Black Hart

Gradsul by Twilight

Chapter 11 - Fools Gold

Next morning they met up back at the Golden Anchor. It was a pleasant morning, with the seared-air smell that came after a coastal thunderstorm. Everywhere they looked, people were setting about repairing the damage - it seemed minimal compared to the aftermath of many other storms they had seen, and they got the impression that the people here were used to such displays of the might of Velnius and his wives.
A few smaller boats had broken loose in the harbour, and of course there was the one whose mast was shorn by the lightning. Thankfully the Shelliak was still berthed where it was the night before, and still appeared unoccupied.
Otherwise, it was just another Godsday morn - the bells of the many temples and shrines of Gradsul rang out at various times in celebration of their faith, but the harbour did not seem any less busy - it was not that the men of Gradsul were godless, just that they had work to do!
Eloi smiled when the waif Dyavitz finally turned up, looking far better for drying out and a night's sleep. Cinion, however, had still not managed to make the short trek downstairs. After waiting half an hour or so, Eloi asked Kyros to fetch him down.
When he returned, he had a puzzled and worried look on his face.
"He's gone, Eloi," Kyros said. "His stuff is missing and his bed hasn't been slept in. Its as though he was never there."
Thoughts raced across his mind. The sheer unfamiliarity of this place and of his own team members obviously made circumstances, and people unpredictable. Cinion was a case in point. Kyros hardly knew the halfing, but trusted he was competent enough to fulfil his role. If he had his own agenda, Kyros would have been the last to know.
"Did something else happen at the boat? Magical influence? Did he say anything about some task he had to do? Meet anybody?"
"Why am I always full of questions?" Kyros shrugged to himself self-deprecatingly. "Sheer intelligence perhaps?" in a very low voice and a curl of the lip.
Akhan gave Eloi and the rest of them a sour look. "There's always one isn't there." he said.
"Are you absolutely sure he hadn't taken up residence in a mousehole instead?" Akhan asked Kyros but waved his handas if in defeat.
"Unless you've got any objections Zeb, I'd like to do a little digging today. You-know-who must be very anxious with all those crates to look after. And I still don't know what he looks like. What are your thoughts, oh Percipient One?"
Eloi looked strangely at Akhan, he did not know if his friends last remark was good intentioned or a jest at his expense. He assumed the latter.
"I assume that the disappearance of Devion has something to do with our encounter with the stranger last night as we entered the bar." He shrugged his shoulders. "We are supposed to be working as a team. We both know the problems encountered if members of the party disappear with their own agendas. I shall be having words with our friend, Devion when he returns...if he returns!"
Eloi looked over to where Dyavitz was sitting and motioned for the boy to come over. When Dyavitz was sat next to them Eloi called over the innkeeper.
"Bring an ale and a hearty breakfast for this young scallywag."
Eloi reached into his pockets and produced a golden coin.
"You know what this is of course? Well there will be nine more waiting for you if you will perform a task for me. I assume that you are known in the local waifgangs. I want you to choose two other boys, who you know can be trusted. I want one of you to keep an eye upon the boat called the Shelliak in the harbour. I want another to keep an eye on a whores house, a woman called Red Hannay. The last boy is to keep an eye on the big house in Rottestratz, in the Orgsworth. I want to know all comings and goings from these places, but do it discretly, I do not want you being noticed. I want you to report your findings to me here at the end of each day."
Eloi tossed the coin to the boy.
"You will get the other nine at the end of theweek. I will then decide if your services are required for a longer period."
Dyavitz caught the coin well, and, almost automatically, put it to his teeth.
Eloi leaned forward and made his scariest face.
"Do not doublecross me. I have a long memory and treat my enemies with little respect. Now go and get about your business."
"Hey, yer ugly big schweister," the boy yelled. "What kind aff dunkel do yer take me for?"
He tossed the coin onto the table before Eloi, who was surprised at how outraged the boy seemed. Akhan reached over and took the coin looking carefully at it.
"I think," Akhan said calmly, "That the boy is trying to tell you that this isn't a real coin."
Akhan felt slightly deflated now - the prospect of filching a portion of such avast treasure had been some welcome added spice. Owning the same haul of false gold would be more likely to get him lynched by the first punter to catch on that he was trying to pass fakes. He sighed and looked at the scrawny Dyavitz.
