Quintus opens up his arcane sight to examine the chest. The familiar auras of magic begin to coalesce, but it will take several more moments before they are truly visible, allowing Quintus the opportunity to discern the strength and school of the enchantments that affect the box.
The imp continues to squeak and yelp as it tries to wrench itself free. Kehl has not quite yet completely gained control, but the imp's frenzy makes it difficult to hold onto even with the benefit of the sheets. It screams out in Infernal, presumably cursing them.
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Stares at Quintus, who now blocks any chance of attacking the imp with the letter opener, and then at Dasiji in disbelief.
"By the whore of Geb, what is wrong with you two?"
Astyannax abandons the imp and Kehl and moves across the room, picking up the box and turning towards the door.
"We get out of here with the box!"
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Wow, he sure seems determined to just bug out, but I'm not leaving all my stuff behind. "Fine, you want us to get out of here fast, *you* take it!" Dasiji holds the box out for Astyannax to take, and waits while the heavily-armored cavalryman picks his way through the clutter.
Astyannax grabs the chest out of his hand. "Thanks! Now it's protected, and I can pick up my stuff."
MA: Pick up his trident that missed the imp.
MA: Move 10' back to where his backpack is.
Hmm... I can always get more javelins, but tridents aren't cheap. Dasiji begins collecting his things, picking up his trident and making his way back to where he threw it from.
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"The chest (or something in it) is magical. It will take a few more seconds of concentration to learn more. How did we know the item was supposed to be magical?"
"Either a lucky guess, or the imp didn't look like he needed a hood to complete his outfit." Dasiji winks.
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Dasiji turns a skeptical eye on Quintus, not sure at first whether the Taldan dandy is serious -- then busts out laughing in the middle of a dangerously-sexy Chelaxian devil-summoner's wrecked boudoir, where Quintus is helping Kehl wrestle with a feisty bedsheet. "Oh, good one!"
Dasiji eyes the weapon that Quintus dropped in the doorway. "Want me to pick up your rapier if you're still busy when I get there?"
The imp screams inside the drawer in its impotence, slamming into the side and knocking it down. It screams shrill curses, enraged at being wrestled and stuffed into a drawer like some useless weakling. Thumps and rattles keep emanating non-stop as the Pathfinders look around at each other. For now, the room is safe until it figures out how to get out.
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Dasiji picks up his backpack and shrugs it onto his shoulders, then looks behind at his javelin, considers, and almost dismisses it... before picturing what use the matron of the house might put it to, reminding the nasty little imp of those who took its hood. "I don't think she's waiting." He hustles back and snatches up his javelin, then grabs Quintus's rapier on the way out. "Let's get gone!"
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Quintus nods at Kehl with a smirk, "Oh yes, positively swimmingly! I'd guess the paracountess is... preoccupied at the moment." He moves quickly out of the room and takes his rapier from Dasiji, nodding in thanks at the ranger. "Might I suggest we put some distance between ourselves and here before we consider our next course of action?"
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Astyannax watches the drawer shake and rattle as the imp desperately tries to free itself. He considers inserting the letter opener into the crack but decides not to enrage it further.
"Let's get outside and then open this thing up to make sure it's what we're after."
Shakes his head in wonderment. "That was one frustrated imp."
He turns and heads out of the room.
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"How about we keep on going while we try and figure out how to open it, and don't stop until we're back at the Grand Lodge."
As Dasiji nears the chest, he sees it to be a simple iron case. It is dented from the imp trying to smash it, but seems hardly the worse for wear. The only unusual thing about it, at least to the naked eye, is that it appears to have seven locks rather than one. Three of them are actually placed on a crease as a normal lock, whereas the other four are symmetrically placed on the center of each of the four sides of the chest (with none on top and bottom). He picks it up, finding it to be of normal weight and heft for a similarly sized chest.
The trip back to the Grand Lodge is uneventful, though the crowds are out in full force in the early afternoon. There are a number of street performers clogging the avenues, forcing the Pathfinders through the alleys on more than one occasion. With their prize held in their possession, the small group looks around cautiously, but sees nothing suspicious or anyone following them. Even so, it is a relief to have the great walls of the Lodge around them, and an even bigger relief to hand the box over to Venture-Captain Valsin once they arrive at his office.
He regards the unusual box with some distaste as he handles it. He opens one of the many drawers in his large oaken desk and carefully places it inside. Once he shuts it (with some finality), he looks up at them. "Sorry about taking the other two away from you. Sometimes things come up. I trust their absence hasn't made things more difficult than you can all handle. I take it you've met the Paracountess? She's sly and conniving, but smart and capable as they come. Judging by Zavak and Garauk's report when they arrived, you've completed the task for the Silver Crusade, and now you've met Cheliax's envoy. You have two tasks remaining for your first mission. Where are you going next?"
Valsin looks at Astyannax with almost a glare. "You're a Pathfinder now. Your missions won't always be in the city with a friendly neighborhood Venture-Captain to hold your hand and answer your questions. Most of the time, you're lucky if you get a letter with any guidance. You have to find your own answers to your missions. Do you understand?"
Venture-Captain Valsin shakes his head silently and takes a quill from his desk with a piece of paper not far behind it. He writes something down, rolls it up tightly, and pins it to the map that adorns his wall.
Right in the middle of the frozen tundra of the Crown of the World.
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Astyannax is waiting for the party outside the main gates to the Lodge. He had walked there briskly, expecting Valsin's booming voice to summon him backinside for a dressing down. Or worse.
The shaking inside had stopped once he got outside the gates. A brief sense of giddiness had come and gone.
That wasn't very smart. I took it during all those months of training. Why did I have to do that now?
Ponders things. Becuase I'm not a trainee any more. I'm a Pathfinder!
He squares his shoulders and idly watches the crowds go by, not looking for anything in particular.
He looks up as the others come through the gates.
"Ah, there you are. Are we off to the Wise Quarter?
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Dasiji nods at Kehl's question. "I still have the letter, and what we have to do in the Wise Quarter is see a man about a charter." They pass through the gates, and Dasiji nods at Astyannax's question too.
Dasiji pulls out the letter and reads it out loud. "Visit the offices of Osirian nobleman Dremdhet Salhar in the Wise Quarter. The Pathfinder Society needs to obtain permission to delve the Salhar ancestral vaults beneath Sothis. He has made a verbal agreement, and your visit makes it official. You will receive an official charter and detailed maps. Do not embarrass the Society in this matter."
Dasiji puts the letter away and sighs. "That's all we know, so it's hard to plan. How is this more than just going and asking politely? Obviously we need to be on our best behavior, but beyond that I have no idea."
Ollysta Zadrian requested aid and is expecting you at the Temple of the Shining Star in the Ascendant Court. She needs someone to deliver a parcel of medicine and curatives to a needy orphanage and verify the character of the recipient.
Visit the offices of Osirian nobleman Dremdhet Salhar in the Wise Quarter. The Pathfinder Society needs to obtain permission to delve the Salhar ancestral vaults beneath Sothis. He has made a verbal agreement, and your visit makes it official. You will receive an official charter and detailed maps. Do not embarrass the Society in this matter.
Chelish Paracountess Zarta Dralneen possesses an item loaned from the Vaults. Meet with her in her estate in the Ivy District and retrieve the item in her possession.
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"If you wish to mouth off to Venture-Captains in the future, kindly do so on your own time. I won't be damned to some fool's errand to the Crown of the World because you can't pick your battles."
Kehl glares at the cavalier for a long moment. "Let's get this over with, We've made enough enemies today, and still haev two errands left."
Kehl leaves, and heads toward the Wise Quarter.