Bandaging Baltwin's shoulder you manage to staunch the flow of blood from the shot wound. Colour returns to her face and her breathing becomes more regular. The little boy, the girl and the two boys you met outside come down the stairs and Deidre comes in fom the kitchen. The little girl looks like she's about to cry and says in a tiny voice " What are you doing with Auntie Baltwin? " One of the older boys that you met outside says " What's going to happen to us? "
Auntie Baltwin appears to be compliant with anything you do. Though she grumbles all the while. " Can't believe you'd shoot an old lady with that contraption! " and if you tie her up or man handle her " Well I never! Completely unnecessary. "
You head back to the Ascendant Court and the Temple of the Shining Star. Ollysta Zadrian greets you in the large main hall. She looks the group over and frowns. " I take it things did not go well. Did you deliver the medicine? "
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"Our task was to deliver and report. We delivered the medicine, and we are reporting our findings. First, she drinks to excess, even when watching the children. Second, she is selling the children's services. Third ..." Jezebel relates the information as best she can recall allowing others time to elaborate and add detail.
" Well, It seems things are much worse than I had even suspected. You have done me a great service, we will be quick to take the children from her care! " Ollystra takes the bags of gold from Anders and sets some aside before turning back and hands each of you a small pouch of coins. " I'll keep the majority of the gold for the children but please take this as a reward for helping me. "
Jezebel
Hekra
Galia
Anders
Azeban
Galia
Your coach speeds you through Absalom north into the Wise quarter past large estates of officials and even bigger schools and colleges. Before dropping you at the large wrought iron gates of the Salhar estate the guard has been expecting a group of pathfinders and greets you allowing you to pass through.
A servant answers the ornate double doors. "Ah you must be the pathfinders. Unfortunately Salhar has been called away on urgent Council business but follow, his most trusted advisor Amenopheus is available. I believe he is authorized to negotiate with you. " The servant leads you through decorated hallways past expansive rooms. After a few minutes, the group arrives at a simple study near 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 book marking over two dozen different places.
As the group approaches the open door he waves you all in closing the tome with his other hand.
" 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. 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. " The Sapphire Sage's eyes twinkle as he smirks knowingly, then he opens the tomb and begins reading his book as though he had never been disturbed.
" Ah, follow me please " The servant requests, leading you back through the halls and then down some stone steps into the cool basement. Down a hallway, after a couple turns, the party ends up at a plain wooden door. The servant opens the door, gesturing to the room with a bow, and waits silently for the PCs to enter.
A plain stone room contains three chests: a copper-banded chest of smooth, dark wood; a red lacquered chest; and what looks to be a cube of solid steel. Behind the chests sits a low table holding a clear glass jar half full of liquid and a covered wicker basket.
There is only one faint aura located around the copper banded chest.
As soon as everyone enters the room the servant replies to Jezebel " That's correct. I'm not allowed to tell you anything else. You have half an hour. " he pulls the door closed and you hear the faint click of the lock. Written on the back of the door is the message: “Within these cases lies your quest and your way out.”
Jezebel scans the room but doesn't note anything of interest or danger. She moves forward inspecting each chest in turn. Her fingers seem to pass through the copper banded chest and it fades from her view as she realises its an illusion. The smooth, red lacquered chest seems normal apart from the solid metal plate surrounding the gaping keyhole that pulses with glowing amber runes. On the steel cube she notices a hair line crack that suggests that it would actually open like a chest. Up on the table she notes that there is a key in the jar of liquid and from inside the wicker basket she hears a snakes quiet hiss.
The acid spills over the table and floor frothing an bubbling as it goes and the key can be retrieved without much fuss.
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"Yes, I think so, and we should check for more mundane traps we well. Nothing especially magical about a jar of acid I don't think."
Jezebel moves to the far side of the room where she can observe and help keep her eye on the world as a whole, but not get in the way of those skilled at the thieves arts.
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"Well, I don't know who among us possesses the skills to open locked devices", says Galia, thumbing the edge of her axe, "but I find sometimes brute force sometimes suffices. Say the word and I shall attempt my own attempt at opening. Or dispatching whatever may be in that basket, if necessary"
What are the chances they packed lunch in that basket along with the hissing creature?
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Jezebel bursts into laughter, "Instead of using magic to make acid, perhaps we should have just poured the jar of acid out onto the basket, and let that acid eat the snake inside." Otherwise, she remains out of the way, loading her pistol just in case a large snake should chose to slither out of basket as the acid impacts.
The key from the jar is silver, a skeleton key with three small jewels set in the head. Each chest (Including the steel cube) has a keyhole that can be tried.
Hekra's spell burns through the wicker lid. The hissing from within becomes more urgent as acrid smoke pours into the air. As it clears you can see in through the hole. Another key sits on folds of cloth, this one is made of blue stone and covered in runes.
Viper
Azeban
Anders
Galia
Jezebel
Hekra
Toshizo
The wicker basket crashes to the floor scattering bits of cloth, the blue key and a small snake. Angered the snake slithers across the floor to Azeban and rears up to striking his leg with its fangs.
Hekra swipes at the snake bringing his sword down against the floor but the snake slithers out of the way.