The boy's first reaction to such a shiny coin had been to jam the damn thin in his gob. The suspicious little git probably checked the sky first if someone greeted him with a "Good Day". But as Akhan well knew, the instinct to check such largesse was pretty much universal to all peoples of the Oerth.
He showed it to Eloi, who also saw the boy's teethmarks indented in the coin. Eloi took the coin and weighed it in his hands - it certainly felt like gold - even smelled like gold to Eloi's refined sense of smell.
Eloi dug in his pocket to find another of his coins, fearful that they had been switched without his knowing. His pocket was empty, and he realised that his money was in his belt pouch. His eyes widened as the realisation dawned on him.
"Blistered balls of Boccob!" he cried in a quiet exclamation. "This is the coin Cinion took last night, from the Shelliak!"
"Fool's gold?" Smokelight asked,"Copper with gold foil over it? Is that what this is - counterfeit money?"
The wizard walked over to Eloi and looked at the coin. Smokelight wondered what they were on to here, and how it was related to the plots of the Scarlet Brotherhood.
Eloi looked at the boy. "I apologise for trying to fob you off with fake coins, but as you can appreciate someone has put one over on me. If you do what I have asked then I will pay you a further five Merkke, with two up front, making a total of 15 Merkke." He reached into his pouch and brought out two coins. Just in case, he tested them to make sure they were the real thing.
"If anyone approaches the ship I want one of your friends to come and find one of us."
"I was also wondering," Smokelight mused outloud, "If we could make discreet inquiries with the harbourmaster, to find out where the Shelliak is bound from, and what sort of cargo and destination it is registered as having? Perhaps, if we pay your young friends with real coin, they can look into this," Smokelight added, looking at Eloi.
He produced one of his own gold nobles, one stamped with the 'castle-above-six-coins' emblem of the City of Greyhawk, and offered it to the boy, who snatched it out his hand, again going through the same ritual. This time the boy grinned and shoved the coin down the back of his ragged shoe.
"What do you say, lad? Can you handle that, on top of the other jobs?"
"Sure can boss! the boy replied, turning and running out of the inn at breakneck speed.
"I wonder how they were going to shift this stuff?" Akhan mused, pretty much to himself.  He was watching the coin as Smokelight pulled out his monocle-like 'Lesser Eye of Boccob' and, checked it over.
Staring at the coin, Akhan shook his head and returned to the present to see Eloi's face still discoloured with whatever emotion was coursing through his undergarments.
"You'd probably want to try and move large quantities pretty quickly before you got found out.  But then again, who cares if all you're really trying to do is turn the whole kingdom's coinage into something as valuable as chicken-feed." 
Akhan swallowed convulsively.  Heremembered his tidy little bundle back in Tringlee, and even the sudden reminder of Hanali couldn't stave of a pang of anxiety.  He definitely didn't want those lovely portraits of King Kimbertos to become any more dear to him than they were at the moment.
He pounded his fist down on the table and stared hard at the rest of his companions. 
"Right!  This is personal now. Just, what exactly do you propose to do about it?" he said staring hard at Eloi.
"Wait a minute," Kyros interjected. It seemed too early in the morning for the slew of surprising discoveries they faced, what with Cinion gone, and the discovery of the fool's gold. Not that Kyros was particularly disappointed that there weren't crates and crates of gold for the taking. He seemed to have given up using money as a means of keeping score.
Unconsciously he patted the pouch of gold he received from Emarill, and resisted the reflex to check their genuineness.
"You say that half the crates are not where they should have been. Where's the money gone? In payment of something? Or somebody? That's more likely than spreading the coins out into general circulation. The people we're looking for aren't around, and they've obviously brought this gold with them." Kyros paused for a moment.
"The ship's still at port, and the other batch of gold still there. It stands to reason that they have to come back for it. We'll need to respond fast if your boys spot anyone at all heading for the boat. I'd really like to know where the money is going. Gelders perhaps? He seems like he needs lots of gold to carry out whatever it is that he does."
"Akhan, when is that dinner you're supposed to attend with Halykk? Not today is it?"
"Starday," Akhan replied, shaking his head.
