Larry
Lei Linas 
Ignis Grax

Lei returned with the items Czerich needed and showed them to him. "Here they are. The map is free." He then walked over to a desk and picked up a pad of paper where he would have listed the items for purchase. "The spy glass will be *Insert price here* If you wish to purchase it." The inventor smiled warmly.

Lei did find it concerning when he heard the boy asking for money but he spoke nothing of it for now. He wasn't the child's guardian so it didnt feel right to scold him right there in public. It seems that the gentleman had it covered anyway.
Gala
Giallo Strizzare
Ignis Grax, Azarya

Giallo nodded.
"I'll carry your luggage then, sir."
He hopped down from the table as Lei entered and looked intently at the spy glass as the man spoke. It was one of the fanciest things he'd ever seen. If Czerich could afford such an item, it'd undoubtedly be more worthwhile to follow him instead of Lei.
Robert
Kiervan Czerich
Ignis Grax

Czerich examined the items, then took a coin purse from his tunic.

"The two gold ones are for you," He told the blacksmith. I cannot take the map for free on principle."

He then turned towards the kid, and handled him a big silver coin. Kiervan knew that his father was the richest man in Azarya, but the moment he left the coyntry, his ressources would become scarce. If there was a time to invest heavily on travelling equipment, it was now that he still had access to the Magnate's coffins.
"Don't worry young man, you won't be having to carry things too too long, but you will have to carry stuff very often. You see, I'm planning on leaving Azarya, and I happen to be in search of many things: transport, travel clothes, an interpreter who knows the common tongues of the east, and a bodyguard if possible. I could pay you if you happened to know any of those."

Then, turning his head towards Linas, he said: "The same goes for you Blacksmith."
Larry
Lei looked surprised when he was paid well for the map and was about to speak up about how the map was just a spare that he had but he pursed his lips when the other man began to speak again. When he heard that he needed a means of transport Lei smiled. 

"I can provide transport. My carriages should do well. I plan to travel as well. Im supposed to be leaving today actually." He gestured towards a prepared carriage outside not too far from the stables in the garden. All it was missing now were the horses. 

"I will be happy enough to carry you where you need me to."
Gala
Giallo Strizzare
Ignis Grax, Azarya

He accepted the coin reverently, surprised that he'd been paid before he'd even done anything. People outside of Iron Gate were either frivolously wealthy or as naive as babies. That being said, Giallo knew he'd be naive if he let an opportunity like this pass him by. 
Even better, this man would pay for a bodyguard. Giallo could use some of what his parents had taught him to make even more money, and it would be legal to boot. Although his face remained a blank slate, he felt a twinge of innocent hope.
All that was left was to apply for the job. He held out his open palm to Czerich.
"Give me another coin and I can show you a bodyguard."
Robert
"Deal," Said Czerich. And he gave him a copper coin.

"As for the transport, I'd be happy to take your carriage. Though I'm not sure about the horses. I prefer mules. All the more so since I already own one. We onld only need to purchase a second beast."
Larry
Lei Linas 
Ignis Grax

Lei smiled "I've got that covered. I have two horses that love traveling as much as I do. I don't have any Mules but i can have your animal transported with us in an attached cart. 

He smiled over at Giallo, happy he was able to find a way to earn some money. Looks like he already knew what he was doing so he didn't have to worry too much about looking after him.
Gala
Giallo Strizzare
Ignis Grax

Giallo took the coin and pocketed it separately from the other. He was a little disappointed that this one hadn't been silver too, but either way he was better off than before. He glanced back at Lei, replying to the smile with a slight cock of the head, before casting his vacant owl eyes back at Czerich.
"If you do not believe I can protect you, you can try to take your money back."
Robert
Kiervan Czerich
Ignis Grax

Kiervan was dumbfounded.
"Wait, what..?" Was all that he could muster to say. Then, fully realizing he had be fooled, he frowned and told the kid: "You little..."

He readied himself, as if looking to pounce on the kid. But it was a ruse. The real danger came from behind: Pyotr, the cat, had bolted with inaudible steps and now was leaping onto Giallo's coat. Strangely enough, the creature seemed to understand his master's concern with an unusal (almost too unusual) level of detail, as he desperately tried to wiggle his way into Giallo's pockets.

Once he left the kid to fend off the cat, he said to the blacksmith that he agreed to have his mule attached. Linas couldn't help to notice how Czerich's words were slower how he occasinally stuttered.

Almost as if his attention was elsewhere.
Larry
Lei Linas 
Ignis Grax

Lei raised his eyebrows when he heard the boy challenge the grown man to what sounded like... A fight? How was this going to end. Seeing the older male ready to grab the child made the inventor grow tense where he stood. He himself was a skilled fighter thanks to his past ties but he was not proud of it and did not intend to earn money using violence but if it boiled down to protecting someone in the face of danger Linas could not turn a blind eye. He was about to stop the two from fighting but to his surprise the cat sprung into action instead. "Wha?!" Alarmed Lei stepped forward, worried the child might be injured by the feline's sharp claws but he stopped when he realized the cat was just trying to retrieve the coin in the boy's pocket. 

Lei sighed softly and rubbed his neck in discomfort when he saw the small scuffle taking place and hoped no one was going to get hurt in the process. 
He looked over at the other man as he approached him and offered him a small smile, clearly still weary of the commotion going on. He was happy the man agreed to his suggestion of transporting his mule.
Gala
Giallo Strizzare
Ignis Grax

The boy reacted to Czerich's posture by lowering his chin, but otherwise didn't move until the cat leapt on him. Giallo was surprised, but he wasn't a hard headed adult who'd dismiss impossibility and thus be flatfooted when confronted by it, and it helped that he already wasn't fond of cats. He'd had more than enough of their tripe when he'd been forced to live on the city streets.

