|
Jake grabs Mahdi by the collar and pulls him to his feet with one hand. he pushes him against the wall. His sword is in his other hand, and it drips blood all over the floor and shoes of Mahdi.
From you, slaver, we require information as well. Do not think that I spared you for your own sake. Molos, care to garner what we can from Mahdi here regarding the chattel he sold?
The half-orc lays down his blade and agrees to cooperate, confused by the proceedings as he assumed you were here to save the slaver Mahdi. "Mezuk I'm called and I was just here to offer this scum some protection. Dangerous in these parts, you know."
Mahdi, for his part, goes from elation at having been saved to piteous whimpering once again as the party begins to treat him harshly. "Please, please! I don't know what you want!"
Mahdi starts, "Ah, ah, ah! I see now, I understand! Such information is valuable though-especially with the many threats I am under, as you can see," he motions to the half-orc who was just moments ago trying to extract money from the slaver, "Of course, a special price for special friends... I could tell you all you want to know for 400 gp. This is just to ensure my safety in betraying these clients, you understand!"
"Alright, alright, only 200 gp then! But really, I need to protect myself somehow, as you've seen!"
Mahdi explains, "Yes, I know the slave of which you speak. Atlat came tome through an infrequent supplier, a ship captain named Waheeda Wardak. Her ship, the At Sea, sailed with the distinctive yellow sails used by the Okeno pirates the last several times it was in Absalom, so it seems she has gone over to them or was perhaps taken in."
"Now I am actually expecting another shipment from Wardak tomorrow, and the At Sea should be docking tonight if it hasn't already arrived."
Mahdi reluctantly adds, "And. . . ah. . . I was told to expect an enslaved Pathfinder as part of tomorrow's lot."
|
|
After his explanation and payment of 200GP, Jake brings the flat of his blade down upon the back of Mahdi's shoulders.
I assume that we must now head to the At Sea to save a Pathfinder and unravel the tale further. We should stop by Lady Darchana's to convey the information, first, no?
He casually cleans his greatsword on the clothes of his fallen enemies, and sheathes the weapon on his back. He spits, then turns to the door.
I hate slavers.
Now with some solid information in hand, the party heads off to check in with Lady Darchana:
You are able to easily travel to Lady Darchana’s estate in the Petals District. A tall wall of polished stone surrounds the property and its gardens, and many of the plants have arcane or alchemical uses in addition to their aesthetic value. A doorman greets you, confirms your identities, and escorts you into the three-story residence, noting that Lady Darchana has been expecting you. There, the estate manager, Jemina, leads you to the upstairs study.
The walls of the study are inset with bookshelves that are brimming with texts of all varieties. A large drawing table in the middle of the room bears an unrolled map of the Inner Sea region. At the far end of the study stands an impressive darkwood desk, and seated behind it is a woman dressed in midnight-blue robes. Her piercing gray eyes look expectantly at Jemina.
The estate manager softly clears her throat and announces, “Senior Lesser Councilwoman, Archdean of the Arcanamirium, Second Spell Lord of Absalom, Lady Darchana of House Madinani, please receive these agents of the Master of Spells Aram Zey of the Pathfinder Society.”
Lady Darchana beckons with a short hand movement, “Pathfinders, join me. That is all, Jemina.” She folds her hands together and waits for Jemina to close the door behind her, then continues. “After my conversation with Master Zey, he agreed by necessity to keep the details that were passed on to you to a minimum. I am keenly interested to hear what you were able to learn based on what you were provided.”
As Lady Darchana utters the last sentence, she focuses all of her attention on Stag and seems to ignore the rest of you.
|
Stag is clearly unnerved by this as he considered himself to not be the talker of the bunch. Uhh... Well, milady. We have reliable information that the offending slaving operation will be susceptible to infiltration by this evening.
Stag seems to regain his confidence halfway through his briefing. That being said, we know that you wish to keep this operation hush hush, however it has become personal for the Society. This slave outfit has one of our own in chains and we don't take kindly to that. If you have direction for you, please... Stag ushers her to consider his statement.
If prompted, Stag will provide the name of the ship and the slaver.
Lady Darchana listens intently while maintaining an enigmatic but not entirely unfriendly demeanor. When Stag is finished, she turns to Rufus. "And I would like to hear your interpretation of events as well."
|
|
Rufus scratches the back of his head thinking for a couple of seconds. The slave came from Waheeda Wardak, captain of the At Sea, a vessel with the yellow sails used by the Okeno pirates. From the information we have so far my guess would be that those pirates are gathering information about the city. They wish to become a power in Absalom and are getting ready to make their play.
Lady Darchana nods solemnly and the room sits in tense silence for a moment before her head snaps back up, looking deep into Molos' eyes. "And what about you? What can you tell me?"
|
"I can tell you a great many things, my Lady, but the most relevant might be that Wardak's vessel is purported to be docking tonight. We should make our move soon.". Unlike the others, Molos did not seem awed to be in the presence of the noblewoman. He didn't change his comportment as he gave his report.
