17 Chapter 17 Hefty Reward (1/2)

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.

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”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?”