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A slender man with a 5 o'clock shadow comes in after the halfing. The brim of his hat keeps most of his face shadowed. As he moves through the room to take a seat, his long over coat briefly billows out and you can see various tools of an investigator. A hand crossbow is strapped to his hip.
Looking at the halfing as if studying him he says, "Well met. I am Erric Von Hilseng." He extends his hand waiting for the halfing to take it.
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Thorson looks a lot like his image to the right with close cropped hair, tattoos, and a full beard. Seeing the human and halfling, Thorson walks over and introduces himself with gravelly voice.
"You lot must the group I'm to meet up with. I'm Thorson, it's good to meet you lads. I hope the VC doesn't keep us waiting too long."
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A small Halfling wearing a duster and a cowboy hat rushes in, "I hope I'm not late!", he takes a second to double check his belongings; pretending to shoot beams with his Wand of Cure Light Wounds, unloading/reloading his crossbow multiple times and taking his armor off to make sure it's shiny in front of his new friends. He turns to the rest of the multiracial group once he's done making sure he's prepared and gives them a big smile, "I'm excited to work with you all, that is, if this is the Pathfinder party.... you all sure seem like Pathfinders."
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A slender woman with red streaks in her hair strolls in, looking bored. Fashionably late, as usual, she thinks as her bird-like golden eyes scan the room, noting that she seems to be the last of their group to report in. Thankfully, the Venture Captain seems not to have made an entrance yet. It would not do to make the Captain wait on her; she isn't nearly good enough or important enough to pull that off. Adeah wears a well-used ensemble of chain mail and brown leather. Her pointed ears poke out from under her dark hair, and her slender frame appears quite elven-- with one striking difference. Her large, crimson-feathered wings are kept strapped to her back with leather straps. Since they're no good to her anyway, she keeps them tucked out of the way. Slung over her shoulder is her musket. She pauses for a moment, then finds a chair. "Well good. If the Captain's late, that means I'm not."
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Seated behind a large, antique desk in his wood-paneled office, Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin looks up from the pile of papers before him and shuffles them to one side. “Perfect timing! Welcome Pathfinders!
“I had an interesting conversation with the Master of Spells Aram Zey yesterday. An old friend—Lady Darchana, Archdean of the Arcanamirium here in Absalom—contacted Master Zey. She’s a councilmember on the Low Council, too. It seems her dinner party last week had an unexpected guest: a handmaiden of her fancy guest’s had picked up a scrying sensor somewhere. When Lady Darchana learned that someone was attempting to
eavesdrop on her party, she used her magic to trace the sensor back to its source. It sounds as though she didn’t learn anything conclusive, and she’s interested in bringing in an independent party to try and learn more. Master Zey agrees.
“Make no mistake, this is an excellent opportunity for you to impress a well-connected friend of the Society. Lady Darchana requested that the Pathfinders call upon her at her estate in the Petal District once they learn something of the origins of this servant. The owner of the handmaiden is named Lady Silviana Dimora. Lady Silviana isn’t a councilmember or the like — at least not yet. From what I understand, though, she is an up-and-comer who is rubbing elbows with all of the right people, and she likely has little knowledge of where the slave was purchased. I recommend speaking to her majordomo Milana about the handmaiden, or you can pay a visit to her solicitor, a Chelish fellow named Salbus over in the Coins. Questions?”
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Zommy grit his teeth every time the word handmaiden was mentioned, eager to speak once the Venture-Captain was done, "Did we get any information from tracing the sensor or was that a total dead end?" He turns to the rest of the Pathfinders and raises his loaded crossbow, allowing it to rest on his shoulder, "I vote we learn more about the Chelish fellow and head in that direction; it seems Cheliax always has its fingers in these kinds of affairs...." his attention had been distracted by a crossbow bolt that he was now balancing on his palm, staring at it while he waited to hear the ideas of his teammates.