Smokelight continued to ponder the coin carefully. The detail was correct, and it felt the right weight. Something, however, about the feel was not quite right - he would not have noticed it had he not been looking for it. Fool's gold would not have lasted so long, and there would have been no need to transport it - just conjure it up on the spot.
The boy's teeth marks implied a soft metal - not copper, but...
Smokelight looked up from the coin.
"I'll be buggered by a bony beastman!" he declared. Burrowing in his pack he tok out a sheet of vellum and placed it on the table. He then drew a line across the vellum with the coin, which left behind a greyish-golden line.
"Seems like our man told the truth!" he said to the eager team. "It is lead! Gold-coloured lead!"

Smokelight continued to turn the coin over in his fingers, peering closely at it through his monacle. There were no traces of magic in the metal at all. Picking at the metal, there did not appear to be any gold foil on the surface - it was solid, though softer than real gold. Smokelight scratched his straggly beard for a moment, deep in thought.
"I suppose it wouldn't be beyond a good alchemist," he thought outloud, screwing his face up at the thought of it. "And it might be something the you-know-who's would look into, for whatever reason."
He shook his head in wonderment.
"Yellow lead," he mused. "I suppose you get white and red gold, why not yellow lead."
Eloi was not happy, the boy had shown him up. Several months ago Eloi would have done exactly the same thing, test the coin to make sure it was real. Boy, he was getting soft in his old age.
Eloi looked at Smokelight. "Yellow lead? You said lead had some kind of magical blocking properties? Could it be that the coins were hiding something else within the crates? Someone sees a crate full of gold they aren't exactly going to delve much deeper into it."
"We must take some measures to ensure that the ship does not leave the docks. How we do this is a little bit more of a problem. I think we should visit Halykk. He may have contacts in the city, whom for the right price may be able to delay the departure of such a ship."
A slow grin started to spread over Akhan's face.
"Why don't we make use of our eager little Mareschals? Look, we all agree we don't want the Shelliak sailing off onto the High Seas with a King's ransom in fake gold pieces. There's bound to be some royal flunkey round here somewheres whose supposed to collect taxes and customs duty. They usually pick the most obstructive little bastard for that sort of job anyway, so why don't we sic him on the Shelliak? Who is the Mareschal around here anyway, Zeb? Did our glorious string-puller tell you if he'd squared this little game of ours away with him? Tying the ship up with endless wrangles over trumped customs irregularities might just ruffle enough feathers without us having to show too much of our own faces.
Eloi looked at the others.
"We should visit Halykk initially and see if he can help us. Then we can visit the Harbour Master again and see if we can persude him to find some kind of irregularity in the ships paperwork that will stop it from leaving. After that we should also visit an alchemist and find out if the coin is what it appears to be."
He stood "Agreed?"
The group seemed to agree at Eloi's plan, although they knew they had little choice.
"By the way fellow partners, it's Godsday today," Kyros said. "I am, after all, a holy man, unlike the heathens that you are."
Kyros grinned at his last statement. "I have a compelling need to worship my exalted god.  I understand there is a shrine of Olidammara near the docks and I need some time to spend there, preferably in the morning, after we're done discussing this. Sorry gentlemen, no two ways about this." Then, with a twinkle in his eye, "all of you are, of course, welcome to join me. The Laughing God welcomes worshippers of all inclinations. This morning's service shall be conducted by the venerable Telliran, also known as Kyros. Today's service will involve music, wine, and a sermon on the folly of hoarding gold, real or otherwise. If you are unable to attend, a small offering or donation is also welcome for the maintenance of Olidammara's missions, and his priests."
With that, Kyros looked at them expectantly, beaming. "I'm not kidding gentlemen. And I'm not going as Gresten either, nor Lentor of Furyondy for that matter. Well?"
Akhan winced at the Olidammaran's enthusiasm.
"I don't suppose you'd consider some liquid worship right here?" he asked, but he could tell from the light in the cleric's eye that there was no chance of that. Despite his worries about the course of their mission, Akhan was actually beginning to feel quite tired of it all right at that moment. He'd woken with most of his bones still feeling cold and stiff from their soaking the night before and he fervently hoped he wasn't coming down with a cold or fever.
"Okay, I'll come with you for a little while. I have to admit the Grinning Bugger's probably had my best interests at heart recently," he said in an almost grudging manner. "I'm still alive and solvent, and there's an entire world full of unsuspecting chumps out there. How is He with colds, by the way?"
