Seb'riel nods. "Perhaps. But first we must understand them. I suspect they have power far beyond what has been discovered so far. The notes from..." She shakes a little, pausing as she searches for a different word. "...the tower, allude to much more beneath the surface. We must know what we deal with."

Kyne laughs aloud and wraps an affectionate arm around Shallan, holding her close and nodding in response to his sister's words.

"We find out what we can and we make for Dul Zerath. We need a ship headed east."

"An airship?" replies the young woman, her eyes bright of anticipation.

Kyne turns his head to look at Shallan directly. The look on his face says that he hadn't considered this option.

"I mean... that would certainly be faster, if one can take us all the way there? Or at least to the eastern coast."

The excitment of Shallan is obvious.

"Oh we can search for one or ask! I always wanted to go on one airship!!"

A dwarf approaches the table and places his splayed-out hand on the table. His hand and arm up to his elbow are covered in a brass gauntlet with rivets and arcane cores throughout. The dwarf is stout, no more than 4'8" with bright red hair cut into a disheveled undercut on his head and a full beard reaching down to his midchest. Soot covering his clothes and face he gives a large smile to the group and with excitement in his voice and an adventurous gleam in his hazel eyes he asks the group in his heavy dwarven accent, 

"Oi, I o'erheard ye be searching for a powerful gem o' sorts? Sohnds like ye in need of a Dwarf; and a handy one at that."

He pauses to hear the group's answers as he continues brandishing his warm smile.

"Thorok Lakh, Nak!" Kyne declares happily, looking up at the newcomer. "Rumol keovid lare Dwed? Ekor ath othok Nir burakrin?"

     Hurosk, looking a bit puzzled, raises an eyebrow at Kyne's sudden outburst in a language foreign to him. He turns to see the dirty dwarf and then searches the room for the nearest fireplace that this one seemed to crawl from. He briefly wonders how this one was able to sneak up on them before greeting him. "And what makes you one for finding magic stones...?" As soon as he asks, he wonders the point of asking an obvious question to a dwarf.

The dwarf looks to the elf in shock as he hears a familiar tongue coming from a peculiar mouth, "Stjora, en zkrinn grumz heth en dwjorgumal thaga." He looks over to half-orc and responds, "Wehll, way wohdn't I bae? Oihma Dwarf ahf'er ahll." (Well, why wouldn't I be? I'm a Dwarf after all.) He then lifts the hand he had planted on the table and raised it in front of his face brandishing the blue arcane stone on the back of his palm. He squeezes his brass-covered fingers into a fist and as he squeezes the gemstone on the back of his hand begins to glow and crackle with arcane energy. "Ay ohlso layke toh cohll mayself ahn ahkspurt ein arkaine aytems." (I also like to call myself an expert in arcane items.)

Seb'riel raises an eyebrow at this, looking over at the stone and up at the dwarf. She had ignored her brother showing off and had no desire to talk to a random stranger in an inn, but the magic stone was something she could not ignore, particularly if he might know something of them. It was why they were here after all. 

Kyne smiles smugly at the dwarf's surprise and eyes the stone with interest.

Could it be... he wonders, glancing across the table at his sister. If anybody could tell, it was Seb.

"A dragon shard?" She looks quizzically at the dwarven armour. "May I? Perhaps a month ago we would have been very impressed, though now it pales in comparison to the ones we have seen." She leans over more closely. "Though perhaps there is still more we can learn from it. Not in what it can do, but in how it differs. The limits on its aura are where we can unlock the secret to the others."

Lyreis leans in, interested in the newcomer as much as the gem. "Well met master dwarf, I am Lyreis Eldramar, son of Valenar, it is a pleasure to meet you. Would you like a drink, of course you would, where is that serving girl?" he scans about and calls someone over to the table with the intent of getting the dwarf something.

Before even Lyreis ends to raise his head looking for the halfling, Alandra is already looking at him and with a wink and a smile lets him know that she had understood. Half a minute later she cames to the table with another round and a small plate of roasted chicken in little straps and potatoes while they wait for the main course of their dinner to be served. 

     Hurosk shrugs and smiles at the dwarf's reply. "Well, I imagine he knows more about this stuff than me. So I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have an 'expert' around here," he comment to his friends then turns back to the dwarf. "Pull up a seat. I'm Hurosk," he says raising a mug.

Moltaris leans forward to look with interest at the dragonshard gauntlet. Now that is what I like to see... perhaps Bright Mother has brought this group of friends to aid my people in the Great War...

Always happy to show off his babies, the Dwarf pulls up a chair next to the interested party member and brandishes his gauntlet. "Da nayms Dworic, Dworic d'Kundarak. Plehshur ta mayt ya." (The names Dworic, Dworic d'Kundarak. Pleasure to meet you.) The dwarf gives a happy smile to Hurosk as he thanks the barmaid for his drink. "Ay wohn't ayven charge ye fur mei haelp." (I won't even charge you for my help) 

"Help?" Seb'riel asks. "What is it that you know of these shards that we cannot find ourselves?"

The dwarf looks at Seb with a smirk and says, "Yayrs ohf ackpuriehnce cahn't beh lurned frum ehny buk, lahss." (Years of experience can't be learned from any book, lass) The dwarf then takes a large gulp from his drink as he continues his reply, "Ay've behn dehlin' wit deez shahrds nehrley my hole laife. Nut ohnlay hev ay behn axtrahctin' dere ehergy tuh fuel meh baybies, ay've got aydeeuhs ohn how tuh geht ouut dere full pohtenshul." (I've been dealing with these shards nearly my whole life. Not only have I been extracting their energy to fuel my babies, I've got ideas on how to get out their full potential.)

"That is interesting" Seb'riel nods along, having come to the same conclusion herself about the limitations of books, though it pained her terribly at the time to admit it. Fact was though, if you wanted to find something new, then nobody could have written it already. That was long ago though, but it is what led her to be out here now. "Unlocking their full potential? What are your theories? I have some ideas of my own but would be keen to hear yours."