"Not as good as it used to be, I'm afraid," Handar replies drily.  "War might be good for business, depending on what you're selling, but the aftermath usually isn't.  I suppose I could start transporting wood and stone into the city, but I'd never be able to carry enough for it to be worth while."

Leaning back, Olven folds his arms.  "There's still a lot to do in the city," he says.  "But you're not likely to make much of a profit on building materials.  However, I bet the rich would pay premium gold for hard-to-find luxuries." Not that that would be entirely aboveboard, Olven muses, but now that the rebuilding's in full swing, there's likely coin enough for life's little comforts.

After a while a servant entered the room where the heroes were waiting.

“His Majesty will see you now," the servant said.

"Maybe, but perhaps that is best left unsaid in the royal palace," Handar points drily.

When the servant walks in, Handar nods, rising from the seat he'd taken whilst talking with the other two.  "Well, let's not keep him waiting; sooner this is over with, sooner I can get back to my mead."

Nana, looking rather nervous, allows herself to be guided to the throne room.

Walking a respectful distance behind the servant, Olven follows the others.  His heartbeat speeds up, and his palms feel moist.  He's never met royalty before, and this could be his one shot at glory.  Don't screw this up, Olven, he thinks to himself as he enters the royal presence.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:39, Wed 13 Jan 2010.

As the heroes followed the servant from the waiting room, they walked past paintings of dead royal ancestors and others, tapestries, empty sets of decorative armor, and other such palatial decorations.

But the heroes were not led into the throne room. Instead they were led into a library. Two knights were stationed outside the door and when the knights opened the door, the servant left and another knight led them into the library. The walls were covered by bookshelves filled with books from floor to ceiling, as was much of the space between the walls, and the knight led them through the labyrinthine passages, as the scent of books filled their nostrils, until they came to an opening.

Four knights were stationed around the seated royal couple, as His Majesty wasn’t alone. The Queen, who was the most beautiful woman in all of Solamnia, was with him.

“Your Majesty,” the knight said, addressing the king, and bowed. “Your Majesty’s guests are here.” He then stepped aside so that the heroes stood before the royals.

Uncertain of the best way to behave before a foreign king and already rather embarrassed by her shabby appearance, Nana decides that the best thing to do is probably to kneel and look down.

Once he's in front of the king, Handar bows.  It's an awkward bow, from someone who clearly isn't used to royalty, and a short one.

As he walks through the library, Olven focuses on following the servant as they wind their way through the stacks of books.  Doesn't much look like a throne room, he thinks, glancing at a couple of titles as they pass by.  Finally, they stopped short in the king and queen's presence.

"Your Majesties," Olven says, copying Nana and dropping to one knee.

"Please stand," the king said and when Nana and Olven had returned to their feet he continued.

"As we're sure you are aware, all available funds are being used to rebuild this glorious city of ours. But we need more. And we would like you to help us find it. With your skills, you can go where most people wouldn't dare, you can explore the unexplored in search of unclaimed treasure in service of your city and your king. In other words, we have a job for you."
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:53, Fri 15 Jan 2010.

"And what can we do for you, your Majesty?" Handar asks drily.  "Also, if I might ask, how exactly do you know what our skills are?"

"Find the money I need," the king said. "Find the money the city needs. And regarding what I know. Paladine provides." As he mentioned the last, the king patted his own chest a couple of times as if alluding that there was a medallion of faith underneath his clothes, making him a cleric of Paladine as well as a king.”

Handar raises an eyebrow slightly.  "I see there is more to your Majesty than meets the eye," he says blandly.  "I suppose the most obvious question is, what do we get in return, beyond the thanks of the kingdom?  Thanks are all very nice, but I do need to eat."

"From what you find, or otherwise convince donators to give, you get what you think is a fair salary as well as what you need to do your job well. Of course we hope that our portion, or the city's portion, will be as large as possible."
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:55, Fri 15 Jan 2010.

Nana is thoroughly shocked to hear Handar address the king so casually, but, finding her own tongue caught in her throat, she decides to let the man do the talking for the moment.  As Handar and the king converse, she accidentally catches the queen's eye and blushes fiercely, looking away.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:31, Fri 15 Jan 2010.

