"Yes, but we were able to free the man who was frozen in stone. He claims there was a medusa in the swamp to the southwest of here, so we're planning on checking that out as soon as our mirrored s.h.i.+elds are finished. It's taking longer to get them done than normal, because the smith who normally does our s.h.i.+elds is working on some sigil ring. The guy was mumbling about the importance of details when we went to see him."

"What happened to the man who was stone?" she asked, sipping from her wooden bowl full of soup.

"I believe he was trying to see if he had any family alive. No one knew how long the statue had been standing there, so he wasn't very hopeful. It also means the medusa may have moved on, and no longer lives there," explained the knight looking grim.

The elf nodded thoughtfully, setting her bowl down to grab some bread.

Across the room several adventurers were milling around the mission board, discussing the newest missions that had been added just that morning.

"Can you believe the rewards from these?" asked one.

"Aren't those the ones from that dragon and lich?" asked another, leaning forward to make out the signatures.

"But, hunt a hundred wyverns and get a magical sword?" exclaimed the first. "How in the blazes is anyone supposed to hunt a hundred wyverns? And the type of magical sword isn't even listed! No one's going to take that mission!"

"I don't know," mused a third, tugging on his beard. A long scar ran along the side of his cheek. "It would be kind of cool to do a mission for a dragon. Can you imagine the bragging rights?"

"But a hundred? No one can kill a hundred!"

"If you find the nests, I bet the babies are easy to kill. Besides, can you imagine the amount of loot we would be able to bring back? If we grabbed one of those magical bags of holding from Alastair's, I bet we could make a killing selling the hide and parts!" said the second.

The first guy thought about it for a moment, before the other two managed to convince him.

"Alright, I guess I can see where it wouldn't be as impossible as I first thought, but this one from the lich… does anyone even know what a moon flower is?"

"I bet an elf would know. There's one over there talking to that knight. Let's ask her. I'm pretty sure they use them to make wine or something," said the second adventurer.

"I can't believe we're actually thinking about doing a mission for a lich. A dragon is sweet, but a lich? Besides, who ever heard of a lich calling himself Fred?" complained the third guy, trailing behind them as they made their way over to the elf and knight.

Bob listened to it all, filing it away in his head as information he might need later as he listened to Tommy try to explain how he ended up in the Thieves' Guild.

"So, when mom died, I tried to get Timmy to join me in the guild, but he didn't…"

"Look, Tommy, you can stop right there. Everything you've told me has been a lie. Your brother's name isn't even Timmy. I was hoping you could be honest with me, but it looks like I can't trust you," interrupted Bob.

Tommy straightened up his back, where he had been slouching, and looked down on Bob for a moment with a calculating look.

"Did the sniveling brat talk?" he asked quietly, his eyes scanning the room.

"No, he didn't tell me anything, and when I asked about you, he was scared to death. I can guarantee that if anything happens to any of my employees, by anyone in the guild, or connected to the guild in any way, I know enough to get all of you not just thrown in jail, but hung at the gallows. And if anything happens to me, or my family, not even Piers can get you guys out of the trouble you would find yourself in."

Tommy's eyes narrowed at the threat, but he didn't move or say anything.

"I only wanted you to come by so I could let you know that I don't mind the guild coming into my inn and having meetings, but I won't have any deaths here. This is a safe place. No accidents either."

"What do you mean by safe place?" asked Tommy, his look still suspicious, but more intrigued than angered.

"There is a lot of magic protecting those who enter my bar. No one is able to fight or cause trouble, or they get thrown out. This holds for anyone in here. You want trouble, you take it outside."

Turning with a nod, Tommy looked back at Bob. His look held more respect than it had when the conversation started. "Tell Fergus that I free him from his obligations. When he decides to not work for you anymore, he can come see us if he wants, but I have a feeling that won't happen."

Bob watched him go, and felt the stress in his shoulders melt away. He knew that there was magic protecting this place, but he had no clue how it worked. He really didn't want to test out his s.h.i.+rt again so soon, but that loose end was dealt with and he could breath a little easier now.

