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."This smells like a set-up.I won't let you walk into a trap." Corin said.Fendel found what he was looking for and turned his attention back to his guests."I agree with your soldier friend," he said to Lhasha.Corin didn't know how much the gnome had overheard, but obviously his old ears were still sharp.Tou hired Corin to protect you.If his instincts say something's not right, maybe you'd better listen.""I've learned to trust my instincts," Corin added.Instead of continuing the argument, Lhasha simply pulled out the small pouch tucked in her belt and dumped the contents.A handful of gems clattered onto the table—diamonds, rubies, amethysts, emeralds.One large stone bounced off the hard surface and skittered across the floor until it came to rest at the toe of Corin'sboot.He bent down to pick up the multi-faceted stone, marveling at its size and hue.Corin didn't have the first clue of how to appraise precious stones, but even he could recognize the value of the gem in his hand.Fendel, who Corin suspected was more familiar with the true worth of Lhasha's cache, was too stunned to even speak.All he could manage was a tiny whistle of amazement.Slowly he approached the table and picked up one of the ghttering rocks."It looks genuine," he said after a few seconds of careful study."Of course it is," Lhasha said, slightly annoyed."You know I could spot any fake even while blindfolded and drunk on Cormyrian wine.They're all real.If this job was a set-up, why would my contact have given me all this up front? Is luring me into a trap really worth this much money to the Purple Masks? To anyone?"Neither Corin nor Fendel provided an answer."Besides," Lhasha added, "Corin will be with me.""How much is all this worth?" Corin finally managed to ask."Enough to pay Fendel for whatever items he can give us," Lhasha said with a smile."And I imagine we'll still have enough left over for a healthy down payment on your prosthetic arm."Corin glanced briefly at his stump, then looked up at Lhasha again."We should use this to finance our trip to Cormyr.We need to buy supplies, we might need disguises, we might need to bribe some of the Teziir officials, we'll have to hire a ship to cross the Dragonmere.""We'll have enough," Lhasha assured him."This is just a down payment.Once I deliver the package, we'll get the rest.More than enough to cover the trip to Cormyr.And believe me, we'll travel in style!"After a few more seconds of marveling at the wealth on the table, Fendel at last turned his attention from the stones."We may not like this, Corin," he said to the soldier, "but we're not going to talk her out of it.So let's get down to the nuts and bolts and make sure this job is done right."He carefully moved the gems aside, and unrolled a set of blueprints—building plans for a large warehouse."This is pretty much your standard Caravan district warehouse," he explained."You'll have to get past the city patrols assigned to watch the perimeter of the Caravan district.Shouldn't be too hard.Elversult doesn't pay its civil servants that well, and these guys don't have the pride and prestige that goes with being a Mace.Half the time they're asleep at their posts."But if this package is as important as your client seems to think, there'll be private mercenaries hired for extra security around the warehouse.Most likely they'll have guards watching the loading bays, and guards at all the exits.So you'll have to go in through the roof.""That'll be a neat trick," Corin said."What are we supposed to do? Scale the wall?""That won't be a problem," Lhasha assured him."I can climb up there without even breaking a sweat.""But if the warehouse is patrolled, you'll need me inside in case you run into any of the guards," Corin reminded her."Maybe you can make the climb, but I can't.I doubt I could have made it even when I had two good hands.""I've got that covered," Fendel said, a hint of excitement in his voice."A new invention of mine.""I hope it works better than that stupid farmer thing," Corin muttered as the gnome went over to a bench on the far side of his workshop and began to rummage through the clutter on top.Fendel returned with a half dozen long metal poles.The poles were rectangular in shape, two fingers width on each side.The collapsible ladder," he said triumphantly.Corin grunted.The last thing I want in a ladder is a tendency to collapse."Fendel gave him a sour look."It won't collapse while you're on it.Guaranteed to hold the weight of an oversized ogre with a belly full of kobold stew."Lhasha picked up one of the square poles.Watching her, Corin noticed that one end of each pole was hollow, the other slightly tapered."So how does it work?""Glad you asked, Lhasha, glad you asked." Fendel grabbed a pole in each hand.He slipped the tapered end of the first into the hollow end of the second and pushed."Just slip them together like so," he said."Keep adding another piece until they reach the top."That's a lot of pieces," Corin said."We'd probably need a dozen or so."Fendel shrugged."I've got plenty, and they're surprisingly light, but strong, very strong."Corin hefted one of the four-foot lengths, surprised at how little weight there was."Mithral?" he guessed.Tartly," Fendel replied."It's an alloy I like to work with.A little mithral, a bit of tempered steel, some iron, and a few other things thrown in.My own personal recipe."Lhasha grabbed several of the pieces and snapped them together in the space of a few seconds."Good fit," she said."I like it.Throw them in a backpack and you're ready to go.""All right, I can see how they fit together," Corinadmitted."But where's the ladder part? So far all we've got is a really long pole with squared off edges.""Here's the beauty of it," the gnome said with obvious excitement in his voice."See this mark?" he said, indicating a small circle imprinted on the base of each section."Press here."Corin hesitated, a little wary of what the gnome might have in store, but with Lhasha watching he wasn't about to refuse.Using his thumb, he applied firm pressure to the spot.The circle clicked inward, triggering a spring.Two sets of metal bars, popped out at perpendicular angles to the rod.Corin dropped his piece in surprise, letting it clatter to the floor.Fendel let out a gleeful laugh, and picked the rod up again."See that? Spring loaded.You can stand on these, to use them as rungs to help you up and down the pole."Corin picked the pole up to give it a second look.The small bars that extended out were attached to recessed hinges set into the main body of the rod.When folded down the bars lay almost flat against the pole
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