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"Tim, my name is Simon and these are my companions Krygmar and Cedrick. We were sent here by the temple of Sarenrae to assess the validity of some rumors about Miss Baltwin, and ensure the safety of the children under her care. Is there anything you can tell us about Baltwin that would assist us? Maybe about these mean streaks? We are here to help."
Gilga watches as the three come down the stairs. "Was everything to your satisfaction, sirs?"
"About time...Ahem, well then. Have a good day and a safe journey."
Gilga stands and opens the front door for you. As you walk out, she mutters under her breath, but, if you question her, she just shoots you a creepy smile. After you have all exited, she closes the door with a polite slam.
You make your way back to the temple where you find Ollysta sitting with a young cleric. They are reading from what appears to be a prayer book. As she catches sight of you, she stands and excuses herself. She looks at you expectantly.
"Ah, you've returned. How did your investigation go?"
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My lady, you requested for us to find out if the orphanage was deserving of your donations. The short answer is no, your medicine would be better served somewhere else.
Baltwin uses her own skills with herbs and remedies to heal the children that come to her. The medicine, which she has an abundance of from several different charities, she instead sells to unknown men of questionable background in order to fund her rather severe drinking habit. Even that is not enough for she also sends the orphans who say with her to work for other people, who pay her for their labor.
The fact that she helps children is not in question. However her character, methods, and motivations are less than good. Here is a manifest of some of the charities where she has received donations. You may want to inform them how their medicines are actually being used.
Ollysta addresses Aesantiel first. "I don't think there is anything we can find out about Gilga's family. It is beyond our abilities and our purpose."
She then turns to Cedrick. "I thank you earnestly. I'm sure that it was not easy to uncover Gilga Baltwin's schemes. You have done us a great service and we shall personally see to it that Baltwin is punished justly. I am saddened to see that we were not the only group taken in by her deception. I will inform these other charities. Thank you again, Pathfinders."
Finished here, the group heads outside. The weather has warmed up a little more in the couple of hours since you started.
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"Lady Ollysta, can you please inform me at the Pathfinder's Society when Mrs. Baltwin's disposition has been determined? I find myself taking some interest in her, and her case."
~---~
"So, to the Wise Quarter, then." Aesantiel sweeps decisively off in the direction of the Wise Quarter, but at a pace that can be maintained by the company.
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Aeasantiel sounds a bit puzzled, as though speaking a tautology so basic that nursery rhyme authors would regard it as too basic to discuss - "Yes, that was then. It is past. Now is the Osirianologist. The current task should be our focus, and our current activity of moving safely through the city to his address should consume our attention. Discussion or consideration of our previous task is, at this moment, a non-productive distraction."[/b]
After her statement, Aesantiel takes her own advice, and devotes her attention to scanning the street for eyes too interested in their activities.
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"No, my experience of the world so far has been very limited. I have spent most of my life in the deep deserts of Rahadoum - the first time I met a non-elf was approximately a year ago, when I walked out of the desert to at Manaket. We make a study of Osirian for possible trade - an opportunity which occurs at least every century or two - and also to better understand the ruins scattered across the desert. We use these structures, and do our best to honor the purpose and sensibilities of the original builders."
You arrive in the Wise Quarter, the structures that serve as academies cloud your sight. You see several scholars carrying scrolls and books. Some are sprawled in front of a fountain holding a discussion. After a few minutes of wandering, you find yourselves in front of Grand Councilmember Dremdhet Salhar's Estate. A guard looks at you as if he had been waiting quite a while for your arrival.
"You must be the pathfinders that I was expecting. Please, this way."
He opens the large iron wrought gate leading into the estate and ushers you to a waiting servant.
The servant motions for you to follow and speaks to you as you walk. "Many apologies, but Grand Councilmember Dremdhet Salhar will not be meeting with you. He has been called away on very important business. However, his most trusted advisor shall meet with you and conduct any business you may require."
The servant leads you down well-decorated hallways, past expansive rooms. You arrive in front of a small study at the end of a long hallway. Inside, a tan-skinned old man sits behind a desk flipping through pages in a large tome. Scraps of paper jut from the booking marking over two dozen different places. As you approach the open door, the old man gestures to you with one hand while closing the book with the other.
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Aesantiel steps into the room a small distance, casts her eyes downward, makes a small bow, and says clearly but softly, "ஊடுருவல் தயவு செய்து மன்னிச்சிடுங்க. நாங்கள் கெளரவமான பேராசிரியர் இருந்து பரிதாபகரமான 'ஸ் சொசைட்டி இறுதி ஆவணத்தில் தெரிவிக்கும்படி கேட்டு கொள்ளப்பட்டனர். இந்த நாங்கள் உங்கள் உதவி ஆளாகின்ற கூடிய ஒரு பிரச்சினை?"
