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Namitus said, "I recommend you all find some proper clothing. Both to stave off the heat and so you don't stick out. You mark yourselves as targets for sticky fingers and inflated prices."
    "You're dressed like we are!" Carson pointed out.
    "Yes, but I plan to change as soon as I leave," Namitus said. "You definitely need to change. The savage hide look went out eons ago in Shazamir!"
    Carson blushed while a few of the others laughed at his distress. Patrina eyed him with a raised eyebrow and nodded. "A bath, too, I think. You stink."
    Carson's jaw fell open as he stared at her. She grinned and burst out laughing. He chuckled and nodded . "Ah, a little revenge, I suppose?"
    Patrina nodded her head. He'd informed her several times on the island of Britanley where they'd found him that she reeked. The first time of civilization, drawing the beasts of the island to hunt her, and the second because she'd been abused and slobbered on by one of the giant apes that dominated the island.
    " A good idea regardless," Namitus said. "The people of Shazamir value cleanliness. It's considered a mark of importance and wealth to be clean. There are bath houses that are cheaper and easier than trying to get a private bath here. I'll leave you to it and get started. Time, I'm sure, is of the essence."
    Namitus drained his cup and rose from the table. He offered a quick wave and was off, winding through the common room and then disappearing out the door of the inn.
    "Well, now what?" Karthor asked. "Does anyone know where we can buy clothes? Father? Mordrim?"
    "The market," Mordrim said. Kar nodded.
    "Can you lead us there?" Alto asked.
    "Maybe," the dwarf said . "I know the main roads and the foreign district."
    "Foreign district, what's that?" Patrina asked.
    "Most of the dwarves, elves, and others are there."
    "Others? What others are there?"
    "Humans with some money but not enough to live among the Shazarim, half-breeds, ogres, splisskin, and anybody else."
    "What's a splisskin?" Alto asked after he saw his confusion mirrored on Garrick, Carson, and Patrina's faces.
    "That's right, it's too cold up north," Mordrim said. He took a drink of his ale before he glanced around the bar. In a voice hushed to keep from carrying, he explained, "Walking snakes is what they are, but don't tell them that to their face. Lizards, pure and simple, except they walk on two legs and they can talk the same as us."
    "There are many varieties," Kar took over. "Some shorter than dwarves, others taller than even our savage friend here. They share a love of heat and sun, a taste for meat, and a fondness for things shiny and pretty."
    "Gold," Mordrim muttered.
    Kar chuckled. "Yes, gold, but also bright colors. Their bodies are covered in soft scales, like a snake, but they wear clothing as a matter of fashion and station. And like Mordrim said, they are cold -blooded so they prefer the warmth of the southern lands."
    "Walking and talking lizards?" Alto mused. "Any relation to dragons?"
    Kar raised an eyebrow. "That is an excellent question! It has long been theorized there might be some sort of relation between the two. Both have strong reptilian ties, although my own study of Sarya showed that her scales were not true scales but rather sections of thick hide. Her bones resembled a bird's, flexible and often hollow. Nonetheless, dragons and splisskin both bear eggs that must be protected before they hatch. I've—"
    Alto held up his hand. "Enough. I've heard enough. It's not a lead like I'd hoped."
    Kar tilted his head. "I was going to add that there are many tribes of splisskin that worship dragons, or at least in the past they have pledged their loyalty to them."
    Alto's eyes narrowed. "How do they walk if they're snakes?"
    "Arms and legs, of course!" Kar chuckled. "Snake is a poor term. Think of them more as a large lizard. Not as many fingers as we have, only four on each hand, but they do have a thumb so they can pick things up and wield weapons. They make