Camilla followed Cydric down the stairs to the common room. The barmaid gave him her usual simpering glance. It occurred to Camilla that the woman had a point. The Imperial soldier was handsome in a muscular strong sort of way and he moved with an assurance that any woman would find appealing. It helped immeasurably that he was scrubbed clean for the first time since she had met him of course. In her mind this seemed like a false Cydric though. When she pictured him it wasn't in clean clothes ordering an ale, it was charging into a goblin camp with his sword held in a death grip, or wincing as an enemies blow landed on his shield, laughing at some obsecene jest of Ivan's. She gave the girl a wan smile and flipped her a copper piece as she passed, the truth was always more complex than the fantasy.

Although it was early, the streets of Middenhiem were already bustling. Smoke rose from dozens of braziers and the smell of cooking meat and burning charcoal filled the morning air. Hawkers cried their wares as tradesmen and laborers hurried to their days work. Ragged beggars thrust bowls out at passers by begging for coins and alms. Here and there a prosperous noble on horse back forced his way impatiently through the crowd, or some rich merchants wife was carried by in a palanquin by sweating servants.

It took them nearly a water of an hour to reach the marketplace. The great roar of commerce filled the air as criers shouted their wares and merchants haggled over products of which Camilla could only identify a handful. Pickpocket too worked the crowd, here and there a quick fingered boy or 'blind' old man relieved passers by of their excess wealth. Having survived a few years on the street before her looks gave her the chance to escape Camilla could see the signs. She patted her small pouch of coins, securely stowed beneath her undershirt. It would take a surgeon to cut her purse out.

They headed towards the area where the jewelers seemed to be congregated. It would have been a mistake to suggest that the market was organized enough to have particular areas for particular trades, but it was human nature to group like with like. By the nature of their businesses jewelers tended to have shops, the better to discourage smash and grabs, and they usually employed strong looking men to make the prospect even more unappealing.

Camilla quickly convinced the tradesmen that she wasn't some rube who had won the few pieces she was willing to display in a card game and with the revelation of that knowledge the slimy aquesence vanished and serious haggling began. It took about another half hour to strike a bargain and reduce two bracelets into a very agreeable pile of gold Imperials. Camilla converted some of it into silver immedeately by purchasing several small sapphire pieces wrought in a more conventional style.

[b]"If I know jewels but I don't by anything people will think I am a theif," [/b]she explained when Cydric asked her about the purchases.

[b]"Plus I need something to wear for the ball don't I,"[/b] she joked. To that end she was about to suggest they head for a dress maker when she caught some movement in the corner of her eye. A casual glance showed a nondescript grey glad man vanishing through a doorway. She pursed her lips and forced herself to look back to her new sapphire pendant before tucking it away in her pouch. She would have sworn she had seen that man before, back by the second goldsmith she had visited and then again by the wine merchant whose wagon had broken an axel.

[b]"Alright, do we want to grab some food, or do you know where we can get started on our other business?"[/b] she inquired.

[@POOHEAD189]