Olven stands to his feet, though he still remains in an attitude of respect.  "I'm honored that you have summoned us, your Majesty," he says, inclining his head.  "It is my hope to do everything I can to help Kalaman restored to its former splendor.  You have but to name it, sire, and I am yours to command."  This is different than his normal line of work, but Olven is a little awed at being in the king's presence.

Nana can't help but feel a little silly.  Has she ever been so tongue-tied before?  She's always thought of herself as a bit chatty, but here she stands, so quiet as to nearly be sullen.  Glad to have Olven speaking up, she chimes in, "Your Majesty, this city is not my home, but it has welcomed me and been very good to me, and so it honors me very much to serve it."

She wonders just how much the king knows about her, that she has been summoned to perform this task.  Deciding not to think about it, she instead turns her attention toward hoping that they will be well-supplied and well-informed if they are expected to encounter danger in their travels.

"Well, I suppose I've not much else to do," Handar says drily.  "How much money are you going to need in the first batch, and how soon?  Obviously this is going to be a long term job, so it's best to know if we're going to be carrying back steel or platinum."

One of the knights scowled at Handar for his lack of respect, but the king continued as if he hadn’t noticed.

“Rebuilding the city has continual expenses,” the king said. “So the sooner we can get what we can get, the better. But if you can take more home and there is more to get in the area you are in, it is better to get it now and make the trip as few times as possible.”

“And though we would prefer platinum, we will take steel or anything you can find. Or any willing donations.”

Nana speaks hesitantly, "Please, excuse me, but... where does your majesty, Sweeper of The Lost Tomb, wish we go?"

Olven joins in.  "Yes, sire.  My shield is yours to command, but if you have an idea of where we should look first, we shall be better equipped to start this mission."  But perhaps the king expects them to sniff out coin to replenish the city's treasury.  If that were the case, then perhaps this is one reason Handar has been chosen.  The man looks as if he has a nose for gold, an excellent ability to have when searching out treasure.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:29, Fri 15 Jan 2010.

Sir Brian Donner, the knight who moments before had scowled at Handar, whipped his head sideways to scowl even more fiercely at Nana.

But again the king ignored the breech of protocol as he spoke.

“We actually did that once,” the king said. “Not with a broom, but with the sword. When we rediscovered the Lost Tomb, with Paladine’s help, it was infested by all sorts of vile creatures. And alone we drove them out, our arm strengthened by the power of Paladine.”

The king and queen exchanged a look as if there was some significance that had not been mentioned. He offered her his left hand and she took it, their fingers entwined.

“But there is no wealth there,” he continued. “We brought back the weapons and the armor stored there since before the Cataclysm about three years ago after the longest quest we have ever been on.”

Again the king looked at his queen lovingly and gently squeezed her hand.

“But then all sins must be paid for. The only place I know of that might still hold wealth is the Lyceum. We were there during the war to find money to retake the city, but there were places we couldn’t enter and they might hold secrets and wealth that could help the us now.”

Handar nods.  "Is there any equipment you have spare that we may take with us on our journey, your Majesty?  I only ask because while I may be able to find some of it myself, it would take time that would be better spent on the task at hand."

"Unfortunately not," the king said. "Our assets are stretched thin as it is. You have to provide for what you need yourself and this is one of the reasons why your contract is so generous.”

“What we do have is a map of the area on which the location of the Lyceum has been indicated. Once you cross the Vingaard its about 50 miles east along the coast, near the town of Turog.”

“In one room with three doors, there were three pedestals each with a gem of some value. But as we tried to take them, they moved to another pedestal and eluded our efforts. The wizard that was with us said that we likely wouldn’t be allowed to take these gems with us, but it is worth a try. And we were never able to open those three doors either.”

“We also discovered some strange hallways that were both straight and curved at the same time. We cannot explain it and neither could the wizard. There may be many places among these hallways that we did not discover.”
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:54, Fri 15 Jan 2010.