Varel continues to attend to the hatchling’s needs, being careful to keep herself out of the line of fire of any further burps. The sun has neared setting when Ereazaru finally returns, carrying a small sack over her shoulder.“Ooh!” She coos, upon seeing the baby dragon. “I see I am a little too late! I would have preferred to be here for the hatching, but you all seem to have taken excellent care of her in my absence.” She scoops up the tiny terror and nuzzles it lovingly. “Such a darling! She is so beautiful!”
She looks at Varel. “I knew I could count on you. Tell me, what is your name?”
“Varel,” the young druidess replies quietly, with just a hint of sadness in her voice as she realizes that her days of surrogate motherhood have come to an end. “Varel Dawnsong.”
Ereazaru smiles. “Then I shall name her Ravarellzea,” she declares. “Did you know that dragons have a faultless memory? Indeed, they can recall everything, even their time in the egg. Know that this little one will never forget you, Varel Dawnsong, nor the tenderness she knew in her first days. Long after you have died, your face and name will be remembered, and perhaps your story will be passed on to her own offspring.”
“Likewise,” she adds, “I shall never forget your kindness.” She drops her sack to the ground. “Ravarellzea and I must now depart for a safer haven than this cave. Please accept this gift as a token of my gratitude and goodwill.” She smiles at the party again and walks away, the baby dragon dozing peacefully in her arms as if it belonged there all this time. “Farewell!”
Her departure is followed soon after by a strong rhythmic wind that rustles the forest canopy, as if a massive creature is taking flight.
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"Ereazaru seems to think that nothing was amiss," Salbadore gravely pronounces to the rest of the party. "Perhaps Benedick was less of a liar than I thought - it seems that the hatchlings would have only destroyed one another after all."
"Well, all's well that ends well, I suppose. Perhaps we should get back on the road."
"Duly, Ralaurizea, we should move on before Orthos brings bad luck upon us.
"But - Varel, what's in the sack?"
Mercurio points to Orthos to add to his comment; "...yet!"
The party examines the contents of the sack. Like the magic bag Nibben received from Qroc, it seems capable of holding more than its outer dimensions would suggest.
Varel reaches in and retrieves two handfuls of potions, as well as a container of what appears to be a salve of some kind. The bag also holds an ornate quiver, a large cone of incense, a staff engraved with the likenesses of various animals, a gaudy gold ring with an onyx stone, a belt made of silk the color of saffron, a shiny silver helmet, and a silver bracelet with four small charms hanging off of it. Salbadore informs the party that all these items will take many hours to properly identify.
Last but not least, Varel pulls forth a flawless emerald the size of a small gourd. "This is really pretty," she remarks, and asks Salbadore, "How much do you think it's worth?"
Salbadore's eyes bug out a little and his breathing quickens. He struggles to find his voice, which seems to have temporarily failed him. "Tw... twe..!"
"Twe?" Varel asks. "Twelve?" She frowns, then realizes, "Oh, you must mean twelve hundred! Wow, that's a lot of money."
"Twen... twenty..!"
"Twenty??"
"Twenty-one thousand!!" Salbadore finally exclaims.
Laurie gasps. "Surely, Salbadore, you must be mistaken. Twenty thousand?"
"As for the others, maybe we should camp here for the evening, properly equip ourselves, and head out bright and early in the morning?"
"Nay! A gemcutter's son knows a gem, and that is a rare piece of treasure!"
"Roit, I'll kip th' ice an yeh c'n share th' smellin' sticks an' big sticks wit' critters on that an' th' like. We deal?"
He looks around at the blank stares.
"Oy, c'mon, then," he says with a smile, "I no' chime a peep a few week, figger yeh miss me roguish charm, that."
"To squander a fortune on ripe women and ale, I suppose?" Salbadore shoots Mercurio a withering look, only to wither himself. Serious yet, he explains, "I think we'll be sure of what we have first."
Mercurio stands at full height as he looks down at Salbadore, returning his gaze. He cocks his head to the side as his face takes a curious smirk. At Salbadore's shrinking gaze and comment, he laughs.
"Change that, guv'nah. Ripe 'ores and ol' ale. Th' worse make th' sick, that!"
He laughs again. "Lemme ken wot ya split th' jink, aye? 'Long as we no' need spread deer shite onnit again, that."
"Aye. I fear we may simply sell this," says Salbadore as he holds the hefty rock up to the light. It catches a dim ray that has passed through the forest canopy. "It is a particularly fine stone, however." Salbadore looks up. "I think it is enough to say we are on our way to earning our fortunes . . . Hear, then!"
"Verily it dawns on me that I could just now identify some of these items. This -" Salbadore rummages through the sack and withdraws the gold ring "- piece is interesting. Garish as its mounting is, this stone is quite fine. To my eye it seems special. Give me a short while and we shall see what I can learn about it and our other gains."
Salbadore pores over the sack and its contents for about two hours, paying special attention to the gold and opal ring.
Shortly he announces, "Ah! Yes! It is something of great value - this is one of the Rings of Rolesh. I cannot fathom how it might have to come to rest in the hoard of a dragon, but I know its purpose. It is a mnemonic enhancer, meant to be used by a mage." Salbadore tries the ring on. His face lights up, "Ah, yes, I see how this works. I am happy to admit that it will do little good on any finger but mine.
"As for these other things, I did not get the chance to study them as thoroughly. Assuredly, the magics in this staff are related to animals - Varel, you may be able to discern its use if you handle it.
"The quiver obviously has an effect on arrows. Laurie, if you take a shot or two in the woods, we may learn something about it. I would not recommend its overuse just yet. Its magics may be limited.
"We know what the bag does. It'll be days before I will be able to describe the functions of the staff, the quiver, and the rest of these things." He unapologetically admires the ring on his finger.
Laurie gladly takes the quiver and spends some time practicing with it.
Varel exclaims, "Wow, we made out like bandits!" She studies the new staff intently.
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