After a brief search, the Pathfinders all recall why none of them have opted to pursue careers in accounting or any mercantile field, and conclude they're not going to make sense of what's in the files.
When the clerk sees Hrolf tuck a last file into place and push the cabinet closed, he says, "Well, you're quick, that's good. Anything else you need to see in your evaluation?"
The clerk, clearly wishing to make a good impression for the Specialized Security Specialists, says, "Why don't you come this way?, I'll show you our warehouses." He leads the incognito Pathfinders out into the garden and through a gate leading to the workyard in the back of the property. Heavy wagons have compacted the dirt in this large yard. A ten-foot-tall metal fence to the north with a gate – currently closed and barred and guarded by four sentries - controls entry from the road. Ladders to the east and west climb to the roof.
The clerk, who introduces himself as Mawer as he leads the party along, makes his way past a pair of wagons and the workers unloading them and pushes open a heavy sliding door to the western warehouse. Leading the way in, Mawer explains, ”This warehouse holds lumber, quarried stone, and other basic exports. Take care with that streak down the middle of the floor, the teamsters put slippery stuff there to make it easier to move heavy loads.” As he speaks, workers stack materials or store them in crates.
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"Well, if the workers know about it, and potential burglars likely will not, it makes your Security all the more Specialized," Mavarion comments sagely, clearly enjoying his new role. In a quieter voice he remarks to the team, "Hey, guys, they're keeping something from us. Big door hidden on the south side, not very well, though."
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"Mm-hmm. I see," replies Zirt, not seeing at all. Narrowing her eyes slightly as she recognizes an item from a story, she pauses a moment and then tilts her head up at the clerk. "Um, excuse me, Mister Mawer; could you please walk over to that gate, take a good long look, and then come back and tell me what you saw? I can't tell you precisely what you're looking for, or I'd ruin the test, of course."
Mawer looks at Zirt in confusion, then points at the gate and says, "The main gate over there? Well, okay." He strides over to the barred gate and looks around, the guards eyeing him curiously as he peers back at them in turn, then puts an eye up to the gate for a moment. He studies the workers unloading a wagon nearby, then makes his way back to Zirt.
"Well, the guards seem to be very effectively, um, guarding," he observes, perhaps trying to sound like a fledgling security specialist. "There was a dog out on the street I haven't seen before, we might have to look into that. And one of the stevedores smelled a bit like drink, but not so bad that I think he'll damage the merchandise."
Mawer pauses and gives Zirt an uncertain look, then glances at the others for some hint as to whether he's provided the expected information.
Seeing Zirt's stern glare in reply, he heads over to the southern wall and points at the secret door, saying, "Oh, you meant this thing? You all really are sharp! It's a hidden door, with a door behind it." He slides a slender panel aside, revealing a second door, more finely made, with a stout lock on it.
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Zirt shakes her head, tsking softly. "That's not very well-hidden, is it Mawer? Now then, would you please tell us what's inside so we can determine if it should be well-hidden? Having a secret door that isn't very well-hidden is a bit silly, don't you think? Either it should be really well-hidden, or else not hidden at all! People are much more likely to pay attention to things that are only done partly, and that could represent a Security Vulnerability. So, what's inside here?"
Mawer’s expression brightened a bit when Mavarion commented on the extra-specialized nature of the security offered by the slippery floor, but the clerk looks positively contrite at Zirt’s tsking. ”Um, well, I guess it’s true that this door could be better hidden, but the lock on the door behind it is the real security. It’s a truly amazing lock. And it should be, since this hidden warehouse holds Bronze House’s gold reserve and armory, as well as the most precious relics we carry.”
He taps on the wall next to the door and explains, ”The walls are made up of layers of stone, wood, lead, and steel, and a powerful spell protects it from scrying or other magical intrusion. In fact, you can’t even see or hear anything inside when you’re outside the door, you have to step into the room!”
After boasting of the security of the room, he asks a touch uncertainly, ”Does that sound like a Security Vulnerability?”
Mawer’s eyebrows lift slightly in surprise as Hrolf names the spell in question, and it’s pretty easy to read the clerk’s thinking: The big fellow is smarter than he looks.
He then turns to Zirt and says, ”Of course it’s not a trick. Look!” He lifts a ring of keys from his belt, selects one, and unlocks the door, turning the key several times and even seeming to give it a slight push at one point. Once the door is unlocked, he pulls it open and steps aside, revealing a dark, foggy mass that even Mavarion’s darkvision cannot penetrate. ”See?” the clerk says loftily.
