Nixa sat inside the enormous cottage, fixing her gaze on the odd portrait that hung on one of the old wood walls. Beside her, Gregory tapped his foot, growing impatient that they had been waiting so long. Once they had reached the small cluster of buildings on the outside of the village, they had immediately been confronted by a dozen men with dangerous looking weapons. The guard with them, Samuel, had somehow smoothly talked their way out of an assault, and told the small army they were looking for a rare find and had been pointed in this direction. One of the soldiers, a burly man with a close cropped hair cut had agreed to take them to his leader. So now they sat, for hours, waiting to lay eyes on a man the burly one had called Jones. " Be patient, Gregory. I can't imagine it will b
