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His eyes go wide at the sight of the twenty-talent, but it seems what held true for the Dry Goods merchant holds true here as well - for all your experience in the matter at hand, gold is a much more eloquent convincer than you could ever hope to be. Not only does it not need to lie to ensorcell as you do, it doesn't even need to speak!
"Lets see that talent then."
As your heart soars with the hope that you finally managed to pull this off, you reach out with the talent, intending to drop it into his hand, as you have learned to do these past eight years. It is only when he gently extracts the coin directly from your fingers that you remember that you are not a Leper now, that people will not go to great lengths to avoid your presence or your touch - in fact, there seems to be some who inexplicably and unsettlingly enough <span class="mu-i">want</span> - no, this is not the time to think about such things. You shoot a quick glance at the proprietor, to see if he noticed your awkwardness, or potentially worse, your fingers, slender and exceptionally long, even for your size. But as you clap eyes on him, you are certain that those fears, at least, are mules. The coin itself has his undivided attention. As he turns the talent over in his hands, you suddenly realize that at some point you started holding your breath. You force yourself to relax, and watch with what you hope looks like nothing more than vague interest as he continues to inspect the coin. When he turns towards the door, you panic for a split second, fearing the worst ... but then it becomes obvious that he is simply moving into better light.
Blessedly though, he is still too occupied by the talent to notice any signs of distress or discomfort that you might have let slip. Finally, he lowers the coin from the light - but then instead of returning it to you, he withdraws a half-busted set of false teeth from one of his pockets and then holding them in his hands, uses them to 'bite' the coin. Your mouth goes agape at the bizarre sight, and you don't quite manage to get your face fixed back to 'vague but polite interest' by the time he looks up at you, satisfied by his test. With a genuine smile complete with what for all the world look to be his genuine teeth, he says, by way of explanation -
"Better these than mine, right?"
"A-ah, yes. As you say, sir."
He chuckles to himself, with all the earlier warmth returned. Honestly though, you are confused. Now, you have stolen worse looking dentures off of corpses, and teeth as well, for that matter ... but someone like him, someone ... decent ... he should be staying clear of something so unclean - physically and spiritually unclean - as those false teeth. Then again, what with the mounting figureheads on the wall, then placing execution hoods over them ... in spite of the obvious money in this place, as well as the glorious smells of the nearby kitchen, and the decency and patience of the proprietor, this House is more than a little unsettling.
