Amal had seen a lot of gold in his life (generally other's gold and not his), and yet it still gave him joy to see more of it everytime he did. The brass and silver would work wonders for his mood as well, and ontop of it all, he had a new ring! Enchanted or not, it was valuable and he was curious on what secrets it held. However, first thing was first. They had not eaten or supped drink other than river water for quite awhile now, and they needed to restock their packs. 

"Gold and jewels make a fine background for a dinner over wine, yes?" He asked her in Riekspiel, his eyebrows wiggling. 

He got to work on cutting the pork, finding silver plates in the pile to use. Despite the decorum of the rock, the crackling fire, and the distant sound of water, it felt positively high class. Amal even did away with his usual rougher eating habits (for the most part), though he did drink the Arak and what wine they found greedily. He poured his new friend of fortune a glass as well, and for a time they simply enjoyed the fire and the drink. 

Soon they were laughing, Amal telling Emmaline some of the less reputable situations he had found himself in. The latest involving a naked Amal awakening atop the locked vault of a local official, having spent the time smoking Dohka with the guards and a few escorts, only to fall victim to the second hand smoke itself and unable to steal from the administrator of Al-Hiekk's finances. "Speaking of which," he said, producing his midwakh pipe. "Have you ever partaken?" He leaned in, his smile as taking as the treasure beside them. 

"Don't worry, I only have a small bit of Dohka left," he assured her. "Neither of us will be waking up naked. At least, not without conscious consent." His grin was wide, and the wine must have gotten to her for she took a drag or two of the pipe, as Amal did as well. It gave a very nice mellow feeling to the night, the wine and Arak warm in their bellies. It was then Emmaline caught glimpse of her Cobra staff, the ruby eyes enchanting in the fire light. 

She had decided it was time to inspect the staff to its fullest extent, and she was drawn in by the gaze of the item teasingly. For a moment, it was like pure lust, or perhaps goldfever. Her jaw went slack and her eyes glimmered with the ruby's shine, until she realized what was happening. The luster of the rubies had an enthralling quality, one that likely lead to enchanting those who didn't expect it. 

Yet still she delved deeper, confident that she could control it once she was aware of the effects. Further she went, until the cobra's eyes had swallowed her up into a world of red and molten gold, and her body felt a thrill the likes of which she had only experienced in her most passionate moments of life. She did not know when it had happened, or how, but she was now herself a Cobra. A massive Cobra, deadly and sinuously beautiful all at once, coiling around an unknown sultan who begged for her forgiveness and her favor, in vain of course. 

Gold, jewels, and whatever she desired began to flood below her massive form until she sat upon a mountain of wealth, power, and pleasures, and just as she reared back to strike the sultan with her fanged maw, there was a poof of smoke that enshrouded her eyes, and she was yanked out of the vision when she heard Amal cry "HEY!" A few head shakes later, she had found herself still looking into the staff, and behind the staff was a massive Ogre, holding Amal up by his vest. A massive beast with a fu-man chu covering his chin, and he looked to be missing one eye within a massive scar that left the orb milky white. 

"Who the maw are you?" the Ogre reviled, menacingly. "You are not Achmed." 

Amal only knew two things about Ogres. Both of them being common knowledge. They had voracious appetites, and they sold themselves as swords for hire the world over. Neither he could use to his advantage at the moment, so he slipped out of his vest by raising his arms, to land nimbly on the ground, shirtless and oiled with persperation from the fire and wine. "Hold, my friend..." Amal said, reaching behind his sash belt to his dagger, in only Emmaline's line of sight. He backed up slowly as he did so. 

"They are all dead I am afraid, but that does not mean we cannot work something out..."
[@Penny]