"Don't touch that!" Yashar screamed as the ogre attempted to pet that giant Quaggoth. No matter how fun it would be to watch something like that to unfold, he wasn't willing to lose an stupid ogre who wanted to help. It was probably the biggest amount of muscle for the smallest amount of gold he would ever find. As Tugrok slowly turned to him, he continued, "Maybe as a reward I can make you remeber what you wanted as a reward?" The mage was starting to regret his decision to hire those monsters. Had he not been exiled from human society, he'd be more than glad to turn those monsters away and hire a bunch of mercenaries. The absence of this kind of bullshit would be worth the extra gold he'd have to pay.
"Come close to the door and I'll explain it all", Yashar shouted. He doubted that the Ogre would possibly fit through the door. If he dared to leave the tower, he'd probably would be forced to hold the meeting outside. When he turned to look for his other guests, he found the orc unconfortably close to him. The only ones who'd get this close of him were usually the city whores."Wat u need dat iz so shiny ta get us boyz fo?", the orc partially said, partially screamed. He was so close that the mage could smell not only his breath, but the putrid smell of that race. He stared the orc back in the eyes, desiring nothing but to set him ablaze and make him beg for mercy. But he quickly recomposed himself before continuing, "Do you even understand the concept of personal space? Sit in that chait and as soon as that Stride gets here I'll explain it all. By the way, you still haven't told me your name."
The orc sat on his preferred chair, making the mage think of the ridiculous amount of time he'd have to put to clean it later on. "Get down 'ere u midgut! Dem wizur haz a vizito'!", the orc screamed. He was clearly running out of patience. Fortunately, the half blood quickly answered "It's Stride, and what's going on down here...?" However, something seemed off in his voice. Sounded a little... muffled perhabs? Like he was eating or had something in his mouth. Then it finally hit the mage: the cursed staff! A gift given to him by a prankster gnome a few month ago. Yashar was doing his very best to not laugh at the situation and look respectable.
When Stride finally arrived he found the mage standing close to the door and poiting him to a chair. Yashar's face did not betrayed the fact that he knew about the drooling. He pointed a chair to the half elf before starting his small monologue.
"The reason I brought you all here is simple: an unkown mage found out about a book I've been searching for a long time. It is a very powerful book and the main reason why I was cast out of human society.", as his guests didn't seemed to be in a good mood, he quickly continued "The book is deeply tied to a powerful magic, which the origins I do not know. It is very important that you do not touch it. I should also warn you that there is a party of humans trying to get this book, which is why I need this to be done quickly." As the small party did not seemed to be happy about the perspective of fighting in what should be only a quick fetch quest, Yashar added "If that party is killed, not only I'll increase you rewards, but you shall also be able to get some great loot from their bodies. Even greater rewards await if you bring me the wizard who found out about the book. If he's brought alive, the reward will be greater."
Taking a quick look at it's crystal ball he decided to end the day there. "There is an inn near the market, I've made arrangements for you to stay there for free. For our big friends, the stable has been reserved so they have a place to stay. Further information shall be given to you once you get there. If you are willing to take this task, you shall be leaving in the day after the next by nightime."
"Any questions?" He said, with a broad smile on his face.