As Dave leaves, Jiron watches him go with some delight. “I thought I’d take Fifer and we would tour the bars tonight and see what we could find out.”

“Not a bad idea,” agrees James. “See if you can discover any more rumors regarding the Ambassador’s visit.”

“Will do,” states Jiron. Getting up, he glances to Fifer and says, “Ready to go?”

“Always,” he says.

They move away from the table and head out the door.

Illan, Miko and James remain at the table late into the evening enjoying the music. Once he starts yawing, James gets up and heads to his room where he hears Dave’s snores coming from within before he even opens the door.

Getting undressed in the dark, he slips into the other bed and quickly falls asleep.

Jiron and Fifer leave the Silver Bells and head to the outer section of the city. There they’ll find the more disreputable establishments where rumors flow more readily. Never staying very long in any one place, they have a few drinks while listening to the conversations around them. Once in awhile asking a few discreet, innocent questions before moving to the next.

By the fifth such dive, they have accumulated rumors ranging from an attempt to kidnap/assassinate the king to an arranged marriage between one of the king’s daughters and a noble within the Empire. All of which seems rather implausible. The most improbable story yet is how the Empire is here to open a slave market within Cardri where they can sell the slaves taken in their war with Madoc. How that one started, no one seems to know and few believe. One man said, ‘It’ll be a cold day in hell before that ever happens’.

They wander outside the outer walls and plan to hit some of the seediest places yet. The first one they enter must have been standing a very long time. The walls are slightly slanted and most of the windows are boarded up. The odor and density of the smoke within makes it hard to breathe.