Akhan stood and said to Eloi, "I'm going to pay my dues with Our Patron. I reckon I'll take a turn 'round the town before lunch though and we can all meet up back here for something to eat."
He stopped as he was picking his cloak up.
"Hang on a second, I'll ask our landlord here if Devion left any message for us or had any visitors. And, no slight intended 'Gresten', I'll just take another quick look in his room. It never occurred to me before, but if that surly character that bumped into Devion last night wanted to do him a mischief, he might have come back here and...well, I'll have a look anyway. He might have dropped something or hidden some of his valuables."
Akhan left the others at their table and slouched off towards the innkeep. He scuffed his feet on the floor as he did so, indulging his sensations of ill-health.
Barad assured Akhan that he had heard nothing of Cinion, and indeed looked surprised when he heard the halfling had left, as he had paid for a week.
Similarly, a visit upstairs revealed nothing of note - the window looked undamaged, no signs whatsoever of a struggle, no magical intereference. The room was dusty and looked as though Cinion had been the first to reside there for a while.
His bed was neatly made up, and there was nothing there that could have belonged to the halfling, save perhaps an apple core by the door. As there was no bin in the room he presumed it was left there for later disposal, Cinion seeming the tidy sort.
With a puzzled look, he returned downstairs to Kyros and the set off to worship. Eloi and Smokelight walked the others to the door.
"Well, I guess its just you and me. Vesic, could you kindly direct us to Halykk's home? Smokelight and myself will continue with our enquiries whilst Gresten and yourself go pray. Once we have had a chance to talk to Halykk then we shall go and see if we can find an alchemist who can tell us if the coin is what you think it is."

After sending Eloi on his way to Gelders' house, Akhan and Kyros, the real Kyros, wandered off to the Olidamarran shrine. They stopped en-route so that Kyros could buy some libations for the 'masses', somehow managing to persuade a Merkke out of Akhan's money pouch to assist in the expenses.
It was a small shrine, little more than an open-front hut, but it seemed reasonably-well tended. After having set up inside for half an hour a red-faced portly man rushed out from a nearby house to greet them. He profused all manner of gratitude to the duo, and they quickly gathered that he was the warden of the shrine. It had been a few months since a real priest had led the service there, but he assured Kyros that the turnout would be good, especially as word got around.
Sure enough, closer to midday the infrequent donations and songs of praise from passing worshippers began to turn into almost a proper service. The weather was undecided - strong winds still blew the people about, although not so strong as the previous night, but it was warm and might have been unconfortably so had there been no wind.
Kyros was no expert, but the passing people seemed to like his flute playing, and soon the crowd that had gathered were singing along as Akhan, made bold by his consumption of celebratory wine, rang out a clumsy beat on an empty cider jug with a pair of thin throwing daggers.
In fact it was Kyros who first lost the beat, and Akhan saw him looking strangely at him. As Kyros' music began to flow, he had looked over at the smiling Akhan, beating his makeshift drum senselessly and suddenly the words from the previous night wandered through his head again: "'Beware the one-eyed man,' whatever that means to you."
Quickly, realising he had stopped his playing, Kyros recovered the tune and smiled at Akhan as though nothing had happened.
There was a crowd of about twenty or so as the temple bells rang out one o'clock, and the company had donated several jugs of drink and a reasonable number of coins to the cause. They also seemed to have drunk much more!

Soon Eloi and Smokelight approached Halykk's house - or mansion to describe it better. In a plush area of town, built of fine yellow sandstone, it was fairly impressive. Even more so on the inside, from all appearances - not decadent, but plush. The man who lived there enjoyed his home comforts.
Within a minute of ringing the bell, a butler answered the door and enquired as to their business. When asked of Halyyk, the man replied that he had gone to Temple early that morning, but would probably be sorting out the bookwork at the warehouse.
"'Mandrennin Trading Company, sirs." the butler said in response to their clueless looks. ""Pikkerstratz sirs, you cannot miss it."
With that they bid him farewell and, returning to their mounts set off to find Pikkerstratz. they had not been going long when Eloi sensed that someone was following them. Surely enough, in casual glances back he saw the same man two or three times, a good distance behind, but always there.
