"I can give you 600 for the leather. Come on, when last have you made this much gold in one day? Just think, I'm about to give you 1,350 in gold!"
Sure I can take 600 for the leather barding. I will even throw in a feed bag with that. You count the money out and hand it over to the gentleman. He takes it and deposits into a strong box and then locks it. He leads you outside to a stable and calls a couple of his workers over and tells them what he needs. They set about to work. He takes you to a stall with a brown and white mare. The horse stands about 14 hands high and is well fed and muscled. He tells you her name is Fedia. She is trained to obey voice, leg and arm commands. He will get her saddled up and then lead her out to the main corral so he can teach you the commands. After about a hour Fedia is following you commands and gestures without error. You can see she is well trained. The workers have her barding on her and has shown you how to put it on and remove it. Inside the saddle bags you will find a brush you can use to brush her down. The guy thanks you and leads you to the gate. As he opens it he will tell you that she will protect you if you fall and no one else will be able to ride her unless you give command.
Out of Character: So much for haggling
Durgan thanks them for the offer, and says he'll consider it.
Durgan counts his share after giving the temple 45 platinum, 2025 gold, 624 silver, 1092 copper and all 50 gold crosses and also Zork's 10% share.
He has 225 platinum, 10,125 gold, 3123 silver, 5457 copper and the remaining items. He's still about 8500 gold short but he has a few items to sell that he doesn't really need. He takes one each of the candlestick, platter, cup, disk and chain and begins searching for good prices for them in the stores in town.
Durgan is still short the full price. He will probably ask for a loan on the difference, but not at the moment. He has other matters to attend to.
Durgan returns to the barracks, asks to see Captain Estari and reports on the next set of highwaymen they had fought. He subtly checks the note from the highwaymen to compare her handwriting. Expecting no match he will ask her is she recognises the writing, and if she knows that someone within the town is corrupt.
Commander Estari's handwriting is not a match and when looking at the note she will ponder on the fact that someone does not like you, or the temple sending people to the east. The fact that they sent highway men to waylay you does not speak good. The note was clearly made by the scribes of the town and she will check into it to see if there is some one who can tell her who commissioned the note and who hired the bandits. She will tell you to come back in a week and she will tell you if she has found out anything. In the mean time she will offer to provide you a place to store and goods you have acquired in a safe place. And even give you a temporary place to stay unless you like the inn.