She leans in, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "He's a pirate. Used to be, anyway. Now he's got his own little kingdom here. He controls the ships, the goods, the money. Everyone pays him a tithe, or they end up at the bottom of the sea."
She looks around the room, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and excitement, as if she's sharing a dangerous secret.
He clicks his tongue. "Sounds made up. Why should I believe you?"
Tomas punches the table. "Go do your own damn research!"
Roland flicks him. "You wanna give the kid something for free you do it. Mind your business."
Elara, for her part, ignores the bickering except to shrink away from the slam and look briefly in his direction. She speaks with a little more conviction. "I'm telling the truth. Don't believe me if you don't wanna." She says, and starts to pull away from the table.
But her eyes keep flicking to that ruby. He's got her.
