Denterra the Healer tells you, "Good day, gentle friend! It's wonderful to have a visitor. Tell me, did you come through Arwic? Did you see Dragando the Leech -- is he doing well?"
Surnad the Peddler tells you, "Welcome! Welcome to our little outpost! What's your pleasure on this fine day? Perhaps some lockpicks, aye? Finest in the land, so they are! The mites love them! All jingly and glittery ..."
Surnad the Peddler tells you, "Remember, that comes with a guarantee - if it breaks, I guarantee I'll be here to sell you another! Heh. That's a joke, friend. Feel free to laugh. The Mite Queen loves my jokes!"
Denterra the Healer tells you, "Walk a careful path in these lands, gentle friend. Steer clear of MacDugal's crew of ruffians at the Bandit Castle. And try not to get on the bad side of the Mite Queen. She's civilized, for a mite, but I don't entirely trust her ..."
Surnad the Peddler tells you, "You keep yourself safe out there. If you go east to the Eotensfang portal, stay away from Bandit Castle! Since MacDugal's mob returned, it's been nothing but trouble between them and Tallial of Neydisa. And don't bother the mites none, either. They don't bother us; we don't bother them."

From Surnad the Peddler:
The mage Branith was a sorcerer who fought, for a time, alongside Thorsten Cragstone himself. His chosen magic was pyromancy, the way of fire: his foes often met their ends in raging infernos that left nothing but ash in their wake. It was only right, then, that the staff he wielded would evoke flames as well. The Blazing Staff, an Empyrean artifact shaped of sunstone, became famous among wizards across Dereth. Though not the mightiest such item, the eminence of its wielder would make it a grand addition to any mage's arsenal.
Unfortunately, its location is not known. Branith has since given up adventuring to live a life of quiet seclusion in the mountains, but he no longer owns the staff: it, and several other items of power, were stolen from his home by mites. Perhaps one day, some intrepid soul will find it again.