Closed.

"Of course." Xirin nodded. "Pick any room you'd like. There are five on the upper floor, all of them empty. I'll be in the one at the end of the corridor." He said, walking out of the living room. "Feel free to explore the house."

With the Elf gone, Dhea had the house to herself. Being a Noble, Xirin must have had all sorts of valuables in his home, or even magical items that would prove useful for her spells. She could snoop around. Or she could find a bath and take some time for herself. Otherwise, if she wanted to simply rest, she could pick one of the offered rooms.

- Explore.
- Eat.
- Take a bath.
- Go to one of the other rooms to sleep.
- Go to Xirin's room.
 
Dhea could sleep after exploring, after trying to find something that could held in the more immediate present. Then, maybe she could force herself to sleep alone again.
 
The living room had a few notable items, just a couple of vases with wilted flowers and some candle holders. She had to climb upstairs and explore the rooms on the second floor. There were mostly bedrooms there, with anything more exciting than a bed and a dresser. However, when she opened the third door on the right, she walked into a study. There was a large desk at the far end of the room, with papers strewn over it and a cabinet just to the right, with glass doors and a couple of boxes with jewelry and some very expensive writing utensils.

- Steal the jewelry.
- Steal the writing equipment.
- Search the desk.
 
Dhea didn't feel right stealing anything from Xirin, after he'd been so kind to her. As good as the idea of having something to sell for gold was, it was not worth the loss of trust from the Elf. She made her way to the desk, however. There could be more information there.
 
Among the papers on the desk she found some official looking documents that referred to trading business that Khare did over the Jabaji river. There was another interesting document that talked about Khare's current lockdown. It was the idea of the First Noble, apparently. He thought that the Archmage would soon come knocking on Khare's doors and felt some security was in order. The Nobles gathered and made a spell to close the doors. Nothing was written about why are the guards not letting people go out into the Shamutanti Hills, however.

But something else called out to Dhea. She reached to open a drawer of the desk, and found a small brass pendulum, with a familiar glow that all the magical items had.

- Take it and go sleep.
- Leave it and go sleep.
 
Dhea looked at the brass pendulum and tucked it into her pockets. She never knew when that might come in handy. Now that she was satisfied with exploring his home, she would go down to sleep.
 
The brass pendulum will help Dhea with a sleeping spell. It will allow her to cause all living creatures to fall to sleep in a matter of seconds.

--

In the morning, Xirin woke her up with a meal and another cup of tea. The Elf looked to be in a much better shape as they ate, though Dhea could not help but notice two large traveling bags packed up and left in a corner. He would be gone soon.

"Don't worry. My house will be available for you tonight as well." He said with a small smile. Dhea could go explore freely and be able to sleep in Xirin's home one more night at least.

--

Dhea walked out of Xirin's home and through a couple of side alleys, following the noise. It was early morning now and she would have many hours for exploring. Soon enough she emerged onto a square filled with people. Fireview Square.

The arch at the far end of the square was thronged with more creatures, all of different races and mixes. There seemed to be a bustling hub beyond. A market district. From a side alley two Red-eye guards emerged, looking around intently. They turned their faces this way and that, however, they were unable to catch a whiff of Dhea. After a couple of moments they disappeared from view.

A pedlar with a tray around his neck walked past Dhea in the square. "Ankleworth! Blimberry! Poultice of Millweed!" He hawked his wares.

- Explore the square.
- Talk to the herbalist.
- Continue south on the main road.
 
Dhea was not so interested in the herbalist as she should be, so she delicately avoided him and took to exploring the square. She could find Lorag after her curiosity was sated.
She was also hoping to find a way to get more gold. She felt that she might need it more than ever.
 
On one side of the square Dhea could see an arched monument, with a crowd gathered around it which was so thick that it was hard to take a good look at it. She had to elbow her way through to get to the stone construction. Clambering up the two small steps toward it she could finally get to see it fully. It was a very strange looking thing - with n arched entrance in the middle and a small chamber inside that was completely empty, except for a small circular rug on the floor.

Very close to the monument stood a fruit vendor, selling rations and all kinds of exotic fruit.

- Throw something in the monument.
- Step into the monument.
- Talk to the fruit vendor.
- Leave the square.
 
Dhea eyed the monument and remembered what Rhain had said. This was likely a Portal and she did not want to mess with those. She shook her head and turned to the fruit vendor, her brow raised.
“Why is everyone so eager to look at this? It’s empty.”
 
"Morning." The fruit vendor declared morosely. "I'd say it's a beautiful day, but it isn't. The people here are all idiots, I have no time to think about their idiotic behaviour." He responded in a very gloomy manner. "Would you like to buy something? Two pieces for the apples, four for the Bomba."

He waved a hand across an eclectic tray of fruit, all of it rotten, except for one glistening Bomba fruit.

"No one buys any fruit here, that's why it all goes rotten." The vendor offered an explanation. She would not get anything more out of him.

- Buy some rotten fruit.
- Buy the Bomba fruit.
- Leave.
 
Dhea was not interested in the rotting produce, but the Bomba fruit caught her interest. She fished out four pieces of gold and handed them to the vendor.
“I’ll take the Bomba fruit, please.”
She even offered him a winning smile.
 
