The City of Bylos is the pride of the Khard... a true treasure of Southrun. Widely touted as the world's oldest city, it sits astride a mountain pass like a desert flower. and boasts a complex irrigation system that takes snow melt from the peaks and uses it to water the hanging gardens. There men have grown ornamental flowers and medicinal plants for generations including: saffron, poppy and magebane -- all of which are highly prized across the reaches of Erenth.
Temporarily apart from the rest of their companions, Brumbar, Snow and Sir Rojer the Black were considering their company's next moves in a garden terrace overlooking the desert floor. Their host Tariq, proprietor of the inartfully named Boulder Cafe, came with words of introduction for a well-dressed and veiled woman of means.
"I mean not to disturb you, sirs," said Tariq. "This woman is well-connected and persistent. She wants to see Sir Rojer and his retinue."
"Retinue?" grunted Brumbar. He peered toward the entrance of the cafe and then instinctively looked behind himself -- old habits die hard.
"Woman???" mumbled Rojer, who had been dozing until that moment.
"Connected to who?" wondered Snow.
"Gentlemen," Rojer interrupted, "We must not be rude." To Tariq he said, "Show her in, at once."
Rojer's companions rolled their eyes as Tariq darted off.
A woman came, veiled and ornate, smelling of expensive unguents. She was also matronly -- more sturdy than shapely. Rojer sat up from his cushions to see if there was another woman behind her. When he saw there wasn't, he sighed and settled back down. It was hard for the others to miss his disappointment.
The matron sat and introduced herself in dahlese -- the common tongue of Southrun, "Good Sirs, I am the servant of an important person who bid me to deliver this letter, and to await your reply." With that, she slid a sealed piece of parchment onto the table between them.
Rojer did not understand her words, but he lifted the letter, and holding it upside down, moved his lips as if reading. A moment later, he set it down and shook his head. "I don't think we can help you," he said to the woman, slowly. "We have a lot on our plate right now and this sounds dangerous."
The woman searched their faces, she understood Rojer's tone, but not his words. In dahlese she said, "You have not read it."
Snow took the letter and read the words. An address. "Sir Rojer the Righteous."
"No shit?" said Rojer in disbelief.
Brumbar asked, "Does it really say that?"
Snow tapped the words and then turned it over and made note of the seal imprinted on its wax, before showing it to his companions.
Brumbar looked at the imprint, shrugged his shoulders and sipped from his cup. "Looks like a blob of wax."
"It's a lion with a snake in its mouth," advised Snow.
Rojer offered, "I think saw that on a pair of bracers at the Battle of Three Lions."
"Which side?" asked Brumbar.
Rojer shrugged. "One of those Southrun guys... can't remember."
Snow cracked the seal, opened the letter and read the contents in Westrun for the benefit of his unlettered companions.
"My dearest hero and savior, I Emira Nazeer call upon you to help me once more. My brother faces imminent war for not fulfilling the terms of the marriage contract. Sooner or later, he will have to turn me over to my betrothed. The diviners will determine that he is in the wrong. Therefore, I prevail upon you to kidnap me and take me far from here. For this, I will make you a very wealthy man, indeed -- you and your companions. I give you as a token of my reward this magical earring, one of a matched set, which when joined with the other, not only increases value 3 times over, but will endow the wearer with magical abilities beyond reckoning. You may trust Rima my serving woman, she will do you no wrong."
Snow added, "There is a post script -- Please destroy this letter upon reading."
"Don't worry, we'll kidnap your mistress," Rojer said solemnly. "It's what we do."
"Wait," said Brumbar looking at Snow.
Snow turned to the servant woman and returned the letter. The woman held it at once to the candle flame and let it burn away.
"My companions and I must discuss this further. Will you allow us our privacy?"
The woman nodded curtly, "I am to await your reply and then give you a token and a contact name, but only if you agree." She stood from the cushions and said, "I will wait outside for your answer." With that she strode away.
When she left, Rojer turned on his companions, "You nossing fools! We are about to miss a goldmine here, I can smell it."
Brumbar asserted himself. "Right is right. We got involved in this mess once, but this woman is admitting that Fwaz is her rightful husband."
"It doesn't matter," insisted Rojer. "We help women, I thought that's what we were about."
"No, I don't like it," Snow agreed with Brumbar.
"Wait, what?" Rojer set his cup down with a splash. "Look, I saw the emira, she is a beautiful woman. In my experience beautiful women are rare and must be helped. I thought that was part of our oath thing, or whatever."
"We're out," said Brumbar and Snow, simultaneously.
"She's going to make someone else rich," warned Rojer.
"Not if we warn her brother," said Brumbar.
"Maybe he'll give us a reward," mused Rojer.
"Maybe he'll find me a wizard," added Snow.
Brumbar waved to Tariq, the host. "Bring that woman back."
Tariq nodded and bowed.
When the matron returned and lowered herself to the cushions, Rojer said, "We're going to help. Give us the token and the contact's name."
The matron handed over a small pouch with an earring in it and said, "The man you seek is Amani in the Alley of Dusk. Tell him you are inquiring about the slime passage." With that the woman stood up and left, once more.
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