Airion's heart was in his chest when he was talking to the guards at hte gate. He wasn't usually the one to be talking to anyone. Usually that was someone else's forte. Luckily the ladies joined in and they made safe passage into the city.

His insticts kicked in shortly after entering the city. Even without Ele's suggestion he was already mapping out their paths in his head. He wasn't sure they were very welcome here and wanted to make sure he could get himself and at least Ele out of here if necessary.

Heironymus addressed the group. "The merchants guild seems like the logical choice as that is where we were hired. Certainly people there would know him. Plus, (Assuming here) the guild is logically in the merchants quarter, so it should take us in the right direction anyway. I would suggest we go to the guild and start asking around, although I wouldn't mention the nature of the message to anyone but the recipient. I begin to wonder if even he is not what he seemed at first."
It worried Airion a bit that this cleric was weary of the merchant now, but then again they had no clue who to trust. "I agree, if you originally recieved your job from the merchant guild then it would be a great place to start. Hopefully this won't take us very long. I'm a bit worried about being here."

Airion looked around and noticed that he and Ele seemed to be getting many different looks from the citizen in the city. Not all of them good. Turning back toward Kyara and Heironymus, "Well, let's get going. I suppose you two should lead the way."

Ele looked relaxed but she was not. How could she be in this situation. In a strange and apparently hostile city. What ws going on?

After Hieronymus's words, Ele wondered what was going on with the two guards. as well, "I thought that you worked for a particular merchant and it was his daughter that was kidnapped and is not being held, didn't you? Isn't it his name that is on the letter?

"Arion who is that letter addressed to " I say we go see him as it was he you were working for."

"I have no specific reason not to trust the merchant at this point. He hired us and seemed very upset at the loss of his daughter. But even so, his daughter might have gone willingly with the brigands. Maybe. If the daughter was not what she seemed, then what of the father? I don't know that he is untrustworthy, but right now deception seems to be the rule and not the exception."

As the others discuss the name on the envelope, Heironymus adds, "This way to the Guild, there seems no reason to stop and give people who are staring time to do any more." (Assuming he knows the way, Hieronymus will lead the way to the Merchants Guild)

You arrive at the guild hall just before Selene sets on the horizon (night fall). The building itself seems more like a palace than a guild hall. Those that have not seen it before cannot help but be impressed by the sheer size of the place. The doors are currently open, but it seems like the place is winding down for the day.

The primary are in the guild hall that is open to outsiders is a large interior courtyard. The ground is a mosaic of tiles, though from so close it is difficult to determine what the image is of. Small bluebark trees and moonvines climb up white stone pillars supporting a balcony twenty feet above. Several wooden desks sit under the cover of the balcony, each manned by a single merchant, or their representative. as stated previously, many of them seem to be cleaning up for the day, gathering notes and contracts together for storage elsewhere.

You do not see the merchant that hired you. However there are five remaining manned stations (the men at 3 of them are almost finished packing up their belongngs) and several armed guards. The guards where scale mail and carry halberds with discipline and practiced ease.

(Does Hieronymus remember if there was a specific desk at which they spoke to the merchant or his representative? If so, he would suggest If not, then the comments below . . .)

Glancing briefly around, Heironymus speaks quietly but quickly to his companions. "Here we are, the den of wealth. Does it make sense if I, as the sole human in the group, approach one of the desks? The rest of you stand back where you can be seen, no doubt seeing dark skinned elves will get some attention even at closing time."

If no one voice opposition (And Heironymus is more than willing to let others do the talking if they think it wise.) Heironymus will approach a desk, either the one he was hired at or one where the person in attendance has not finished packing. (Closest non-finished packer to the left if you want a choice.) He will approach and say, "Excuse me, there is a very important message for the merchant (insert name, which I can't remember at the moment and don't have time to look up



)"

If the person at the table attempts to brush him off because of closing time he very politely push the issue stressing that the message is very important. He will only mention the caravan or the dark elves if:
A) He becomes convinced that he is talking to a representative of the right merchant, or
B) He can get no response any other way.

However, he will not reveal anything other than the fact that an urgent message must be delivered in person. If pushed he will also stress that the merchant in question will be very upset if this message does not get through very quickly.

Kyara moves with Hieronymus as she crossed the courtyard to one of the few men manning the stations located there. She sands quietly but her eyes scan the area for any possible problems. This was the first time she had been in the guild hall. It was impressive in size but harsh and angular, with few growing plants.

