You go inside. You need to find Melton Kvarbur.

You go inside this store.

Inside, the store is dimly lit by lamps attached to the walls. Along the walls there are shelves with goods (mostly bottles with liquids of various shades; in addition, there are containers with a variety of powdery substances and ointments). Unusual and exotic aromas are in the air. You can hear the sound of liquid pouring and boiling coming from somewhere inside the store.

You look around.

You come to the conclusion that this store is an extensive and successful trading enterprise. This is not difficult to understand due to the huge amount of goods on the shelves, due to the large size of this stone building.

You think, “There are probably a significant number of guards here. I need to be careful..."

So far you notice only one mercenary guard standing near the exit door. This mercenary guard leaned against the wall. It’s unpleasant for you that he actually ends up behind your back while you are **** to go deeper into the store (closer to the counter).

You glance sideways at this mercenary guard. He is a medium-sized half-elf with short blond hair who yawns as he looks at you. He is dressed in a worn leather vest, gray cloth pants and old shoes. The half-elf has a small iron one-handed sword in a sheath on his belt.

You think: “I need to be ready to react extremely quickly... If this half-elf guard manages to attack me from behind, then it could be fatal for me...”

So, you approach the counter and see a fat man with a thick chestnut beard and tired gray eyes. He is dressed in a white cloth shirt, a dark blue satin vest and expensive black satin trousers.

Judging by his appearance, this is the one you need. This is the owner of the store. Melton Kvarbur.

He looks exhausted and sleep-deprived. He is doing some calculations as he looks at the items on the shelf. He then turns towards you and rests his hands on the counter.

Before he can say a word, you hand him an envelope sealed with wax seal. The merchant examines it carefully before opening it to reveal a small wooden box with an intricate design inside. He studies the box for a while before opening the box.

What he sees inside plunges him into a state of shock. You notice that inside the box was a severed human little finger and a small note. In a couple of seconds, Melton Kvarbur manages to read the text of the note. After that, his trembling hands drop the note onto the counter. Tears begin to flow from the merchant's eyes.

You take advantage of his moment of hesitation to grab the note and read it. You manage to do this quickly.

The note contains the following text: “Dear Melton Kvarbur! This little finger is only our first “gift”... We will cut off pieces of your wife’s body until you agree to pay us money every month. Signed: master Merryman and his funny guys..."

You need to act quickly. Every moment of delay can be fatal.

The store owner is breathing heavily. Tears flow more and more from his eyes. After a moment, he was able to control his emotions. He looks at you. His gaze becomes a focus of anger and indignation.

He shouts, “Xander! Trelaf! Alveir! Get that bastard! Hurry up, idiots! He must be part of the gang that kidnapped my wife two days ago! We need to grab this scum and call the city guard!”