Corinne Barnett Collection: A Rotten Egg in Cordor

Written by Corinne Barnett.

Tilly trudged into Cordor with Archdruid Burin, dirty business on the agenda. A recent Underdark attack on Cordor ended with a silver dragon egg being stolen. And a man came forth claiming to have retrieved it. The whole situation was shifty, Tilly didn't like it. It was an answer that just raised more questions, and she hated it.

Tilly and Burin met with a group, including a few guards and Jorn who the egg was stolen from. The group made their way to the bank to meet the dealer, an older man with grey hair and a full beard. He was dressed in a surprising amount of finery for someone managing to procure such an obscure object, wearing a fancy blue coat with golden-threaded trim, a fancy shirt with gold buttons and a creamy scarf around his neck.

The man smirked and introduced himself, "I am Alshard Vosthyl. The best damn trader in the city."

"I would offer five hundred thousand gold, but is there anything I can offer in trade to lower the price?" Burin asked.

"I want coin." Alshard replied curtly, clutching a box close to his chest. Burin grunted and went to the banker, asking for the sum. The banker raised his eyebrows and got to work, weighing the gold and filling a chest with it.

"Before the exchange, Jorn needs to inspect the egg. To avoid any shenanigans." Tilly said as the banker prepared the gold.

"Yes, Jorn can identify if it's the original." A woman nearby chimed in. Alshard turned to face Jorn, but stopped as he noticed Burin returning with a sizable chest in his arms. Alshard completely ignored Jorn and began to rub his hands together, giving a nervous chuckle.

A passer-by asked what was going on.

"An Underdarker stole the egg I won at the races. Apparently the egg reached this man's hands through some deal in Andunor. And now he's selling it." Jorn replied, growing more irritable by the second at Alshard's hesitation.

"Ah, I can show it, but there is literally no evidence it was stolen!" Alshard said, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. Alshard fumbled with the latch on the box and opened it, pushing aside woolen cloth wrapped around the egg to keep it safe. He then held the box towards Jorn for inspection.

Jorn furrowed his brow as he inspected the egg, moving from side to side to get a better view of it.

"... I don't think this is the real egg." Jorn finally assessed.

"How could it not be? Maybe it's not YOUR egg! It's a silver dragon egg none the less! Maybe yours was a fake!" Alshard stammered, closing the box and clutching it closely again.

"So. It's either a second real egg, or, it's a fake?" Tilly said, sighing.

"Let me take a look at it." Burin said, moving closer. Alshard slowly opened the box once more.

"As you can see, it's genuinely silver. And as heavy as it should be." Alshard said. Burin squinted at the egg and hummed.

"No one should have a dragon egg, it should be presented to Darnoth!" another dwarf said.

"Burin, perhaps you should consult with the Great Dragon?" Tilly chimed in.

"... Here, take the gold. I will make the exchange." Burin said, finishing his assessment. Alshard quickly handed the box over and grabbed the chest of gold by the handles, lifting it and waddling towards the bank. The banker sighed, having to deposit the entire sum so soon after preparing it. Burin moved away from the crowd and tenderly touched the egg, inspecting it closer.

"May Graz'zt and his Coinmaiden look kindly upon you!" Alshard said, his voice giddy as he turned to leave. Tilly couldn't believe her ears, this man was giving a blessing with a demon prince's name. The rest of the group was equally as surprised, moving in closer to surround Alshard and preventing him from simply walking out now that he had his coin.

Alshard, realizing his mistake, began to backpedal as quickly as possible.

"I just said, may he never have to cross their path!"

A Cordorian guard making patrol rounds chimed in, "Mister, did you praise the demon prince?"

"No! I just said, may he look kindly upon him! What's wrong with that!" Alshard replied, increasingly uncomfortable.

"Fine, you will still be watched under suspicion of worshipping fiends." She replied in a cold voice, hawk-like eyes taking in his every detail.

Tilly wasn't about to let Alshard get away with his excuses.

"You could have just said 'Coinmaiden.' You made the conscious choice to add the demon prince's name." Tilly began to press him on it.

"Ah! But I can sell proof against demon worshippers, to prove my innocence!" Alshard replied, scurrying through a book bag like a squirrel trying to find an acorn.

"See? I'm not one of them!" Alshard said after passing the book to the guard to read. The guard narrowed her eyes as she flipped through it, then passed it back and took out a notepad to write down names. Tilly, however, was not convinced.

