The long trek back to the Dragon’s Head Tavern was most tedious. I was in an off-colour mood to begin with, due to events previously noted. By Aranor’s sacred knee, why did Protoss find it necessary to jump in against those machines? Do the words “we are in hiding, don’t draw attention to us mean nothing?” Hmph. No, they probably do not.
And luck certainly wasn’t on our side early on, when we found all the roads blocked off. Apparently, the most illustrious General Garivus had won another skirmish against some menacing barbarian horde. They even had the opposing leader in tow, parading him across the city like some collared beast. Well, like a prize really. The man still stood proud though. In his skin diaper. Though, I vaguely remember hearing that this man had given Garivus a real problem for quite a while. The odd thing was that Protoss almost seemed to freeze up. Odd description, since it stands stock still most of the time. But it insisted that we leave immediately. Luckily, Garrett knew of (another) tavern in the area. I’m beginning to think his is not the kind of company a lady should keep.
I can’t say that I didn’t share Protoss’ reservations. I remembered that Grandfather never held warm feelings for this warlord of Atma. Another construct. This one an Atman Golem. In its’ chest cavity, is a powerful sword, one that had many victories. Another intelligent machine. I wonder if, one day, the reliance on machines will be our downfall.
After wiling some time away, the procession finally passed and we continued on towards our destination. We settled in the Common room and Gunther brought out food and drink. I had settled myself at a table off to the side, as the room was already quite full. Grimgore then made a new, friend. An elf. And not just any type, but a dark elf. Any scholar worth her salt would know that these two races have very, shall we say, passionate feelings towards one another. At first, the dwarf appeared quite hostile. Then they decided to engage in a, um, blessings contest.
Not that they didn’t try to involve everyone. The dark elf and I had a brief conversation as well. Before all the blessings caused the two to Ascend. He spoke of journing to obtain an old Elven artifact, the Eternity Glass. I have to admit, I had to wrack my brain for a minute to even dredge up the tiniest bit of knowledge of it. It’s old, I can say that much. Old, even by Elven standards. Then he was swept back up into his contest with Grimgore, leaving me to ponder. Soon the room degenerated into the worst sort of drunken revelry and I decided to retire to my room.
City Guardsman Rothaine finally decided to put in an appearance to “question” us more than a day later. That I found most frustrating. He had even set some of his lackeys to tail us to ensure that we not leave the comfort of the Dragon’s Head. But it turned out that he had another proposition in mind. Rothaine offered us a total purse of 300 gold to head into the Dwarven quarters and ask questions for him. I have to admit I found the idea tempting. I would have to put off my plans for a short while, true. But I find funds have grown quite stretched. Protoss’ share and mine would be 60 of that 300. Not to mention an excursion into the Dwarven area would suit my purpose of hiding just as well, if not better. The silly dwarf was trying to hold out for 300 each. While I knew he had no hope of succeeding, it would have been nice. But that hardly seems fair for asking some questions. Not to mention that Rothaine offered to cover travel expenses too. Though, he even offered a drinking allowance. That seems a little odd. Of course, he was dealing with a dwarf. But it also betrays his eagerness for our assistance. I can appreciate his attitude for not wanting to leave loose ends, however. Well, I just hope he has overpaid.
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