The man that flew through the door was shortly followed by a very angry dwarf who barely managed to pull up short of diving off the stairs on top of the man. “…and stay out of my inn you insulting son of a pig! My ancestors were good solid dwarfs and were the children of good honest dwarfs. Their people of golden character and not golden riches! Unless you know any of my people, you best be showing us more respect!”

The man in the street had rolled onto his back. His nose was obviously broken and he seemed to have been wondering when carhndrocs came in such small packages. At least that would’ve been Brandus’ guess based on his completely pale face and wide eyes.

Kae’lo started to turn and walk back inside. All the while muttering to himself, “Though, now that you mention it, my family does quite well for themselves. In fact, they told me I never should have opened an inn. ‘Do something with your hands,’ they said. ‘There’s more prestige and money in it,’ they said. I should have listened to them. Then I’d not have to spend my days dealing with idiots like you…”

Brandus grinned mischievously and winked at the man on the ground. Before Kae’lo could make it inside he called out, “Hey! Little man! Is this your inn, you greedy little money-grubber?” The man on the ground let out a gasp and was on his feet taking off down the street with a dexterity that would’ve done any tumbler proud.

Brandus watched him dash down the street and chuckled to himself. Then he turned back to the dwarf who was standing stock still with one hand on the door frame and one foot still in mid-stride. Brandus could swear he could almost hear the dwarf’s teeth grinding. Kae’lo slowly turned toward him, “And just who are you to…!” He stopped and blinked at Brandus.

Kael’lo visibly relaxed and a grin spread across his face, “Brandus? Is that you!? You old son of a sheep herder! How are you?”

Kae’lo threw his arms around Brandus’ waist and heaved him into the air in a giant bear hug.

“I’m fine my friend, just fine. Now put me down!” Brandus laughed, “I just arrived in town for the festivities. It appears the city is going to be bursting at the seams this year. You do still have a room set aside for me?”

“Certainly, certainly! It isn’t the largest of the rooms, but it is clean, warm, and far enough away from dining area that you won’t be woken by any… unfortunate little scraps during the night. You won’t even have to share it, just as requested. Though at the prices that we’ll be able to charge for a shared room this year, I should make you sleep in the stable and buy a second inn with the profits. Hah ha! Enough about business though, come in, come in! Are you hungry? I believe there is still some of the marinated steak and bread left from the supper that Shelby cooked. I’ll have Gilda heat some up for you. Have you met Gilda? No, I don’t suppose you would have. I hired her on after the Princes’ birthday last year, she’s a fine serving gal…”

Brandus smiled and followed the dwarf inside. As he prattled on and gave Brandus a warmed mug of spiced wine, Brandus leaned against the bar and relaxed. Some people never changed much, and it was comforting that way. Some places didn’t seem to change either. Brandus looked around the inn, there were few changes made, the only truly noticeable change was the dwarfish battle-axe hanging over the mantle. Even the tables seemed to be in the same places as the last time he was in town. That was almost a year ago now.

There were several patrons in the lobby, but none jumped out as a familiar face to him. That would change as the evening wore on. Right now, most of the people in the inn were there for a late lunch. A few were enjoying a pipe of Brostle leaf, and all looked well fed. That wasn’t surprising, Kae’lo’s cook, Shelby, was known for being one of the best cooks in the city. She had even cooked in the castle for quite a while. That was one of the other reasons Kae’lo did so much business, though he did often gripe about how much he had to pay her.

“…Are you listening Brandus?”

Brandus snapped out of his musing and focused back on Kae’lo. “I’m sorry, my friend. I was observing your new decorations and thinking about your wonderful food. It was a rather long trip to get here in time. Where ever did you find a dwarfen battle axe around here? Aren’t they rather expensive to use as a decoration?”

“Ah, you noticed it!” Kae’lo pretended to lower his voice, and glanced around as if to make sure no one was listening, “I was out on a trip to the east a ways, out ‘twixt here and the jungle. I was looking for some land with stone solid enough to quarry and build an addition on my inn… I had just found a promising patch of limestone poking through the topsoil when I fell through a soft spot into some sort of cavern. It was unlike anything I’ve seen… I swear it had to have been a carhndroc’s trove…”

A lilting laugh cut into the air of mystery, “You old fraud! I saw your cousin Je’dal bring it just last week!” Shelby stepped out of the kitchen and gave Brandus a wink.