He did not recognise the man. A human male in his late thirties, his head appeared shaven, but there was the vague shadow of stubble on his face. His skin was a tan yellow, belying a mixed Baklunish and Oerid heritage. He was reasonably short, although not diminutive, and heavily built - Eloi thought he looked very much like an oversize dwarf without the beard.
"Here we are," Smokelight declared, pointing to a large warehouse with a sign over it, which, of course, Eloi could not read. If he had noticed their tail, he was hiding it well.
Eloi gave the building a quick, nonchalant look.
"Keep walking, ignore the building. I do not know if you have noticed, but we are being followed. It may be one of Halykk's lackies wondering what we are up to or it may be one of our enemies. Before we proceed further we should find out. At the next crossroads you go left, while I go right. We shall see which one of us he follows. Try to make him show his hand and take care."
Eloi kept walking ignoring the warehouse, as they walked Eloi pointed towards several other buildings in an attempt to show their follower that they were looking at a number of buildings and were not just interested in Halykk's warehouse.
At the first crossroads Eloi whispered, "Now."
He turned to his right and continued up the road without looking back at Smokelight. After a few seconds he nonchalantly looked back in order to see if his pursuer was still tailing him.
Eloi glanced around, but the 'follower' was nowhere to be seen. He waited a second and saw Smokelight continue away from him. Still there was no sign of the person who had been following them.
Eloi quickly slipped into a suitably shady doorway and waited.
He saw Smokelight shamble up the street opposite, then drop something to the ground. As he bent down to retrieve it, Eloi noticed him look back for any sign of their pursuer.
It had been long enough now, and there was no sign of the man.
Eloi left his shadowy concealment and returned to the crossroads. Hugging the building nearest the corner he sneaked a peek back into the street where they had left their follower. Disappointed that he could see nothing, he stepped into the middle of the crossroads and waved Smokelight to return.
"He's gone," Eloi declared when the mage was within easy earshot.
"He seems to be gone, yes," Smokelight agreed, as he held up his Lesser Eye of Boccob to scan the streets about them for magical emanations. He found nothing magcial within the street, and turned back to Eloi, shaking his head.
"I suggest we leisurely circle back to the Pickerstratz, and visit theMandrennin Trading Company," Smokelight suggested.
Eloi shrugged at Smokelight's suggestion. "Sure, seems a good idea to me, but let's keep a close eye out for any trouble."

"My fellow supplicants!" Kyros bellowed, pausing his playing for a moment and drawing himself to full height. He felt comfortable to be wearing his own appearance again. It was sometimes tiring, and sometimes unnerving, to be talking, behaving, and even thinking as someone else. It was a wonder he did not become more schizoprenic, he thought to himself. But, as he recalled his past with a grim smile, who said he was not schizoprenic after all? And his god was one who took on many guises and appearances and walked the Oerth in many forms. Taking comfort in that thought, he looked at the crowd of twenty again.
"We shall end this celebration with a feast worthy of Olidammara! Here," he tossed a couple of Merkke to the warden, "buy fine food, enough to fill our bellies, and more drink. We shall have a time of praise that will be remembered for months to come."
With the wine coursing through his veins now, Akhan began to feel far more like his usual self. In fact, his aches had disappeared entirely. He glanced around rather benevolently at his companions and even found himself silently adding Eloi into one of the many toasts. With that, he hiccuped.
Kyros recalled with great fondness some of the more memorable services he had been. Almost all the Olidammaran services involved drinking, singing and feasting - happy affairs, joyous moments.
"Gather around my friends." Kyros waved them closer into a huddle. With a knowing look at Akhan, one that implied that he should trust whatever Kyros was up to, "I need your assistance. And you too, my dear warden."
"I seek a one-eyed man in Gradsul." Kyros lowered his voice just a little, and tried his best to remember the faces of all those in front of him, should occasion warrant his looking for them, or, in the worst case, his 'dealing' with them in the future. "Can anyone help direct me to him? It is of utmost importance, and a service rendered to our great god of laughter himself."
Kyros was obviously nearing the end of his service though, and his significant look just before gathering everyone around sobered Akhan a little. He watched their small group carefully as Kyros made his request.
Unfortunately, Cedrin the boatman dissolved in heaps of laughter at this point and almost fell off his stool with his antic gesturings towards Akhan. This started the rest off, with idiot cries of "Found 'im", "Grab 'im quick!", "Olidamarra, be praised", and the like.