Kyara also kept an eye on their new companions. This job she was moving to be a bigger problem that she had expected . However, she was not one to abandoned a position that she had taken without seeing it through. to give her some more money to search for her brother.

Ele moves up and forward towards where Hieronymus and Kyara have moved to She is interested in know for herself what is going on. Also to make sure she and Arion were not being giving over to the authorities. She had already figured out how she would leave this place and at least two turns she would take to lose any pursuers.

She wanted to learn more about this place and how it worked. Information would be useful once she returned home. Once this conundrum had been solved.

Airion kept his eyes and senses open once they entered the guild hall.

Heironymus decided to try to find some information on the merchant and he was happy to let him do so.

While heironymus tried to get information from one of the clerks, Airion hung back with the women and took in the sights around him. The guild hall was beautiful. Once this mess was over Airion hoped he could come back to explore more of the city.

The man looks up from the ledger on his desk to see Heironymus standing over him. With a roll of his eyes and a sigh he addresses you.

"Sir, the guild hall is closing. I suggest you complete your business quickly. Now, what manner of contract are you looking to fulfill?"

He looks at Heironymus expectantly, not even appearing to notice the rest of the group. The guards in the open square however, are keeping a close eye on the entire party, their halberds ready to be used should trouble erupt. You occasionally notice them whispering to each other as the look on.

"I am aware of the time, and apologize for my late arrival. However, I already have a contract. In order to fulfill it I need to locate the merchant that hired me. Can you tell me how to locate *****?"

If the man at the desk is not helpful, Hieronymus will stress the urgency of their business. Something along the lines of, "The merchant will be extremely anxious to meet with us. It is not my intent to be pushy, but I know how frustrated he will be if we are delayed. I would prefer to avoid that circumstance. Please, sir. This is important, and have no doubt about what this will mean to *****"

Heironymus will NOT do anything threatening. He will not yell or get frustrated, he will very calmly try to stress the importance of their mission. If the man gets agitated, he will back away with hands in the air saying, "I am not looking to cause problems. Good day, sir."

"Do you have your contract with you? Agreement papers? Without those I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do for you. I wouldn't want to be blamed for sending brigands to the house of a wealthy merchant after all."

The man stands up from the desk, and packs up the ledger and the few other things on his desk as Heironymus pulls out his contract papers (assumption here).

The man rolls his eyes, obviously he had hoped you didn't have your papers. But he takes the contract from you and examines it for a moment.

"So you are the caravan guards that let Allyn's daughter get kidnapped. I shall have to make a note of that." He looks intently at each of you, as if memorizing your faces. He lives in one of the big houses on Merchant's Row near the palace. His house name is posted on the outer gates.

"I will warn you though, he has been much more suspicious of everyone of late. And he still grieves for the loss of his daughter."

The man hands back your papers and retreats back into the building.

The posted guards glare at you, almost seeming to hope you don't leave the complex, or daring you to pursue the man into the Merchant's Guild building.

(Those of you who have been in the city before know that they will be closing the main doors to the complex shortly. Anyone who does not remove themselves is generally forcibly removed or charge with illegal trespassing depending on circumstances and who is involved.)

As the man at the table turns and walks away Heironymus looks at his companions waves towards the door. Walking towards the door (Assuming no one else objects) he comments, "Well, I don't know that we "let" anything happen. Time to deliver a message. At least we sort of have an address. Lets get out of the Guild, it is obviously closing time."

Assuming Heironymus knows the way to the merchants quarter he and the others will head that way looking for Allyn's house. (Again, assuming no opposition - this seems like the obvious choice at this point.)

"Lets hurry up and get to the Merchant's place. Not that the man at the desk gave it to us but I bet the name of the house matches the merchant's name IF not we are going to have to ask directions." Kyara offers her thoughts on what she thinks may be possible to do. Of course it was all supposition. Kyara leads the way out but once there she lets Hieronymus lead. She had not been in the city long enough to know her way around it.

"Hieronymus, I hope you know your way around this city. I was here only long enough to sign up and ship out."

Turning to the dark skinned elves that had joined them. "I hope you two are doing okay. I do not know why you kind are not received so well by the city guards. There was a degree of animosity in their tone and manners."

Ele had maintained an neutral reaction to the officious little man who was so puffed up in his own little mind with how important he was in the scheme of things. It was fortunate that he could not read her mind. It would have quickly deflated his delusion of adequacy.

After Kyara question Ele responds simple, "I have noticed." It also seems that your merchant tale has besmirched you reputation without you having any recourse to the take he spread."