Night has fallen over the city. Slyth and Aridha make their way to a bad part of town. The torches become more spread-out, and finally none are to be seen. Those that still travel do so in groups.
Finally they reach a small house in an alleyway. The padlock and less visible telltales all seem intact, and after a furtive look around they enter.
The small entranceway is cramped and dingy, with a boards nailed to the wall to make a makeshift shoe shelf. There are two pairs of slippers on it. Slyth puts the padlock from the outside onto the inside of the door. It's obvious that security is just as much of a problem with the inhabitants at home as when they're away.
He lights a lantern, and leads the way into the inner room.
The difference from the outside is unbelievable. At the far side of the room is what appears to be a throne made of dark wood and inlaid with gold, behind it a tapestry which covers the wall from ceiling to floor, at least 8 feet wide. On a bench to the left are a number of items of jewelry, made of silver and gold, some with gems. The bed to the right seems utilitarian by comparison, and the weapons on the wall behind seem very plain.
Slyth chuckles at Shayuri's reaction to the contents of the room.
"Nothing's finished right now, but it's coming along nicely. Take this throne, for example. The stain has settled into the wood, and I just need to add fake wear patterns. The 'gold' is brass. It was actually on a completely different chair originally, and I just removed it and put it on here. When I have enough real gold, I'll add a layer of it over the brass, the way it was when it was made. When they check it, it's real gold. When it eventually wears off, the brass that's exposed will look like the gold it's supposed to be. Its age will triple its apparent value at least, and it'll be kept hidden away by it's owner for years. By the time normal wear and tear takes its toll, I'll probably be dead. Already have a mark lined up for it, even if he's not aware of it yet. Strange thing is that the chair itself really is an antique, but the colors are out of fashion this decade. Just had to add a lightly tinted oil stain to bring out the pattern of the wood, and, hey presto!"
He gestures at the tapestry.
"See that? Genuine. Old, and a bit tatty, but real. Once I fix it up, add some additional material to it, fix the moth-eat bit on the bottom right, it'll be worth a small fortune. Swapped two newly made tapestries to the lady of the house, no, don't ask me which House, for the old ones and some coin. Modernizing, don't you know. Got the original chair for the throne from the same place. Sold one of the old tapestries already to a newly raised minor House who wanted an old tapestry to show their ancient roots, even though they're just jumped-up merchants in reality. I was thinking about selling the throne to the same House, but they might get suspicious."
He waves at the jewelry.
"See that? All genuine worn-out pieces disposed of by me on behalf of noble families fallen on hard times. Sadly, they couldn't get much money from them, on account of their condition, but they were so grateful for what I could get. Now, with a little work, I can fix them up, replace damaged gems, smooth out scratches and repair damaged inlays. Then I'll sell them for probably four time what I paid for them, and because of how well I've fixed them up, even the nobles who sold them wouldn't recognize them."
He goes and sits on the bed. The weapons there, while plain, are obviously in good working order. Utilitarian, nothing fancy.
"That's what I do here. Everything is real at heart, it's just a little embellished. Okay, a lot embellished. It's what I've been working toward since I arrived here. The throne will probably be the pinnacle of my achievements. And now you come from the Elders, and you're probably going to disrupt everything I've been working on. I did, however, promise to do them a favor, and if there's one thing I do, it's keep my promises. So tell me, what do they want that they believe is worth spending the single favor I promised to them?"
