Gorun listened with interest to Aehren's suggestion.  The young man was certainly very clever, and his solution was one that showed the clear confidence in his status as a high noble.  The kid was smiling, and he would certainly turn into a master politician with some time.  However, first the smirk needed to go away and then the arrogance.

Gorun's problem with the idea had more to do with Aehren's position in the empire than anything else.  Otherwise it was a great plan.  Gorun let Jericho finish asking his questions and after a few seconds thought up his reply to each of them.  The dwarf tried to keep his tone respectful as he replied.

[color=gold]"While killing Eren would give us a bounty and perhaps a passage out of the city, it might cause some problems because of you and me as members of the upper half of the nobility.  

Your actions reflect on your house.  Are you sure no members of your house supported him?  With the conflicts growing in the east, my understanding is that your house has been receiving less attention from the crown.  Perhaps they wanted a more favorable king?  Maybe they want internal fighting as a way to gain greater independence?  Even if your house is completely loyal, some may view this as a form of trying to be the emperor's lapdog.  

Somebody is going to be upset because of his death or otherwise there wouldn't be a bounty on him in the first place.  Perhaps someone will simply try to take credit for Eren's death, which would have some legitimacy if it was the guy who stabbed him.

I don't know too much about the situation regarding Eren, and perhaps you already have considered these matters."[/color]

Gorun's tone dropped to something like depression.  It was obvious a sad memory had come up in his mind when thinking of the next part of his reply.

[color=gold]Secondly, if you declare your rank someone is going to follow us, for some reason, including killing you.  I'm not sure if I'm in the mood to fight off a gallant with a political objective.

I'm not nearly as high in the chain of nobility as you are, but I've had some problems like these in the past."[/color]

Suddenly his voice became cheerful as the memory faded from his focus.

[color=gold]"But honestly, that was a fantastic suggestion our ranks aside.  Keep it up and I expect you to get us out of a sticky situation one day."[/color]

Gorun turned to Jericho, nodding at him.  [color=gold]"It's sort of a well known secret in the dwarvern community, so I wouldn't really be asking for too much trust in the first place.  Additionally it wouldn't be for free.  I would be willing to give off a small enchantment to gain acess to a higher quality tunnel."[/color]  The second part of the question made Gorun raise his eyebrow and a full smile cross his face.  [color=gold]"The day a dwarvern tunnel fails unintentionally is the day I'll give out my higher level enchantments for free."[/color]

The dwarf took a swig of his ale, and pulled out one of the apple pies his wife baked lovingly from a small stack in the corner of the room.  The pan had special runes on it to make it the ultimate storage device.  Gorun pulled out a pair of gloves and Lustro.  With a whisper, the dwarf activated the gold coin and it burst into flames.  In a few minutes, the coin would be drained and the pie heated.