The interpreter looks to the fatman who shrugs and then nods followed by some extravagant hand gestures. The interpreter looks away from Gaeldrung to the fat man to avoid his gaze. Watching only the fatman he says, "Murquoal accepts your deal. He suggests you deal with the gnolls first. They tend to ‘forget’ the agreed upon price. You’ll be carrying some additional funds—Murquoal regards it as a standard tax when dealing with them—but beyond that, he expects you to convince them that they’re not getting any extra.”
The interpret retreives two pouches each with one hundred gold in it. "Try not to spend if if you can help it, but do what you must to secure the deal."
Looking out at everyone except Gaeldrung's stare he says, "Bring the merchandise back here and we will have details for you on your second task."
He shoos you out the door an gives you the agreed upon meet location. By night, the streets of the Twilight Gate district are mostly empty. The courtyard surrounding the Ruined Monastery, a popular tourist attraction by day, is even more deserted than the surrounding streets. Perhaps this is what made it the choice location for Murqual’s gnoll “distributors,” or perhaps the gnolls feel comfortable in the shadow of this former home to Lamashtu’s faithful. In either case, the shadows lie thick underneath these crumbling walls. Walking inside you find three gnolls standing around a crate, waiting for you.
"What's this?" one snarls in reluctant common, clearly betraying disdain, not the usual of Murqual's pack. "And you send only one donkey? Let's have a look at the wares."
The two other gnolls get up, eyeing the party with disinterest. "Those linen have more fleas than my mother-in-law. Moth-ridden too. Not much there, poor quality even for Murqual. Let us see."
The two gnolls in the back begin to approach your cart, intent on doing something to it.
The two gnolls look back to the lead gnoll who nods in turn to Periel and kicks a large crate behind him. "It's in here. As promised. We always deliver. Unlike Murqual who always over promises and under delivers! Let us proceed with business as agreed upon then!"
The two approach the cart and begin to look through the contents. They take a minute to look through and turn around, heading back to join the lead gnoll. They speak in their native tongue for a few exchanges and then the leader speaks again in accented Common. "It would appear that you are attempting to rob us and cause our children to starve. I have seventeen wonderful children you know, surely you don't want them to die a miserable death without food on the table, do you?"
He holds his hands out to you in a pitiful gesture. "From our brief inspections it would seem that the sum of an additional 300 gp would be required to meet the original agreed upon amount. I hope you have purposely hidden it from us and are now prepared to complete the transaction."
The gnolls tilts his head as he looks at Kensaku, "Are you insulting my children in some crude way? I am offended! They are of course marvelous!
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"Alright, look. We've had to play this game already. It's tiresome. Very tiresome. You've got seventeen children, we've got 200 gold. Those are numbers that we can agree on. I suppose you can have zero gold and you can have seventeen orphans, if you'd like, but I'd rather not stoop to getting my hands dirty over a few hundred gold. We are friends here. Murqual is nothing if not kind," she tacks on through gritted teeth.
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No, of course not! Kensaku says, taken aback by his hostility, I believe that they're marvelous! I mean... she hesitates, thinking of the right words to say before continuing, I'm sorry if I have offended you, mister gnoll.
She bites her tongue so as to not question out loud whether or not he actually has kids, despite her suspicions to the contrary.
The lead gnolls looks between the different party members and seems to be weighing his option. He looks like he is about to protest the offer, but the added comment from Gaeldrung seems to seal the deal.
He nods and holds up a hand in surrender. "Alright, alright. No need to get hostile orc. We will accept the 200 GP and the cart of goods in exchange for the previously agreed merchandise. Toss the gold on the cart and my associates will retrieve it. Tell the scoundrel Murqual if he tries to cheat me again I'll slit his throat. Oh, and happy birthday to his daughter, I believe that her birthday is tomorrow."
The lead gnoll nods to the two who approached before and once again approach to lead the donkey away to whatever fate awaits it.
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You are very kind, Aasimar, Kensaku says to Periel, giving a deep bow before continuing, you do your past lives proud.