Lady Darcana Madinani thinks over the information for a moment. "An Okeno pirate captain, then? Captain Wardak of the At Sea," she nods her head, thinking it over with a brief smile. "yes, that would stand to reason." She flips open a ledger sitting on her desk that bears the seal of the harbormaster and begins scanning the pages, "When I became aware of the eavesdropping handmaiden, using my own magic I was able to follow the arcane trail back to its origin. I only got a brief glimpse of the heavily veiled perpetrator, but based on the distance and direction, I knew the culprit was on Stonespire Island-somewhere underground on the island at any rate, with a powerfully enchanted mirror. The Okeno pirates' base of operations is a city on that island, and the Fleshfairs may be the largest slave markets on all of Golarion. It is a cunning place through which to move these sensored slaves." Her hand finally comes to rest in the ledger. "At Sea, here we are. It has been to Absalom two other times in the last three months. According to this, however, it has been marked with a bounty. 'Failure to fully declare cargo value for taxation.'" She clicks her tongue loudly. "Excellent. You said the ship was coming in tonight to deliver goods tomorrow? If it hasn't already docked, it'll be anchored outside the Ship's Graveyard, waiting for a pilot. We cannot allow those slaves to make it to the Docks unaccompanied! I trust I count on you to help?"
|
|
Also, how do you wish us to proceed? Should we capture the captain alive? What kind of legal status can you bestow upon us for this missiom ma'am, can we arrest the man under the authority of the Council of Absalon? I do not wish to get in trouble with the port authority. We could actually use their help. Get one of their boats to take us to the At Sea disguised as pilots and arrest the captain there.
"As it happens, I have a plan that I would be happy to share with you," she interjects, "You see, by law, a ship like the At Sea must have a Pilot's Guild member bring it in through the hazardous Ship's Graveyard.... excuse me for a moment, I need to follow up on something...." She suddenly exits the room without much more explanation, leaving you sitting in anticipation for 15 minutes before she returns.
Upon reentering the room, she begins again as if she had never left the same train of thought. "I have spoken with a contact at the Harbormaster's Grange. There is an outstanding docking request for a ship called Kat Season, which is likely our ship with a flimsy disguise." She sits down and begins writing out a letter as she says this. She seals it in wax with her seal and hands it over to you. "Carry this note to the Harbormaster's Grange-it authorizes the inspector to provide you with a rowboat and a pilot. So long as you can confirm the ship's identity, you are legally free to claim the bounty yourselves and do with as you like. The bounty is 725 gp if I am not mistaken. If you wish to rescue any of the slaves along the way, that does not interest me."
"Not that I know of," she responds to Stag. To Molos' inquiry she responds, "I was not aware that anything more extravagant was necessary for such an operation or, indeed, favorable in such waters. If you wish for a bigger boat, you may supply it yourself."
---
The Inspection and Pilots' Office of the Harbormaster's Grange is cramped and perfumed by a particularly smelly bowl of salted fish stew that's cooling on one of its several desks. Ledgers and loose papers occupy most of the horizontal surfaces in the office and a bookshelf on the southern wall sags under the weight of heavy files.
At present only one inspector is on duty. The sleepy-looking halfling woman sits up, covers a yawn, and syas, "Welcome to the Harbormaster's Grange. I'm Inspector Second Class Lilia Ginsi. How may I be of service?"
When shown the letter, it takes her only a few minutes after reading the request to confirm the pending docking request for the Kat Season in her ledger, locate and sign out a rowboat, an finally locate the pilot roster. She excuses herself to notify a pilot to prepare for departure, leaving you for a few moments. When Inspector Ginsi returns, she informs you that your dwarven pilot Zigil is ready to depart when you arrive at Docking Slip 49.
When you make your way to Docking Slip 49, Zigil speaks little but is ready to get underway. SHe makes it very clear that rowing the boat is your job, and navigating safely through the Ship's Graveyard is hers.
Absalom's harbor is an inky, shifting landscape of shadows at night, illuminated only by the city's lights, the waxing moon, and the distant blaze of the Absalom Lighthouse on Pilot's Island. Eventually, a three-masted ship with white sails comes into view. It's just over one hundred feet in length, and its bowsprit is a weatherworn representation of a canine-headed mermaid. The crew is busy as they await an escort through the Ship's Graveyard. A rope ladder hangs from the rail of its starboard to a foot above the waterline.
[spoiler=DC 25 Perception]You notice several folded yellow sails on deck.
|
|
Gilthanis doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary. He gathers is gear, and attempts to climb to rope ladder, after the rest of his party has gone. He fails miserably, clearly out of his element. He tries again. After a little over 30 seconds he finally gets his legs to work and he scurried up the rope.
|
|
Rufus rowls the small boat taking the time to enjoy himself. It has been a while since the last time he was at sea and the halfling misses it. After securing their boat on the bigger one he whispers to his companions before climbing the rope ladder.
We came to the right place. The name on the prow have been repainted recently. I can read the old one under it. "At Sea"
Gilthanis falls from the rope and into the rough water of the sea!
A half-orc peers over the edge of the boat above you at the sound of the splashing. "Eh? What're doin' down there? There was supposed to be a pilot and two sailors at most! What's this all about now?"
"New recruits, is that it? Well then get the hell up here and let's get this moving along!"
The half-orc stands by the nearest of the staircases, practically on top of the 'pilots' who nearly bump into each other and the half-orc in the nighttime gloom. There is a dim light coming from the helm, where a man mills around the wheel. Near the far staircase a gnoll crewman is coiling up a great length of rope, watching the new arrivals.
"We're ready to get underway." the half-orc says. Just as he starts to move out of your way, a three quick, piercing whistles comes from the man at the helm. The half-orc counts on his fingers, looks up at the both of you with a wicked smile on his face and roars "Ima toss yer scrawny butt intada drink bub!"
The half-orc then tries to bull-rush Jake into the water!