Camilla chuckled and looked around the store room. It was hardly a palace but it beat sleeping under a bush or beneath a wagon on the trail. Also Ricardo was clearly picking up the tab via whatever arrangement he had with the Madam of the place. She had to admit that was a clever ruse. People tended to watch inns and flop houses but who looked at a brothel and, if a man were to come and go at odd times or in secrecy? What could be more natural than a man wishing to keep his identity a secret while visiting a bordello? Unfortunately there wasn't a convenient way to modify it for female use.

"At least there are no beastmen," she said with a wry smile and they both laughed. Camilla felt her eye lids beginning to droop when Ricardo returned carrying a roll of bedding over each shoulder.

"Snug as a bug," he said in his accented Reikspeil and spread the bedding out on the floor.

"Plus," he went on, white teeth visible as his face split into a smile, "They have a bath."

_____________________________________________________________________________

By the time the morning sun climbed towards noon Camila was beginning to understand why Ricardo had been so eager to have them help him. "Antiques dealer" had an irritatingly broad definition in Marienburg, encompassing everyone from halflings peddling stolen and counterfeit artifacts, to official collectors from the Colleges of Magic. None of them it seemed answered to the name Krolsh or had ever heard of anyone who did. That surprised Camilla as Ricardo had said that he was well known in his circle, certainly well known enough to gain a favorable response from the Countessa Di Riario. It seemed to her that occasionally the people the asked looked away a little too quickly or seemed a little too nervous.

They met at a tavern by the docks known as the longshoreman for a lunch consisting of fried fish and potatoes. The tavern also served a dark black ale which Camilla found to be delicious once she got over her revulsion at the color.

"No one has heard of him," Ricardo snarled as he finished his fish, "No one knows where he is or even if he exists. Worse yet everyone looks like they have been caught with their neighbours wife when we ask!" He hit the table with his hand, rattling the cuttlery. Camilla swallowed a bite of the food and was momentarily struck with homesickness. Imperial food tended towards the bland and the boiled, back in Tilea she could have had pasta with... the thought trailed off and she froze with her hand to her mouth.

"Tilea," she said, following the logic to its conclusion.

"What about it?" Ricardo asked sullenly.

"They know we are from Tilea, someone must have known people might come after the scarrab and that those people would be from Tilea." Ricardo knitted his brows at the words.

"Son of a bitch," he breathed, "They have all been paid not to talk to us." Camilla nodded.

"And worse by now every antique peddler in the city knows we are asking." Richardo slumped in momentary defeat but Camilla's mind was still whirling.

"Did he have guards with him? Back in Tilea?" she asked, spearing a potato with her knife. Ricardo nodded.

"Yes of course, a pair of them, big armored imperials with black beards." Camilla looked at Cydric.

"Rather than asking around people who have been paid not to tell us, why dont you ask around local mercenaries?" Camilla said.

"We could just go back to some of those we asked and pull out their fingernails until they tell us," Ricardo said, still somewhat sulky. Camilla shook her head again. Her hair was getting long and would need to be trimmed soon.

"No, we should keep asking as though we aren't onto them, that way they won't know we have tumbled the scheme. We can keep their eyes on us until Cydric finds what we need."

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