The start of a beautiful ... well, something. (peerface x eldarface)

The greasy man stroked his beard, certainly listening well enough, but when Del'ure exchanged a glance with the woman, the man's attention piqued. He grinned and leaned forward. "Quite Frankly gen'lemen, I'm a li'l insulted. Not a one a ya has asked about what I'm sellin'. But, seein' as yer both new an' ain't gonna stay in town long, I'll cut ya both some slack. I'll tell ya this, though, yous mugs came to da right place for what yer lookn' for! What yous guys need is some luck."

The man gestured to the 'goods' in front of him. They were little wood-carvings - probably the worst in the land. Each one about three centimeters, all of them shaped like different animals, with glass colored eyes embedded into each of them. None of them were detailed- just basic, blocky shapes that were supposed to indicate four legs and an animal head of some sort, the shape of the head changing depending on the animal.

"These, good sirs, these are good luck charms. If ya just wanna unload a jewel onto a jeweler, well that can be arranged. See here, this-" he picked up an animal from one end of the table. The "Cheap" end. "This is a bartering charm. With this charm, you can more easily talk your prices up or down - and I'll tell you who these charms most effectively work on. Now as for these-" he picked up an animal that was somewhere in-between his spread, something that looked like it was supposed to be a cat. "These are for a lady love... ANY lady love. I can tell you who these most effectively work on. But as for that bird over there..." He looked at the woman who was staring at Delure, and went to the other end of his table, picking up something that looked like it was supposed to be a dragon. "That lady is somethin' special. For that, you need the most powerful good luck charm. This charm got a scale of a Heart card dragon within it, The luckiest kind (ex-specially in the ways a love). You buy one a these for a silver, I'll tell ya how to make the best a ya luck with dat special lady there."

Del’ure could barely refrain from raising a mocking eyebrow at the man as he began exposing his little charms. Horrible they were indeed. Probably the worst craftsmanship he had ever come across in his many dealings with traders.
However, if this was the way this was supposed to go down, then he might as well spare the money and satisfy the man, if only to get the most of the information out of him. He was also almost certain now that this woman was very easy to get if the man was so eager to sell him a special charm to get into her knickers.

Though he kept all those thoughts to himself and looked at the man with huge eyes. “You really think they would work? Would they also work to make me get over my beloved so I could fall in love again with someone else? Like…” He stole a brief embarrassed glance at the woman. “Like… her?”

Gingerly, he picked up the dragon scale charm and looked at it with huge eyes. Of course there was no way there was a real scale in it but it didn’t hurt to swallow the nasty comment down. “How do these work? I mean… how do they work?”
Briefly looking at Jack, he asked: “What do you think? Think they might help me? After all, you know just how miserable I am. A real heart card dragon scale! Imagine that!”

Inwardly, Del’ure was laughing. The situation was just too ridiculous and the man was disgusting. However, the woman was still stealing glances towards him, which he took to be a good sign. The rich man on the other hand had disappeared into the crowds, though it wouldn’t be a problem to track him down again. Especially not if he managed to get her. And whatever coins he was going to pay this merchant, he could steal it back if he needed to.

The man laughed heartily. "Course it'll work ya rookie! It's gotta scale of a Card Dragon! Didn'cha hear me, ya dummy?" He said, good-naturedly enough though. The man leaned forward carefully, and beckoned Del'ure to come close to him, so he could lower his voice a bit. "Ya wanna know how it works, here's how - ya buy the charm, and I tell ya what ya need to do to get it to work. It's gotta take some special steps - but there's a specific dance involved, including goin' to a certain place where she likes goin' that she thinks nobody else goes, and likin' certain things and chanting a certain magic spell to get her to hear nothin' but what she wants ta hear. Course, hadnin' her a jewel ain't gonna be too hard off, but you've picked a special mark. This lady's the cream a tha crop - sweet an' gen'le an' all that lovey-dovey bull, but unless ya know how to work the magic a the charm, ya ain't got a chance seein' as her husband keeps a tight leash on 'er" He leaned back again with a grin. "So ya buyin' the thing or aintcha?"

Jack looked concerned, taking his servant role on again, and gave a meek shrug. He hesitated - he didn't actually go out of his way to touch Del'ure so obviously before this point, but he ventured to pat Del'ure's back as a show of compassion. "Master, it pains me to see you so hurt," he said with a genuine show. "Lady Sara didn't deserve you. Forgive me for saying so, but her attitude chafed. You deserve so much better... and if what he's saying is true, that that woman is mild... " he hesitated. "But if she's married, then perhaps it's not worth it." Jack made a sad-face. "I just don't want you to be led down the wrong direction again. You're nobody's mistress, sir."

"Naw, naw, t'aint like that," the man said, not overly worried at the game Jack was playing (which was going to lead to bartering again, he was sure.) "S'like this - Every person's got their true love out there somewhere, right?" He held up the charm insistently. "If that's the dame yer heart is set on, there's a way to win 'er. Buy this, and I'll tell ya more. If yer thinkin' a changin' yer mind, I got these other charms," the man said, gesturing to his mid-price charms. "Like I say, they work on the other floozies, but none aint' so good a catch or have as good a dowry (metaphorically speakin') as that lady who be givin' ya tha eyes."

Jack gave a little shrug. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt, right? You do what you feel will really help you."

