I think that Keti and Davit were still a little overwhelmed with the kindness that I had shown them earlier in the day. They didn’t say much as we ate lunch. They wolfed down their food with alacrity and then stared longingly at our food as we all ate much more slowly. I finally relented and ordered them a second meal. They ate that meal quickly as well. I guess if you live long enough on the streets, the constant stress of never knowing where your next meal was going to come from or whether someone would take what you needed to survive left a mark. Finally, as we were finishing our first course and they their seconds, they looked satiated.

I tried to engage them both in conversation during the meal but the answers I received from them were brusque. I learned that their parents had been merchants of some sort before they were swept away by illness. When they deigned to speak to me, I noticed that both had fairly extensive vocabularies that clearly pointed to a reasonable degree of education in their pasts, but I assumed that their studies had concluded around the time their parents had died and they were forced to survive on the streets. Finally, we had all finished eating and it was time to liquidate our wealth.

The journey to where the goldsmiths practiced their trade was a long one. We winded through several neighborhoods, some good and some quite sketchy. Nobody stayed back at the inn. I thought several of the others would give in to their urge to wander around and see the sights and they might find trouble. Right now, we couldn’t afford trouble. There would be plenty of time to make poor decisions in the future and pay the price for them, but that was after we got established somewhere. Until then, we moved as a pack so we didn’t lose track of anyone.

Goldsmiths, jewelry designers, and others who worked with precious commodities invariably set up close to where rich people lived. That was their market after all. Soon, we were moving towards the governmental center or town, a walled keep, and the areas around us got nicer and nicer. Honestly, we stood out. We didn’t look like we belonged there. But because we were moving with purpose, with a destination in mind, nobody bothered us if you exclude the hard looks we received from a lot of the guards. After walking for almost an hour, we found ourselves on a tidy and prosperous street lined with luxury good vendors. There were furriers, tailors, and jewelry stores galore. I turned to Keti.

“Do you know whether any of these businesses have a good reputation for fair dealing?” I asked.

“I have no idea,” she said. “I’m surprised we haven’t been arrested just for walking down the street.”

“Honestly,” I replied, “I am a little surprised as well.” I was not certain she knew quite how to take that statement.

“You are not planning on robbing one of these places, are you?” she asked. “With the amount of guards around here, that would be suicide and my brother and I want no part of that.”

“No, we will not be robbing anyone,” I said. “We have legitimate business here.”

I glanced up and down the street. There were at least four businesses that would fit our needs. I studied each for a brief moment. Two of the goldsmiths were doing a brisk trade. Rich people were moving in and out of them regularly, some with hard-bitten men who were clearly bodyguards at their sides. If they were doing that level of business, I assumed they would try to take advantage of us during negotiations. They obviously had their own suppliers and would not have the required level of desperation required for us to net our best price. I quickly discarded them as options.

One of the other places was doing a moderate level of business. I wandered over to the business and glanced inside. There were display cases full of valuable items throughout the store. They obviously weren’t quite as successful as the other two places, but they looked like they were doing well enough.

The last business had almost no foot traffic. During the time I watched it, I saw a single customer enter and exit. When I walked over and peered through the door, I could see only one display case full of nicely crafted items. This was likely where we would receive the best price, provided that the owners had enough money to pay as for our gold. The sign above the door said “Demian and Sons”. The person working the counter looked far too young to have any sons practicing the fine art of goldsmithing. Nothing ventured, nothing gained I thought as I walked inside.

The person behind the counter was a human male who appeared to be in the middle of his twenties. He was of moderate size, well dressed, and had long black hair. I glanced down at his hands, and they did have a few visible burn scars. His long fingers looked like they were quite dexterous. Absent evidence to the contrary, I assumed that he was the proprietor.

“Can I help you, sir?” he asked when I walked inside.

I wandered over to the display case and perused his wares. He seemed to specialize in rings and necklaces and they were finely crafted but there were only a few of each.

“Are you having supply problems?” I asked.

“Why would you ask me that?” he replied in an affronted manner.

“You seem to have fewer items on display than most of your competitors,” I replied. “If you are having supply problems, I think I might be able to help you out.”

“And how would you do that?” he asked.

I walked over to his counter and upended one our smaller pouches of gold ore on the top of it, spilling the smelted ore across the surface. “I have gold to sell,” I said.

His eyes lit up and his surveyed the quantity of gleaming metal. “Yes, I am having supply problems,” he said. “The established businesses in this area are not keen on more competition. They do so much business that the suppliers of precious metal are worried about offending them. They have stopped delivering to me. Is this all you have for sale?”

“No,” I said. “We have much more than this, provided you can afford it.”

“And where did you get all of this gold,” he asked. “You didn’t steal it, did you?”

“No, it is not stolen,” I replied. “I found a gold seam when I was on an expedition to the island.”

“I think we can do business, then,” he replied.

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“Do you want to see it all?” I asked him.

“I’m not certain that I can afford it all,” he said glumly. “I moved here from Kollavik and brought plenty of gemstones with me that were pulled out of the mines around there because they were cheaper near the source. Unfortunately, I invested all my family’s savings in this business and it is failing. Would you take payment in gems?”

“Absolutely,” I said.

I gestured at the others, who were waiting outside the door, and they came in. The business was so small that even our little group crowded the room. There wasn’t enough space on the counter for all out gold so we placed our bags and packs of ore on the floor around the counter.

“Are you Demian?” I asked.

“I am,” he replied.

“Where are the sons?” I asked.

“They are too young to work yet,” he responded. “When I founded this business, I wanted to build something that would stand the test of time. I may have been a little optimistic. I don’t think I can afford to buy everything you have.”

