Chapter 6: The Night in Lut!
-----Seth hops down from the wagon and approaches the well-dressed farmer. "Greetings Friend, If you be Joggler, we have a wagon to unload for ya. Oh and by the way we have a green skinned bandit up on the wagon. Do ya know if we can get a bounty on his skin?"
-----The man gives Seth an odd look and motions Jim to drive the wagon back to the barn. He briskly walks ahead of the wagon and opens the barn door. He then takes a hold of one of the horses’ bridle leading the horse driven wagon inside.
-----The man then walks back and closes the barn door behind them. The inside of the barn sort of has a cozy feel to it as it helps shut out the cool breeze. The smell of farm animals fills the noses of the thieves.
-----They watch the man turn to face Seth. The brown colored tabard looks immaculate in contrast to the straw hat he wears. The man has a wide nose and with his pale skin and light hair, he reminds the trio of tales of Nor barbarians.
-----Looking down at Seth, he says in a peculiar accent, "Ja, I be Jogler. Ye have da goods? Vat be dis bandit ye speak of?" His voice has a bouncing sound to it as he speaks. He lights a lantern and moves to the back of the wagon.
-----Peering in, he stares at the thieves’ prisoner. He narrows, then widens his eyes. Suddenly, he gasps, "Yuppin’ Yiminies! Der be no gren-skin bandit yer bringin’ me! Dat’s orc! Vhere dist ya gits da orc?"
-----Jogler looks at the thieves with a look of amazement.
-----"Ahh so this is an Orc is it? Umm, Oh, we just found it wandering the woods and decided it would make a nicer pet than Dread Pirate Gimplefwick’s parrot. He wants to train it to do tricks and things. Actually it attacked us on the road near this old abandoned village not far from here." (Visions of the Orc sitting on Dread's shoulder squawking 'pieces of eight’ distract Seth for a moment.) "The goods are in the secret compartment." Seth regards the man "So is there a bounty on orc skins here?"
-----"Out in the ruins 'bout four hours from here," Kazel emerges from the shadows behind the orc, smiling as she pats it on the head. "It'd be nice if we can sell it along with the goods we got down in this wagon."
-----With one hand on the orc's forehead, she nimbly hops over the creature and off the wagon. Her cloak flies dramatically behind her as she lands lightly on the ground.
-----Jogler lifts his hat and scratches his head. "Der be ah . . . how ye say . . . booty hunter in de village o’ Nyh. Jogler not be handlin’ orcs. Not good lookin’ fer Jogler ta move! Ye take to Hearthorn or turn de brute into a patrol ye might meet."
-----"So, shall we get down to business?" Kazel says looking up at the large man.
-----Jogler nods to Kazel, and with the help of the Dread Pirate and Seth, unloads the humanoid from the wagon first. They leave it tied up and set it down by a post that supports the barn’s roof.
-----The trio, Jogler, and Jim set about unloading the "goods" from the wagon. They set apart the three shields and swords they confiscated from the orcs. Next comes off some of the small boxes and crates that hid the secret compartment. Jim then reaches down and opens the secret compartment exposing the longer locked box. There is also a smaller trinket type box that the boy lifts out.
-----After Jogler lifts the longer box out of the compartment, Jim hands him the key. "Ja, I kin tell by za veight, ye bring good veapons ta Jogler!" he says smiling, hoisting the box. He fits the key in the lock and opens the lid. A shocked look crosses the big man’s face and he lifts his lantern to get a better look. He reaches in the box and the thieves can hear his hand moving, scattering small items around.
-----"Vat ist dis?" He finally asks with an upset look on his face, "Vhere are za veapons? Dere ist some mistake! Dese Jogler cannot move!"
-----As the thieves peer into the box, they see it is filled with small round grayish-colored disks about the size of . . . coins!
-----Gimplefwick crowds around with everyone else to see the gray chunks of metal. He then rubs his forehead and looks at the others, "Ummm. I think we could be in trouble. The only question now is, do we go back to Hearthorn or run for our lives?" Gimplefwick wanders off and commences slicing off bits of apple and flinging them at the orc. Eventually he wanders back over, "Well, I'd say we head back and try to make the best of it. Who knows, we might stand a chance against that other gang."
-----Kazel raises her eyebrows as she rakes the coins with a finger. "Hmph, well, I guess Calron's dead meat. If not from those folks, then probably from us." She eyes Jogler carefully, then takes one of the gray disks in her hand and starts examining it. "And what about that smaller box - what's in that?"
-----Jogler reaches for the smaller box and opens it. A relieved look meets what he sees. "Ja, dis ist more like it!" He begins to pull out small pieces of jewelry. He examines a few rings, necklaces and silver chains.
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