Torch slowly turns towards Reesa and says "The Osirian statues..." he smiles kindly at the woman "I might have information on their current whereabouts—for... proper remuneration. Is this man my bodyguard killed mixed up in that situation?"
He seems to already know the answer even if he is asking.
"You have a lucky day, I currently know the names of those who are currently in possession of the statues. Of course those statues are a rare artifact, and... I would have problems if it is suddenly known I am giving that information around... those... I cannot afford the risk for less of a cool 3,000 gp" Torch kindly smiles after his proposal.
"Well, if this man was running away from you, as it seems, I guess you are neither a little Sister of Charity, nor he was willing to give you that information" Torch's eyes spark chasing Reesa's arguments.
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"You ask questions you know the answer to." Ma'Huuk takes an aggressive step forward, "You know who would know this information? An information dealer who sent Chaim to steal these items in the first place."
He looks right and left at his fellow pathfinders, "Do you know what is coincidental? That this man would die the very same minute he would give up his information-broker." He gives a hard look back to Torch, "So you will give us this information for free, or it will become widely known that you take coin from business partners and then murder them. Who would do business with such a man?"
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"Three thousand! I don't have that much!" Kiti cries at Torch's proposal. "If I had I would've bought this really pretty armor at Absalom, it's just the right size and made of dragonscales. I'd like one made of pink dragon but the shopkeeper said there are no such things," she continues, suddenly in happier and more exited tone. "But you are worried if they know you talk, not of the poor man you got killed? Those are not ours, the Ruby guy wanted them and he'd be happy if you help. It's your fault he died and it's not nice to make people trade with you by killing the other traders, she states, switching to angrier tone again.
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"I've heard of situations like this though. You can see from our gear that we don't have 3000 gold, and probably wouldn't give them to you if we did. Either you are wanting to negotiate for something or you are just wasting our time. Either way, I don't like it very much." Even good-hearted Reesa was getting put out by this Torch.
Torch moves at the bath visibly uncomfortable at the violence of some of the words. He looks at his bodyguards and makes a signal with the hand for them to stop when they step right next to Ma'Huuk.
"Assumptions and more assumptions more typical of a mercenary than a Pathfinder investigator. I cannot even grasp what evidences are you using to state that kind of opinion." observing Kiti and Reesa the fat man rubs his chin "Ah... but you are right, how should I expect such a group can afford the money for such a privileged information... And yet, the information has a price... I cannot gave you by free, what business will I do if people starts thinking they can get information by free?" he seems to reflect about it for a second, then resumes "But look, in order to show you my good will to cooperate with those of your organization, we can arrange still a deal. I can hand over the names in exchange for a future favor from the Pathfinder Society. Deal?"
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"Well, all right then, we'll help you later" Kiti answers quietly, staring at her feet. A bit of bloody water flows near her and she looks up to Torch again. "But it better be something nice, not nasty. Who has the statues? Or is it several whos? I am good at nice things, I can free slaves or solve murders or help fish. When you need. Where can we find the people and what do you know about them?" Kiti continues, with rising exitement of getting to work again.
Grandmaster Torch's eyes spark with satisfaction "Four names: Nasir Tandir, Viraj Arpani, Buri Buri-Ban, and Saldin Marafi."
He then looks very seriously at the party "Very important. Keep the statues in a thick bag and don’t let your arcane friends there hold them when they practice their art. Bad things will happen.” his sentence sounding as a very serious warning.
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"Oh I can carry them! It's just nature magic I do. Or is it bad too? The gnome magic could be bad. Maybe someone else carry," Kiti says, looking disappointed. She starts moving, first checking her backpack is fine, then reaches to her hip, finding nothing, looks around, and remembers: "I gave them at the door! And Mimi's there too!". She runs a couple of steps toward the exit, then returns to Torch. "Nasir, Viraj, Buri, Saldin, four people", she counts with her fingers. "Mimi could carry them, she doesn't cast. Who has which animal and where they are? What are they like?" she asks.
"You know... that information is wor..." starts Grandmaster Torch to say not convinced about delivering that information to the little gnome.
