My Lord,
the town guards have found the man you previously spoke with.
The guards bring forth a man, stinking and filthy
We found him digging through the Cider refinery for apples out back milord.
-“Oh Merciful King! What more could I share with you I have not already said, there are diamonds guarded by savage foreigners deep within the Scaetum range! If you would but charter me a ship, and 25,000 coins, I will return with a map, and proof of the many riches you could not even conceive in your wildest dreams!”
The prince laughs, a deep, easy sound, and waves a hand as though shooing away the stench rather than the man himself.
“By the Saints, you have a gift for timing,” he says warmly. “Digging through cider barrels for apples, yet speaking of diamonds in the same breath. If nothing else, you are an entertaining fellow.”
He leans forward in his chair, studying the man with open curiosity rather than anger.
“I will not lie to you. Tales of savage guardians and mountains of gems are often born at the bottom of a cup. Still,” he adds with a grin, “the world was not built by men who never gambled.”
The prince nods to the guards.
“You will be given bread, clean water, and a proper washing, which will already improve your fortunes greatly. I will not give you twenty-five thousand coins, nor a ship of my own. But I will grant a small purse of 10,000 coins and allow you to seek passage with merchants already bound east. A clerk will record all you claim to know of the Scaetum range, so that your story does not grow richer with every telling. And I’ll send you two of my house guard to safeguard you.”
He chuckles, settling back.
“Return with even a single stone worth cutting, and I will gladly hear you again, perhaps with greater generosity. Fail, and you will learn that honest labor feeds a man more reliably than wild promises. Either way, I expect fewer apples to go missing.”
Update: My lord,
It uh… it appears that this man, who goes by the name of Vanz, has taken the money and instead of sailing east was reported to have sailed west towards Avesby instead. It appears that he had engendered himself to the local courts, and has become an estate holder and minor noble in the northwest of the country. Not much else is known about this. Quietly your advisor leans in, my lord, it appears to have been a grift.
"And I’ll send you two of my house guard to safeguard you.”
Upon not hearing from them my lord, we began to investigate the man after he had reportedly left on the western ship.