"It's good for you they say." The vendor nodded, taking the money and giving over the heavy produce. The Bomba was very tasty, but also heavy to carry, and always expensive.

The vendor rearranged the fruit as Dhea took the Bomba, muttering something to himself.

The main road continued on Dhea's right hand side, on the river bank. She slipped into the shadow of tall buildings. The houses on either side were well built and well defended - there were iron railings on the windows, and some even had arrow slits and portcullises. One householder had dug a moat across his front door. It was a neighbourhood of miniature fortresses.

Outside one such building a tall man stood, holding a grappling hook. As Dhea approached his way he swung the grappling hook twice, aiming for one of the windows on the floor above. The hook missed and clattered to the street below, and the man cursed, before gathering up the rope for another try.

- Ask what's he doing.
- Ignore him and continue.
 
Dhea looked at the man for a few seconds, before approaching him.
“What are you doing?”
She assumed it was an attempt to break into the house, but she wanted to see what lie he was going to try and concoct. It’d be amusing.
 
The man turned his bearded face to Dhea, his eyebrows furrowed and a troubled look on his face. "Stranger. I am in quite a fix." He admitted, gathering the rope for another swing. "I've been locked out. This is my home and I have lost my key. But I've got a terrible throw, as you can probably see."

- Help him.
- Ask for directions.
- Leave him be.
 
“Uh huh.”
Dhea narrowed her eyes at the man, her head tilting. She sighed, before holding out her hand.
“If you’re lying...”
She was going to help him. But just this once. If he was a thief, she’d make sure something would happen.
 
"Thank you stranger, much appreciated." The man nodded with a grin. He handed the grapple over to Dhea and indicated the window he was after.

Dhea swung and threw the grapple. It caught the sill of the window up above.

"Excellent!" The man exclaimed. "Thank you!" He took the rope, tugged it twice and then begun to climb. At the window ledge he paused and called to someone on the inside, his voice sounding slightly frightened. "Esme? Esme? Please put the knife down Esme." With that he clambered over the window sill and into the house.

For a couple of moments nothing happened. Then after a while, the man reappeared, sliding down the rope in a hurry, landing on his backside painfully. He stood up and dusted himself off. "I should never have married an Elvin." He mutters with a grumble. "Nice eyes. Very unforgiving." With that he hobbled away, as whoever lived in the house, pulled the rope and the grapple through the window, slamming the shutters closed.

- Continue ahead.
 
Dhea didn’t even comment as she continued forward. What happened with the man was none of her business, though she did slightly sympathise with his wife.
She was focused on the task at hand. Finding Lorag.
 
As Dhea continued on the street she noticed how it was falling into disrepair around her. Something had blighted this region of the City - even the trees in the gardens behind the mansions have turned black where they stood. The only greenery was the moss on the stone walls. There were no rats scurrying underfoot and only spiders roosted in the rooftops.

Dhea passed a particularly grand house, its doors locked with a heavy iron chain. There was a metal L bolted beneath one gable. Perhaps it was the mark of the owner or perhaps is was there simply to stop the wall falling out onto the street.

- Pry open the chain.
- Cast a spell.
- Continue on.
 
Dhea looked over the chain, her fingers tugging at it experimentally. She wasn’t sure if she should even enter the place, but something told her that this was a place of interest.
She attempted to pry open the chain.
 
She picked at the padlock with her knife, managing to pry it open, but blunting her knife in the process. The chain tumbled to the ground, allowing her to slip through the wide doors into the old and empty house.

The inside of it was dark, but Dhea could see that it was a mansion on a grand scale. There were at least three floors and two great doors leading off to wings on either side of the entrance hall. From the back of the house came a voice.

"The Lord is no longer here."

- Ask who is there.
- Ask which Lord.
- Say that you know.
 
Dhea’s fingers tightened around her dagger, and she narrowed her eyes.
“Which Lord?”
She could ask who the voice belonged to later. It was not at the forefront of her mind.
 
The figure shambled forward, resolving itself out of the darkness into a tall Ogre wearing the livery of a man-servant. "Lord Lorag is no longer among the living. He will not be returning for some time. Please leave."

1331158914129.jpg

- Ask about his return.
- Ask about his spell line.
- Attach him.
- Cast a spell.
 
“Of course...it wouldn’t be that bloody easy...”
Dhea lowered her head, before trying to seem a little less annoyed. It wouldn’t help. But, she was so sick of being yanked around, of being lead one way and thrown in the other.
But she wouldn’t take this anger out on this ogre. He had done nothing.
“Do you know anything about your Lord’s spell line?”
 
"I do not know. The Lord was always mysterious. He left me in charge here to take care of his belongings until he returns. That's what he said. And then he died." The Ogre replied. "My service will continue regardless." Then he stepped toward Dhea, not very friendly looking, yet not aggressive. "I must now ask you to step outside. If you wish to pay respects to my Lord, his grave is behind the house." He made Dhea step back to the doors, clearly not letting her stay inside the mansion any longer. It was time for her to leave.

- Look for Lorag's grave.
- Leave down the street.
 
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