The man with no mouth appendages grins at the mention of the stink of the bags as if he intended it to be that way. After putting the bags over your heads, the men roughly grab you and, essentially, throw you into wagon. You sit in silence as none of Dakar's men talk as the wagon seems to rumble over cobblestones for hours upon end. It seems odd that you can't hear the crackling of the wheels against the rock or really anything for that matter.
Finally, the wagon seems to have stopped and rough hands grab you, dragging you across the cobblestones, then grass, then into an air-conditioned area.
The bags are removed and taken from the room by the men who also exeunt, and you find yourselves in a nice club or private residence with carpeted floors, potted plants, slaves waving fans, and a giant, backlit screen along one wall. A shape, decidedly vague in outline, can be seen behind the screen, and a voice speaks. “You’ve asked for me and now you have me. What do you wish to know?”
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Aiden shakes his head and spits as the bag is removed. "Seriously, you gotta at least dip these in the river or something. The next person will pass out with this thing on."
He looks up at the silhouette. "Seriously? You're Dakar and you won't show us your face? How do we know we're dealing with the right person? Why did you have Horis Collgardie killed?"
The man chuckles—a dry, raspy sound. "As if you know what my face looks like..." He ponder your second question. "Hmm... not too bright, are you? You already know that I had nothing to do with his death, so why play games?"
“I don’t give anything away for free, Pathfinders, but I will give you the information you want in exchange for a future favor.”
"A wise man..." A snap is heard from behind the screen. One of the lackeys produces a parchment and quill and hands them to Emmett. Unraveling the parchment, you see that it is a lengthy contract with spots for each of your signatures.
"Once you sign, I will reveal my knowledge." you hear from behind the screen.
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Not a single Sense Motive to see if they tell the truth? Bold. I need to have my bad guys lie more often.
Rangor tries to use all of his senses during the wagon ride but keeps losing track of which direction they are going.
Getting thrown from the wagon he gets a bit irritated.
I will make sure to return and turn their brains to jelly when I am at full power again....
Hearing the man speak with the parchment sitting in front of him Rangor asks.
And what favor is this that we will owe?
"The favor will be determined at a later date. Don't die before I can collect." the man says before you hear him rasp in laughter.
The contract looks fairly standard, not that you would know. Phrases such as "on penalty of renegement, ten years of indentured servitude to Dakar" and "first-born offspring shall inherit debt upon death of a signatory" pop out at Kiyantikert and Emmett.
"No need to worry about the indemnity clauses if you uphold your end of the bargain." Dakar states plainly. "You either sign or I can have you leave without any understanding of the situation at hand."
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Aiden watches the silhouette of the man while the others debate the words of the contract. Dakar didn't seem to want to drive them away, but this lengthy contract would make anyone think twice or even three times before signing it. "So if we sign this, you've got great motivation to ensure we don't die during this investigation. Will you come to our aid if things go sour?"
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Kiyanetikert finishes reading the contract. "No, I don't think so. Being stupid enough to sign something so open-ended would be a novelty, but for once I'll pass.
This is a trivial bit of information for you to pass on. And not that important to us. It's our job, but not our lives or anything.
I'm sure we can find out what we need some other way. Sorry to have wasted your time."
Kiyanetikert picks up the the hood. "I suppose you'll want us to go through this charade again?"
"Of course, if you did have some specific favor in mind, we could still talk. Otherwise, I think we should be on our way."
"I trust you to handle yourselves without my aid." Dakar states from behind the illuminated parchment.
At Kiyantikert's words, you hear a sigh. "You are free to do what you wish gnome. Too bad..." Two snaps echo from Dakar as the light in the room suddenly darkens and you feel yourself thrust from the reality of Dakar's room. With a stumble, the group finds themselves back on the street outside of the Augur's Entrails, but it appears that nighttime has set in and the streets are significantly less populated.
Emmett seems almost precognizant to the rest of the party as, the very next day, you see the same seven thugs waiting for you outside of Collgardie's house. They are holding the same hoods.
"Boss says you get one more chance to sign the contract otherwise we leave you to whomever may want to cause trouble with the Society." says the one with the cudgel.
You arrive after a long arduous trip through rough wagon ride with your haunches sore.
"Have you reconsidered?" says the man behind the illuminated paper.
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Looks like we are left with little choice. I will sign your contract.
Rangor reaches out a hand for the contract and paper.
Grabbing ahold of the contract the paper instantly turns brittle and nearly falls apart all over the table.
Rangor looks at the man.
Sorry... That seems to happen with anything I touch. Do you have another or will that suffice as a signature?
"I am familiar with those of your kind. A cute parlor trick, really. Once you release the contract, it will return to its natural state. A signature is still needed. A drop of your blood can suffice if you can't seem to get the inkpen to work." Dakar states from his shaded area.
The room seems deathly quiet as each Pathfinder moves forward to sign over an unnamed favor in exchange for information on Collgardie's death and the burgeoning Shadow Lodge.
"I see that you have come to your sense." states Dakar with a clear hint of happiness in his voice as his minions take the signed contract into their custody and present it to Dakar behind his illuminated parchment wall.
"The Society has long rumored of the Shadow Lodge, but there has never been any proof, however you lot get to be the lucky ones and report back that you have actually found it."
"See, the Shadow Lodge is very real and they will begin their war on Society from Kaer Maga and I happen to know where one of their leaders is located for the next few days!" he says with glee.
"Visit the Naderi Theater in Bis and you should find who you are looking for along with his goblin minions that he has been preparing for battle." advises Dakar to the Pathfinders.
"I'll find you when I need something." chuckles Dakar in his raspy voice. "Any other questions?"
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"Emmitt is right. Now that we've signed and we're bound to you, what's the use in hiding? I'd like to see to who we owe a debt." Aiden begins walking towards the screen intent on meeting the man behind the curtain.
-Posted with Wayfinder
"That's none of your..." starts Dakar as Aiden starts walking forward. "Ack! Stop him, you fools!" Dakar yells to his minions who rush forward and grab Aiden by his arms and drag him back, but not before he gets a small glimpse behind the screen.
As Aiden is rustled back away from the screen, Dakar's voice echoes out. "Aiden, was it? Tell anyone what you saw," he says with a hint of cruelty in his voice, "And you’ll owe me more than a favor, little Pathf inder."
Composing himself, Dakar speaks up one last time. "Well, it seems that you have everything you need. You'll hear from me." you hear from the hidden individual as you feel a familiar sensation as you are pulled through space and deposited back where the goons took you.
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Aiden allows himself to be dragged back. He laughs. "Well that was worth it. You're a sneaky devil, aren't you? Well, it's some insurance for a fair deal!" He laughs again.
When the world returns to their normal surroundings, Aiden gathers himself back up. "Well, where to now? The Naderi Theater? Dakar might be a slithering, slippery one, but he wants us to do his dirty work. Might as well go see what's there."