Akhan threw his mug at the nearest offender but couldn't help laughing too. There was just too much good humour to be upset. "No, not me y'daft beggars." he said waggling one of his daggers at the throng. Once the hilarity had died down, Kyros continued with his request to be directed to the one-eyed man.
He wasn't too displeased at the fact the the twenty or so men before were in various stages of inebriation. He didn't mind them not particularly remembering that he had asked about the one-eyed man. Still, he listened carefully to their words, in case he could pick out something. Trying to do that while at the same time swigging from a goodly jug of mead and contemplating playing the flute took some dexterity, he mused to himself. In the end, however, he heard nothing of note from the men, and could not help but feel a slight sense of disappointment.
After everyone had dispersed, Akhan said to Kyros, "Fancy a walk round town until it's time for lunch? We can take another pass at that lovely warehouse-area property." he grinned. "You never know who might be passing."
More seriously he added, "We might get a clearer idea of how many servants are kicking around too."

Once the crowds had dispersed, as they assisted the warden in clearing up the remnants of their day's worship and gather in the donations, Kyros spoke to Akhan in private.
"Trust me on this one. I've had inner promptings to do with this one-eyed man. I think we might want to make some discreet enquires into this. He's a nasty one I gather."
Raising his eyebrows, Akhan gave Kyros a half-respectful, half-mischievous look. "Been getting tips from the Boss?" he asked, tapping his finger to his head. "Ah well, 'Best not to ask after the quality when the host offers a round of drinks' - old Fax saying."
Actually he was secretly pleased that Kyros was prepared to share his thoughts or premonitions or whatever it was that had prompted the questions about the one-eyed man. Aranon had been so damnably close-mouthed that he'd almost given up on getting any sort of useful information out of clerics without resorting to eavesdropping. Maybe Kyros would prove more forthcoming.
"Let's go wander past Gelder's place then!" Akhan got himself a mug of water from the container and splashed a little on his face before wiping his face on his cloak.

It seemed gloomy but cavernous within the warehouse of the Mandrennin Trading Company, with many workers moving about, loading and unloading carts and stocking shelves with cargo boxes.
Eloi looked towards the nearest worker and approached him.
"My master has asked me to visit Halykk on a matter of utmost urgency. If you could tell him that a servant of Vesic is here and needs to speak to him about a business deal."
The ugly man who Eloi approached took the opportunity for a break. He regained his breath and wiped his sweaty brow. After a pause he pointed up a flight of rickety wooden stairs to an office, suspended at the inside of the warehouse with a view over the whole place. It was the only place that was particularly well lit.
With many a creak they wandered up the stairs, shooting a few accusing 'you need to lose some weight' glances at each other. As they neared the top, they heard the lilting tones of two men's conversation ending and the office door opened, a well-dressed portly man, whom neither had seen before, turning and starting to walk down the stairs before noticing them.
He stopped and gestured them to continue up before he descended, then a look of recognition came over his face.
"Mordy, well I'll.." the man said, offering his hand out to Smokelight, then stopping dead as the mage drew him a dirty look. "Ooops, I see, sorry!!"
Another man, also portly and well-dressed, came to the door, with a hulk of a man hovering over his shoulder. Eloi recognised them from the Wolf and Halberd - Halykk and one of his bodyguards.
They reached the landing in front of the office door, and the first man slipped past them.
"Drop by some time, if you get the chance," he half-whispered to Smokelight, as though embarrassed at making a gaff. He then waddled down the rickety stairs.
"Can I help yers gentlefolk?" Halykk asked, not seeming to recognise Eloi.
Eloi looked at Halykk and smiled, making a swift sign in Thieves' Cant which indicated goodwill and friendship.
"I see that you do not recognise me. You have already met my colleague, the half-elf who saved your life in the Wolf and Halberd Inn in Niole Dra many months ago. If you remember, you and I had a pleasant conversation before your mishap. I am very glad to see that you are none the worse and looking well."
"We are in Gradsul on business and my Niole Dra contact and close friend, Kro Arribal advised me that you may be of some assistance to us whilst we are in the city. And I would also hope that we may be of some assistance to yourself too!" Eloi added with a sly grin.
