Rose's smiling face hid the impatience she was feeling.<em>Finally! A minute more and I'd have dragged them out by the ears myself.</em>Her actual spoken words were somewhat more diplomatic.<strong>"It's decided then! We shall meet at the gates, saddled up and ready to ride, in an hour's time - or two. Some of us do prefer to give our shopping the proper time and respect it deserves, you know."</strong>She sniffed haughtily.<br/><br/>In the lower floor of the Purple Wyrm Inn, Rose sought out Aberik to explain her proposal. But not too much.<strong>"Shall we split ways and obtain supplies first, and then meet at the library in an hour's time? Our task should not take longer than an hour, and we will be able to rejoin the others before the allocated two hours is up. Oh, and you can call me Rose."</strong><br/><br/><hr/><br/>After receiving the wizard's answer, Rose made sure to liberate her share of the gold from the self-designated pack mule before she began her prowling the streets for bargains. The first destination was a bower. The dame put down her old longbow and explained her predicament.<strong>"Master Bower, as you can see, I have need to upgrade my bow. It is reasonably well crafted, to be sure, but it has ninety-nine siblings and all hundred were made by an apprentice and meant for generic everymen. I need a bow suitable for a dame, of the finest craftsmanship and with a draw customized for me. You know how dangerous the lands are nowadays - will you be able to help me?"</strong>