“Well, I don’t know…” Del’ure hesitated as he looked between the beaming merchant and a slightly confused Jack. “If you really think it’ll work…” He knew the man’s answer to that one but it would be what a desperate and insecure little sucker would say, thus he said it and listened to the tirade that was to follow.

The boy gave him a good opening however with his statement of how a married woman wouldn’t be worth it, not to mention the fact that the merchant had already provided him with more than enough information on how he could get his hands on the woman. If there really was a particular spot indeed, he would find out about it. Some might call him arrogant, but he merely knew his trade.

“Ah, the lady… she broke my heart. No,” Del’ure shook his head, gulping as though swallowing down tears. “I… no, I cannot give my heart away so soon. And even less so to a married woman. She would only break my heart again. Or he would break my neck.” He added the last bit for a bit of measure because otherwise he felt like he was overdoing it with the beaten dog acting, and annoying the merchant by completely ignoring what he had just proclaimed of the charm’s powers.

What the merchant apparently did not know was that every single gem or piece of jewellery he had scattered about his stand and his self was fashioned in the same way. If there weren’t a hundred different jewelers in this town, then Del’ure and Jack would easily be able to find the one working with this merchant, and thus find the one most willing to pay for illegally acquired pieces.

Sighing heavily, Del’ure shook his head and took a step away from the merchant, careful not to look at the woman but still keeping himself in a position that let her keep an eye on his every move. The question now was however, should he wink at her and thus tell her that all of this had been an act and with that move maybe entice her to get better acquainted or should he just bugger off and run into her ‘by chance’ some time later, which would most likely require him to keep up the act.

“I’m sorry, and I do thank you for your time. I understand that the information I thought will not be granted to me considering I am unwilling to buy your merchandise, but nonetheless, thank you for your time. It is much appreciated.” Without further ado, Del’ure turned away from the merchant, in passing letting his eyes rove over the woman’s body, his gaze lingering briefly on her eyes before he headed into the crowd, hoping that Jack would follow swiftly.

The merchant looked good and pissed, but he supposed there was no way around it. He sat back and scowled, not giving them a courtesy "It's no problem" or anything like that. He glared at both of them pretty hard. Jack apparently got very nervous at that, and scuttled right up next to Del'ure and into his personal space, not really liking the glare, apparently feeling intimidated.

"Wow, we.... we slighted him pretty bad. Are you sure not buying that was a good idea?" Jack asked. "I imagine he suspects that we know that his charms aren't worth anything, but that's how he puts a price on his information. It would probably be polite to tip him at least for what he gave us," Jack said quickly. "Not that - not that I think he'd be able to do anything to us, but...." But Jack had been beat up enough in his life time that he really didn't want to risk it happening again, especially if he and Del'ure weren't going to be joined at the hip for any amount of time while they were in town. "Besides that, he might be able to know how to tip the fates against us. And by that, I mean he might let on to her husband that we're going to target her," he pressed. "Here, if you hand me five copper I'll go back and give it to him. I really think that it's a good idea to give him something. This guy controls the information, and that means people believe him when he makes stuff up, too. If we don't give him something, we'll be chased outta here before we can get that Jewel off our hands." Jack seemed particularly jumpy, apparently taking that glare as a threat. Sadly, Jack was a bit too easily bullied right now. "And he might tell the jewelers not to do business with strangers... I don't know, seems like we're making a bad decision."

He frowned. "He might be able to throw our entire act back in our face now that he's seen a softer side of you. He knows you can act, at least. We could be exposed for fraud, since you're really a very nice guy, and then .... Well, though, I know I'm just a side-project, I guess, and we could always go to a new town for clothes and the likes, but that would be an inconvenience. I can buy one of the lower-price any-girl 'charms' and save face."

Del’ure frowned at Jack but didn’t say anything. The boy was right and he knew it as well, though for the time being he wasn’t willing to consider the possible consequences of their act being blown, at least with the market people. With the inn people, it might not be such a good idea. But Del’ure was also certain that the merchant wasn’t going to expose them, at least not that very moment.

“He’s seen my purse, he knows I’ve got money so he will first try to con it out of me somehow. He will probably want more information before moving against me, because not only do I have money but I am built well enough which my clothes do not hide. With money comes power, which is another reason why he will not move against us immediately. But you’re right, he will tip off his jewellers, or at least his main gem dealer.”

Del’ure stopped for a moment as though he were scanning the market for the woman, when in reality he was looking for the rich man and at the same time trying to see what the merchant was doing.

“There. He is quicker than I thought. Follow that little boy. He will lead you straight to fatty's main guy. Just find out where his shop is, nothing more and then come straight back. It will look as though you’ve only run a short errand. I will snoop around the market some more and keep an eye on our friend in case he sends someone else.”
Realising that this last bit might have sounded a little scary to Jack, he quickly added: “Don’t worry, I have your back. Nothing will happen to you.”
He may not be able to have his eyes and ears everywhere but he probably wouldn’t need to. Nobody would pay any attention to Jack in his current bony state and the boy the merchant had just sent off barely looked any better off than Jack at the moment, so he shouldn’t pose a threat.
Just in case however, Del’ure would remain close enough.

“If anyone attacks you or starts beating you, yell. Doesn’t matter if our cover will be blown. You get beat, you yell.”

