"Aye, easier to spot a fat woman's arsehole," Halam remarked, as he too began studying the perimeter of the wide street they traversed. Not only did the crowd make it difficult to single out anyone in particular, but it was making progress painfully slow. They wouldn't get to where they were going until whatever was happening had probably finished.<br/><br/>He grunted, spotting a dark alleyway off to the right; it was positioned behind a vendor selling some wares, calling out to the passing people only to be ignored. As Halam weaved his way through the crowd towards the gap between buildings, he saw that the person seemed to be selling dried up ears, or something. No wonder business was going so poorly.<br/><br/>"Good luck charms! Get them here, people, and take solace in the protection of Anu! Pickled donkey ears, to stave off illness! Dehydrated moose scrotums, to keep poverty at bay! Dragon shit, for styling and strengthening your h-"<br/><br/>Halam shouldered the cart aside, sending the beak-nosed man tumbling to the ground amid gales of laughter from a few youths standing in the alley behind him. "Hey! Dwarf!"<br/><br/>He stopped at the mouth of the gap and turned, raising his eyebrows at the fallen vendor. "Yeah?"<br/><br/>"…I'll give you a moose scrotum for half price."<br/><br/>"No, but my friend might be interested," Halam said with a jerk of his head towards Merc, as he turned to enter the alleyway again, this time smirking as he approached the group of children. They weren't street urchins, judging by the make of their clothes; it seemed they were bored by whatever was taking place, choosing instead to hang around behind the strangest vendor the dwarf had ever seen. It was amazing what some people would pay for.<br/><br/>"You," he said gruffly, pointing at one of the kids; he looked like he might've been half-elven, judging by the sharp angles of his face and his ears, but then again maybe he just looked like that. "What's going on?"<br/><br/>The boy hesitated, glancing at his comrades; it was obvious Halam wasn't a local, and perhaps something in his appearance made the lads wary of him. In any case, he wasn't feeling particularly patient at the moment. "I said, what's going on?" he repeated, placing a hand casually on top of his axe. The boy paled and perked up immediately.<br/><br/>"There's something going on at the temple, it's for the twentieth coronation day-"<br/><br/>"Who's in charge, then?"<br/><br/>"The Lady Alex-"<br/><br/>"Alright, good enough for me," he interrupted, waving a hand. "The important bit - you mongrels look like you know your way around. Tell me of a shortcut to this temple of yours."<br/><br/>Once again the boy hesitated, and the whole group looked over Halam's shoulder, at someone approaching from behind him.