They traversed the distance in almost no time flat. Leoric grumbled and helped scritch pack up anything valuable into the enchanted pack before hopping down and looking up at the grand expanse of a building.

“Think they’re compensating for something?” Baldir asked as he stared up at the enormous marble pillars towering skywards into gold-leaf plinths.

Blast took a pose on Baldir’s head, curling herself around it and staring out with attentive thin-slit eyes. She sniffed and looked around with eager chuffs.

“What’s she sayin?” Baldir said as he rubbed at his temple.

“Nothing, but you look hungover, my man,” Leoric said.

Baldir shot him a dirty look, squinting one eye to block some of the sunlight. He rummaged in his clothes, pulled out a flask and uncapped the tin thing. A sharp smell of something in the same family as paint thinner met Blast’s nose and she huffed indignantly. He chugged greedily, as if it were nothing more than water.

“Hungover would imply I ever stopped being drunk.” Baldir said.

“Grandpa. Let me ride you. I fear a spark may set this one ablaze,” Blast said with distaste as she scampered around on top of his helmet.

“Alright then,” Leoric said as he reached up for the dragon to crawl into his hands. Blast scrambled to his shoulder and sat upright.

Baldir watched with interest.

“What? Do I smell bad?” Baldir asked.

“She says you could go up like kindling,” Scritch translated. Baldir shrugged it off.

Scritch was wide-eyed, curious and shrewd.

“Scritch, no stealing. The only thing you leave with, here, are things that they tell you specifically that you can have,” Leoric said. Scritch gave a short ‘meh’ of noise and shrugged before eyeing the construction and opulence around them.

Marble pillars towered skywards. Flying buttresses scooped over across the ceiling. Portraits adorned the walls of old human men, noticeably none of other races. The tiled floor echoed beneath them. Smaller pillars sat aside the towering ones, acting a plinths for curious items on display. Scritch’s tail twitched from side to side as her little lizard brain tried to piece together valuable items.

A festooned window grate sat at the end of the hall, positioned a bit too high for Leoric to see over the top of.

“I have coin and I would like to update my sheet,” He said loudly, garnering the attention of a well-dressed priest sitting boredly before him.

“One moment,” He said with a languid sigh before standing, walking away, then coming into full view from a recessed doorway to see them in person. In his hands was a stepstool and he sat it down before the window with a grimace that showed him exactly how little he cared for ‘their type.’ Blast gave him a warbling hiss.

“Please note that it is forbidden to keep fire salamanders as pets in this township and you’d be best to surrender it before town guard comes along,” The man said as he walked away, back into the recessed door and around to sit in his window.

“Why not just make the damned counter a little lower?” Baldir grumbled.

“It’s always been this way,” the attendant said as Leoric climbed the steps and looked over at the man with a huff.

“I have a gold for each of us,” He said sternly and laid the first one down.

The priestly attendant adjusted his robes, reached beneath the counter and put a small crystal ball before him.

“Place a single finger on the top of the ball and I will transcribe what I see,” The priest said.

Leoric pressed his finger and watched as the attendant hastily filled in the blanks on a piece of parchment that had been wood pressed to have varying bars on them.

“Defense good, attack is moderate. High level Druid, eh?” The priest muttered before moving the sheet to the side to let dry.

“Next,” He demanded, looking pointedly at Baldir.

“You’re doing it,” Leoric said with a warning tone.

“No!”

“I agree with grandpa,” Blast said with a huff.

“She agrees with me,” Leoric said.

Baldir shot Blast a dirty look before hefting up the stepping stool and laying his gold coin down.

He did as instructed, pressed his finger to the glass and watched as a soft glow lit from within and showed him what to do.

“Monk?” The priest asked, wrinkling his nose before looking over Baldir’s head to see the curiously staring kobold. She blinked one eye, then the other and raised her tiny hand to wave at him with childlike wriggling fingers. He blanched and looked back to baldir. He had lipstick smeared down his face and neck.

“Nah, Mason,” He grumbled.

“Nah, says here, drunken master,” The priest said as he overrided Baldir’s admittance and wrote what he damned well pleased on the sheet. Baldir walked away with an empty sigh.

The priest began to move the crystal ball away before the persistent clinking of a goold coin hammering against his freshly polished counter met his ears. He looked down to the source and saw Scritch hanging off the edge of the counter.

“I’m sorry, we don’t do animals,” the priest said with a sneer.

“She has gold and we have every capability of making trouble for you,” Leoric said casually.

“Is that a threat?” The priest asked as he stood in defiance.

“No. It’s a promise. Now give this kobold a damned sheet before we decide to set up camp in our carts with our beautiful new used cart. Our donkey isn’t kind to grass, I assure you,” Baldir said for them. She surly looking priest pushed theball out.

“Press a finger to it,” he sighed before watching the soft glow turn bright.

“Okay, the gods are interfering with you, so it’s a blessing or a curse,” he mumbled. He was writing things down on the paper. Scritch was fascinated by the orb.

“Is it supposed to glow this much?” She asked as she found herself having to squint at it.

“No. It’s too bright for me to read all the way,” the priest grumbled as he moved to snatch the orb from Scritch’ touch. His fingers missed the mark, tips fumbled and the small orb jumped its setting and landed to the floor in a crash around them. Scritch looked at the pile of fragments.

“No!” the priest shouted. He groaned in anger.