He'd resolutely reach around and try to sieze it by the scruff of its neck with his nearest hand to keep pinned firmly to his body, whilst applying his other hand to the task of neatly drawing his dirk, which he'd intend to level near the feline's body.
He seemed to have no fear of being clawed, and if a coin dropped loose he'd neatly step on it without missing a beat. Should this occur he'd talk to Czerich's back, saying, "Sir, your cat is worth more than coins, isn't it?"
Robert
"Argh!" 

Czerich closed his eyes in pain as the cat was seized by Giallo, even though the whole fight was happening outside his field of vision.

The cat had an unusual sense of positionning and strategy. Instead of following his feline instincts and clawing at the boy, he pressed all four of his legs against Giallo's body and pryed himself away from his grasp using a contortionist spin.

He immediatly rat to safety, before turning to face Giallo again. He had failed to capture the coin.

From the other side of shop, Czerich's complaint could be heard.
"You know what? You can keep it! I can carry stuff on my own..." His voice was initially swelling with frustration, but then he seemed to realize something.

"Hey kid," Said the young scholar. "Who are you?"
Gala
Giallo Strizzare
Ignis Grax, Azarya

The dirk had already vanished back into its concealed sheath at the lad's left flank, almost by the time the cat had landed on the floor. Personally Giallo had always wanted a stiletto instead, but he'd never been able to afford one until now. His own feral instincts told him to run while the loot was free and easy, but this strange and rare emotion of gratitude left him feeling like such a thing wouldn't be at all satisfying.

"Giallo Strizzare. Since you've already paid me I'll do the work you've put me to if it's all the same, sir."
Robert
"A good name, but it's not what I asked," Said Czerich.
He looked annoyed at first, but then made a smug grin.

"Say, kid. You tell me who you _truly_ are, and I give you another copper. No, a silver."

Even more, if Kiervan liked the answer, he was willing to shell out a gold one, but he kept that last detail to himself.
Larry
Lei Linas 
Ignis Grax

Lei looked surprised when he heard Czerich yelp, his eyes glancing back to the cat who some how did not claw at the boy. Lei had many questions buzzing in his mind about these two new visitors but kept quiet to see what would happen next. The strange feline's actions were very intriguing and so was the young boy's confidence when it came to facing off against the man and his supposed feline companion.
Gala
Giallo Strizzare
Ignis Grax, Azarya

Finally emotion showed on the face of stoic Giallo, and it was perfect bewilderment. 
"But sir... Giallo Strizzare *Is my real name*. I've never been given any other!"
Robert
Ignis Grax

Upon hearing those words, the sholar bursted in laughter.

"I guess that also answers my question," He said. "You mentionned you were a bodyguard, but you're just a kid. What makes you confident that you will be up to the task?"

Czerich's current tone was one of curiosity and amusement. Giallo would need to convince him that his claim was more than just a childish reverie.

"I will be ready when you are," Czerich told the blacksmith. "The kid and I will go look for my mule".
Larry
Lei smiled and chuckled softly when he heard the boy's response. He sure was more adorable now than he was a few minutes ago. He was glad neither he or the cat were harmed. 

Lei gave the other man a thumbs up and a cheery smile in response. "Alright! I wont take long." 

After than Lei moved to the stables and gestured some of his comrades to come help him with the carriage attachments and the horses.
Gala
Giallo Strizzare
Ignis Grax, Azarya

"Pardon me for speaking the honest truth sir, but I've never been a bodyguard until now. Just a sneakthief who helped his sneakthief parents survive until they couldn't be helped anymore and were hanged. I can help you the same way and you'll never need to worry about being surprised by anyone."
Robert
Kiervan Czerich.
Ignis Grax, Azarya

"I plan to head south, to the swamps of the Merlosh. It's a land of fog and rumors, not opportunity. I may be a wealthy man in Azarya, but if wealth was the force were the driving force behind my life, I wouldn't be leaving my homeland.

When I asked for a bodygyard, I was looking for a companion and a fighter, not a blade for hire. Knowing this, do you still want to follow us boy?"
Gala
Giallo Strizzare
Ignis Grax, Azarya

Giallo frowned slightly, still looking a little confused.

"Pardon me again for being honest, sir, but if you want a fighter and not a blade, you and your fighter will meet your ends at the end of a blade yourselves. Smarts is better than muscle, my father always said. It's what places man above animals."
Robert
Kiervan Czerich.

_'Smarts is better than muscle'_. Heh. How fitting. It's the mantra Kiervan would recite his siblings during their academy days together. They were progidies, all three of them, and like all young prodigies they were prone to deal problems with brute force. Kiervan's tutorin had tempered that fiery spirit. Maybe they were both kindered spirits, the kid and him.

"You father was a wise man," He said.



He then turned to Linas, the blacksmith. "The kid says he wants to come with us. Seems to be the ressourceful type. I don't think he will be a burden. He looks clever enough. We should take him."
Larry
Lei was walking back over to them dusting off his hands a little after he got the carriage completely set up. Hearing that the boy was tagging along caused Lei to smile and nodd. "Sounds good to me. A trip is always more exciting with more friends around."

"I have already packed food and other necessities we might be needing for the trip. You mentioned you needed clothing right? There are quite a few well priced clothing shops around the block. I could take you there if you wish."