The balding alchemist looked up as the dim interior of his shop was briefly illuminated by the opening of the front door. A slight figure swathed in a long black, hooded cloak swept into the shop followed closely behind by a human woman in field plate, a bow bearing elven man in green and brown leathers, and a gnome wearing priestly reinments, thought the shop keeper was at a loss to guess the deity’s symbol that hung from the gnome’s neck. An odd mix or travelers to be sure, but such was common among adventuring parties. All shop keepers here about knew adventures meant money.

The shop keeper smiled crookedly as the door closed, plunging the interior back to an almost twilight atmosphere. The one in the dark cloak approached swiftly and without hesitation while the others milled about looking at the odd assortment of wares displayed on the shops over full shelves. The merchant noting the fine oiled-leather cloak was lined with black silk and embellished with what mostly likely was embroidery made from the same dark silk, make a sketchy bow and spoke in a soft, oily voice, “How may I serve you today my fine lord?”

The figure withdrew a bag and pair of daggers from his belt and laid them on the counter. This close the merchant could see the man was one of those curious black skinned elves with crimson eyes and unusual white hair. Most interesting indeed thought the merchant as he turned his attention to the items laid out on the counter.

“I would like these appraised, and if they are of suitable quality I’d be interested in trading them to you for an enchantment I hear you are particularly skilled in.” The elf’s voice managed to be mild and condescending at the same time.

Defiantly a noble the merchant decided as he with drew a wand began casting an incantation over the items. The other members of the black elf’s party were muttering softly and obviously uncomfortable in the shops dimly lit interior. The merchant suppressed a satisfied smile and began haggling with the elven nobleman.

A high pitched shriek had everyone in the shop jumping and hands reaching for weapons. Save for the black skinned elf who put his hand up into his hood and frowned.

“George!” The voice responsible for the shriek cried out happily. Over the shelf behind the counter where the merchant kept the truly valuable artifacts a small figure with an astonishing amount of disheveled, bright red hair popped suddenly out of thin air and began hugging a dusty rune covered skull. She beat her wings furiously while gripping the skull as if trying to lift it. “Ikarus! George wants to go home with me!”

The cloaked elf rubbed his temples and replied in a long suffering voice, “Shar, you are not putting that skull in my hood.”

“But Ikarus…” The small fey woman flitted about in clear agitation.

The merchant grimaced hearing the whining pout in the high piping voice, “My lord, if you would please get your pet under control. These are artifacts not toys.”

“Hey! I’ll pox you! You monkey-butt faced, enchantment peddling, sorry excuse for a mage!” Shar shrieked in outrage.

The woman who’d been hanging close the door approached cautiously, one hand still on the hilt of her sword, “We can at least ask how much the skull the costs. I’m sure that will dissuade Shar.”

“Cost? Cost! That’s slavery! You’re not supposed to sell sentient beings! What kind of a paladin are you Constantine?! George wants to go home with me and that’s that!” The pixie’s flight was more agitated and erratic now causing the merchant to look with some concern at his shelf stock.

“My lord please, these are valuable, rare, and irreplaceable artifacts. If your… pixie causes damage to them I shall have to demand payment in full.” The merchant began swatting ineffectively at the darting fey woman.

“Shar… please behave… How much for the skull?” The dark elf reached up and caught the red haired pixie easily as she dodged away from the swatting merchant. She began struggling and howling in some vile fey language, the merchant was sure whatever she was saying wasn’t fit for civil ears.

The merchant smoothed out his robes and addressed the dark skinned elf, ignoring the noisy fey bug, “100 gold for the skull my lord. It’s not truly sentient, it’s a knowledge reservoir enchanted to hold the studies of the previous mages that have owned it. If you’re interested, I would happily make a trade of the skull for the pixie, provided you caged her first.”

The merchant jumped as a hate filled shriek exploded from the pixie and she began hammering at the elf’s thumb. The merchant grimaced and leaned away from the furious little bug, “My lord… if you wouldn’t mind… muzzling it? Please?”

The elf instead handed the pixie over to the human woman. “Shar, we can’t afford the skull, I’m sorry. Go back to the inn with the others and wait for me while I finish up here, please.”

The other’s looked relieved as they hurried toward the door, but pixie’s screams cleared into a civilized tongue again. “I have 100 gold, and I’ll be back to pay your ransom you vile, ill tongued slaver! Don’t even think about raising the price, I have witnesses!”

