Guthbert smiled a little. He reached up and stroked his chin, then mused as he regarded Flint, "Well, if you just [i]ran[/i] and took the gemstones, you'd be missing out on a lot more. And I chose this part of town for a reason. Everyone in this room has gotten a good look at all of you, and if you should choose to try and cheat me, well..."

One of the more thuggish looking folk in the background peered back at the gathering and sipped from his mug. He definitely didn't look gentle.

"But it won't come to that, because we're all smart men here, aren't we?" Lord Guthbert paced over to the side and inspected his fingernails. "I need people I can depend on, people that aren't going to be frightened off by a few rumored phantoms in the rubble of an old fort. I need people who are willing to banish the fears of the stupid folk dwelling down south, people without superstitions. You'd be surprised how rare that is in these parts."