"Bob?"

It was Trudy, stepping into the inn and heading his way.

"Did you know that the poor people are fixing the fire damage from last night?" she asked with a glint in her eye.

"What?" he asked, completely surprised. This wasn't something someone planned over a mug of ale, because he had no clue!

Rus.h.i.+ng outside, he saw that there were several men he had sold things to often in the store, pulling off the charred boards and nailing on new ones.

"We heard about the fire this morning and came as soon as we could. This wood was supposed to be used for the new well house we were building in the poor section, but everyone agrees that you've done us so much good, we wanted to help out," explained one of the men.

"We also had a question for you," said another, stepping back to look over his work and giving it a nod, he turned to Bob. "Word has been traveling through the poor section, that you're looking to build a butcher shop down here, near us, and you've already started hiring poor people for various positions. We've been wondering if you could build some other things?"

Bob smiled at him and said, "I've only got so much room to build. I've promised the rest of the land on my side of the road to a cleric for a new temple. I don't own the other side of the road."

They all looked surprised at that, and the same guy said, "But, Bob, didn't you know? The other side of the road belongs to the poor people. No one's allowed to build anything there, without our permission. We're asking you to build things. Nothing's ever been built there before, because everyone who's asked, only wanted to build their things. Nothing for us poor."

Bob couldn't believe what they were saying. Could it be true? Could he really commission to have buildings built on the other side of the road? It seemed odd that the City Lord would do such a thing, leaving something like that up to the poor to decide. It was also hard to believe that some n.o.ble hadn't managed to convince them to let them build something. With all the trouble Lord Richmond had been getting into, he would have been the first Bob would have expected to try. There had to be some catch.

After thinking for a moment, he realized many of the n.o.bles had discussed this over drinks, but none were willing to work with the conditions.

"What are the conditions to building on the poor side of the road?" he asked.

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"Well, only poor people can run the business, and it has to be something that the poor people could utilize. What we were hoping you would open would be a bathhouse. Someplace we could bath, wash our clothes, and not have to worry about n.o.bles dictating where or when we could use it."

Bob nodded. "That wouldn't be a bad idea, since I would need to get laundry from the inn washed almost daily, and I'm sure the adventurers would love a place they could go to bathe. The only problem I see with this is that it takes a lot of water, and would almost definitely require magic to accomplish."

The hope in their eyes seemed to drain away.

"What other businesses were you wanting me to open?" he asked.

"We were wanting a place to buy good clothing for cheap, and maybe a shoe store. Those are things we never seem to be able to afford, or that only cater to the wealthier households in the city."

"I will see what all I can do, if you guys will give me the permission I need to build the stores. I don't mind helping you guys out. Helping you, helps me. If you have good clothes available, some of you won't be tempted to steal them. I sure appreciate the store getting fixed, let me pay you guys."

"No, Bob. We didn't do this for money. We were serious about wanting to help."

"Look, I understand that, how about you all get a bowl of soup, on the house then? I can't just let you do this without showing my thanks."

They all eventually agreed, and Bob led them back into the inn.

Lucas and Giles followed them into the inn, oblivious to everything that had happened in the last couple of days. Spotting Throg sitting at a table, sporting a huge lump on his head, they headed in his direction.

"Throg! What happened? Your girl finally throw you out a window?" asked Lucas with a laugh.

"Throg try kill lich. Magic throw Throg out door. Throg not fight in Bob's inn, no more!"

Giles laughed as he sat down. "Sounds like you got hit on the head pretty hard!"

Off in the corner, Royce was working on his newest song:

"A dragon and a lich, boy that's rich. They met at an inn, both evil as sin….ok let's see dragon and wagon? Ooh, not if I want to live, let's see…The dragon came down from the mountain, but she would never drink from a fountain… no that would never work… The dragon so young and fair… as she flies through the air… if she's listening in, that should by me some brownie points, and a longer life…"