Alton had not been in Callendrei very long before hearing of the opportunities offered at the Gilded Cage. He travelled often, and rarely spent long periods of time in one city.

It was the title that caught his eye. It read "merchant prince of the Desert East". Whoever Joachim Szandborne was, Alton wanted to meet him.

Alton preferred to show up to something on time. Not early, or late. Near the month's end he made his way to the Gilded Cage, excited by the thought of what the prince may be like.

As he rounded the bend on Kingsroad, the sight of the Gilded Cage caused Alton to stop in his tracks. He furrowed his brow as his eyes studied the odd building. 'What an abysmal structure.' thought Alton as he noted the varied architecture. 'There is no consistency here whatsoever.' Alton puzzled for a moment, lightly tapping his left foot as he thought to himself. 'No matter. Likely the prince allows for such a design in order to appeal to the common folk.' Alton nodded to himself as he approached and reached for the door, clearly content with his deductive reasoning. 'A simply brilliant business decision, I might add.'

As he entered the tavern, Alton immediately felt slightly uncomfortable. Although he did not despise the locale, nor its patrons; he simply never spent much time in taverns. Growing up he never set foot within one, and since he had been out on his own, he avoided spending excessive time there.

The main hall seemed lively, and Alton's eyes wandered about the place as he made his way slowly towards the minstrel's stage.

It seemed Alton had only been there 5 seconds when he heard a noise in the corner of the hall. It appeared that a man had dumped his meal everywhere. Alton's unease continued to grow. 'Let us hope Prince Szandborne is easy enough to find.'