The Adventure of the Dreaming Gem - Part the First is a book in Divine Divinity.
Location[]
- In an abandoned house in the northeast of Aleroth
Transcript[]
*This book claims to be by the famous orc freebooter - Coram Bloodclub. Some say Coram died over ten years ago, some say he might still be alive. This book looks old enough and Bloodclub, despite his name, was renowned as an orc of education and sophistication. Perhaps this tome is indeed from Bloodclub's very own pen... I would be nice to find the other sections of the story.*
The Adventure of the Dreaming Gem.
Reminisced by Coram Bloodclub, orc adventurer and jewel thief.
Part the First - Meeting.
The dwarf's reputation as a treasure thief was second to none, that's why I travelled all across Rivellon to meet her. Her professional name was Shadow, and that is the only name of hers that I ever discovered. We met in the Dwarven Bread Inn on the winter solstice of my twenty-first year.
She was very comely for a dwarf, with a charming greenish tone to her skin and teeth filed to points. (I have always had a weakness for the women of other races, which is partly why I have been a wanderer all my life - always looking for a new exotic love and always hurrying away from the enraged husbands of my previous exotic loves.)
We ate and drank together and, throughout the meal, Shadow belched and farted like a well-bred orc maiden. However, though I was yet young and callow, I guessed her charming table manners were solely aimed at softening me up before we got down to business, so I bridled my rising passions.
After eating and some casual chat about the recent fad for elfish-style clothing in Rivertown, we took a private room upstairs and settled to discuss the deal I had travelled so far to offer her.
Have you heard of the Dreaming Gem of Hastor the Vain? I asked her.
Aye. What jewel thief hasn't? It is said to be a unique stone, and dwarves who have seen it claim it to be worth at least a million gold pieces. But it's kept in Hastor's Tower. The place is impregnable. Trust me, I've studied the layout with a professional eye. Nobody can get through the gardens - they're guarded by a demon. And even if you did, the magic traps inside the tower would do for you. So why do you mention it?
"Oh," I replied as casually as I could, "I think I have a way to get you past the demon in the garden. If, in turn, you can get me past the magic traps inside, I think we'll have a good chance to swipe the fabled gem and escape."
To be continued...