Chapter 17 Hefty Reward

As Gia and Vonn set the box of mugs down on the counter, they had a few minutes to wait on Bob while he dealt with a group of dwarves talking to him about the festival. Gia felt a little anxious with them all standing so close to her, covered in dirt and grime from the tunnels where they had been working earlier that day.

"I swear, I'm going t' put a pickaxe in the back o' his head, if he sings or whistles that tune one more time," grumbled a dwarf, entering the inn behind them, talking to his friend.

"Ye have t' admit it has a catchy tune t' it," said his friend with a chuckle.

"No! It was catchy the first time. He's sung it non-stop since he started workin' down the tunnel from me. If'n I hear one more 'hi-ho' he's dead, ye hear?"

"All right! I'll talk t' the headman and get him moved," his friend said, laughing and patting him on the back as they moved past them to find a seat at the overcrowded bar.

Bob showed up right then with a smile, "Sorry fer the wait. This is perfect! Let me know when ye get that pony done, okay?"

Vonn smiled and nodded, shaking hands with him, and pulled Gia up the stairs.

"Did you hear that dwarf say he was going to kill someone?" asked Gia, looking behind them before the bar area was out of sight.

"I imagine hearing the same song over and over can drive anyone crazy, but it's probably nothing. Let's go tell your parents the good news!" said Vonn with a wide grin. "I've never gotten rid of debt that easily before! If only every person I've worked for was that easy!"

"Do you think he's going to ask for something else?" asked Gia as they reached the door to their room and went in.

"Probably not. I imagine he'll just be glad when we're gone, so he has this room available again," said Vonn, sitting at the table and turning to watch Tom as he carefully carved another slice of wood from the block he held.

"If there really is a festival coming up, I imagine Bob is going to want us to be moving on soon," said Carla, folding her old clothes and putting them into her bag.

She had everyone's bags lined up on her bed and was organizing it all.

"You're probably right," said Tom, feeling the block of wood carefully, before placing his knife in a new spot and gently pressing on it to start the next cut. "We should make arrangements to leave as soon as I'm done with this."

"How long do you think that will take?" asked Gia, thinking about getting back on the road again with a sigh.

"This wood is cutting so beautifully. I should be done with it by morning, if I work on it late," he said with a small smile.

"Then we need to think about what we need to buy and start thinking about how to get them," said Carla, sighing as she held up the ratty pants Mikey had been wearing.

"I have some coin we can use," said Gia, pulling out the pouch proudly and setting it down on the table with a heavy clink.

"Wait just a minute! Where did you get that, young lady!" exclaimed her mother, glaring at her.

"Mom! I didn't steal it, if that's what you're hinting at. I was awarded it for stopping a thief!" exclaimed Gia, frowning and feeling insulted. "I don't do that sort of thing!"

"It's true, Carla. She tripped a thief that had stolen two small casks of mead and was running from a group of guards. One of them gave her the pouch for stopping her."

"Her? The thief was a girl?" asked Mikey, climbing out from under the bed he had been playing under.

"She was one of the Khag dwarves, who is involved in that blood feud we heard about from Gidren," said Gia opening the pouch and pouring the coins out on the table.

"Some of those coins look odd," said Vonn picking one of them up and dropping it in shock.

"What's wrong?" asked Gia, picking up the coin he had dropped. "What's platinum?"

"What!?" exclaimed Tom and Carla at the same time.

Carla jumped across the room, moving faster than Gia remembered seeing her move in a long time. She snatched the coin from Gia and stood there staring at it for a while.

"It's a real platinum coin. Child you just made us rich!" she whispered.

"Platinum?" said Tom. "Let me hold it?"

Carla handed the coin over to him while Gia spread the coins out and counted them. There were twenty platinum coins along with some gold ones, and a few silvers. Swallowing she looked up at her parents.

"How much is a platinum coin again?"

"They're worth ten gold," said her father, running his fingers over the coin. "How many of these do you have?"

