"Awwwww, he totally did. Do you think that means no trade at all? Even stuff like 'I got an apple with my lunch but I don't like apples, and you got a banana with your lunch but you don't like bananas'? That would be sad. I wonder if they understand presents. Because then maybe we could say that it would be really nice if they helped us out, and also here's some boxes because we're thankful?"

"I thinks we should try it! It would be nicer than lying to them, anyways."

Twilly yawns a tiny yawn. "But maybe we should do that tomorrow." (The sky above is starting to darken, turning pink and orange over in what's probably the west.)

It is getting pretty late…

"Good idea. I hope the Black Dragon Box will stay safe while we sleep…"

Speaking of which, he's not sure where that's going to happen. Well, Sir Pluss said that Captain Rolith will be back soon, and Elan was waiting for him anyway because of the payment thing. He can ask him about both those things!

Before too long, there's a chorus of barking from outside the gates. A noisy pack of creatures, that look like if a crocodile was a dog, come bounding into the courtyard, barking at everything and jumping up at everyone with muddy paws. 

(Twilly hides behind Elan. Nobody else seems alarmed, only mildly irritated.) 

Elan's startled too, but he notices everyone else's reactions and decides that these guys probably aren't too dangerous. To him personally, anyway.

He still lets Twilly hide behind him, obviously.

They are not menaced with anything worse than muddy paws and slobbery tongues: nothing dangerous to Elan, but without the shelter of his legs to hide behind it's easy to imagine that Twilly would be bowled over by their enthusiasm. 

Rolith arrives after a moment, calling the pack back to him with a sharp whistle, which they...mostly obey. Some of them more promptly than others. With the help of a few servants, he shepherds the barking horde into a kennel building and makes his escape, shutting the door behind him on the second try. 

"Elan, Twilly, welcome back! Are you staying here for the night? You're both more than welcome." 

Yeah, no kidding. Elan refrains from trying to pet them, in case they'd react poorly, and makes sure that they don't knock Twilly over.

He gives Rolith a wave.

"Hi! Yeah, we'll both be doing that. Where will that be? Oh, also I was talking to Sir Rated earlier and he reminded me that helping out in the infirmary earlier might be something that you wanna pay me for."