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-----Excusing himself, Dofgar approaches the trunk and carefully looks it over. "I trust you checked it fer traps?" he says over his shoulder.
-----"It's already been opened. Anyhow, we found it over at Calron's place..." Kazel replies, watching Dofgar for his reaction. "He doesn't trap his goods usually, does he?"
-----Lifting the lid, he holds his lamp up and looks down into the trunk. Setting his lamp on the worktable, Dofgar reaches down and lifts something out of the trunk. It appears to be an earthen jar topped by a lid.
-----Setting the jar on the table, he uncaps the container. For a few moments, he studies the material inside under the light. Dofgar then picks up a slender piece of wood and sticks it into the jar. He stirs it lightly around and then slowly draws it forth. He runs the wood along the edge of the jar as if straining off excess material from it.
-----Holding the piece of wood aloft, the thieves see its tip shines with a golden color in the lamplight. Dofgar’s eyes sparkle and with a smile, he says, "This stuff would be what I call gold leaf ink or a paint of some sort."
-----Scratching her head a bit, Kazel asks. "What's it worth? The previous owners seemed they might be really upset, should they somehow lose this liquid. There can't be too much gold in a pot of paint...?"
-----Dofgar raises his eyebrows, "That’s true, but the use of it could be what makes it valuable. Don’t see much of this in this town. There’s a silversmith in town, but I don’t know if he’d have use fer it."
-----He goes on to explain, "Some people’d use this stuff fer gold inlays in temples and buildings and maybe some fancy work on scrolls and books. Most of the citizens here are too modest fer that."
-----The dwarf looks down in the trunk again, "You gots three more jars in there. Were you thinkin’ ‘bout takin’ this with you tomorrow?"
-----Seth sort of shrugs, "Well, we are not sure what we will do with it yet. Really we just wanted to find out if it was worth anything."
-----"Could be they were making fake gold," Kazel muses. "What's your take on this, Gimplefwick?"
-----Gimplefwick responds, "Aye, the only possible use I can see for this amount is for counterfeiting. Especially when they seemed to value it so much. I'd be willing to bet they have a bunch of lead coins they're goin to be painting. The question is...what do we do now?"
-----Seth considers the point of counterfeit coins, "Well, on one hand, we could make our own counterfeit coins. On the other hand, too many counterfeit coins in circulation in the town makes our efforts worth less. If you know what I mean, going to all that trouble to get five coins, possibility of getting caught and..Bingo all that effort for painted lead coins!!"
-----"Well, we either sell it or put it back," Kazel doesn't look particularly excited at this point. "I don't know any way to mint copper or lead crowns. And probably the only people willing to pay nicely for this paint are those same people we got it from. Any other ideas?"
-----Gimplefwick looks at the other two thieves, "Avast there maties, we've forgotten about the long lost art of extortion. It's a thing of beauty. To be treasured forever. The gift that keeps on giving. The only serious problem would be the eventual degradation of our economy as other regions catch on to the funny money. Merchants would become more tight fisted and eventually move away or go out of business. Counterfeiting is a tricky art. What do the two of you say? Should we brace one of the counterfeiters and try to hold them up for a percentage. Ahem, for the guild of course."
-----"We still don't know who those people are, what they do or how long they'll here in town. I don't see how we're going to keep them paying with or without these paints in our possession," Kazel says. "More importantly, what can we do tonight? That's all the time we have until we leave for Lut."
-----"What say we return to the warehouse with the paint... we can put it back or hide it nearby, then see if we can follow or find out more about those people's business. If they don't show up, we'd at least have the paint close by the action. They all lodge near that neighbourhood anyway."
-----Turning to Dofgar, Kazel describes the looks and actions of the three men and woman to him, and asks if he knows anything about such people.
-----The dwarf listens intensely to Kazel and then replies with great thought on his face, "They don’t sound like anybody I know. One thing I’m glad ‘bout. You three comin’ here tonight and talkin’ ‘bout this stuff," he says this as he points to the earthen jars. "If’n there be bad coins aheadin’ our way, here’s one jeweler who’s glad fer the tip!"
-----Seth looks from Gimplefiwck to Kazel, "As usual you both have raised outstanding points. I think that for us to really go into the 'biz' we would also need a supply of lead coins with which to paint. Keeping tabs on that heinous group of villains should point us in the direction of some lead coins, or at least a press to make them in."
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