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"Hello adventurer, might I have your ear for a moment? We of the church of Nidrasil, god of Trades are in need of someone to recover our stolen artifact. Last night it was taken from us and these brigands took the Golden Scales from right in front of us. We are offering 1,500 gold for its safe return. We have know idea where those thieves are or if they are even within the walls of the city anymore."

The priestess blinked for a moment then laughed,
"Forgive my manners, my name is Alissa Sandrimus. I hope that you will take up this challenge for us, as without this sacred relic, the church's powers are greatly diminished."

"Oh, I understand your trepidation, these are uncertain times. Indeed, the Golden Scales were guarded by both magical and physical protection. Somehow the thief or thieves managed to temporarily disable our magical wards and silence the alarms that were in place. Only one of our clerics were injured in the assault, he was raked by two sets of claws, which leads me to believe that there may have been a beast amongst the brigands. In any event, they are gone now, and with them our relic... I only pray that we will be able to recover it as soonas possible; I have no idea why they would steal something so precious as the Golden Scales. With them gone, the produce and economy will slowly decline..."

The priestess sighed and ran her hand across her holy symbol that hung from her porcelain neck.

Erron closed his eyes and sighed "A pair of claws eh? Then it seems that your thieves may well include our captor, as we got to the entrance we spotted a man by his side wielding such a specialized weapon, and I wouldn't be surprised if the mage was after your relic: we borrowed a book on legendary weaponry from his study, it seems there is something larger afoot. It seems to me that your relic could be somehow tied to us, could you tell me more about what it's power is?"

Erron stood and looked at Prometheus and said "So much for being left alone, Haven will have to wait." He then whispered to Prometheus "I have a strange feeling about that elf you were talking to, he has no reason to hide his face....elves are well accepted among these lands: do you think he was trying to hide his identity from us?"

"I don't know how much more I can tell you, nobody knows where they are, who they were or anything about what they wanted with the relic other than ransom money, but since no note has been found regarding the capture of the item or demands for money, we know not what is going on. As for the scale's powers... It's primarily symbolic, however it does contain the measurement of wealth and trade within this city. When it is not kept within its rightful place in the temple, it causes the economy to decline slowly. You can understand that such an artifact is of great importance to the Town of Trades. I wish you luck adventurers.. for all our sakes. I will be awaiting in the Temple of Nidrasil if you need our services."

With that, she stepped up from her table and exited the tavern.

"Hail travelers! I am Phineas Fairhand, merchant extraordinaire. I have traded with the orcs to the north, the dwarves in the east and the humans and halflings who abound in this world! I couldn't help but overhear that you were intending on visiting Haven? Wonderful place, the grandest city of humans. I happen to have a large caravan intent on reaching Haven. We are carrying a large supply of lumber and stone and are in need of some assistance in our escort. You see, we hire mercenaries to guard us on our journey from town to town and would be happy to have such capable hands guarding us. I would offer you the position, however the recent theft of that artifact from the temple has placed the entire town on lockdown, the city watch will not allow anyone to leave or enter after the theft from last night."

The well dressed elven merchant sighed and took a long draw from his wooden pipe, spraying out a small amount of fumes from his lips. He then turned to the monk again.

"Should the situation resolve itself, you can find me at the city gates, preparing my caravan and my men. I'll offer you a fine reward, one thousand gold in advance, one thousand when we reach Haven safely. If you're wondering about the extravagant pay, it is for insurance, there are more than a few bandits about on the roads now a days. Anywho, I bid you farewell adventurers!"

The merchantman took a deep bow, his cloak spinning behind him as he stepped out the door of the tavern.

Prometheus was ready to lay an assault on the ship, and hopefully capture the elf.

"I'm ready, but we must stay alert, unless that scale has a power that out 'friend' needs, it is most likely a trap. And if my suspicions are right about my contact, it is a trap," He said to the group.

It is early morning and the air is thick with the smell of salt as it wafts from the waters below the docks, the cries of seagulls echo throughout the entire district. While there are not many sailors about, there are a handful bustling to and fro throughout the docks, carrying cargo and securing materials. Your eyes are drawn to the numerous ships located in the port. A very large and intimidating vessel dominates the sight of the others, its massive plaque reads "The Groaning Ogre". There are two guards standing outside its boarding plank.