Frank falls silent and turns slightly red after Iridia kiss, but quickly recovers his composure when she asks about the tooth. "I dink that he's holding out on us. We should question him befohe we sell, see what he knows about this rock."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:15, Wed 01 Oct 2008.

Iridia's mind didn't let her notice; but Frank does when she places the "necklace" in his hand: it's a common, ordinary chain like one a person would use to keep a mean dog.

It doesn't take the trio long to discover that the "treasure" in Frank's chest is worthless, rusted metal junk, not the sparkling jewels, rings, and necklaces they saw in the merchant's house...

...it was another illusion.

That leaves Gaiven's two bags of loot and the Dragon's Tooth, plus anything else found along the way other than from the chest from the merchant's room. However, the chest itself is also extremely fine, being decorated heavily in ornate silver.

Gaiven simply smiles at Iridia's kiss, and is about to give her his answer to his question, when the group discovers the illusions.

However, that just makes his decision even more clear. He emphatically shakes his head.

Then he motions his companions to follow.

"Eh! No way!" Iridia exclaimed. With one sweep, Iridia took all the diamonds she collected from her bra and examined them closely. And there it was, fakes!

"I can't believe this!" Iridia said as she threw them away before following Giaven. "So that leaves us with the Dragon's Tooth and whatever you guys seem to have in the loot bags. I really want to demand more gold for the Tooth, but a deal is a deal."

As Gaiven walks, he jabs a thumb over his shoulder towards the street they just came from, then makes a slit-throat gesture, and points at himself, then Iridia and finally Frank. After a pause, he then makes the universal gesture, used by hagglers everywhere, for "more money".

The gestures are smooth and not as exaggerated as those he used during the break-in. Seems like the sing-language version of small-talk. In contrast to that, Gaiven's face seems quite hard-bitten.

Frank gives Gaiven a weird look. "Eh, yeah, I like a clean capeh too, but I don't dink dehe's any point in going back and wasting that fatso now. Let's just go to de fence. Maybe we can still make a buck off our fancy chests."

Through the twisting back-allies and winding streets of Rimuldar's outer slums the three walk, eyes on the lookout more for rival gang members than for soldiers. Rain turned dirt to mud hours ago and the heavy smell of sewage and garbage hangs in the air.

In other words, the three burglars are home.

It's warm for an autumn night, but there is still a chill in the air. Mist gathers low to the ground, shrouding everything in its tendrils. It's a couple hours past midnight, and few windows have the flickering glow of a lit candle within them.

One of those windows is the back room of the Raven's Claw Pawn and Consignment, a run-down shack where members of the streetgang hang out. The old gargoyle who runs the shop -- and claims to own it -- is a spindly, gaunt buzzard except for his big, round paunch. The gargoyle, Zuul is his name, acts as a fence to gang members, paying them bottom dollar prices for their ill-gotten loot and selling it for a bargain price.

In the night, the gargoyle works on clocks and tinkers with jewelry in his tiny, cramped shop. Burglars looking to fence their loot slip in through the window.

"Well, look who returned from the war!" the gargoyle hisses in his gravelly, raspy voice. "And what worthless junk and trinkets have you three hoodlums drug in for me tonight?"

Even though the three made it back safely and with the Dragon Tooth, Iridia felt anger at the merchant, who must be laughing his huge belly off imagining the look on the thieves' faces when they discover his enchantments. She could go back right now and kick him on his belly a few dozen times.

Nonetheless, now that the group is back at the hideout, there were more important matters at hand.

"Hello, ugly." Iridia smiled at Gargoyle, "We got it."

"Never doubted you. Bring it out here and lemme see it."

The buzzard pulls out an eye glass and sticks it in his socket.

"Hold on dere. Fihst we wanna know some dings about dat rock. We went drough heck to get it, and dat makes 30 gold seem a little bit small of a sum."

"Bah. You three filchies wouldn't know what to do with more gold. You ain't never even seen 30 pieces of gold at one time. Anyways, I got a buyer lined up already who says it ain't worth what I'm giving you three sewer rats.

"Now, we ain't got all night. Anytime the Upper Ward gets hit the Guard's here within a couple hours. Hurry up and show me what you got."

Gaiven doesn't seem to have any intention of handing over the pouch with the tooth, now once again safely enshrined within the formerly magic box.

He simply remains nonchalantly leaning against the door post, soundlessly whistling and studying his nails on one hand.

