Adventurers Wanted 1) Slathbog's Gold by M.L. Forman Read Free Book Online

package under his chin.
    “Once he’s offered to stand good for you, he’ll expect you to take advantage of his offer,” Andy explained. “It would be an insult to him if you didn’t buy everything you needed—and the best of everything you needed at that.”
    “An insult?” Alex wondered out loud as they entered another shop. “I would insult Thrang if I didn’t spend as much of his money as I could?”
    “You’re not spending as much as you could,” Andy laughed, piling Alex’s packages in the corner of the shop. “You’re not spending like there’s no tomorrow, or buying more than you need. You’re just spending as much as you need on what you need.”
    “But it seems to be a lot.”
    “And it is,” Andy agreed. “But if you don’t have the best of everything you need, Thrang will take it as an insult.”
    “But can he afford what I need?”
    “As long as you spend it on what you need, Thrang would happily let you spend all the gold in his bag—down to the very last coin,” Andy replied. “And between you and me, I don’t think we could spend everything in Thrang’s bag in a lifetime of trying.”
    “That’s crazy,” said Alex, stacking packages on top of the pile Andy had made.
    “It may sound crazy to you and me, but that’s how dwarfs are,” Andy replied, turning to look for the shopkeeper.
    Alex thought about what Andy had said, but it still didn’t sound right. Thrang had been extremely generous, and Alex couldn’t help feeling he was taking advantage of the dwarf.

Knowing that every gold coin was worth thirteen silver coins didn’t help at all.
    “What will it be then, gentlemen?” asked a round shopkeeper in square glasses. “Something in a deluxe model with a pool? Or maybe a nice garden?”
    “Nothing so grand, master bag maker,” replied Andy. “My friend needs a top quality bag, but hardly a pool or a garden.”
    “Ah, yes,” the shopkeeper said, looking at Alex. “Something in a three- or four-room model I should think. That’s always the best place to start. You can add on later as you need to.”
    “Okay,” said Alex slowly.
    “Sorry, Alex,” said Andy, noticing the confused look on Alex’s face. “You’ve never seen a magic bag before, have you?”
    Alex shook his head.
    “Do you have a demonstration model that my friend and I can look at?” Andy asked the shopkeeper.
    “Oh, yes,” the shopkeeper replied. “I have a lovely four-room model that you can look at right over here.”
    Alex and Andy followed the shopkeeper to the back of the shop. On a table was a leather bag with a long strap attached to it and silver fastenings at the top. The bag was about twice as long as it was wide, and Alex thought it looked like a postman’s bag.
    “Standard passwords,” said the shopkeeper, nodding to Andy, before leaving to help another customer.
    “Right,” said Andy. He turned to Alex. “All you have to do is pick up the bag, open it, and say ‘enter.’”
    “What?” Alex asked.
    “Just do it,” Andy laughed. “It will be all right.”
    Alex hesitated for a moment before reaching for the bag. The leather was soft and flexible, but the bag appeared to be empty. He was sure this must be some kind of joke, but he couldn’t see what the joke was.
    “Go on,” urged Andy. “I’ll be right behind you.”
    “Enter.”
    Everything went dark. Alex felt like he was dropping from a high place and spinning slightly as he fell. Then, as quickly as the feeling started, he felt himself come to a sudden stop. He could feel a stone floor under his feet, but everything was still dark.
    “Lights,” Andy’s voice said from the darkness next to him.
    Several lamps sprang to life, and Alex could see he was standing in a large square room made of stone. The room was empty except for a doorway in one wall.
    “Sorry about that,” said Andy, moving toward the doorway. “I thought the lamps would be burning. If I’d known they were out, I would have come