Kae’lo gave her a lopsided grin, “Aye! But Brandus didn’t know that, now why’d you have to go and spoil a good tale?”

Brandus grinned at Shelby and winked back, “Hello, Shelby! No worries there, Kae’lo. I’m familiar enough with your tales to recognize that one about discovering a carhndroc’s trove must have been a stretch. I was just waiting to see where your latest one would go.”

Carhndrocs were large cave-dwelling predatory beasts that walked on two legs. Exceptionally rare and even more dangerous, they were at least 9 feet long when mature, had thick hide with armor plating that changed colors depending on the rock in their caves, and had a fondness for anything that was made of metal. They also secreted an oily hemotoxic substance that slowly dissolved the solid rock into a greasy powder. This allowed their caverns to enlarge as they grew bigger with less work than simple tunneling would have required. The only things that the oil wouldn’t dissolve were precious ores and metals.

Once every decade or so, one of these caverns would be discovered abandoned by a lucky wanderer and then the various precious metals and items found in the cavern would make them instantly rich. Humans didn’t often go looking for them though. It was far more likely the adventure would result in a quick death than in quick exaltation to wealth. Even the ones that were reportedly abandoned often went undisturbed for years. The uncanny ability of the creatures to blend into their environment made it extremely difficult to determine if the creature had moved on, or was simply biding its time.

“Fine then! Bah, I was just trying to spice up the tale a bit. My cousin brought it to me when he came to visit. Said he found it buried in an old stump to the east. It must’ve been there a bit. The stump had started to grow again around the axe and he said he’d never have found it if it hadn’t been trying to use the stump as a windscreen.”

Shelby smiled, “Nice seeing you again, Brandus. I’d love to talk, but I’ve got a pie in the oven. We’ll talk later, alright?” Without waiting for a response, she turned and hurried back into the kitchen to see to her baking.

Brandus smirked and raised an eyebrow at Kae’lo, “Well, she’s definitely the same Shelby as ever, isn’t she?”

Kae’lo gave knowing chuckle, “She certainly is… wouldn’t have it any other way though.”

“We were talking about your axe...” Brandus said, returning to the subject at hand, “Regardless of how it was found, it does appear to be a good bit of fine craftsmanship. I certainly hope you’ve got it secured up there? I’d hate to see someone walk off with it. That quality of metal working doesn’t come cheaply now days.”

“Of course, she’s secured with anchoring brackets into the stone wall. Between you and me though,” Kae’lo leaned in close, “this is workmanship that hasn’t been seen in 300-400 years, even amongst the Dwarves. It’s worth more than the inn.”

Brandus let out a soft whistle, “That is the story you were trying to ‘spice up’?”

“It’s more like I was trying to distract from the truth, really,” Kae’lo shook his head, “A carhndroc’s trove may be less believable, but people’s greed would make them try to find an abandon trove without thinking about taking the axe off my wall. If the axe was rumored to be the only item… well, I’d be worried if any human saw it and recognized its true worth. Any human other than you, that is.”

“I’ll spread the rumor as well. People may believe the rumor it if we tell it loud enough.”

“I would appreciate it. Did you get your wagon and horses taken care of, Brandus?”

“I did. Marten and Treg took care of them, I’m afraid they drive a hard bargain, just like you. It cost me a full bar per night, a full two clippings over last year.” Brandus shook his head and took a swig of his wine.

Kae’lo tried to hold back his smile, but failed miserably, “A full bar, huh? You know the price of bedding and fodder for horses decreased by over half due to a bumper crop and a lowered tax on their sale, right?”

Brandus choked and just about spit his wine over the counter, before hurriedly swallowing, “Over half?! I just paid them over four times what I did last year!”

“You certainly did. It seems they not only know how to barter like their Uncle Kae’lo, but also how to spot an easy mark like their Uncle Brandus!” Kae’lo beamed at Brandus’ expression. “It seems you made a pretty good mark.”

Brandus laughed, “So it appears… young scoundrels. Well, I guess I can’t be too upset. They did work for it, and they did nothing wrong any more than another good merchant would’ve done in their shoes. They’ll do good work for it too.”

“That they will, and I’ll make sure of it for you at that price. Now, let’s see about that steak, aye?” Kae’lo smiled, “I’m glad to have you in town, Brandus, it does my heart good to see you again.”

“I’m glad to be here!”

