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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Carlo-One" data-source="post: 8078328" data-attributes="member: 7015827">As of the early evening of Ches 15, the party had separated and been off at various pursuits in the dwarven citadel. Rahnee had been loaned some work space by Lorn near his smithy, so she could work on repairing and maintaining her equipment. Darrow stopped by there as well, to drop off some dragonscales and see what the smith could make with them. Dermot simply relaxed in his room, while Shanni spent some time washing her journeying clothes and unsuccessfully trying to make one of Rahnee’s extra dresses fit her more petite frame.As dinnertime came around, Darrow, Aerikoth, Dermot and Shanni eventually ended up together in the tavern area. The latter two, arriving as the dwarf and the wizard were deep in conversation, indicated they had something important to share in private. Dermot had a serious expression on his face, while Shanni sported a bright and eager smile on hers. Aerikoth said he had finished eating and would join them; Darrow drank the remaining ale from his mug as they all walked back to the guest quarters.Once behind closed doors, Shanni happily announced that they were going to be rich. Dermot, rubbing his temples, mentioned there were other things to discuss as well. Darrow’s brother Andin, the temple acolyte, had stopped by earlier to inform Dermot and Shanni there would be a Council meeting in less than an hour. There, the two of them would be named dwarf-friends and the matter of the ownership of the hoard would be decided. As Dermot explained it, there were two ideas being offered: the adventurers could keep the items they had taken from the hoard and would be entitled to a one-fifth share of the gold; or, they could give the items back and get fifty percent of the hoard.Dermot then said that, according to Andin, Toran Goldfinder was pushing for the half split, which the ranger and Shanni both found suspicious. Darrow took that to mean Toran wanted the items, something which Shanni had thought as well, and the dwarf wondered what he was going to do with them. Dermot concluded by mentioning that Andin had muttered about something being up with the Prince, but he didn’t know what. Darrow frowned at this, thinking that the Prince, who had been recovering slowly from a mysterious illness, might have taken a turn for the worse.Talk then turned to the magical items that had been taken from the hoard. Shanni, with some difficulty and care, pulled out the heavily enchanted and extremely sharp short sword, saying it slipped through her fingers when she tried to hold it properly; Aerikoth called it one of the most powerful items he had ever observed. The others, with some effort, recalled the rest of the list of weapons and miscellaneous items. They all agreed that the short sword in Shanni’s possession was the most valuable and unique item, therefore likely what Toran was after. Darrow brought up earlier suspicions that Toran was trying to reopen trade with the Underdark, saying that the sword might be just the morsel for his Underdark friends to help with getting him into power.Aerikoth then queried how the Council had reached its decision about the proposed disposition of the hoard. The wizard expressed his discontent with the one-fifth share of the gold offered if they kept the items, considering that a sum of one-third would be fairer. Aerikoth viewed the offer as greedy on the part of the dwarves, who as he put it should consider the party generous for allowing the clan to dictate what should be done with what they found. Darrow shrugged and said that the hoard was in clan territory, so unfortunately they had to follow clan law. The dwarf also said that they didn’t have a spare two tendays to be hauling out all the gold, something which Shanni mentioned would also be noticed.The wizard continued to denigrate the clan’s claim on the hoard, questioning the extent of its actual territory and noting that they had not tried to claim anything taken from the Deep Delve. Shanni agreed with Aerikoth’s logic, but more practically thought, as did Dermot, that they did not have much of a choice. Besides, as the petite rogue asserted, her share of the twenty percent of the hoard would be as much gold as she would ever see in her life, so she didn’t care. Darrow said he wasn’t a lawyer and that Aerikoth was welcome to make the argument to the Council. The wizard appeared to draw a line under the discussion by stating that he was not overly interested in such things, he just found it slightly annoying that the Ironhelm dwarves were dictating what should be done with something they all had liberated, with some assistance from one of their members.(It is difficult to put a line under greed. Paradoxically, the more gold that is available for the taking, the more envious and contentious is its division. This is something I used to consider normal, even acceptable, before I turned my life's page and entered into Kelemvor's service. Death does not care how much gold you have, in the end. --R)After some further talk, all were agreed that they should keep the items – in part, because it was the opposite of what Toran Goldfinder wanted – and opt for a fifth share of the gold. Shanni’s last remaining question was what to wear to the Council meeting: the ill-fitting dress that she could not run in, or her damp traveling clothes that she had just washed.</blockquote>

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