"Good day to you, Pathfinders. I am Amenopheus, the Sapphire Sage, advisor to Master Salhar. I understand you were sent here to discuss archaeological permissions. Knowing this was coming, I spoke with Master Salhar at length on the subject and have this to say.
"Since Osirion was reopened to exploration a decade ago, adventurers, historians, and treasure-seekers flock to my country by the hundreds, perhaps thousands. While most families with ancestral burial vaults maintain guards and keep their sites out of the hands of casual thieves, not all families have the wealth or power to restrict everyone, and as we all know, not every defense is perfectly secure. Unscrupulous tomb robbers and maligned merchant organizations cause Osirion to bleed relics into the Inner Sea—something the descendents of Ancient Osirion cannot afford. We Osiriani have thousands of years of rich history coursing through our veins, and while that power has been out of focus in recent years, we are content to wait, knowing our enemies will wear themselves down. As they fall into arrogance, folly, or greed, we wait for our return to power, knowing we bear the riches of our ancestors at our feet.
"Master Salhar remains impressed by the Pathfinder Society, orating in their favor a handful of times in front of Absalom’s Grand Council, in fact. Due to previous relationships between him and the Society, Master Salhar has agreed to grant permission to the Pathfinder Society to explore his family’s vaults below Sothis. The only thing he requires is that you retrieve the map of the vaults from his own vault here. The servant will lead you to the basement and show you the room."
As the servant reappears and motions for the group to follow, Amenopheus returns to his book as if was never disturbed. You once again traverse through the expansive estate until you come to a set of stone stairs leading into the cool basement. The coolness is actually a relief, given how hot the day has been.
You arrive at a plain wooden door. The servant unlocks it and gestures to it with a bow. He then stands against the wall, apparently waiting for you to enter.
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Aesantiel puts a hand on Cedrick's arm. "If this is 'Master Salhar's Family Vaults', they may be defended with traps in the same manner as crypts in Rahadoum and Osirian. Perhaps it might be worthwhile to search for them as closely as possible? This Master Salhar may be setting us tests, possibly many types of tests." Aesantiel will poke the flagstones and the air ahead with her staff, look at the walls of the corridor, and overall take a moment to search the entrance for nasty surprises.
Aesantiel's poking and searching yield no unexpected results. You peer into the room and find it to be a fairly simple stone vault. There are three chests and something wooden behind them.
As you move into the room, the door is shut and locked behind you. There is a message written on the back of the door: "Within these cases lie your quest and your way out."
Looking over the chests; there is a copper-banded chest of smooth, dark wood; a red lacquered chest and what appears to be a cube of solid steel. Behind the chests sits a low table with a clear glass jar half full of liquid and a covered wicker basket. At the bottom of the glass jar sits a jeweled brass key.
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Elross follows the group into the room, when the door behind him locks he turns to read the note. "Within these cases lie your quest and your way out," he reads to the group. Noticing that all the chests have locks on them, he looks around for a key. Approaches the glass jar he says to the group, "There's a key in this jar." He the picks up the jar inspection the contents through the glass. Aesantiel is right, he thinks swishing the liguid around within the jar, I've sprung enough traps in my life. He remembers the pit tap that almost claimed Talhelms' life, If only Haplo had been as vigilant as Aesantiel, that wouldn't have happened. Lifting the glass jar closer to his nose, he takes a sniff of the liquid.
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"I joined up to make sure all my allies return home safely. I know all too well what it is like sitting at home waiting for a loved one to return, and never seeing them again. It is my calling to make sure no one else has to suffer through the same."
Simon confides with Cedrick, obviously upset by something.
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Listening to Simon talk of loss causes Elross to unconsciously reach for the engagement ring at his neck. I wonder how Lyandra reacted to my absence, he thought while squeezing the ring. Snapping back to the task at hand, Elross releases the ring and interjects, "I don't know if it'll help any, but I do have a sewing needle. However I'm out of thread for it."
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Aesantiel steps forward, observes the wicker basket carefully (does it move, vibrate?), listens carefully to the basket, and smells. If there were to be a snake in the room, it would certainly be in that basket.
Almost idly, while making her inspection, she says softly, "we may need the fluid, and potentially 'unsullied'. Let's make draining or fishing a last resort."
Aeasantiel gently touches the lid of the basket, then pauses to listen again. She carefully lifts the far lip of the lid up 3 inches.
Aesaentiel then smoothly, but decisively removes the lid.
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"We should test a small amount of the fluid before committing it all to another vessel - there may be a very important reason it's in a glass container. Let's look closely at this key that's not underwater. Can any of us read the runes on the key?"
Aesantiel retrieves the blue key from the basket, and attempts to read the runes.
As Aesantiel reaches into the basket, a viper strikes from underneath the key. She is unable to retrieve it from the basket.
Damage:
The poison does not affect Aesantiel.