While the stout dwarf meandered back into the kitchen to have Shelby heat up some of the steak, Brandus seated himself at a table and leaned back. It was good to sit down on something that wasn’t moving and bouncing. The wagon had a padded seat, but it did get rather uncomfortable after a while on the rough roads.

Brandus took a deep drought of his wine and then placed his hands behind his head. Leaning back in his chair, he allowed his eyes wander round the room and soak up detail.

The bar was made of mortared stone with an oiled wood bar top mounted to it. Behind the bar were a half dozen wooden kegs filled with various wines and ales that were local to the region. Brandus knew the more potent liquors were kept in small kegs and bottles under the bar in locked cupboards made of iron. While Kae’lo liked it when people drank, he didn’t like it when people got drunk. Drunk people broke things, and broken things meant expenses. Kae’lo didn’t like expenses. The bar top, though clean at the moment, showed signs of past scuffles. In “The Caldorian General” those didn’t last long. Most of the scars on the bar were from the teeth, clothes, or bones of those individuals Kae’lo decided were getting too raucous for the other patrons’ comfort.

The upper halves of the walls were made of quarried limestone blocks- light grey in color. The lower half was made of the same, but the stone was covered by wooden paneling. This softened the look of the harsh grey stone and brightened the room significantly. The floors were made of a finished wood in the main area, coated with a thick resin to discourage scratches. Marten and Treg polished the floor after closing each night.

In the front of the building were three large windows that let the light into the room, and occasional let out an unwilling customer. Kae’lo contracted with the local glass merchants to make sure that they were replaced as soon as possible.

Each table was hand crafted from heavy wood reinforced with metal in order to withstand heavy impacts, though most people never managed to hit one on the way out.

The hearth and fireplace, empty of a fire at the moment, was of the dwarfen styling and protruded in a large half circle into the room. It had a large lip that surrounded the bottom to prevent ashes from getting onto the floor, and a large half circle stone hood over the top to contain the smoke. The chimney was quarried block and large enough it allowed for easy cleaning when needed. Around the chimney was a large ring mantle. It was just above the mantle, to the chimney, the battle axe was mounted.

On the far side of the room were stairs made of heavy wooden planking that went to the two floors of sleeping quarters. Above the third floor was an attic that also doubled as the sleeping quarters for the inn’s proprietor.

Kae’lo had built the inn from the ground up, purchasing the land from the prior owner for the amount it took him to pay off back taxes. The prior tavern had been little more than straw shack, and the owner was an older man who could no longer handle the upkeep and repairs. Kae’lo tore down the old tavern, brought in dwarfish masons, carpenters, and metalsmiths, and imported most of the wood fixtures and from the nomadic peoples who lived in the area skirting the jungle in the northeast.

His return on his investment, though a significant sum, was exceptionally quick. So good, apparently, Kae’lo was considering expanding his facilities. That meant buying out one of the surrounding buildings and investing another good sum of money.

Kae’lo had other sources for income too, though not publicly advertised. He frequently invested in new businesses and loaned large sums at fair interest to younger dwarves just starting out in business themselves. He also had a fair trade going locally in horses, though dwarves didn’t use them. Several small stables outside the walls of the city were owned by him. Each was individually managed by a different person, and all were upstanding and honest businessmen.

When Brandus had been starting out on his own, his relationship with Kae’lo had been one of the key stones of his success. In turn, Brandus brought back news and unique items for the dwarf at a low price. There were currently several small cases of expensive spices Kae’lo had ordered as a little present for Shelby, and a couple dozen bars of unique alloys from the desert lands across the sea to the south. These would be used for further trade with Kae’lo’s dwarfish associates.

The lands across the sea to the south, Kreegaloth, were known for their resistance to outsiders. The government was cutthroat, and so were the majority of business deals that took place… and if you didn’t know your way around, the word “cutthroat” could easily turn out to be literal. Brandus didn’t risk direct trade with them. Instead, he indirectly traded with them through several merchants that preferred naval trade to driving through open country, despite the pirates that sailed the inland seas. While that was quite a bit more expensive for Brandus, it was also much safer. The dwarfs didn’t trade with them at all. They strongly disliked the water, the extensive overland travel, and the business ethics required to do business in Kreegaloth. The dwarves were more than willing to pay even more than what Kae’lo would charge for the alloys.

The door to the tavern swung open and then slammed shut, drawing every eye in the common area.

A female Caldorian strolled into the room.