"You conspicuously have details about demon worshippers, after uttering the demon prince's name in honour? After you just so happened to get the dragon egg back from Andunor?" Tilly continued to press him.

"Does espionage cross your mind at all? Or is it a foreign concept?" Alshard said snidely, having regained some confidence after seeing the guard's interest in his information.

"Does high treason mean anything to you?" Tilly asked.

"You are being bloodthirsty. Please stop." Alshard said, before turning to the guard, "I want the book back now."

"You wilfully purchased intelligent life from Andunor and gave praise to a demon." Tilly continued.

"We can discuss a price for the information." Alshard said, sweat beading on his forehead again as he attempted to ignore Tilly.

"Still, honouring the demon was idiotic. Please refrain from saying demon names in the future in such a way. Either way, no illegal trade nor ill things happened. People can continue about their business" The guard said, returning to her patrol.

"I will refrain in the future, though I was not aware wishing someone is not pestered by demons is a curse." Alshard continued to argue.

"You did say may the Dark Prince and his Coinmaiden look kindly upon me. Wouldn't that mean you wish for them to give me some sort of blessing?" Burin asked in a calm, sagely voice.

"Oh no no, I just desire you never get in conflict with them!" Alshard replied, looking around the group nervously.

A woman in the crowd sighed, "We're wasting our time. We must locate the original egg, if this one is a fake."

"Since there is another, perhaps, I might ask my contacts. Perhaps I will be able to pull another one from the ground." Alshard offered.

"I hope you speak Undercommon quite well. Because dealing with the people that attacked Cordor a tenday ago will get you exiled." Jorn said, glaring at Alshard. The two began to argue.

Having enough of the circular conversation, Tilly turned her attention to something actually productive: Determining if the dragon egg was real. She and Burin left the city, egg in hand. The small victories had to be looked at, and if this egg was real, then it had been rescued. The question of Alshard would remain, Cordor and its laws were its own to enforce. If she acted as vigilante it would only give Alshard the tools he needed to use the law against her. The larger victories would have to wait.

Fiction, and Stories {Dread Pirate Book Club}: [Talk] Corinne Barnett Collection: A Rotten Egg in Cordor

Written by Corinne Barnett.

Tilly trudged into Cordor with Archdruid Burin, dirty business on the agenda. A recent Underdark attack on Cordor ended with a silver dragon egg being stolen. And a man came forth claiming to have retrieved it. The whole situation was shifty, Tilly didn't like it. It was an answer that just raised more questions, and she hated it.

Tilly and Burin met with a group, including a few guards and Jorn who the egg was stolen from. The group made their way to the bank to meet the dealer, an older man with grey hair and a full beard. He was dressed in a surprising amount of finery for someone managing to procure such an obscure object, wearing a fancy blue coat with golden-threaded trim, a fancy shirt with gold buttons and a creamy scarf around his neck.

The man smirked and introduced himself, "I am Alshard Vosthyl. The best damn trader in the city."

"I would offer five hundred thousand gold, but is there anything I can offer in trade to lower the price?" Burin asked.

"I want coin." Alshard replied curtly, clutching a box close to his chest. Burin grunted and went to the banker, asking for the sum. The banker raised his eyebrows and got to work, weighing the gold and filling a chest with it.

"Before the exchange, Jorn needs to inspect the egg. To avoid any shenanigans." Tilly said as the banker prepared the gold.

"Yes, Jorn can identify if it's the original." A woman nearby chimed in. Alshard turned to face Jorn, but stopped as he noticed Burin returning with a sizable chest in his arms. Alshard completely ignored Jorn and began to rub his hands together, giving a nervous chuckle.

A passer-by asked what was going on.

"An Underdarker stole the egg I won at the races. Apparently the egg reached this man's hands through some deal in Andunor. And now he's selling it." Jorn replied, growing more irritable by the second at Alshard's hesitation.

"Ah, I can show it, but there is literally no evidence it was stolen!" Alshard said, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. Alshard fumbled with the latch on the box and opened it, pushing aside woolen cloth wrapped around the egg to keep it safe. He then held the box towards Jorn for inspection.

Jorn furrowed his brow as he inspected the egg, moving from side to side to get a better view of it.