You seem to remember the name Nasir Tandir from some place in the Overmarket. But cannot really remember what or where exactly. The other names, you have never heard.
Torch seems to ignore Ma'Huuk, only answering Reesa approach "That sounds interesting, but it is not enough. Given the rude attempts of your companion to intimidate me" he seems to laugh at this point "I feel inclined to dismiss you and let you walk the streets for the information. It will be interesting to see how do you develop at that, and it will hopefully teach your fellow better manners and understanding of whom to not play with"
With that Torch makes a gesture with his hand dismissing you from his presence "And so, I guess our... little business has come to an end here and you were not invited for a bath here"
You seem to remember the name Nasir Tandir from some place in the Overmarket. But cannot really remember what or where exactly. The other names, you have never heard.
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"Well, we got something. Let's go asking around, someone must know them. I'd like to go to the spice market. Oh, and Mimi and my weapons! Bye, Torchy, see you later!" Kiti smiles at Torch and waves, then runs back to reception. "Mimi, we got some names, now we search. Thank you nice lady for keeping my tiggy and weapons. She's a nice cat but a bit lazy. Mimi, get up and follow! No time for sleep now", she chats while putting her weapons back to her belt. Mimi yawns, stretches and slowly walks beside the gnome.
Ma'Huuk checks Chaim's body not finding anything of use for their mission. A paper gets his attention though, because it is full of names, but a quick look at them shows none of the names are known for anyone in the party. Whatever it is, it has no use for your mission.
Reesa moves with expertise within the streets and quickly finds the right people to ask in different businesses.
“Nasir Tandir?" asks one bartender "He is a jowly fellow who
runs a warehouse in the Overmarket near Candlewood and Zephyr.”
“Viraj Arpani?" explains one waitress "He tends to hang around the Overmarket too—he’s new in town, but he’s unmistakeable. He’s Vudran and covered with little bells.”
“Buri Buri-Ban?" an scribe working in a love letter says to her "He’s a Garundi fellow—pretty beefy. His favorite café fronts on Sengali square.”
"Saldin Marafi..." one of the streets patrols comments after a bit of chat “Yes, has a shop in the Secure Market. It’s toward the back in one of the more secure nooks. Good luck getting in there.”
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Arthrax glares at Torch, but otherwise restrains himself, as his companions seemed content to deal with the admitted murderer.
Afterwards, he follows the others around as they figure out the whereabouts of the four names Torch offered. After hearing all their options, he offers, "I say we go see this Buri person first. I'm hungry, and a bit of food on the stomach always makes a person both more happy and more effective in their mission."
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Ma'Huuk notes the names, then return the paper. Before the group leaves, he remains in the room and asks one of the other Pathfinders to return with the front-desk woman ... where he will give a full retelling of what went on after their chase.
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With a nod to Reesa's excellent information-gathering, Ma'Huuk gives Arthrax a shrug and a smile. "I cannot fault your logic."
Once near the Fetching Fan café you start asking whom Buri Buri-Ban. Someone points him out on the square entrance.
You spot Buri Buri-Ban, as promised, at the Fetching Fan café on Sengali Square. Though he doesn’t see you, the moment you see him he stands and retrieves a potion out of his waist-sash. As he drains the potion he seems to begin running, package in hand. By the time he’s taken three steps across the square, he’s already invisible. Buri Buri-Ban must have been told that people were looking for him as that was an extremely timed decision to flee.
You notice puffs of dust kicked up by his haste which point toward the Jenji Combine Sianti Refinery.
Shortly afterwards a passerby in front of the refinery is knocked off of his feet by an invisible force.
The refinery is a two-story building with no windows. It looks well and frugally made, and the only decoration consists of the name painted above the door and a stark sign by the entrance with something written in Kelish. There is also a helpful icon of a stylized flame with an X through it.
“No Open Flame”
You know the building is used for refining Sianti chaff into the extremely potent and fairly valuable spice of the same name.
The refinery is a large square space, 100 feet on a side.
