“Retrieved The Eye of Thr'r'r'rn? No one has gotten deep enough yet."
"How close have they gotten?" He saw the grin. The grin that each one of them had, confident that they had the wisdom, the wits, or the courage to do what others hadn’t.
But there was no use telling them. Adventurers laughed in the face of danger. Well, the dead ones did. No use letting them die with their cairns. Besides, he looked wistfully away for second, betraying himself to the Elf--however unknowingly--maybe he was right, "Too close. My fee is sixty-five of those shiny local things...ah..."
"Cairns," the wiry human on the right offered before shooting her companion an amorous look.
"Right. Sixty-five cairns. Forty up front, just for looking at the place again,” what would it matter if it were twenty or twenty-five Cairns he never collected?
“The only shares I want are of anything of strictly academic value that might be left down there."
The Elven man crossed his arms, revealing bracers with dark-gold edging and typically Elven wards, "but how do we know there's still anything of value down there that's worth your hefty fee?"
Shale took a sip of his ale, "You don't, but you want The Eye. Don't worry though, there are things down there,” he gestured at the Elf’s bracers, “for you to turn a tidy profit selling everything you don't need. You'll make that forty back on useless artifacts."
His customer wanted to haggle, Shale could see it, but quite simply no one had the experience he did in the ruins. Besides, anyone who looked at the two could tell they had the remainder of their afternoon pretty well scheduled. He could’ve gotten another five out of them for that alone, but he couldn’t. He hoped they enjoyed it.
"Here's your forty. Williamson's Tavern. Dawn tomorrow," then the two made a hasty exit, hand-in-hand.
Shale put the forty in his purse and sighed.
Next Story
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