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Thorson nods in agreement with Zommy's statement. "Aye, we need to know exactly what Lady Dachana learned with her trace of the scrying object. While she states it was inconclusive, often knowing what you don't know is just as important to what yah do know."
Pausing for a moment, Thorson tugs at his beard and continues, "By Torag's beard, I don't trust most Cheliaxians but what we learn from Salbus may help us learn something from majordomo Milana that she may otherwise prefer to keep silent about."
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Valsin replies to your questions, in turn.
"Did we get any information from tracing the sensor or was that a total dead end?"
"My understanding is she learned something, but nothing definitive. You had best ask her yourselves. But, while she is expecting you, she is expeting you to show up with solid information. Do not disappoint her, or embarrass me by showing up empty-handed.”
Either way seems a good start to me.. any chance that we can also speak with the handmaiden herself?
"I cannot answer that. I don't even know if the handmaiden is still in Absalom. You'll have to talk to the Majordomo about that."
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Zommy thinks about the name 'Salbus' for awhile; it sounds vaguely familiar like he might have come across it during his investigation of local slaver activity in Absalom. "Let's gather what information we can about Salbus and head in that direction then. Anyone have a pretty face or a way with words? I'm sure if we asked around a little someone may know of him as well."
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Maybe the Lady told Master Zey what it was she found? It seems odd that she would keep that tidbit of information from the Society.
Valsin says, "My understanding is she learned something,but nothing definitive. Neither she nor Master Zey have informed me what that would be."
"I believe that the solicitor has an office in the Coins with the name 'Red Letter'. Both the Madiani and Dimora estates are in the Petal district. Make haste, Pathfinders, and report to Lady Darchana when you know something, but do not disappoint her, or embarrass me by showing up empty-handed."
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"All right, all right, we're going," she says, standing up. "Though if their magical reverse-scrying thing didn't turn up anything useful, I'm not sure what use I'll be. All I've got is this." She pats the barrel of her musket. Mostly to herself, she adds, "but I very much want to know where these slaves are coming from..."
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Located in a rented office space in the Coins, Salbus’s solicitation business keeps him very busy. The office is located on the ground floor of a recently rebuilt two story building that houses several different professional offices and merchants. A small plaque with an Asmodean pentacle and an inscription reading “Red Letter—Solicitor Salbus” hangs outside.
As the office door opens, a small bell chimes overhead. Inside, the cramped space holds a meticulously organized bookshelf and a rosewood desk. Seated at the desk, a middle-aged Chelish man with short red hair and a widow’s peak peers intently at a sheaf of legal documents as he carefully copies out key clauses, then acknowledges his visitors. He looks up from his work with a slight smirk on his thin lips and introduces himself. “Solicitor Solvius Salbus. What brings you across my threshold this glorious day? Though I must warn you, given my current workload, accepting new clients may not be possible at this time.”
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Zommy tips his cowboy hat as he enters, making sure to keep his duster draped over his crossbow as to not incite any hostility. "Greetings, my name is Zommy and I'll let you feel at ease right away by assuring you we are not here to add to your workload. We are here on behalf of the Pathfinder Society and are seeking some information on Lady Silviana Dimora, specifically her new handmaiden. I understand you Chelaxians are people of contracts, so let's make a deal?" he says as he takes out a small bag of coin, knowing that money usually gets information the best.
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Blasted halfing! I can't believe he just announces that we are Pathfinders. Not everyone in Golarion agrees with the way the Society goes about it's business. Erric thinks to himself. He enters the room and finds a place to stand that allows full view of the room, and easy exit strategy and a wall at his back so no on can sneak up behind him.
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Seeing no one else step up, Erric clears his throat, "My apologies for our eager halfling. My name is Erric Von Hilseng, and these are my comrades. We are indeed working for the Society and would like to ask you a few questions. I understand your time is valuable," Erric takes the gold from Zommy and places it on the desk of Salbus, "I also understand that if you help us the Society would be in your debt. What can you tell us of Lady Dimora's newest handmaiden?"
