Morgan smiled politely. "Hello yourself, Renna."
A short, dark haired girl, who looked to be about the same age as Morgan emerged from the horse stall. She had a slender build and wore dark brown pants and a loose fitting grey tunic, bits and pieces of straw clung to her mussed hair. She rubbed her dark eyes wearily.
"Am I interrupting something?" Morgan asked.
"What?" Renna responded, confused.
Morgan pointed at the straw dangling from the girl's hair.
"Oh that!" she said brushing it away, "No you weren't interrupting anything. I was already awake anyway."
"Sleeping on the job?" Elandar gasped incredulously.
"Well I wouldn't say that," the girl said impishly, "more like working between naps." She turned her head slightly at the old man. "I don't believe we've met, I'm Renna!" she said, extending her hand.
Elandar ignored the gesture. "In my day we'd have been stoned for such insolence!" the old wizard spat angrily. "I ought to notify your superior."
"Her superior is Adlus," Morgan responded.
The old man cursed and took on a sour expression.
"Anyway," Morgan continued, "I do have a reason for being here-"
"Yes, yes, Minster Weasel sent word earlier."
"Sssh!" Morgan whispered, looking over his shoulder, "Not so loud, what if someone hears you? You really shouldn't speak of Adlus like that, so...openly."
"I sure hope the horses don't tell on me," she said sarcastically.
"Still," he said stubbornly, "it's not right."
Renna rolled her eyes. "All right, his esteemed Excellency Minister Adlus of New Targonor hath sent word to me, verily, of your impending arrival. He doth assure me in your company shall be one great oaf who doth respond to thy calling of Zanadar. Henceforth, upon your arrival, I, stablehand Renna am hereby obliged to offer you two mounts of unmatched quality for assistance in thy realm of speediness... verily."
The girl scanned the three men, her gaze stopping upon Zanadar. "You must be the oaf," she said, "Pleased to meet you!"
The big man frowned. "Did he really call me an oaf?"
"I'm afraid so," Renna nodded solemnly. "So..." she asked Morgan sweetly, "how is Gillian?"
"She's doing well." Morgan answered, "She'd be happy that you asked."
"Oh I'm sure she would be. Has she decided to come to the city yet?"
He shook his head. "No, she's still very at home in Tursh. I don't suspect that will change much anytime soon."
Renna wrinkled her nose. "I'll never know what it is you two see in that place. But I do know what when I finally convince Gillian to come to New Targonor that you'll be close behind." She smirked devilishly. "And then... you'll be in trouble Morgan Derek."
Zanadar raised an eyebrow.
"Never mind." Morgan said quickly, "About those horses?"
Renna laughed wickedly. "Of course!" she said, "For you, nothing but two of our finest animals."
Elandar cleared his throat loudly.
"Actually," Zanadar added, "we'll need three."
Renna looked to Morgan, he nodded. "We seemed to have gained another person."
"Oh, I don't know..." she trailed off playfully, "Minister Adlus specifically said there would be two of you. I wouldn't want to disobey him."
"Don't you even think about getting smart with us, you little nuisance!" Elandar squawked.
"I wasn't being smart, I promise. I am just trying to do a good job. I don't know what would happen if I were to give you three horses when instructed to only let you have two. Why, in your day I could be stoned for such insolence," she said tartly.
"Conniving wench!" the old man bellowed, nearly choking. "I ought to turn you into a horse!"
"Then I could kick you out of my stables with four feet instead of just two."
Morgan winced. "Let's not do anything drastic."
"I have to apologize for my venerable companion," Zanadar said, stepping in front of the old wizard, "He's very old, you see, and quite upset by the fact. He also won't fit on a horse with me, and as you can probably imagine, I don't think Morgan is particularly enthused by the prospect of sharing a mount with him either. If we had a third horse, you would be doing us a tremendous favor. There must be some way we can convince you."
Renna gave Morgan a pointed look. "You know what I want."
The ranger gulped heavily, he could feel himself blushing. "Could we just buy it, perhaps?" he asked.
"You know as well as I these horses aren't for sale Morgan," she said with a devastating grin.
Morgan squirmed about uneasily, from which Renna seemed to derive some sort of cruel pleasure. He looked to Zanadar, desperation in his eyes.
"Maybe we could rent one?" the big man interjected.
Renna sighed in disappointment and took her eyes off the ranger. "That sounds a lot like bribery to me."
"I apologize, I didn't mean to imply-"
"Lucky for you I'm very susceptible to bribes," she interrupted cheerfully, "How much have you got?"
Zanadar grumbled and once again loosened the strings on his coin purse and looked inside. "Not nearly as much as I had this morning," he muttered. He emptied the purse into his hand and counted out a few of the larger coins. "How's that?" he asked, showing them to Renna.
"It looks like a joke to me," she responded.
"I can match that," Morgan said, adding several more coins to the pile in Zanadar's hand.
"Now we're getting somewhere. What about you, old man?" she said to Elandar, "It is your horse, after all."
"Don't push your luck missy," he growled.
Renna laughed and tapped her chin absently as she thought. "I suppose that will do," she said and deftly snatched the coins from Zanadar. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you gentlemen."
"We'll stop by tomorrow morning just before dawn to pick up the horses," the big man said.
Renna cringed. "That's quite early."
"Good thing you had a nap." Elandar mumbled as they began to head towards the entrance.
"Good thing," she shot back. Renna smiled dangerously. "I'll see you tomorrow, Morgan."
Morgan gave an uneasy wave and followed the others back out onto the street. The three men began to walk back towards the tavern in silence. The streets remained busy, but a relaxed quiet had fallen over them as the sun gradually disappeared below the horizon. Morgan glanced over at Zanadar. The big man was grinning at him dumbly.
"Don't do that," the ranger said self-consciously.
