"Yes, that one." Dio replied with a nod as his satchel was brought over by the bank worker, the woman offering him a kind smile as the leather bag was handed across the counter.
He returned the smile. "I won't be long." True to his word, the man was quick to fetch the pouch he had come here for, locking the satchel up again and pushing it towards the woman who had brought it from the vault.
"Thank you. Keep up the good work here and have a wonderful day." The sailor smiled and stepped away, the woman turning to bring the man's satchel back to the compartment he had rented out upon his arrival.
The road back up to the Prancing Pony was easier now than a couple of nights prior. His leg was still stiff, but now that he had gotten a couple of days to rest, he wasn't as bound to chairs and could move around more freely.
Dio took the opportunity, while the day was warm and the winds calm, to walk around the town and enjoy the sights.
Before noon, Dio had returned to the tavern and settled down by one of the tables with an order of ale and a bowl of porridge.
While he ate, the sailor held the dark pouch he had collected. It fitted neatly in the palm of his large hand, the texture of the skin was very rough to the touch, the hide uncommon in the markets and less so in a simple town as this one.
Dio caressed his thumb against the pouch, feeling the pointed edge of the tooth he had promised to show the woman, if she'd keep her end of the deal.
A bottle of decent rum, that's what he had asked for. He missed the taste from the daily tot and knew that the liquor would help bring back memories that were starting to fade from his mind, of times back on the ships he had sailed with and of course the crew he had gotten to know.
The man smiled and pushed aside the empty bowl and tugged the pouch away, hiding it in a pocket where thieves would have a hard time getting to it.
He wondered if Rue would be able to hold up her end of the bargain and if so, how she would react to the sight of the tooth. The man had already drawn up the beast it came from for her and, unsurprisingly, the woman doubted the size he claimed the fish to have been.
Dio grinned at the thought of how she would respond, should she find herself gazing upon the prized tooth. He wondered if she would hear the tale of how they wrestled the sea monster, how it had nearly pulled their ship under, how many men were lost and of the fortune this creature's hide, teeth and bones netted them.
Even now, the tales that the tooth held had more value to him than the money he would be able to make selling it or the pouch that had been crafted from the beast's rough hide.
The old sailor had many such treasures still, collected through the years as he sailed across the seas of the world.
By this time, he could make his wages as a bard with tales and songs.
The thought made the man laugh, he had managed to trade with the woman in such a way; a tankard of ale in exchange for a simple old shanty that he had learned as a young boy. Maybe the Bree-landers had more interest in such than he had first thought.
