The mage leaned forwards and steepled his fingers across his desk with a smile.<strong> "While the offer brings to mind the curiosity of what a beautiful eros mage like yourself might be able to do to help me in a very personal way..."  </strong>He let the comment hang in the air for a moment,<strong>"I do actually have a task that you might be able to help me with.  I don't want to think you have too, but you two might be perfectly suited for a task that has been vexing me for a while."</strong><br/><br/>He looked over Stephanie for a moment, and his gaze seemed to be critical and not lusty before he nodded,<strong>"There is a member of the adventurer's guild named Rohnan one tusk.  He's a rough and tough looking half orc, but a legitimately intelligent man despite his brutish strength and skill.  And he knows how to use his appearance to disarm people, make them think he's little more than a stupid orc spawn.  A ruse that I admit, I fell for.  He recently returned from an expidition into the jungles and brought with him a stone tablet with an arcane engraving.  I want that tablet.  But when we were negotiating the price, I let slip how much I wanted it and that it was worth a bit more than I'd let on.  As I said, he's much brighter than he lets on, and after negotiating for a bit, he dropped the 'dumb orc' routine and began haggling in earnest.  After he learned that the tablet was worth as much as five thousand gold dragons to me, I couldn't talk him down to a single copper nib less.  But I do not wish to pay that fee, the most I can possibly spend would be three thousand.  Now he's searching out other buyers and it's only a matter of time till he finds one."</strong><br/><br/>Elder d'Nai sighed and leaned back again,<strong> "I told him that two thousand five hundered gold was the highest I'd go, and he left.  But maybe you girls can convince him to sell for less than five thousand?  I have three thousand to spend, and if you can get him to sell you the tablet for that much, I'll make sure that you get into the academy for free.  I'll process the papers myself, which will speed things along.  Full membership for you Dawn, and of course access for you as well Stephanie to our libraries and other amenities that you might find useful."</strong><br/><br/>He smiled and said,<strong> "Of course, if you can talk him down lower than three thousand, I'll split the difference with you as well.  He didn't seem to want to sell to me for two five, but if you can convince him, we'll split the five hundred I'd have saved and you can keep two fifty of it.  Does that sound like something you girls would be interested in?"</strong>