The price to be paid.

[G]

He was amused. It was time for him to give a bill for damages to Locke for damaging the bar by carving it in some little bout of anger while he was in a bad mood. Well, who was sure whether or not the bar to the arena repaired itself or not, usually it was the boys that worked there who did most of the cleaning and repairs. In any case, if there was going to be damage, as the Duel of Swords Supervisor, he was now going to give him a bill for those damages.

He grinned because he was sure how it would be taken when Locke saw the itemized receipt. He expected some sort of backlash and even an outcry. But most of all, he expected Locke wouldn't be thrilled with this even though he agreed to pay for it.

Well, G'nort wrote up the damages, itemized everything, and included a personal note of thanks and then paid one of his couriers to deliver the note to Locke's room at the Red Dragon.

"Dear Mr. D'Vestavio,

I offer you many thanks for agreeing to pay for the bar at the Arena that you so egregiously damaged with your knife. I have attached to this letter a receipt, detailing the costs of the various steps taken to restore the bar to its former, pristine glory. Please remit payment for these damages in a timely fashion. Failure or inability to repay me for this will be considered a breach of our oral contract, and I believe we would both prefer to avoid the steps I would regrettably be forced to take should that happen.

Hoping you are well,

Baron G'nort Dragoon Talanador. "

The itemized receipt was attached.
-------------
Counter Top for Bar - $1000 Silver Nobles.
Removal of Counter Top - $250 Silver Nobles.
Replacement Counter Top - $750 Silver Nobles.
Labor for replacing Counter Top - $1500 Silver Nobles.
Aggravation for damage to Counter Top - $2000 Silver Nobles.
Emotional Damage due to Historical significance - $5000 Silver Nobles.
Medical coverage for splinters received by Counter Top removal - $3000 Silver Nobles.
New Polish for new Counter Top - $5 Silver Nobles.
Rags to polish new Counter Top - $200 Silver Nobles.
Paper this receipt is printed on - $3 Silver Nobles.
Bill bill - $17 Silver nobles.

Total Bill: $13,725 Silver Nobles
Tax (6%): $823.50 Silver Nobles
Total Bill: $14,548.50 Silver Nobles
-------------

(Post done with permission and collaboration of Locke's player And this takes place on the 19th )

[Locke DVestavio]

Locke greeted the courier at the door to his roommate with equal parts politeness and confusion. He hadn't been expecting a message from anyone, though he immediately racked his brains to figure out who might have sent it. One of his friends? Nah, most of them knew where he lived, and would knock on his door or leave a note under it first. Valie? Too direct for her. Who else could it be, then? He thanked the messenger and tipped him a couple of silvers for his trouble, before he peeled the red wax off of the envelope and removed the letter. And...was that a receipt?

After reading the letter and receipt, the ice elf fell onto his bed, hand dramatically draped across his forehead with the letter clutched between his fingers. Put simply, there was no way he could afford to pay for this bill. He was already on the hook with Johnny Smith for the foreseeable future, paying off the remainder of what he owed on the rings he'd had the silversmith make for him. His gambling income had been drying up in recent months. He was limited to the few places and people who were actually still willing to test his skill, mostly in the Star's End side of town. And even if he did have part-time employment at the Inn that covered his room, board, and most of his meals, well, a dashing, intrepid young frost elf had to dress for success, right? This...this was beyond his means to pay back.

Yet pay it back he must. The consequences, he knew, were severe. Not that he really expected G to send his henchmen or whoever to break his kneecaps if he didn't pony up. But if Locke didn't pay the man, it would be quite a stain on the snow elf's honor. More importantly, though, it would mean the end of Locke's career as a Swords duelist. He'd already been grey-listed once from dueling, and didn't want to suffer those consequences again.

Ideas were thought of and summarily discarded. Sell his clothes? Perish the thought! Besides the fact that he loved each and every one of his dress shirts and ties like they were his own little pets, he knew that thrift stores would pay a pittance of what he had shelled out (or what the unlucky previous owners of those shirts had forked over) for them. Sell blood? Locke guessed there wasn't much of a market for blood that was a good ten degrees Celsius cooler than most human, dwarven, or elvish blood. Find another part-time job? But when would he find time to go shopping, exercise, or fight in the duels?

Just when it seemed that all hope was lost, another idea popped into Locke's head. He was hesitant to consider it at first, but when another 5 minutes of thinking provided no better ideas, he realized he had no other options. He went to his dresser and pulled out his old ninja-like thief's garb: all-black, whisper-soft cotton that clung tightly to his form. He hung the long-sleeved shirt and pants in the closet, in preparation for wearing it the next day. Hopefully, her offer was still open...

((Story continued in "Just When I Thought I Was Out..." on RDI))