Eloi stood, trying not to show that he was holding his breath. Hopefully Halykk would be receptive to his comments. He released his breath as Halykk made the same thieves' sign back.
"Eloi?" Halykk questioned. "Why so it is - how you've changed my friend! Come in, come in and your companion too. Tell me how you've been and how we can help one another."
Halykk waved them inside, gesturing them onto the comfortable chairs about his desk in his office. He flicked the bodyguard outside, and they could see him hovering about on the landing, making sure that nobody came in.
After retrieving a decanter of whisky and some drinking cups from his desk drawer, he came around and sat on a chair on the same side as them, pouringtheir drinks.
"So," he said, taking a mouthful of whisly like it was water, "Where will you start. Straight to business, eh?!"
Eloi smiled inwardly at Halykk's interest. "Bugger obviously knows that Akhan and meself are here on more than our 'olidays. I'll tell i'm a little, but he ain't gonna get the full story."
He leaned forward and picked up his glass of whisky.
"Alright Halykk, I am not a man for mincing my words or sidestepping an issue. I will come straight to the point. What do you know of a man called Gelders? We have a certain professional interest in this man's business dealings and from what I hear you are on less than friendly terms with the man. In fact I think the word 'rival' springs to mind."
He gauged Halykk's reaction and then took a small sup of his whisky. "We need to know as much information that you have available on this man, including his contacts, his warehouses, his business partners etc."
He paused and remembered that Halykk had called him by his real name. "Oh, I almost forgot, for the remainder of our visit I would be obliged if you could call me Zebediah, my colleague here is called 'Dunstin'. Oh and our fopish half elf friend should be known as Vesic. You know how it is, my companions and myself prefer to travel incog.... incogn... under psudo.. pseid... false names when visiting a strange city."
He swallowed the rest of his whisky and sighed. "Fine whisky Halykk, as always you company is warm and welcome."
"Yer friends Vesic's already been on about that cat," Halykk said, refilling his cup and offering to top up Eloi and Smokelight's. "A rival indeed, but not the ways I reckon you're thinking of. The man's a trader - damn succesfull, too much so for my liking, but as far as I'm aware that's all. He's a cloth merchant El, er, Zebediah. plain and simple. He has no partners, and if I knew his contacts in our trade he'd be out of business as I'd undercut him just to do so. His warehouse is just around the corner from his house, on Harberstrasse. Calls it the Azure Trading company."
Halykk took another sip of whisky.
"Now its yer own turn to talk - why the interest in him? I mighta believed Vesic's story until now, but there's more to it if you're interested too, and if you're working together. What yer got on him, eh?"
Halykk grinned as though really looking forward to hearing of Gelder's misfortune.
Eloi sipped from his glass and smiled, Halykk wasn't stupid, but still he wasn't going to show all his cards.
"He's fallen in with a bad crowd. A trader named Velip O'Shad. Let's just say that he has pissed off someone of Vesic's and my own acquaintance and that we are here to find out what the hell he is up to and how Gelder's fit in."
He paused. "We have established that O'Shad's boat is in the docks and that he has unloaded his goods. We believe that Gelders is storing these goods for O'Shad. To aid our enquiries we have to find out what these goods are and where they are bound."
He smiled and raised his glass. "I am sure a man with your influence in Gradsul could help us. I know that Gelders is more than a business rival to you. It could be to our mutual benefit if we worked together."
"Joint ventures are fine," Halykk said. "But really, Zeb - you turn up on my doorstep, asking favours of me, using a fake name and expect me to trust yer?! Bad business my northern friend - bad business. Fer all I know yer could be workin' with the Mareschals, or worse, an' I jist ain't a' hankerin' ter have me neck stretched jist yet - or cut like a dog!"
Halykk sipped on his whisky.
"I been in a few partnerships in me time, an' the only ones that worked relied on trust. Now I'm interested, Zeb, don't get me wrong. But I don't even know who yer really are? Who are yer workin' for and with, and whats all this really about? Otherwise I really think I'll have ter sit this one out. Won't interefere with yer, mind - Gradsul'd be a might better city fer me without ol' Gelders, thats fer sure. But if its me help yer wantin', I'd know a little more afore makin' that kinda choice, if yer don't mind."
He paused for a second, before pointing the decanter to them both.
"More whisky?" he offered.

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