Thankfully the door closed then and both the merchant and the elf sagged for a moment in relief. Then the merchant brushed himself off and the two quickly resumed haggling. In the end, the three items, a few gold coins and the sword the elven noble wanted enchanted were exchanged with the promise the merchant would have the sword ready in three days time.

As the elf turned to go the merchant cleared his throat, “Ah… my lord… there is a … question. That creature… she doesn’t really have 100 gold does she? It seems a waste to let any artifact go into the care of such a savage little creature.”

The elf paused and looked back at the merchant, then began laughing. “I have no inkling as to Shar’s resources, but I wouldn’t worry about the safety of your artifacts. I’d worry about myself if I were you; after all you were the one to start throwing insults around.”

The merchant’s shocked and affronted expression was lost on the elf who strolled unhurriedly out the door having finished his business with the merchant. Shaken the merchant gathered up the items and money and began straightening the imagined disturbances to his selves. Briefly he pondered contacting the guard, but what would he tell them? That a vile tempered pixie had threatened to buy merchandise from him? They would laugh him out of town.

While the merchant was pondering these recent events, the door opened again. Looking over his shoulder the merchant saw a blonde haired, fair skinned elven man with two impressive looking swords wearing a very fine set of armor walk in. The new comer left the front door standing wide open. The merchant was about to say something when the gnome that had been in the shop earlier reappeared. Maybe he wasn’t with that uncouth bunch after all.

The gnome closed the door and walked briskly to the front, but still didn’t reach the counter before the elf who was strolling casually through the store looking at the shop wares.

“Ahem…” the gnome started dropping two bulging bags onto the counter.

“We’re here to pay the ransom on George you jackal hearted gold mongerer!” The red hair pixie woman crowed triumphantly as she popped back into the visible spectrum standing on the counter, hands on her hips. She surveyed the merchant much the same way he’d seen tanner’s eye cattle in the stock yards.

Grimacing the man opened the bags and began counting the coins, then he cast a spell to make sure it wasn’t pebbled or coppers illusioned to look like gold coins. Then he weighted them and conducted all other sorts of tests. The elf and gnome watched patiently while the pixie woman paced up and down the length of the counter and grumbled. Finally satisfied that there was no trickery involved the merchant scooped the gold back into its bags and took the skull down from the shelf. He placed it in a carved and velvet lined box and handed it to the gnome.

“I do trust you won’t let that creature destroy it. It a very rare and valuable artifact after all.” The merchant ignored the growling pixie and looked expectantly at the gnome priest.

“Pift… I shall say a prey that your petty bigotry and blindness be lifted poor merchant. Had you at all noted Ikarus’ noble condition you would know all you needed to know about how well Shar takes care of those she calls her own. Good day to you sir.” Holding the box solemnly before him the gnome turned and left, leaving the gaping merchant no chance to respond.

The blonde elf gave a mocking bow, and then held his arm up with the elbow crooked in the ages old invitation of a gentleman to a lady. The pixie flittered down to hug the elf’s proffered arm and then they too swept out of the shop, closing the door firmly behind them.

“… Adventurers.” The merchant spat out finally and dropped his throbbing head into his hands.


Mendus looked down at the red haired, wild fey hugging his bicep and chuckled. “So what did you do to that gold?”

Shar looked up at Mendus, then down at the gnome walking just slightly behind them and in her most innocent voice replied, “Nothing he didn’t deserve.”

“I imagine he deserves a lot, but it’s not truly our place to … err…” Calm started to say, and then faltered remembering he was addressing a woman who fell outside of the laws of mortals and their deities.

“Well aside from that collection of finger bone amulets, I saw a dagger with a unicorn horn hilt, a net enchanted for befuddling anything tangled in it… rather like that one those orcs in Migrians Pass had, remember? And I smelled things I’d rather not even discuss. I’d love to set a pack of Bogies loose on that weasely merchant, but I don’t know of any around these parts.” Shar flittered from Mendus’ arm while she rambling and settled down on the box Calm was carrying.

“But first things first, we need to break the binding enchantment on poor George that’s making him appear to be just dumb artifact. Really what did that merchant think he was pulling?” Shar crossed her arms and huffed.

“Maybe he really didn’t know?” Calm suggested and Mendus scoffed.

“Not much of a mage then and more than deserving of the poxing I gave him.” Shar said smugly looking far too satisfied with herself as the trio swept along toward their inn through the bustling city streets.