"Con you?" Jack asked. "He knows your trying to off a gem - It's more likely he'll try to ROB you. Save himself all that trouble." Jack gave a little sigh, having some doubt for this new plan, but he pushed those doubts aside as quickly as possible. Yelling wasn't as good a defense as not getting beat in the first place, but he at least calmed down a little when Del'ure promised his safety. Besides, he could take a punch or two. He wrang his hands, looking a bit concerned still, but he eventually nodded. "Whatever you say boss, but I still think you should save yourself a world of trouble and give the guy a silver. That guy owns the place." It's just that, he'd been beat up so often, and never been saved before, so the threat of taking a pounding was a very real one to him.

He furrowed his brows as he watched the kid that the guy sent off. He popped his neck, tried to shake his fear off (partially by shaking his hands out) and started off after the kid, ducking into the crowd and vanishing with an uncanny ability to just blend in. He would at least feel a bit better if he had a knife to defend himself, but he wasn't going to press Del'ure for more things when Del'ure was already helping him out so much. He would just keep an eye out. Jack was nothing if not incredibly attentive. While following the kid, he was also keeping a sharp eye on anybody else following him or Del'ure, trying to do his best to not to stand out.

While Jack wasn't followed (right then, at least), there were two thug-ish characters not too far from Del'ure, givin' him the eye. They were kind of on the outskirts, whispering to one another, glancing off in the direction that Jack went, but by and large their eyes were on Del'ure. Wherever Del'ure moved, they weren't too far behind, always within line of sight to him.

“True, he is going to take it from me, or will try to at least,” Del’ure agreed, but the wicked smile on his face proved how little he cared about that fact. “However, I might have exaggerated just a little when I said I had a rather large gem on my hands.”
The gem was considerable, sure, and for general standards a little larger than most, but it wasn’t nearly as huge as Del’ure had made it out to be. Though of course, it wasn’t just the gem he had on him…
“Tell me, my friend, have you actually seen said gem?” Winking at the boy before he was off, Del’ure grinned once more before straightening his face again into the mask he had been wearing for most of this market excursion.

Jack was right however, the guy did own the place and as much as Del’ure liked to piss off people like him, he would do good not to make things worse as they were starting to be right about now. Pretty sure that soon enough someone would follow Jack and that he himself already had at least one tail, he set about the market as casually and leisurely as possible, trying not to give away whom he was keeping an eye out for.

Letting his gaze regularly stray towards the woman, sometimes catching her eye, Del’ure made his way slowly around, finding the rich man, who was conveniently placed where Del’ure wanted to go anyway to keep an eye on Jack. The latter he may have had trouble finding but the merchant’s errand boy was still easy to spot, which Del’ure more and more wonder whether this was a trap. But as long as he could see the boy, he would find Jack, which was a consolation.

The eyes burning into his back however were starting to be a bit more of a nuisance. He didn’t want to make a scene in the middle of the market, thus he better come up with something, and quickly at that!
Winding his way around stalls and people in a not too complicated fashion so his followers wouldn’t lose him – there had to be more than one – Del’ure tried to make his way over to where the merchant’s boy seemed to be heading, trying to keep a watch on happenings, like he had promised Jack. For now, he would quite simply have to ignore the rich man, unless he kept walking into the same direction. Maybe… Yes, just maybe, the man could come in handy…

Fortunately, Jack successfully managed to follow the kid back to his ultimate destination. It wasn't actually a shop - Jack had to leave the main market-place to finish following the kid. But rather, the kid had led him straight to the jeweler's house. With that done, Jack doubled back around in a hurry.

It wasn't 'til Jack was on his way back that a third thug came into the crowd, this one was obviously targeting Jack. Instead of being subtle and and standing on the sideline, this one kept moving in front of Jack's path, apparently trying to herd Jack into a specific direction. Most likely an alleyway. Jack was definitely not going to go into ANY alleyway (He knew that's where beatings happened), but he was at an impasse since the guy kept putting himself between Jack and Del'ure. And if Jack stood still or tried to pick a different direction, the thug moved closer to him. Needless to say, Jack was feeling very panicky about that, but was doing his best to try to avoid any situation that would lead to Jack needing to be rescued. Fortunately, One benefit of being stick-thin was that he could slip through paths in the crowd that no other people could, at least. So every time the thugs tried to follow him between two people, they had to either be rude and shove them out of the way, or be slowed down to politely ask to be excused. That was at least one point for Jack, but the man was still very much in his way.

The rich man wasn't paying ANY attention to Del'ure, but he was at least moving in the same direction. He was familiar with the marketplace and it's goings-ons, and his own purse was nowhere to be seen, to make it much more difficult for thieves to rob him. He wasn't browsing anything. Distantly he wondered where his wife went, since it was unusual for her to go off like that, but he knew she was safe here. Nobody dared laid a harmful hand on her without facing an overly severe punishment. While the rich man was well known for being influential to the city AND being filthy rich to buy any kind of assassin he wanted (He had done it before, or at least, people suspected - There was a time when a stranger had threatened this man, and the next day that man was killed by a poisoned arrow, with the offending archer never to be found), he was also a skilled swordsman by his own right. He had plenty of good things going for him that made people think twice before wronging this man. His name was Rinaldo, for clarity's sake.

