The paladin blushed brighter than hellfire for a moment at Lanethe's explanation about Hugsbane, but she quickly shook off the embarrassment. She mumbled, "I, uh...did not know that. That is an interesting fact. Um. Yes. And thank you for sharing. A fascinating thing." She snapped out of it and listened to the guard-captain's offer.<br/><br/>Valeria grimaced and grumbled; she was not a guard and didn't appreciate being offered a "deal" that was really just a basic right to gaining entrance to the city, which still shouldn't be an issue. She thought better of getting lippy and decided to say, grudgingly, to the captain of the guard, "Very well, but that meal best be free if I'm to do a job meant for the guards and not for me." She reached over to pat Lanethe's bear and said, grinning to the guard captain, "Does that meal include something for Ehtenal?" She smiled and held up a hand as if to make it clear she was joking before acceding to the captain's offer.<br/><br/>Valeria made her way down the line, questioning each merchant, holding her symbol of Veritas as she does so in the hopes that it will give her insight into these individuals. She thought to herself irritably,<em>I wonder if I can get Lucian to make a song about pain-in-the-ass captains of the guards? Ugh.</em>