After finishing his brief and quieted discussion with Balthor, Ceol had made a point of ignoring all other inquiries.  To anyone else it would likely be seen as a sign of stubborn rudeness, but from the stony look on his face it didn't seem to be a conscious decision.  It just wasn't the time to mention such things.  At least, not quiet yet...<br/><br/>Not until they reached the Merchant Quarter anyway.  Using what little coin he had left the man tracked down a seller of armor, eying a wide swatch of chain but settling for a sturdy but light vest of Hide Armor.  The man had allowed him briefly into the back of the stall to change into it, and he found it adequate to his needs.  It fit snugly around his tree-trunk of a frame, and most importantly it provided some protection for his abdomen.  His hands had lightly brushed over the fading marks the poison bolts had left in their wake, and some part of him was thankful that Balthor's treatment had not entirely erased them from sight.  Scars were trophies to be borne with pride, or reminders to be borne with shame until those who had caused them were laid in the ground with no one left to mourn their passing.<br/><br/><em>A long knife, a slender swatch of black tainting the arm of the man who wore it.  A tattoo.  Generic, but enough to go off of.  A bit of scent for the bloodhound rumbling in his chest.</em><br/><br/>When they were standing outside Melvick's Monetarium, he stopped.  "I was waylaid by five men in the night," he said, in the same monotonous way one might talk about the weather or crop yields.  "Assassins, from the look of them.  Dropped me with three bolts to the side, all of them poisoned."<br/><br/>Ceoluulf gave the building a long hard stare, surveying all the myriad chains and locks the owner had set upon it.  "I am beginning to understand this<em>Archenbridge</em>.  I have heard it is a prosperous place, but not of its<em>dangers</em>.  It has become infected with vermin.  Parasites.  Trained killers masquerading as mere thieves.  It is little wonder that security is so prized here."