Bhaal's Youngest: Chapter 53

Critiques/comments welcome! Bhaal's pov again.

The shop is wide with a low ceiling. All the walls are lined with rough wood en shelves crammed with ceramic jars, casks, and barrels, all covered over with thick white gray dust. Four hanging glass bowls light the room with barely trembling blue white flames atop something that looks like clear gel, rather than oil. There is a thick, musty alchemical smell hanging in the air. In the center of the floor lays a purple rug depicting a battle scene between dark elves and dwarves. Closer to the counter, another rug is displayed, a complicated knotted weave with salmon colored fringe on the edges. Despite the dust on the shelves, the rugs are well beaten and clean, they look brand new. A counter holds a ledger, and by the ledger stands a dwarf.

"Greetings. I'm Kagain, what can I do for you?" The dwarf says. This dwarf has a neatly trimmed, well oiled black beard.

"What ye sell here?" Montaron asks, sneering. Phoenix hasn't asked Montaron what he's been up to in town, but it's pretty obvious that the three of them are in this shop because a couple of guards rounded a corner to patrol down this street while they were passing close to the door.

"I run an escort business." Kagain says, looking Montaron's bloody and filthy leathers over, then looking at Phoenix, who is scowling. Her head is throbbing painfully. She is prepared to hit the dwarf with acid in the face first should he make a move for a weapon. "I hire mercenaries to escort caravans on route from Amn to Baldur's Gate." He said, looking from her up to Xzar, who is peering down at him as though he could be something delicious. "Right now I'm looking for some strong sword arms and I'm willing to pay high. It seems that one of the caravans under my protection never arrived at Baldur's Gate, and I need ta know what happened." He says, very clearly judging them as better than nothing. "You look like a couple of sharp ones, interested in a job." He said, as if he were wagering.

Montaron snorts. "What need ye dead?"

"Well, we've been having a lot of problems with bandit activity lately, but they've always only taken the cargo and let the caravan go afterward. I've been catching flack from the family of some passengers of this caravan, after all it was the job of my mercenaries to make sure everyone got safely to Baldur's Gate. Normally I wouldn't give one damn about some stupid whiner, but one of the passengers was the son of Entar Silvershield and in this part of the world, his word is law. So do you want the job or not?"

Montaron's eyebrows raise.

Phoenix remembers that Jase made a comment about finding a treasure map in the ruins of a caravan. But surely this wasn't the only ruined caravan with all the bandits about.

Kagain looks over the three of them, who all seem to be considering it. "I'll pay 15 gold per head, as well as equal opportunity to loot any of the bodies the bandits may have left behind." He adds.

"I ran into a boy that's been going through the wreckage of caravans and following a treasure map he found in one of them. So, we probably won't find enough to make the side trip worth it." Phoenix levels, hoping to convince Montaron. After all, those guards are probably gone by now.

"A boy?" The dwarf smiles. "This boy, brown hair, about your age?"

"Yes." A very horrible suspicion rises in her chest. "Told me his name was Jase, threatened to have his mother take a belt to me for carrying my dead father to a temple." She says, hoping the man would say something that indicated that the Duke's son would do no such thing or was dressed in something so shiny she couldn't have missed him or the like. Of course, the concern for his mother finding out could have easily been masking the concern that Phoenix would find out that he wasn't just a peasant boy.

"Heh. That'd be Jaseck Silversheild. I really hope his mother does take a belt to him, but I'd wager she has servants for that sort of thing." Kagain smirks.

Blood and bloody ashes, I don't suppose that little incident with Jase is going to have farther-reaching consequences than initially thought? Well, Phoenix did save him, though, so perhaps it could work to her advantage later. Pity that Jaseck probably wouldn't get the belt in any case, since he probably has a whipping boy to do that for him.

So, has Phoenix convinced Montaron that visitng the mage school ruins would be worth the time? It yields no few benefits for mages, though I don't quite remember how beneficial it would be for assassins.

Yeah, Phoenix's little run in with Jase will have further consequences.

Well, she hasn't talked him into the mage school, since that is after Nashkel mines on her schedule. But he was really easy to convince to go to the area to warn that family about Bassilius.

But if she'd known he was the Duke's son when she found him, she would have taken him back to BG and been able to use that to get into BG...now she's already committed to clearing the mines with Xzar and Montaron.

The shop is wide with a low ceiling. All the walls are lined with rough wood en shelves crammed with ceramic jars, casks, and barrels, all covered over with thick white gray dust. Four hanging glass bowls light the room with barely trembling blue white flames atop something that looks like clear gel, rather than oil. There is a thick, musty alchemical smell hanging in the air. In the center of the floor lays a purple rug depicting a battle scene between dark elves and dwarves. Closer to the counter, another rug is displayed, a complicated knotted weave with salmon colored fringe on the edges. Despite the dust on the shelves, the rugs are well beaten and clean, they look brand new. A counter holds a ledger, and by the ledger stands a dwarf.

This is the perfect description of that store!

Phoenix remembers that Jase made a comment about finding a treasure map in the ruins of a caravan. But surely this wasn't the only ruined caravan with all the bandits about.

This is basically the only key that the observer is someone who can see from inside Phoenix's head. I guess Bhaal only wanted to watch for this chapter.

"Yes." A very horrible suspicion rises in her chest. "Told me his name was Jase, threatened to have his mother take a belt to me for carrying my dead father to a temple." She says, hoping the man would say something that indicated that the Duke's son would do no such thing or was dressed in something so shiny she couldn't have missed him or the like. Of course, the concern for his mother finding out could have easily been masking the concern that Phoenix would find out that he wasn't just a peasant boy.

Nope. And now you have to go find him, I guess.

This is the perfect description of that store!

Thank you!

This is basically the only key that the observer is someone who can see from inside Phoenix's head. I guess Bhaal only wanted to watch for this chapter.

You're right, Bhaal was really quiet during this one.

Nope. And now you have to go find him, I guess.

Yes.

It seems that Phoenix developed quite a distrust of dwarves. Although assassins in almost every town would make anyone slightly paranoid, I guess
Interesting twist with young Silvershield, I didn't expect that brat to make second appearance. Although they parted ways on generally neutral terms. IIRC, boy was slightly scared though.

It seems that Phoenix developed quite a distrust of dwarves. Although assassins in almost every town would make anyone slightly paranoid, I guess

Well, yes, a little paranoia has crept in. She distrusts anyone who appears to be studying her...because the assassins always take a moment to study her first. Her distrust is not limited to dwarves, but he just appeared to be studying her a moment, and she didn't want to take any chances.

Interesting twist with young Silvershield, I didn't expect that brat to make second appearance. Although they parted ways on generally neutral terms. IIRC, boy was slightly scared though.

Well, they parted on neutral enough terms, but I seriously doubt that Jase is going to have forgotten her. Yes, she scared him into tears.

Making the little brat tear up was the least she could have done. She should have at least pulled him over her lap and strapped him, given him a good spanking.

lol! Well, Phoenix may be strict but she isn't inclined to spanking boys her own age.