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-----Kazel shrugs and raises her eyebrow at Gimplefwick. "If you say five gold then five gold it is," she replies to Dofgar. "I just want to know where they're from. Did you leave it for me, Gimplefwick?" She grows uneasy at the noisy mercs outside the door and wonders if that was such a good idea after all. "Should we dump them before going to the well? I wonder if they do any good even as fodder..."
-----Dofgar holds up the ornate silver ring Seth hands him. "Say, that’s a beaut! He exclaims, "Somebody’s done some good work on this. Did ya have it in mind ta sell?"
-----Dofgar reaches into a small coffer on his workbench and pulls some coins out of it. With his eyes still focused on the ring, he drops five gold pieces into Kazel’s hand. Suddenly a drunken chorus of a familiar drinking song disturbs the dwarf’s admiration for the ring. Looking toward the window, he asks, "Did ya bring some more friends with ya tonight?"
-----Seth smiles at the dwarf, "Well I’m not sure yet, how much do you think I could get for it?" He turns at the sounds of the drunken chorus, "Umm yes, we decided to bring some help along, things have been a bit difficult tonight!"
-----"Hmm," Dofgar mutters as he turns his attention back to the ring, "I’m not sure of its worth, but it could be over a hundred gold. It may be one o’ them art pieces somebody’d wanna pay a lot fer!" He then hands the ring back to Seth.
-----Gimplefwick looks somewhat sheepish at Kazel's raised eyebrow, then shrugs and says, "Nar, I didn't put that stone in yer pack. It is curious though that ye have one as well. I found that one I had at the shrine back on the trail from Lut. I didn't really think it worth mentioning at the time. Then later on I meant to say something about it, but I seem to remember something about how we met the paladin. Then I forget what happened."
-----Gimplefwick stares suspiciously at Seth, "Do ye have the same type of stone on yer person somewheres?"
-----Seth smiles. "Well actually no, but then this is the first time I have been without my pack since we left Lut, and I do not have a place here to call my own yet. At the moment my pack is in the back room of Brad's place. So I guess we will find out tomorrow!" Seth while mildly interested in the black stones seems more interested in other things.
-----He puts his ring back in a secure place and hands Dofgar a gold piece. "Thank you Dofgar for the appraisal of my ring. Fine art work is something I treasure greatly, as with fine music and fine wine and fine company to share it with. Please allow me to pay for your services and hopefully in the weeks to come I may have some even finer examples for you to appraise."
-----Seth now bows to Dofgar, "Well, friend Dofgar, soon we are about to be about the night’s business with those noisy drunken sots that have disturbed your shop’s rest. But before we depart I was wondering if you knew of an excellent library here in town. One that might include obscure references?"
-----Dofgar returns the bow. "Liberry?" he says in his dwarfish accent, "there be a merchant that sells books and scrolls on the other side of the block. Ya’d probably have ta see ‘em tomorrow, seein’ how it’s late and all."
-----"Let's be off to the town well, then," Kazel stands up looking a little distracted by the noise outside. She then turns to Dofgar, a tone of concern in her voice. "We think the people behind this are nothing the town has seen before, so please take care..." She then remembers something and asks, "Have you heard of the name Nodeus before?"
-----Dofgar swallows hard at the serious tone in Kazel’s voice. After pausing to think a moment, he answers, "No, can’t say I know of a Nodeus." He then stares back at the half-elven girl. The worry on his face cannot be mistaken. "You and yer friends don’t get in over yer heads. Come back here if ya need some help."
-----Moments later, the thieves and their guards move quietly in the shadows along the buildings. The Dread Pirate had given the escorting men a special quick tongue-lashing usually reserved for unruly crewmen. Now under threat of double knee hauling and thrice lashings to the yard-arms, the thieves are unsure if the men are silent due to fear or anger.
-----Soon a nervousness seems to prevail in the air as the cloudy night swallows all of the light save for the street lanterns. The wind begins to blow carrying an unnerving whispering about the small shops and houses. The buildings that line the left side of the market area are shrouded in black and gray while the blown tents and awnings of the market stalls keep the night walkers on the watch for unwanted movement.
-----Up the street, the thieves can see the lights of the majestic castle keep, the warm glow from within seems inviting. Completely dwarfed by the immense stronghold, they also see the small town well at the end of the market area. A dark man-sized form seems to be sitting near it.
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