"Dat is bullcrap. If he didn't dink it was wohth 90 gold, you couldn't make a profit, and as a matteh of fact, I have seen '30 pieces of gold at one time'. The Joiseybuhg bank once opened their vault-door while I was present.

"Very well," Zull says in a hurried voice. "If you didn't get the Tooth, that's understandable." The gargoyle quickly takes out his eye glass and blows out the candle on his desk, leaving only a hanging lantern. The small, junk-cramped workshop plunges into shadow. "Hurry up and be gone with ye before the Guard gets here. Gods know they're scouring the city for that thing. By the way, better get rid of those sacks and that big ugly box of yours. The Guard calls them 'clues.'

"Don't worry. I won't tell them who you are. Just because you're only initiates dosen't mean 'ol Zuul's a snitch. And, don't worry about your mates either. They'll probably just give you another chance to win your membership. No hard feelings."

Something in his voice says he's not being entirely honest.

"Listen gramps, it is with us. But the Dragon Tooth is not a diamond cut into a tooth just for looks. Its not a normal stone. We have seen it. Almost died because of it too." Iridia said, moving closer to the man, "You wouldn't lie to us about the stone would you? It would ruin your chances for more business."

-----------

[Private to GM: Iridia Silvermane rolled 9 using 3d6. Diplomacy (12 - 9 = 3). ]

"Ha, ha! Oh no! What ever will I do if you ruin your chances of business with me! I'll simply fold up!"

The gargoyle continues to guffaw as he stands up in his stool, lighting a small candle from the lantern.

"Now, you three children run along and be careful on your way home. The streets are dangerous. There's a robber around every corner."

He then blows out the lantern, leaving only the flickering light of his candle.

"I know, I robbed someone last nigh. We never said we din have de rock, just dat we wanna know more about ih. I wouldn't have lived de life of a cat-burglar if I wasn curious."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:35, Sat 04 Oct 2008.

"Curiosity killed the cat, my boy. Now, off with ya! Shop's closed for business!"

"Alright, alright, we'll do it your way... again."
The frustration in Frank is building and the signal to Gaiven to show Dragon's Tooth isn't so much a elbow-nudge as it is a jab.

Gaiven looks soundlessly at Frank for one second. Then two. Then three. It's hard to judge what is going on behind those dark brown eyes, but then he flips the box open, revealing the silk pouch to Frank.

When Frank produces the Dragon's Tooth, it gleams and glitters in the flickering candle light. Equally shiny in the dim glow is the gargoyle's toothy grin as it widens to crack his face from one side to the other. Without saying a word, the smirking devil re-lights the lantern and adjusts its flame. Still smiling, he climbs back down and takes his seat on his stool at the workbench.

"Now lay her down here and let me have a look-see," Zuul says as he replaces his eyeglass and digs a black cloth out of the front pocket of his vest. He lays it neatly on the wooden desk, then re-lights the large candle to his side. Frank obliges, but not without reservations.

Zuul examines the diamond under his eyeglass. Quickly, his smile turns into a scrutinizing grimace. "Hmph. Now I see why my buyer said it's not worth thirty pieces! Internally flawless indeed!" he scorns then sets the diamond back down on the table and removes his eyeglass. With his other hand, he pulls out a small purse and throws it on the table. "Twenty five and not a copper more. I'm feeling generous seeings how you gave me that hard-luck sob story."

Without waiting to hear if the three accept his lower offer, the gargoyle turns in his stool and looks at the silver chest and bags of loot. "Now, what junk do you have here that you want to pedal off on me? Quickly, now! Get it out."

---

^{OOC: The purse and diamond is within Frank or Iridia's grasp, if either takes a step and reaches for it. It's in little danger of being kept by Zuul.}

A suddenly angry look on his face, Gaiven pushes off the wall, and begins striding towards the table.

The old gnarled gargoyle looks up, a sneer on his face. If he's at all worried, he's not showing it.

Iridia noticed Gaiven striding heavily toward's the table and made no attempt to stop him, instead she tried to back him up by taking out her knife and slams its hilt on the table before snatching the Diamond with the other hand. "Listen, ugly, you either stop your word play, or things can get uncivilized."

----

[Private to GM: Iridia Silvermane rolled 13 using 3d6. Intimidation.]

Frank would have pulled his knife as well, only to remember he had lost his. Still he clenched his fists, mostly in frustration, and bangs in on the table, next to Iridia's knife.

[Private to GM: PS: Is the gargoyle an actual stone-to-flesh batlike church-ornament, or is it still just a figure of speech for really ugly. Also warn me went I really need to roll against self-control, because the way things look, that could be very soon.]