The dwarves had been in Haredil long enough to have carved out their own quarter of the city. Despite having lived in the city all his life, it was an area that Almandar had rarely been to; unlike the elves, dwarves only rarely performed magic, and the close-knit and prudish nature of their culture gave him little other reason to visit. In fact, Lady Tarissa was probably more familiar with the district than he was, because of their quality armourers. And there was Dolrim, of course.
Looking around him at the blocky buildings with their small windows, he almost wondered why he had volunteered to come. But, if they were to obtain plans of the ruins beneath the city, his knowledge of Haredil's ancient history might help, along with Dolrim's natural feel for architecture and stonework. Nonetheless, he could not help but feel that the dwarves were a dour people, far from the fun-loving and carefree nature of the elves, or even, to an extent, the gnomes. It was the nature of their culture; they were master-craftsmen, spending all their time in dedicated work to improve their art, leaving no time for gaiety.
Lady Tarissa was leading the way as they walked through the dwarven streets, laid out in a square grid, as regular and monotonous as the buildings around them. As a paladin, she probably approved of the dwarves' dedication, and even Almandar had to admit that they were an honourable and courageous people -- Dolrim had saved his own life more than once. The previous night, Tarissa had invited round some friends of hers from the Temple of Pardror for a pleasant evening of food and conversation out in the courtyard. They had not discussed the apparent threat to the city, but the Temple were potential allies if ever they needed them. Calleslyn had brought a friend too, by the name of Messandra, but he knew enough about women to tell that she was not attracted to him.
Of more immediate interest, however, at least from Almandar's point of view, the young elven squire from the Temple had been very pretty, even attired in the plain white of her order. It was a pity that, as a woman taking her first steps on the path to paladin-hood, she had resisted his attempts to flirt with her. At least she had not looked offended, and the hope of one day ending up between the sheets with her was not, he thought, entirely forlorn.
Not that there was any chance of that here, he reflected. Even were dwarven women not so prudish, they were hardly his image of an ideal bed partner.
Their destination, when they arrived, was, he had to admit, rather different than the bland buildings around it. It was higher, for one thing, with doors of conveniently human height. Ornate buttresses flanked its walls, with arched windows of stained glass depicting images of castles and towers, anvils and hammers. A coat-of-arms stood above the main entrance, carved into stone with exquisite care. When the dwarves wanted to show off their skill, they most certainly could.
For this was the Masons' Guild of Haredil, a profession dominated by dwarves, although also with a few gnomes and humans. Here, they hoped to find the answers they sought, with the assistance of some of Dolrim's contacts.
The dwarven warrior, Almandar knew, was not native to the city, having come from the mountains to the south. He had come here in search of fortune, and, as part of the band of adventurers, had, by and large, found it. But even so, he had made some links with the locals, despite their different clan ancestries -- apparently an important aspect of dwarven culture, so far as he understood it.
The three of them walked up the steps and through the open doors into the lobby. The building had clearly been constructed with humans in mind, but it showed an unmistakable dwarven ambience. The floor of the lobby was polished marble, lined by columns rising up to an ornate cavern-like roof. Stone carvings lined the walls, showing the various stages of construction of a great building, and the banisters of the stairway to the upper story were plated with shining metal.
A dwarf wearing some sort of grey livery approached the group, and spoke briefly with Dolrim, before disappearing into the building. The trio waited politely, looking around at the masons' art on display, until the liveried dwarf returned with someone else and took up his station beside the door again.
The newcomer was another dwarf, obviously a fairly young man, with thick brown hair and a relatively short beard. He was dressed in solid earthen tones, with the heavy boots favoured by his race and a few gold and silver rings on his fingers. Evidently, he was a prosperous craftsman, although probably too young to have his own business as yet.
"Dolrim!" he said, formally shaking the warrior's hand, "it is good to see you again. You must introduce me to your companions."