“That’s fine,” I said. “We can probably sell some to others. You just looked like you were in the most need.”

After that, we got down to the ancient business of haggling. I had some idea of what the gold was worth based upon its value if it was smelted into gold coins. He bargained tenaciously. The life of his business was on the line. His initial offer was only half the coinage value. I pointed that out to him. He replied that I couldn’t blame him for trying. Back and forth we went, matching offer with counter offer. He tested a sample of the gold and pointed out that it was not quite pure enough in its current form to be minted into coins. I admitted that our refining process was a bit crude. It was a process of give and take. Finally, we settled on a price that was about three quarters of the coinage value. Then, he pulled out his gems and we started the process anew. I didn’t know a whole lot about gems but I wasn’t about to take his word about their values. Especially since some of them had inclusions that were visible to the naked eye. Time passed and the others milled around, quite bored. I called in Bowen, hoping he had more expertise buying and selling gems than I did. It turned out that he had moved some jewelry in his former life. I let him take over the negotiations but I still had to serve as a translator. By the time we were done, we had sold about three quarters of the gold that we had brought back from the island. In exchange, we received a pouch of gems that was small enough for me to easily tuck it inside my pants.

“I would like to buy all the gold,” Demian said. “I just don’t have enough wealth. This transaction may have saved the business.”

“I wish you could buy it all as well,” I said. “I think we’ll just hold on to the rest for now.”

After we had concluded our business, he bid us all a fond farewell. I didn’t intend on selling the rest of the gold here. If we parted it out to the others, it would be easy enough to carry. I did go into another business, though, and sell a couple of the gems. We needed more liquid wealth.

Then, it was back through the city towards our inn and hopefully a good night’s sleep. As we were walking through one of the more questionable neighborhoods, a gang of teenagers who were lurking by the side of the roadway walked out and surrounded us. There were twelve or thirteen of them. Their leader, a dirty young man in his late teens with lank brown hair and pock marked skin, stepped forward.

“Keti,’ he said. “You look nice, like you’ve taken a step or two up in the world. Who are your new friends?”

“We are guiding them around the city,” she replied quickly, obviously a bit nervous.

“Well, they have obviously shared some of their wealth with you,” he replied, clearly noting her nervousness. “Maybe they can spread that wealth a little further and share some with the rest of us.”

This was going downhill fast. Kadar could obviously sense some of the tension in our group and he was pulling at his lead, lunging, growling and barking. Mero was having a hard time restraining him and Xeng stepped over and grabbed the leash. It was time for some definitive action.

I walked over to the leader with a large, obviously fake smile. “James Smith,” I said, offering him my hand to clasp.

He looked flummoxed by my reaction. I think he thought I should show more fear as they obviously intended to rob us. That wasn’t going to happen, though. They had numbers, but we had strength and experience. I thought Xeng could probably grab one of the gang with each hand and lift them over his head. They looked sickly and malnourished. I wasn’t very proud of what would likely happen next.

Their leader had obviously completely misread the situation. He though we were cowed and not willing to fight them. He was wrong, so wrong.

“I am Shepkin,” he said, stepping forward to clasp my wrist. I grabbed his as well, not letting it go and pumping it up and down to buy some time.

“I think I could afford to buy you all a meal,” I said.

“But we don’t just want a meal,” he replied. “We want everything you have.”

He soon realized that he had made a pretty substantial mistake. Still holding on to his wrist, I stepped behind his legs and executed a hip throw. The air was driven out of him loudly as he impacted the ground and then he started screaming because I had never let go of his arm. His shoulder had dislocated with a sickening pop.

I could hear steel clearing scabbards behind me. The gang members reached for their weapons as well, which mostly consisted of clubs and makeshift knives. I let go of his wrist and drew my sword, placing it at his throat.

“It didn’t have to be like this,” I said. “You could have just minded your own business and let us pass but you got greedy. And now you have made a significant mistake. You brought knives and clubs to a sword fight. Well, Xeng uses an axe and Sathebeena a hammer, but you get the idea. You might want to think this over.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the other fighters among us step up to form a line with me. Although our noncombatants could fight if necessary, I intended to do everything I could to make certain that wouldn’t happen. If Kadar got loose and accidentally savaged a person or two, I wouldn’t be crying into my ale that evening.

Shepkin was still whimpering and he tried to scuttle away from me. I pressed down with the tip of my sword letting him know that would be a poor life decision on his part, freezing him in his tracks.

“So, are we going to do this or not?” I asked. “I have places to be after you are all dead.”

“Not,” Shepkin croaked out from near my feet.

“Alright,” I said. “I will be in the city for another couple of days. This is your only warning. If I see any of you, the fight is on. Do you understand?”

“I understand,” Shepkin said.

“See you all later,” I said, beginning to turn away. But, of course, there always has to be a hero. One of the larger of the gang members, a young man wielding a club, dashed at me with a cry of rage. Aleyda stepped forward and bashed him in the side of the head with the pommel of her sword. I am glad she chose restraint. He crumpled to the ground insensate.

I turned back to the gang. “Any more heroes?” I asked.

Nobody else seemed to be feeling all that heroic.

We wandered off down the roadway. Aleyda and I left last. I led her forward by the hand as she kept an eye out behind us. Within a couple of blocks, we were all relaxed again and I moved back into the middle of the group. I found myself walking next to Keti and Davit, who both appeared to still be shaken.

“What’s wrong?” I asked them

“When you leave they will look for revenge,” Davit said. “And they will take that revenge on us.”

That gave me a lot to think about as we made our way back to the inn.