"There's twenty of them, along with nine gold coins and a few silver coins," she said, running her hand over them all.

"We have roughly 300 gold pieces," he breathed. "We haven't had this much money since before I lost my eyes."

"Does that mean we can get me a new backpack?" asked Mikey, climbing into a chair and picking up one of the coins.

Vonn laughed. "Yes, Mikey. You can get a new backpack, and Tom can get that mug of ale he was wanting, and Carla can get new boots. What would you like, Gia?"

"Maybe we need to think about this first," said Gia, piling the coins up and sitting back. "Mikey needs a new backpack. We probably need a tent for all of us to sleep in, and new blankets. I think we should get rid of the ragged clothes we had before and get a second pair of these good sturdy clothes Bob got us."

"That's smart," said Tom, setting the coin down and picking up his carving knife again. "I would like a nice thick cloak, to cut down on the wind and rain, when we start back up."

"Can we get horses?" asked Mikey, setting his coin down too, and bouncing in his seat.

"Mikey, do you know how to ride a horse?" asked Gia, tilting her head to the side and raising an eyebrow.

"No, but I can learn!"

"Mikey, horses are expensive. Even with the coins we have, we couldn't afford enough horses for all of us. Besides, we're in the dwarven lands. Dwarves don't ride horses," said Vonn.

"I think we should get some rations to take, that way we don't have to worry about being hungry, or having to hunt so much," said Carla.

"That makes me wonder if we need to get a bow and some arrows?" said Tom, making another tiny cut. "Vonn or Gia could use it if we encounter deer or wild boar on the road."

"I suppose that's a good idea," said Carla, looking at them uncertainly.

"I don't mind getting a bow. I haven't had one in years," said Vonn.

"You did use to have one, didn't you," said Gia, thinking back when they were little. "You broke it fighting off those street dogs, didn't you?"

"Yeah, they wanted my bread. I fell in a puddle and it was ruined anyways."

"Well, I've never used a bow, but if we got one, you could show me how?" asked Gia, looking at him hesitantly.

"Of course! I'll show Mikey how to use it, too. When he's old enough, and we have our own place, he can go hunting with me."

"That sounds great!" said Mikey jumping up in his chair and raising his arms triumphantly. "I'm a great rat hunter! I bet I would be fantastic hunting deer and boar!"

"Hunting deer and boar is a little harder than hunting rats, Mikey," laughed Tom, shaking his head. "Why don't you two go look for those things, so we have time to pack them. You can take Mikey, to help you carry it all back."

"Yes!" cried Mikey, running over to the door and sliding his boots on.

Gia carefully gathered all of the money up and put it back in the pouch, into her shirt. Vonn followed her with two of the empty backpacks to carry things back in. Mikey danced around them as they headed downstairs.

"Bob?" asked Vonn, getting the man's attention. "We're looking to buy a few things to take with us when we leave. Do you know the best place to get things like more clothes and food?"

"Well," thought Bob, rubbing his chin like a dwarf does, which looked funny without the beard, "There's a general store down the street. Turn left at the first corner, and it's called the Cat's Tongue. The dwarf who runs it can be very persuasive, so be careful ye don't buy anything ye don't intend to get."

"Thanks, Bob," said Gia, shooing Mikey out of the door.

"Do you think they'll have any toys?" he asked, skipping along beside them.

"Probably, but remember, anything we get, we have to carry, and there's probably a long way to go," said Vonn.

"But if he has something that's little?" asked Mikey holding his hands together. "I haven't had any toys in a really long time!"

"You got those marbles last year!" exclaimed Gia, feeling insulted. She had scrimped and saved to get him those marbles.

"Yeah, and they were fun to play with, but I traded them to get us some more salt, remember?" he said, looking up at her.

She thought about it for a moment, then nodded, ashamed of her earlier reaction. He had surprised them with the salt on her birthday.

"Alright, we'll get you something, if it's small," said Vonn, giving her a smile as Mikey cheered and jumped around, getting several dwarves to stop and look at them before they continued on.