Once inside, the room is full of spice vats, wooden stairways and catwalks; chains and rope hang from elaborate pulley systems and the lamps are continual flames completely enclosed in glass globes.
The area is full of signs like the one in the door before, painted all over the vats.
The refining process creates a tremendous amount of dust which is constantly settling on everything and swirling around as the refiners go about their work. As you enter through the main door, you see a ripple in the dust moving across the refinery floor 20 feet from the main entrance.
You have pin-pointed some invisible object!
There is one exit on the opposite side of the refinery from the entrance. The refinery is lit only by natural light that spills in throw large windows on the ceiling and upper walls.
Once you enter the warehouse, the foreman and several workers start trying to get you to leave, yelling at you something in Kelish.
"Go! Go away! This place it is very dangerous!"
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When she notices Buri disappearing, Kiti runs to the place where he was sitting, calling: "Mimi, come here, sniff, let's follow!" Mimi sniffs the spot, and together they go after the rest of party, Mimi easily keeping up with the short-legged gnome even when trying to follow a trail. The pair catches up with the rest at the door. "We're trying to sniff him out. How's it going, Mimi? Oh flame-X? I have an alchemist fire, wonder what it would do? So, where's Buri?", she asks, still managing the quick chatter even when winded from the run. "Hey, there is something weirdy," she tells her friends, gesturing toward a seemingly empty spot. "Buri, I know you are there, and Mimi has your scent. Let's talk, we'll make a good deal and you, Ruby, and we will be all happy friends," she proposes to a spot of empty air.
Mimi scents Buri and growls, the workers of the refinery insisting on you to leave, while four masked guards enter the area to see what is going on.
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Ma’Huuk growls at a seemingly vacant spot in the refinery before giving a few snarling yips to Moto. Then the big man moves into the room, skirting the guards as he keeps his eyes and ears straining on the empty spot. Moto follows on his heels, snarling at the guards as she sniffs the air.
”You guards. Stay back and we will be gone quickly enough.” Then his tone of his deep voice shifts, ”Buri. Do not make this hard. Show yourself so we may speak. Our beasts have your scent.”
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"Ware. Use no fire here."
"We are out of patience. Return the stolen artifacts immediately. You shall see a small taste of what fate awaits you if you do not."
Jani's inhuman mouth splits wide open, and with a grotesque retching noise, they begin to vomit up living spiders into a great swarm spills out onto the floor. As soon as they emerge, the mass of arachnids moves towards their invisible quarry.
Ma'Huuk and Moto surround the weird spot without nothing appearing there or any other thing happening.
The workers start screaming when Jani vomits a swarm of spiders that moves forth towards Ma'Huuk.
As the workers disappear hiding behind the vats, the guards set their hand over their hilts "A fiend is attacking the Refinery! Alert!"
When the swarm of spiders arrives to the weird spot in the middle of the room, something seems to fight against them and they to climb over some kind of humanoid body.
Arthrax prefer to stay put and wait for the incoming events.
The guards in the front door draw their fine scimitars and move in front of the party pointing their blades towards Jani "You gang, out of this place. You fiend, dismiss your spiders and leave" the red one stands ready to attack anyone approaching.
The red clothed guard attacks the first one to approach inside the refinery.
The guards in the rear move forward drawing their scimitar and readying an attack as well.
Everybody can see how the spot without dust moves hastily towards the other door.
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"By the Dawnflower, we swear we are no fiend," Jani says, withdrawing their Sarenite holy symbol from their robes. "We shall leave as soon as the thief our spiders have caught returns the Pathfinder Society's property."
Just in case, though, Jani retrieves their wand of Mage armor and casts it for self protection.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Arthrax nods at the resolve of the guards, understanding their plight. Still, if they let the man escape, they might not get an opportunity to apprehend him again. The burly warrior starts forward, ignoring the guard's orders, only to have the man lash out at him, the scimitar clanging against Arthrax's shield. Glaring at the man, he yells at him, "Out of our way, fool! We are trying to catch a thief!
Too late, Arthrax realizes he never wiped his face after eating, and the sauce from his meal is smeared copiously across his features, ruining anything he might attempt that was not comedy.