Del’ure was annoyed. These thugs were getting on his nerves and he was disliking the situation on a whole. Jack was fleeing from someone on his way back to Del’ure – hopefully he had at least found the jeweller, though in the meantime Del’ure was thinking that the next town might be a better stop for getting rid of a gem, no matter how small or big it was.

This place was full of people thinking they owned the place, almost worse than the town he had been to before. The rich guy was still marching silently and without being bothered, his beautiful wife not too far off, her eyes still on Del’ure from time to time.

‘Alright,’ Del’ure thought, ‘this will require some action.’ Without further ado, Del’ure begun sprinting towards the thug barring Jack’s way and shouted “Thief! Thief!” and made to tackle the guy just as he turned around with a questioning look on his face, briefly distracted from Jack. The two men behind Del’ure immediately realised what was happening, one of them melting into the crowd, the other running after Del’ure in an attempt to turn the situation around.

“No, he is the thief! He is the thief, he robbed my master!”
“Bullshit! He stole my jewel!” And with that, Del’ure slammed into the man even as the latter threw his arms up in defense. Rolling around on the ground as the market suddenly emptied around them. The second thug jumped into the fray and between the two of them, they managed to pin Del’ure to the ground by his arms and legs.

The rich man, Rinaldo, suddenly appeared towering above them and loudly demanded an explanation: “What is going on here?! Have you completely lost your mind? You, Sir, are a stranger to this town and you cause massive trouble. Have you no respect for the city offering you hospitality?”

Del’ure looked at him without even as much as shadow of guilt on his face. “I was minding my own business, Sir, when this man took something out of my pocket that I was hoping to sell here so as not to be reminded of my misfortune!” Unbeknown to the thug he had tackled, a guy called Bern, Del’ure had slipped the gem into his pouch.

While the chaos ensued, Jack rushed over to Del'ure, and then GLARED at the man who had 'stolen' the jewel.

Rinaldo scoffed. He knew the market pretty well, and he knew these two thugs belonged two Garrel, the information-seller. But, he also knew that information wasn't a real product, and therefore this stranger couldn't be charged with anything, AND he knew that Garrel tended to be short-tempered to people who had slighted him. While stealing wasn't his M.O., he wouldn't put it past him or his thugs.

"All right, Bern, turn out your pockets."

Bern scowled and turned to make a run for it - even though he knew he hadn't stolen any gem, there were plenty of other stolen goods in his pouch. He turned to run, but Rinaldo grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back with a show of force. He snatched the purse from Bern and turned it out - finding some coins, a lovely piece of brik-a-brak from somebody's home, and Del'ure's gem. The man frowned, and Bern panicked.

"It wasn' t- It was planted on me, I donnae how that got there!"

"Likely so!" Rinaldo cuffed Bern upside the head with a good smart. "Don't let me see you bothering people in the market again. I recommend you resign from Garrel's service if you know what's good for you, lest you lose your hands."

Bern darted away in a hurry, as did any other thugs nearby.

"And as for YOU-" Rinaldo started, pointing an accusing finger at Jack. Jack quickly hastened to Del'ure's side. "No, no, sir," he quickly interjected, "This is my employer, I am his humble servant."

Rinaldo sighed. "Well, sir, I apologize for the hassle that this town has brought upon you then. I believe this is yours, then?" He offered the gem to Del'ure once again.

Del’ure was glad the trick had worked so well. Better even than he had hoped it would! Thus, he really could not complain at how this had all worked out. Jack was well too, he didn’t even seem to have a scratch on him. He didn’t mind his own bruises and the couple of punches he had received. They were nothing in comparison to what he had done to the others, or rather what Rinaldo had done to them now because of Del’ure’s trickery.

Getting onto his feet again while dusting off his clothes, Del’ure looked at the man and the gem in the latter’s hand. “I thank you, good Sir,” he said as he took the gem Rinaldo offered him. “I much appreciate you having helped me in this matter!”

He could have asked the man if there was anything he could do for him to thank him for his kindness but Del’ure wasn’t sure whether this wouldn’t put them in another pickle again. On the other hand, it would bring him closer to the woman, which was a new found goal of his in this place. However, they also had to take care of the jeweller and it would probably be best if they were out of town latest by tomorrow very early in the morning, because Del’ure had no doubt that not only the merchant but also the individual thugs would be after them by then. Protecting himself and Jack with a good cover story would be vital now, especially since they couldn’t really go back to the inn as things were now and ask them to keep any nasty people at bay. The innkeeper’s wife would most likely gladly send them after his hide for how he treated his servant. The act had been too good.

Sighing inwardly but plastering another smile onto his face on the outside, Del’ure asked: “Is there anything I could do to repay this small favour you have done me?”
Rinaldo cocked his head to the side very lightly and studied Del’ure, seemingly considering the question.
Out of nowhere, his wife was suddenly by his side, her eyes glued to Del’ure with only a brief glance at Jack as she leant to her husband and whispered into his ear, hastily bowing her head in submission for daring to speak up. Apparently, not only was he barely interested in her anymore, sexually speaking, nor did she seem to have much of an opinion in their general relation. ‘Odd couple,’ Del’ure thought but he didn’t let it show.