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Adeah winces as her comrades mention the Society. If there's likely to be anyone who would not be at all impressed by their association with the Society, it would be someone who deals in slaves. She puts her hands on her hips, in order to bring them closer to the musket slung over her shoulder, but says nothing.
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Seeing no progress, Kyras steps up and says "Look, the fact of the matter is this handmaiden might be doing illegal things and we were sent to find out why she is doing them. If it is not the bidding of Lady Dimora, you may come under scrutiny for being the handmaiden's accomplice from those higher up than us. We are only looking out for you, so if you tell us what you know about the handmaiden we can go straight to Lady Dimora's majordomo."
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"I'm sure you also know that the laws here explicitly state that refusing to divulge knowledge of illegal activity is tantamount to aiding and abetting," she says, trying to hide the fact that she's almost embarrassed at the knowledge. Her brief time in Magnimar's city watch, and the major cities' policies she was forced to study, is not something she likes to talk about. She doesn't have the slightest inclination to call the watch-- but this man didn't need to know that. "The watch might not care as much about your professional code of conduct. You have your gold, just tell us what you know."
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"Well Solvius, we know you be a professional and that's why we came to you first," Thorson says. "Remember that we're here on behalf of her ladyship, something screwy has occurred with this handmaiden and she has bid us to look into the matter. We all be serving the same client."
Thorson settles against the wall like he's getting comfortable and planning on staying awhile and pulls out his pipe and tabac before continuing, "So, how's about you fill us in on any details you may have about this handmaiden's previous history and we'll be on our way."
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Taking his cue from Kyras, Erric adds, "Solvius, think about this. Help us with this small matter, avoid any unnecessary investigations into ALL of your business and as a bonus, gain an important ally in the Pathfinders who always remember their friends. Give us the information we need and the Pathfinder Society will owe you one."
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A small voice pipes up from behind the group, and Mikail steps up to the desk.
What my esteemed colegues are trying to say is that we mean absolutely no impact on your business... in fact, we are trying to help you with what may be a particularly sticky situation if it were to get out to anyone else. Confidence and discression is everything, is it not? You help us, we help you, and no one is the wiser that we had this conversation. I give you my word.
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Grimacing slightly, the Chelaxian spreads his hands to admit defeat. “Ordinarily I would not speak of privately executed contracts with an unaffiliated third party,” Solvius says before patting a folded paper on his desk. “However Lady Silviana had a letter delivered to me prior to her departure for Taldor, authorizing me to disclose to the deputized agents of Lady Darchana the identity of the chattel merchant. Mahjub Mahdi is the purveyor in question and can be found at the northern end of Misery Row. His private shop is called Mahdi’s Chattel. It’s a step up from the Slave Pits to be sure—a much more orderly experience, a very fine display parlor with excellent lighting, and he always keeps excellent wines on hand. I trust you will treat him with the respect that he deserves.”
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"Many thanks, Good sir. We will retire as you suggested, and our business will remain between us as promised."
Once outside the office, Mikail turns to his companions. "As much as it may gall us to hide our true purpose and affiliations, I do not believe that waving the pathfinder banner about in the slave centers will garner us very much information. Indeed, it may well prove to be contrary to our purposes. Might I suggest just a bit more discression in future interviews? We shall not mask who we are or our affiliations if confronted directly, but we do not have to declare that information at the outset either."
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"So you're suggesting that we ask questions about a slave with no purpose or reason? I assure you that if we entered the Chelaxian's office without a proper reason and began asking about illegal activity, we would have gotten much less information. We are Pathfinders and we are backed by the Society, if anyone becomes hostile at the mention of it, then that only means we've found the right person to interrogate." Zommy spits on the ground at the idea of being guarded and secretive when they are on the right side of the law, but he shrugs and follows far behind the rest of his party.