"Olthen, this are my companions; Lady Tarissa, and Almandar, a magician. Tarissa, Almandar, this is Olthen, a journeyman mason of the Clan of Olain." The half-elf could not help but notice the formality of the phrasing, although it was not overly long and flowery. There might be protocol here, but at least they were not drowning in it. "We have a business matter to discuss, some information you may have that might help us."
"Of course," replied the younger dwarf, "my father and I were just conducting a business deal of our own, but it is nearly complete, and you are welcome to join us. Then we can talk about your own matter." He smiled, clearly quite a friendly and open sort for his race, and led the way towards the door he had emerged from.
Beyond the door was a corridor with several rooms off it, apparently quiet meeting rooms for masons and their clients. They entered one of the rooms, which, like the rest of the building, had bare stone walls carved with friezes, rather than tapestries or wooden panelling. There were several chairs, some suitable for humans, and others for dwarves, and a long table with a few parchments on it. A stained glass window with a picture of bridge allowed plentiful light into the room.
At one side of the table, facing away from the window, was an older dwarf, his hair greying, with a long braided beard and a thick silver armband and bejewelled belt buckle indicating his high status. Skipping over another dwarf, Almandar's eyes were immediately drawn to the third person in the room, evidently the mason's client.
She looked to be about thirty years of age, a human woman in a long dress of dark blue and green. She was, he guessed, of slightly above average human height, which made her tower over the dwarves in the room. She had long sandy-blonde hair, tied back in a pony-tail that reached half way down her back, and a slender face with red lips and blue eyes. Her skin was pale and soft-looking, with a few scattered pale freckles on her cheekbones. She was bending over the table as he arrived, collecting some of the parchments, although the high cut of her dress afforded him a view of no more than the outline of her breasts and the curve of her hips. She looked up as they arrived, her glance apparently no more than simple curiosity.
"Greetings," said the older dwarf, standing stiffly, "I am Tharn ak Olain, master mason and architect. This," he indicated the remaining dwarf, "is my daughter Ostrid, and this is the merchant Relayna, with whom we have business."
Dolrim introduced his companions a second time, and then Tarissa stood forward, shaking Tharn's hand briefly, and maintaining her own formal pose. "We are adventurers, master mason, who recover the lost treasures of hidden catacombs. We request your assistance on a matter of architectural knowledge, and bow to your expertise."
Almandar thought it was all a little overblown, but Tharn seemed impressed, the correct formalities having apparently been observed. "Please join us," he said, indicating the chairs on the far side of the table.
At the mention of adventurers, Relayna's eyes seemed to widen a little, and she looked the group over, as if curious, her eyes resting on Dolrim, and then on the half-elf himself. He fancied that they stayed there a little longer than was necessary, and she seemed a little flushed. Perhaps there was something to be gained by this visit, beyond a little information, after all...
"There is..." Relayna started, pausing slightly as if uncertain what to say, "just something I need to clear up, but I won't interrupt. You don't mind if I stay for a moment?" She looked from Tharn to Tarissa, but it was Almandar who responded first.
"Not at all," he said, "we will not be long." Tarissa cast him a puzzled glance, until it suddenly dawned on her what his reason must be. Her face twitched a little but she said nothing, looking across at the master mason instead. When he also gave his assent, the human merchant pulled a chair away from the table, and moved it to the far wall, behind the dwarves, where she could see the adventurers, but not appear to be directly part of the discussion.
They all sat down, three of them on each side of the table. Relayna was sitting close to the window, somewhat in shadow, but the half-elf's eyes flicked to her easily over the heads of the dwarves. Fortunately, their attention seemed to be largely on Tarissa, for he suspected they would not approve of any flirting. Indeed, he was unsure how dwarven courtship worked, although he suspected it took rather a long time.
"We are interested in the past history of the city and its ancient architecture," began Tarissa, "in particular, the ruins below ground. We were hoping that you might have information on them... as historical curiosities, or to avoid building cellars into them, perhaps?"
