Yrneha tapped her slender fingers lightly against the second velvet pouch, letting the metallic sound echo once more before pulling the golden cord holding the opening shut.
"This one is different from the first," she explained, her voice taking on an almost solemn tone. "Inside are twelve hundred gold coins."
Lisa felt her paws freeze for an instant, her heart racing inside her chest. She'd already been satisfied with the earlier five hundred coins, but hearing a number nearly double that made her lose her breath for a full second.
"Technically speaking," Yrneha continued, folding her hands over the oak table, "this amount doesn't mean much to the nobles' coffers or to Thalendor's Council's overall budget. Twelve hundred coins is a respectable sum, but far from something that would shake the city's finances."
"But..." Lohan ventured, sensing there was a "but" weighing in her voice.