Rinaldo rolled his eyes at whatever his wife said, but sighed. "No, no, you don't owe me anything," he decided. "My wife is correct - as the Governor of this town, it is my responsibility to keep these streets clear. It is I who should be apologizing to you." He invaded Del'ure's space for the purpose of brushing the dirt off of him from the tackle that had occurred. "Now that you've decided to cause a scene with Garrel's men, no doubt they'll continue to hound you. However, I can see you are a gentleman yourself, with fine wares of your own to sell. Allow me to offer you my own home as a way of avoiding the rabble." He turned and beckoned to all of them to follow him.

His wifey, henceforth known as Aevaline, averted her eyes and her cheeks flushed, pleased that her suggestion took - it was rare that that happened. She was trying her very best not to reveal her excitement over this change. She took on the humble posture once more and followed behind Rinaldo with her head bowed.

Jack looked quite pleased, his eyes lit up at the thought of staying in a mansion - A Governor's mansion at that! What luck! Like he had always dreamed! Sure, the people were stuffy enough, but the beds were probably even MORE comfortable, and the food was probably EVEN FANCIER. He bounced up next to Del'ure to follow, trying not to look too chipper himself. This was working out just swell.

"Now," Rinaldo said, "You mentioned you were planning on selling a jewel?" Rinaldo asked. "If you need, I can offer you the services of my personal jeweler. I tend to find that most rapscallions in the general market do their best to swindle those around them. Perhaps that is how I can make up to you the trouble you have encountered here." He gave a sideways glance at Jack. For feeding him so poorly, the kid looked far too happy. He'd have to learn the secret of withholding expenses from his servants and them staying happy too.

Del’ure stayed put when the man invaded his personal space. It generally didn’t bother him because he knew he generally could somehow handle whatever people threw at him, even if he took a beating every now and then. Rinaldo didn’t seem to pose a threat in that respect either way. As powerful as the man was – governor?! -, he didn’t seem to be the sort who would dirty his own hands.

“I... I don’t know what to say, Sir. Thank you for the very generous offer. I would gladly accept your hospitality.” Del’ure was astonished. This was definitely going better than he’d hoped! Of course, there was always the possibility that Rinaldo had an agenda, and he most likely did actually, but Del’ure wasn’t fazed by that thought.

“If you would allow us to please bring our horse as well, then we can be off on our way without much more hassle tomorrow morning so as to avoid Garrel’s henchmen. It might be best for all of us because I certainly would not want to cause you any more trouble than we already have.” Rinaldo nodded his agreement.

Aevaline seemed rather excited about her plan having worked, and in turn Del’ure was excited about that notion. It would be very interesting to get to know her a little better. But first things first.

As soon as they had arrived at the governor’s mansion, Del’ure asked Jack to go fetch the horse. Turning his back on the two rich people for a moment to speak to Jack in relative confidence, he winked at him, happy as a clam. “Go fetch the horse and bring it here. Be swift! For we do not want any more trouble with Garrel.” It was a good thing that he had had to pay for the room upfront, thus there was no need for Jack to make another appearance inside the inn, and hopefully he wouldn’t run into anyone so he wouldn’t have to explain anything.

Turning back to Rinaldo, he added: “It is merely a precaution. We will be out of your hair as soon as possible. However,” Del’ure said, closely looking at Rinaldo and wondering at his purpose, “I would very much like to take you up on that offer regarding your personal jeweller. It isn’t always easy to find a serious business man, especially where gems are concerned. Now, I am not entirely sure how precious this particular gem is because even when I bought it, I wasn’t quite sure on the sincerity of the gem merchant but I was in need of a gem, so...” Del’ure didn’t finish the sentence, leaving it up to Rinaldo to either imagine the rest or ask, in case he hadn’t heard the conversation he had had with Garrel, or rumours thereof. Del’ure was under no illusion that Rinaldo had many spies combing the market as well.

Jack gave a salute and bounded off with utmost enthusiasm.

Rinaldo sniffed haughtily the way overly rich people do when looking down their nose at people. "Yes yes, don't mention it." He had his own messenger boy go and fetch his personal jeweler so that they could get all this 'helping' out of the way and put the stranger on his way again without having to take up the rest of his day. He had other things to do, you know. But he supposed that if all else failed, he could let his servants entertain while he went on to better business. His first order of business would most likely be deeply scolding Garrel for putting him in such an annoying position of having to make up for Garrel's thugs' actions.

"All for a love lost," he said, feigning interest in Del'ure's story. "Mmmyes we've all been there, my heart goes out to you. It's usually best to get the actual value of a stone before you give it to a young lady," he scolded. "If you didn't know the value, and if it had been cheap, it may be why she rejected your advances. However, it's likely for the best, sir. Women who want for jewels tend to be the shallow sort anyway. I'm quite lucky to have found a wife who needs no such items." He didn't even pass Aevaline a glance. Aevaline looked down though, as if she sort of kind of maybe wouldn't mind having a present once in a while. Rinaldo continued without notice. "I'm quite glad I stopped the ruckus when I did. Garrel's men tend to jump straight to fisticuffs to resolve their problems. Either way, we'll soon discover the value of the gem."

"I have to ask, good sir, how is it that you maintain such a positive moral in such poorly maintained servants?" He asked conversationally. "I have come across a bit of a trouble myself... If ever I withold any small amount of wages from mine, they practically threaten mutiny. I'm quite impressed."