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"Hmm," remarks Zirt, studying the fog thoughtfully. "Well, it certainly looks like we can't see through it... but who's to say that the room isn't just full of that stuff? And if someone were to get this far, are there any traps waiting inside, or are they just free to waltz in if they have the key and know the secret?"
"Hah! You'll see!" Mawer says, stepping into the dark fog.
Moving in after him, the Pathfinders find the fog is indeed only visible from outside the room, and the room is a true treasure chamber, illuminated by gleaming gold and radiant enchantments. Ancient statues from sites around Varisia stand in one corner and a ten-foot tapestry depicting a glorious island city covers the northern wall. Cabinets filled with fine garments and rack upon rack of shining armor and weapons stand on the south and east walls. Heavy ironbound chests fill the remaining empty space.
A door on the south wall looks a bit unusual, as if it's probably the back side of a secret door in the next room. In the center of the room, a mannequin wears a barbed amulet. A scroll describing the item’s provenance is attached to the mannequin’s chest. In addition, a shelf near the cabinets holds a half dozen flasks of alchemist's fire.
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Zirt glances around thoughtfully. Maybe we should take another look...
"Mawer," she says, gesturing Hrolf over. "Would you mind ever so much helping us with our evaluation by stepping outside the room with Hrolf here and watching and listening for about three minutes while we um... test the limits of this spell? Hrolf will keep you company and tell you about um... best practices around employee management for optimum security. Won't you, Hrolf?"
"Well, um, I guess," the clerk says, clearly puzzled by the intricacies of Security Specialization. He moves through the open door to the larger warehouse, then turns to look back into the hidden room, but it's pretty clear from the way his gaze wanders that he can't see past the haze of the spell.
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Hrolf follows Mawer out before beginning his next line of delaying questions.
"An important part of employee management is making sure they're up to date on anti-sexual harassment policies. I'd like to see your records and make sure everyone is up to date. How secure can this place be if everyone isn't feeling equally safe in the workplace?"
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"Alright, we've got a few minutes," Zirt declares after the clerk is outside. "Let's split up and search for anything we might be missing. I'd personally like to take a closer look at that statue with the amulet."
Moving over to the statue in question, she climbs up on a crate and begins to examine the scroll, statue, and amulet closely.
After a few moments of scouring the room, it becomes clear that the looted items already found are the most compelling evidence in this room of the Aspis Consortium's dealings in Thassilonian relics.
Zirt does give a quick scan of the barbed amulet on the mannequin in the center of the room, and determines that it is magic.
Zirt can't quite figure out the amulet, though she might be able to with a little assistance.
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Zirt giggles at Mavarion's action and takes a few minutes to scribble on the amulet's descriptive scroll, though her "scribbling" makes it look like the scroll was talking about something entirely different all along! Pulling over a crate, the gnome climbs atop it and gently moves the manakin's arms into position in front of it, then selects a scroll from her belt and places it carefully into the inanimate figure's "hands". Climbing down and pushing the crate back into place, she stands back and surveys her work. "What do you think?" she asks with a mischievous grin.
With another smile at her handiwork, she gestures to Mavarion and, upon receiving the amulet, puts it around her waist underneath her regular belt. "There! Now shall we go look in the other warehouse?"
The party steps into the main warehouse, coming into view of Mawer and Hrolf. "Well, was I right? The room wasn't full of fog, was it now?" the clerk says, his tone somewhere between snooty and snotty. "Are you done with your review, or is there more you'd like to see?"
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Zirt smiles up at Mawer endearingly. "Quite right indeed!" she replies, her voice as cheerful and mollifying. "You seem to know a thing or two about security, Mister Mawer! Would you please be so kind as to tell us about your other warehouse? We understood from our... contract... that you have two. Is that correct?"
Mawer, beaming with pride at Zirt’s praise, leads the false Security Specialists across the work yard and through another large rolling door, into an even larger warehouse than the first. He explains that the Aspis Consortium stores imports and trade goods in this warehouse, including sheaves of fine silk, Osirion statuary, jars of spices, barrels of fine wines, and other valuable commodities. Like the first warehouse, this one has a slick of slippery material running down the center of the floor.