"The noble spirit of Betar City is right here in my hand." The Bard held out his filthy palm.
"There's nothing in your hand."
"Exactly! Nothing!"
Once the Bard had finished complaining and shooed away a prisoner who had crept over to listen, it was Annan's turn to explain why he had slipped into the Dungeon.
"I had a falling-out with Gema of the Diatra family, but I needed a Magic Ring from the auction. I asked the Mage Murat to bring it back for me, but he disappeared, so I had to come find out what happened."
"You came yourself?"
"I don't have many people to send... I could hardly send Faster or Copperbeard. And I have another reason for being here."
He had come to investigate Gema, for one thing. But now it seemed he had picked up a few side quests: freeing the Foreign Races, saving the Orphanage... and rescuing the Bard.
"They really would botch everything," the Bard agreed.
"Do you know what happened at the auction?"
"You've asked the right man. As someone who was there, I shall recount what happened at that auction, beginning—"
"This isn't a Tavern, and you're not telling a story."
"Sorry. Habit. Let me think where to start..."
A new batch of lots went up for auction every month, with no shortage of rare and valuable things. But none had ever ended in a scandal like this: a Mage from the Mage Tower had stolen the Magic Ring Danilo Dram bought, and it had taken several days of searching Betar City to catch him.
Leaving aside the conflicting accounts, Annan knew this much: Murat had obtained the Magic Ring; Danilo Dram had taken it from him; and the Diatra family was on Danilo Dram's side.
"Do you know where Murat