Rinaldo's servant came back with another wealthy-looking stout man, balding with glasses. His name was Jhaveri. After the pleasantries, Jhaveri cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. "May I see the stone?"

“Yes, you’re absolutely right. A woman is worth so much more than just a mere gem and if I had had the means I would have bought her a much bigger one. I’m not even sure why she has broken it off but apparently she had already decided it before I bought the gem. It was just a silly try on my behalf to win her heart back and keep her from breaking up with me, but oh well.”

The reaction of Aevaline was quite interesting, to say the least, and Del’ure was almost certain that he was going to pull something that night though before that could happen, he needed to figure out what to do with Jack. He couldn’t leave the boy without protection and from the way things were in this town for them, it was not a good idea to stay the night at all. But... Del’ure would have to think about it and see how the rest of the day would fare.

“Oh, the servant?” Del’ure smiled briefly, frantically trying to think how to properly phrase his next lie. “It’s just a good mixture between strictness and kindness. He isn’t used to anything but strictness and rationing, so the odd gesture of kindness strikes home every time, makes him loyal and good-willed too. It’s a new tactic I’ve tried with this boy and I have to say, it is a rather good one. He doesn’t know anything else, so I guess the fact that luxury was never a big part of his own life helps that he looks upon every kind act as though it were a miracle.”

He was glad the conversation wasn’t taken any further by the appearance of the jeweller who got straight down to business. “Yes, of course!” Del’ure immediately fumbled around in his pouch until he found the gem , large as a big thumb and carefully wrapped into a piece of soft cloth so as to protect it from any possible scratches. “It isn’t much but it seemed worth the money at the time, but I’m not quite so sure anymore. Even though the jeweller seemed trustworthy enough, you can’t be certain these days.”

Rinaldo scowled ever so lightly. He had tried picking up the dregs in the past, but it had only led to thievery. Well, he supposed this man had found an honest enough one. It was hardly important.

He turned his back as they started talking about jewels, and peered outside, impatient to get his business done.

Jhaveri took the jewel carefully and pulled out an eyeglass. "I generally prefer to do this in my shop, but I suppose we can make do." He moved to a desk by a well-lit window and knelt by it, examining the gem very thoroughly. He made little mutters here and there about the cut, and the shine and the clarity of the jewel. When he was done, he pulled his eyeglass away and turned it between his fingers. "Well, sir, you'll be happy to know that you weren't at all swindled. This is quite a lovely thing - worth at least 11 gold pieces. The cut was very well done. It wasn't cheap. This is a rare kind of sapphire, judging by the infrastructure of the crystal, but sapphires usually come in blue - of course, not always. Sapphires can come in many colors. But this color is particularly rare. It's a pity, for the woman, that she left you before you could present such a gift to her. It might have swayed her. But, butter for you I suppose."

Jack had finished bringing the horse to the stables and bounded back inside - pausing his happy trotting into a more polite walk as he re-entered the Governor's home, trying to be respectful.

"Mmmmyes this is all very interesting," Rinaldo said, still looking out the window, "But I'm afraid I have other business to attend to. We can arrange a guest bed for you and your boy if you desire and have a bath drawn, but I recommend selling the jewel before tomorrow and being on your way. I'm sure it will be easier for all of us. Aevaline, would you be a dear and attend to our guests? That's a good dear."

Aevaline nodded cautiously, trying not to reveal how pleased she was at this. "Of course, my husband."

Del’ure looked positively stunned. And he didn’t even have to act the part. He had known the gem was most likely worth something but he hadn’t thought it would be that much. No wonder they had gone ape-shit when they had noticed the theft of the sapphire. It was good to know that he had not lost his skills in picking out the good stuff when he was dipping his hands into someone else’s pockets.

“Thank you so very, very much,” Del’ure said, handing the jeweller a silver coin for his efforts. “I will consider what to do with it. Maybe there will be a lovely lady in my life again soon upon whom I could bestow this wonderful piece. It looks so much brighter now that I know it really is worth something. Whereabouts is your shop, my dear Jhaveri? Maybe tomorrow morning, I’ll swing by very early before leaving town to talk further business with you.”

When Rinaldo offered the a guest room in his mansion, Del’ure was satisfied. It would avoid them having to do their act at the inn, it would keep them safe and it would give Jack a good bed to sleep in, decent food and most of all, proximity to Aevaline, who was treated like a maid by her husband. It should be easy.

“I appreciate your help and thank you for your hospitality. We would gladly accept a guest room in your house and I promise you, we will be out of your hair tomorrow. I would not want to cause you any more inconveniences than I already have.”

As soon as he was out of the house and Jhaveri having departed as well, Aevaline should them to the guest room, which was rather large and the window was close to the roof. Perfect for spellunking!
Now, he needed to focus on Aevaline if he wanted to teach Jack something about women, but of course, it all depended on the lady of the house herself now.

"Oh, goodness no, think nothing of it," Jhevari said, pocketing the silver. "As I am a private merchant... I don't have a shop, you see. This marketplace isn't save. I do my business under the safety of my own home - and, when I trade, I travel to the homes of others. Hence why I am here today good sir. But, if you would like to conduct more business with me, my home is not far from here - it's the one with the blue flag hung over it's door, about five estates down," he explained. With that, departed he did!

Jack was pleased enough too. He still really wasn't sure what the plan was, but his jaw dropped at the fluffy beds.

