<div class="floatleft">(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/32/62/e6/3262e6539ba306aaa178b6396abadd3d--auburn-hair-colors-hair-colours.jpg)</div>The late afternoons in the Dew Drop Inn were often busy. So much so that Hani Silverthorn would have to work hard to serve all the merchants and nobles who frequented the tavern section to discuss 'business' with their friends and sometimes enemies. She worked beside four other waitstaff who bustled between bar, kitchen and dining room with remarkable efficiency.<br/><br/>Tips were good, and the patrons often let slip important facts and secrets they were not careful enough to hide. Hani had excellent hearing, and she was always surreptitious enough to be pouring water, clearing tables nearby or just plain checking on the customers as they chatted. They accepted her fast friendly service and ignored her for the most part. The things she heard would often get passed to others who were keenly aware of her ability to find out things none of them could catch themselves. It made her a very effective agent, dealing in secrets and information. She also had occasion to visit the manor homes when the wealthy were away on business or pleasure. Then she would collect some of their well hidden treasures. Often she replaced the gems she stole with glass replicas.<br/><br/>Her fence would gladly take the real gems and give her a good amount of gold for them. She had a running account at the Pawn shop, where she would bring in the gems and exchange them for gold. Sometimes, as it happened this last evening, she found something so mind boggling, that she knew it was not an ordinary treasure. The fool noble who had it locked in his safe was not a mage. If he had been smart, he would have sold the extremely rare basilisk heart to the Elves himself. The blood red crystal was a conduit for mana. It would give a mage almost unlimited power, with the side effect of nearly driving the wielder insane.<br/><br/>(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c3/38/c2/c338c2aec35589e9105c787dc9b2c32a.jpg)<br/><br/>Hani had the gem in her upstairs apartment now, locked in her own foolproof safe. She had sent word to her fence that she had an extraordinary find to sell and wanted a meeting with the Elven contact.<br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: comic sans ms;"><strong>I have found a rare crystal. It is so rare I know that a Mage would pay a huge amount of gold to possess it. I offer it to you first. I am sure you know how much a Basilisk heart is worth? I need to meet with you soon to discuss price.</strong></span><br/><br/>Whether the agent would agree to meet with her, she did not know. She watched the door for a messenger. He knew where to find her and to be discrete. Meanwhile, the patrons of the Inn demanded all her attention. When the evening finally grew quieter, she took a break and sat in a corner with her back to the wall. This corner was right next to the kitchen and was where all the staff went to relax. Her father Sirus Silverthorn, peered out of the kitchen and spied her sitting down. He smiled at his beautiful daughter and then ducked back into the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later with a plate of food. She had not had time to eat before the dinner rush, and he had felt bad about it.<br/><br/>"So, you were out late last night. Is there someone you are seeing? A father wants to know." He was not angry, merely curious. He had been worried that she worked so hard and would never find a mate. Poor man was wanting grandchildren. Hani's mother had died several years ago, and they missed her dearly. He did the best he could for Hani, paying her a good salary and making sure she had a nice place to live. A large and imposing man, Sirus had retired from adventuring many years ago to settle down with his wife Madelyne. They had Hani only a year into their retirement and raised her to be a free spirited woman with boundless energy and some talents that most parents would never dream of imparting to their children. Like picking locks, using a grappling hook to climb to high places...those she had learned from her mother. From her father, a talent for using a bow and a sword as well as a dagger to defend herself.<br/><br/>Hani smiled at her father, enjoying the excellent stew he made and the fresh bread. "Father, you spoil me! You know I would never see anyone without you knowing about it. There is no one in my life right now. I am content to flirt and get large tips for being friendly. I am not one to sleep around like Mandy and Jill. They take too many chances doing that. I am holding out for someone special." She could not tell her father of the very few men in her life who had taken her virginity years ago, but never stayed around to offer more. She was not against an occasional dalliance. But she had not had a steady lover in over a year now, and she was not worried about it. The handsome Knight Captain of the Guard had been openly flirting with her since the first time he had come into the Inn. But he was cagey and coy, using her talents to gain information without revealing the sources. He had challenged her in a way she had not known before. It was outrageous fun to see how much she could flirt with him and tease without actually pursuing anything more. Like a cat and mouse, they exchanged innuendos, always teasing and never serious.<br/><br/>