"... I don't think this is the real egg." Jorn finally assessed.

"How could it not be? Maybe it's not YOUR egg! It's a silver dragon egg none the less! Maybe yours was a fake!" Alshard stammered, closing the box and clutching it closely again.

"So. It's either a second real egg, or, it's a fake?" Tilly said, sighing.

"Let me take a look at it." Burin said, moving closer. Alshard slowly opened the box once more.

"As you can see, it's genuinely silver. And as heavy as it should be." Alshard said. Burin squinted at the egg and hummed.

"No one should have a dragon egg, it should be presented to Darnoth!" another dwarf said.

"Burin, perhaps you should consult with the Great Dragon?" Tilly chimed in.

"... Here, take the gold. I will make the exchange." Burin said, finishing his assessment. Alshard quickly handed the box over and grabbed the chest of gold by the handles, lifting it and waddling towards the bank. The banker sighed, having to deposit the entire sum so soon after preparing it. Burin moved away from the crowd and tenderly touched the egg, inspecting it closer.

"May Graz'zt and his Coinmaiden look kindly upon you!" Alshard said, his voice giddy as he turned to leave. Tilly couldn't believe her ears, this man was giving a blessing with a demon prince's name. The rest of the group was equally as surprised, moving in closer to surround Alshard and preventing him from simply walking out now that he had his coin.

Alshard, realizing his mistake, began to backpedal as quickly as possible.

"I just said, may he never have to cross their path!"

A Cordorian guard making patrol rounds chimed in, "Mister, did you praise the demon prince?"

"No! I just said, may he look kindly upon him! What's wrong with that!" Alshard replied, increasingly uncomfortable.

"Fine, you will still be watched under suspicion of worshipping fiends." She replied in a cold voice, hawk-like eyes taking in his every detail.

Tilly wasn't about to let Alshard get away with his excuses.

"You could have just said 'Coinmaiden.' You made the conscious choice to add the demon prince's name." Tilly began to press him on it.

"Ah! But I can sell proof against demon worshippers, to prove my innocence!" Alshard replied, scurrying through a book bag like a squirrel trying to find an acorn.

"See? I'm not one of them!" Alshard said after passing the book to the guard to read. The guard narrowed her eyes as she flipped through it, then passed it back and took out a notepad to write down names. Tilly, however, was not convinced.

"You conspicuously have details about demon worshippers, after uttering the demon prince's name in honour? After you just so happened to get the dragon egg back from Andunor?" Tilly continued to press him.

"Does espionage cross your mind at all? Or is it a foreign concept?" Alshard said snidely, having regained some confidence after seeing the guard's interest in his information.

"Does high treason mean anything to you?" Tilly asked.

"You are being bloodthirsty. Please stop." Alshard said, before turning to the guard, "I want the book back now."

"You wilfully purchased intelligent life from Andunor and gave praise to a demon." Tilly continued.

"We can discuss a price for the information." Alshard said, sweat beading on his forehead again as he attempted to ignore Tilly.

"Still, honouring the demon was idiotic. Please refrain from saying demon names in the future in such a way. Either way, no illegal trade nor ill things happened. People can continue about their business" The guard said, returning to her patrol.

"I will refrain in the future, though I was not aware wishing someone is not pestered by demons is a curse." Alshard continued to argue.

"You did say may the Dark Prince and his Coinmaiden look kindly upon me. Wouldn't that mean you wish for them to give me some sort of blessing?" Burin asked in a calm, sagely voice.

"Oh no no, I just desire you never get in conflict with them!" Alshard replied, looking around the group nervously.

A woman in the crowd sighed, "We're wasting our time. We must locate the original egg, if this one is a fake."

"Since there is another, perhaps, I might ask my contacts. Perhaps I will be able to pull another one from the ground." Alshard offered.

"I hope you speak Undercommon quite well. Because dealing with the people that attacked Cordor a tenday ago will get you exiled." Jorn said, glaring at Alshard. The two began to argue.

Having enough of the circular conversation, Tilly turned her attention to something actually productive: Determining if the dragon egg was real. She and Burin left the city, egg in hand. The small victories had to be looked at, and if this egg was real, then it had been rescued. The question of Alshard would remain, Cordor and its laws were its own to enforce. If she acted as vigilante it would only give Alshard the tools he needed to use the law against her. The larger victories would have to wait.