He was so glad that he had bathed yesterday. Now he could jump on the beds WITHOUT RESERVE. Yay. But he refrained for now, trying to be most respectful.

Aevaline was quite the shy girl, to be fair, but the fact that her cheeks were pink with her own blushing should probably imply that her thoughts weren't on her husband, either. Still, she certainly wasn't going to make any kind of first move. Or any kind of move, probably. The neglected woman was used to being ignored, and was sure that her attraction to Del'ure would never amount to anything more than a fantasy. Besides... how could she even think of betraying her husband that way? But she felt warm all over thinking about the handsome man. So handsome. And kind.... Or, at least, he seemed kinder than her husband did, but that wasn't a far stretch. And broken-hearted... the poor chap, being rejected by a cruel little hen.

Right, being a host! Back to business. The man and his servant seemed happy enough with the room, and that was important enough. "We have a room with a bath across the hall, too - please let myself know if you would like us to heat the water for you, I'll be happy to do so. I should get dinner started," she said, mostly so that if Del'ure wanted to speak to her, he would know where to find her. Not that he would. It was just a fantasy. Also, of course, though, so they wouldn't ask about how long it was 'til dinner, since she didn't put it past the hungry-looking boy to ask. "Please let me know if you need anything, sir." She turned to leave the two in peace, biting her lip and shamefully thought about what a terrible person she was for being so attracted to the stranger.

Del’ure winked at the woman but it seemed somewhat lost in her shyness. Other methods would have to be applied later on, but for now, the most important thing was taking a small break. Somehow more of the day had passed in between all these dealings than he would have thought. Nonethless, they still had quite a few hours left of the day.
After thanking Aevaline for her kindness and the explanations, he turned to his ‘servant’.

“Alright, Jack, what do you think? We did pretty well for ourselves, didn’t we? Despite a bit of a hassle in the market place.” Del’ure grinned. It had been worth the hassle to spend the night in the governor’s private mansion. However, despite the good fortune that seemed to have befallen them, Del’ure wasn’t quite sure what to make of this spontaneous hospitality and he couldn’t help but wonder whether Rinaldo had something else in store for them. But maybe he was just being a little paranoid – his kind of lifestyle tended to have that sort of side effect.

“As for a plan for the reminder of the day. Nothing really other than enjoying the fact that we’re here, having a good time, and so forth. This is basically what I do a lot of the time. But so you don’t think of me as a complete ass, I do honest work as well and pay for my quarters.” Of course, often he didn’t need to, gullible or bored wives helped with that.

With another grin, he said: “By the way, don’t think I didn’t notice the way you looked at that bed. Go on, enjoy yourself, I’m going to see how dinner fares.” Wriggling his eyebrows in a conspiratorial manner, he made his way out of the room and headed for the kitchen, which wasn’t too hard to find considering the fact that someone had started cooking and the smells were already wafting through the mansion. Odd though that the maid didn’t take care of the cooking. Del’ure could have sworn that a wealthy man such as Rinaldo would have employed someone for that job. Or maybe he had picked this particular wife because she was a good cook and he could spare the expenses.

“What is this wonderful smell?” he asked gently as he walked into the kitchen and saw no one but the lady of the house. Casually leaning against the door frame with his arms loosely crossed before his chest, he looked at Aevaline, trying to figure out his next move, or hers for that matter, if she dared do anything.

Jack gave Del'ure a grin, and then a laugh. "Yeah, I'll be honest, I kind of thought we were toast, but I guess everything worked out for the best after all. I thought you were making a bad mistake back there... and-" he wiggled an eyebrow right back. "Congratulations on the gem." He had never really been told that it had been stolen, but it was easy to come to the conclusion. "That'll give us some comfortable living for a while then. Certainly enough to buy me some clothes, if you're willing to share the spoils," he said casually, not really meaning to drop a hint, but more just implying that he'd be happy with or without the share. Clothes weren't his biggest concern. He was mostly happy to be fed. He snickered, though, as he thought about just how fancy the clothes were that he MIGHT have been able to buy. Velvets... laces... heh heh, he'd die if he ever got to wear that stuff. He couldn't even picture it.

Well, Jack didn't have to be told twice. His eyes lit up. "All right... Thank you, Del'ure. I'll be ... taking a nap. Yeah." He politely closed the door as to not disturb anybody else in the house, and totally just had a ball by himself with the floofy beds.

Aevaline was in the kitchen - and she did have maids, fortunately, who were all helping, and doing dishes while she cooked, but it turned out, she enjoyed cooking. Especially since otherwise she'd be bored out of her mind whilst being ignored by her loving husband. She had just gotten into the habit of it.

She half jumped when Del'ure had come down, and blushed again. "O-oh, well, thank you for saying so. I'm making a pork roast sir." She hesitated. "... Unless you're a person who doesn't enjoy meat? I can make a vegetable stew instead if you prefer. But it's got a while to cook, I just finished the preparations," she said sheepishly, as if she was trying to explain why it was taking so long. The timid little thing was a bit jumpy since she was crushing so hard.

“Oh no no, pork roast is just fine, my lady. Please do not be worried. And I’m sure Jack will much appreciate a bit of roasted meat too.” Unless the boy didn’t like meat, he would love the dinner, if the smell was anything to go by. It really did smell fantastic. Taking a quick peek at the maids busying themselves around the kitchen, Del’ure wondered whether Jack might not like the company of one of those too... but no, it was too soon to be thinking of anything like that. Jack needed to get into a normal eating rhythm again so he could properly woo a woman, which generally included some food if wanted to be done right. First things first.