She then looks over the rest of the party, seeming to weigh them now that she has known them for longer. After a time, she speaks up: So now we return to Mister Murqual so he may tell us where to sell our years for his profit?
The party takes the heavy crate back to Murqual where two large men carry it off into the back. Upon their arrival the fatman is not present, only the interpreter. They explain how the transaction went down and he does not seem at all displeased with the events. His only comment is, "Good job, off to Madame Jelaris with you then."
He provides directions and you head off to the shadow of Nethys’s temple, this higher end shop emanates scents of perfumes, medicines, and the dusky tang of alchemical experiments from behind a beaded doorway. The front of the store has shelves for the casual shopper, with scented oils and colognes in faceted bottles on delicate shelves. Further back, more solid looking containers under locked glass offer alchemical wares of the more adventurous and martial varieties. A marble counter blocks off the very back of the shop, where a bell sits beside an alembic bubbling away
with a cerulean liquid. Behind the counter, another beaded curtain leads deeper.
A young assistant boy sits by the bell at the counter. "May I help you?"
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Zero twirls two fingers in sort of a 'hurry up' gesture.
"Let Madame Jelaris know that traders are here to obtain her mirror. Murqual is not a patient man," she adds on, derision barely hidden beneath a smile.
Anything to get us out of this damned heat, she thinks, trying to get a bit of air into her armor.
As soon as the party mentions that you have been sent by Murqual, the assistant goes in the back to fetch Madame Jelaris.
Madame Jelaris is a stocky, handsome, fashionable Chelish woman in her later years. She looks you over with mild amusement. "Honestly, I set a high price for Palhuna because I didn't especially want to sell and thought he'd never pay it, but if he's found a way around that and you're willing... well, who am I to refuse?"
Before you make your offer, she explains the basics of the alchemical process. "Oh, I insert a tube down your throat extracting an essence from your lungs. It doesn't actually age you. It's not as though time goes faster, but it does prematurely wear down your body by a few years. So, how did you want to split the twenty years between you?"
Madame Jelaris nods and request the boy go and retrieve the mirror. The boy returns a moment later with a tied black velvet bag. Taking the bag from the boy Madame Jelaris withdraws a silver hand mirror, showing you the back of the mirror and then sticking it back in the bag. Once in the bag she ties it again and hands it to the boy who walks off with it.
"There now. You've seen the mirror, what I am doing with the years is none of your concern. How are you splitting these years up, who is going first?
Madan Jelaris nods with a pleasant smile. "There we go, halfway there. Next?"
Madame Jelaris looks to Gaeldrung, Zero and Kensaku. "And you? How many years will you be offering?"
The madame's eyes immediately shoot to Gaeldrung, a sly smirk on her lips. She turns to face the tall half-orc and opens her hands to him, palms out in a welcoming gesture. "You've caught my curiosity. Continue please, you will find I am most entertaining of alternatives."
A sly smile crosses her face and she thanks Gaeldrung. She says, "I've been known to enjoy games of chance. If you wish to partake, I shall challenge you to a game of twentybone." Upon your acceptance she leads your group into a backroom with a game table. Once everyone is seated she passes 20 tokens over to Zero and instructs you to split them between whomever wishes to play as she sees fit.
"Now then, whomever is playing please set your tokens for the first round."
The madame nods to the twenty tokens she has provided to Zero. "Each token is a year, you have been given twenty and I have twenty. You win my twenty and the cost is free to you. I win you yours, you owe me forty years. You could consider it double or nothing if you like."
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"Then, each of us should get a token for each year previously promised. That would be ten for Periel, five for Siival, two for Gaeldrung, and one each for myself, Kensaku, and Lukaas," Zero says, counting them out and passing them around.
"I'll certainly win my way out of my year, at least."
Zero tosses her lone token into the center.
"Who rolls first?"
The madame motions for Zero to proceed. "Go right ahead. Once all of you have rolled your wagered dice I shall roll mine."