Del’ure could feel the eyes of one of the maids, her name was Mila, burning through him while she was peeling some potatoes, and he wondered whether she was just generally socially awkward or whether she had been ordered by Rinaldo to keep an eye on his wife. Because merely the fact that he wasn’t paying any attention to her didn’t make any other male’s attention acceptable.

“May I trouble you as to show me where the towels are? I didn’t want to go rummaging through the cupboards, it would not be polite. Though of course, I do not want to keep you from cooking either. Maybe one of the maids could keep watch over the pots for a few minutes while you absent yourself?” With a pointed look towards Mila, he added: “Since you seem to be a sort of helper cook, maybe you wouldn’t mind? I’d very much like to freshen up before dinner.”

He didn’t need a bath right now, and wouldn’t mind doing it later but he needed an excuse to get Aevaline away from her guardian dogs and this seemed suitable enough without awakening any suspicions as to his intentions. Though he winked at Aevaline when he turned his back on the maids and made to go back out of the kitchen to head towards the bathroom Aevaline had pointed out earlier.

Aevaline took his request stupidly at face value - until she caught the wink. She turned away quickly, focusing instead on Mila. She took her by the shoulders firmly. "Yes, please take over dinner," she instructed very clearly. "This can't go poorly, do you understand?" And with that, she followed Del'ure upstairs, still feeling like there should mostly be some towel-retrieving action happening. She wasn't going to hold her breath or fantasize for anymore about that.

She went to the hall and into a cupboard to pull some towels out, and moved into the bathing room with grace. The Bathtub was more like a spa, really, certainly big enough for two people to fit comfortably in. It was already filled with water, and she turned the heat on in it just in case.

"Y-you know," she stammered a bit nervously, "I've never met anybody with eyes quite like yours. I hope ... I hope you won't think me rude for pointing them out, but... they're ... they're entrancing, you know," she said, flirting ever so shyly. She really wasn't sure WHAT about him drew her to him, but she thought the eyes might have something to do with it. His face was so... so perfect.

What was she thinking? She shook her head, again internally scolding herself for thinking about him so intimately.

It was quicker and easier than he’d even thought which went to show that either Aevaline was more cunning than she showed or she really was as innocent as she was appearing to be. Del’ure could have sworn that she would have had at least one affair with the way her husband was treating her but it almost seemed as if she hadn’t. ‘Curious...’ The thought wouldn’t let Del’ure go but he pushed it back by force, not wanting to dwell on such notions for the time being.

Watching her take the towels out of the cupboard, he silently closed the bathroom door behind them and stepped close to her. He passed by the eye comment as if she hadn’t made it, though he gave her a half-smile at it, he stepped even closer and brought himself to stand in front of her, lightly touching the towels to make them drop on the floor.

“Tell me Aevaline,” Del’ure almost purred her name, his voice barely above a whisper. “What is your wildest fantasy?”
Either she was going to run away screaming because he had dared talk to her in such a manner or she was going to completely crumble under the straightforward question. Or at least those were the options Del’ure could see happen easiest. They were the quickest and most common reactions in women such as her. Though he couldn’t quite see her run away, be shocked, probably, but he couldn’t help but think that she might like it.

No matter how this would turn out however, he needed to be careful and start working on a plan to get himself and Jack out of this place without a hair out of place or anything else amiss. Though unlike he generally did, he wouldn’t take anything from this mansion. Rinaldo had offered him hospitality in a much more generous way than anyone ever had and there was something about the man that made Del’ure reluctant to have him as an enemy – at least in terms of business. Seducing the wife was a completely different thing in Del’ure’s world view.

Her face was bright red, and she was so torn. She glanced at the now-closed door, and then up at Del'ure. She was an adult woman, but this man had just the most peculiar effect on her. She knew she should slap him, but she couldn't bring herself to. She swallowed and took a step back, going through her options, her hands balling into stubborn fists. Why couldn't she just let herself melt into his arms? She was sure that all he wanted was an easy fling - right? Men were like that. That's what they did. But why her? Was it to spite her husband, who had offered them nothing but hospitality? She was sure he didn't know her husband beyond today. Or was he really just that infatuated? Was it all planned that he should come here? No... that didn't seem right, it was Rinaldo who had approached him in the market. But she had seen his glances, like he had been interested, and she had glanced back, being interested herself. But she had known it would never amount to anything...

So why was he standing here, asking her such an intimate question? The neglected woman didn't have the highest self-esteem after years of being ignored by the man who she had been arranged to marry. She had been so excited, all those years ago, since he had requested her from her father. She had thought that that meant that she would be loved by him forever. But he had become bored of her within a year or less - once he had tried and obtained the goods, he stopped pretending to care. Besides, she knew he had a bit on the side.

Fuck it.

"I ... I just..." she shook her head, and looked down, bringing her hands together tightly. "I just want to be... I want to be seduced. Is that too much to ask? I just..." She took a step towards Del'ure again, and gingerly placed her hands on his chest, and leaned into him. "I just want to be desired. Don't you understand? Just.. just hold me... please..."

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