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Peeking through the windows themselves Torriki is not able to tell much. Inside he sees children cleaning dishes, sweeping the floors and making the beds all throughout the house. A red-headed curly haired little girl starts to whistle as she cleans to which all of the children begin to join her in the same show tune in unison as they dance about cleaning the house.
Lady Baldwin sees that Io looking lost in the street as he looks about. Come in little one. Would you like some chocolate? She says as she waves her hand low for him to come into the house.
"Are you okay, my lady? You seem a little ill..."
Of course I am fine. Would you like some tea?
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Lady Baldwin's face turns to shock. And why would that be? I bring in these children and heal their ailments. What gives you the right to make such accusations? She says in an offended angry tone. She pours a glass of tea for everyone but Omar.
Walking over to the cupboard she grasps a bottle of alcohol. She tips a few splashes into her tea as she looks up and offers the bottle to the rest of the group. Would you like a taste?
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"Just a small nip in my tea, thank-you."
As the 'morning tea' progresses, Rudolph innocently enquires:
"It must be nerve racking managing all of these children by yourself. Is that part of the reason why you send them off into town during the day? I hope that they are doing something productive; idle hands can get up to all sorts of mischief..."
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Io looks nonplussed as the woman offers him chocolate and treats him like a child.
"Really, lass...I've been alive longer'n ye'll ever reach..." he mutters quietly.
But if ye think I'm a child, I'll be actin' like one...
The inquisitor looks for an opportunity to sneak off and look around while the others take a drink.
Though I wouldn't mind a nip o' that...
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"Tea? Aye, I'll have tea with a nip in it, but make it a large nip and hold tha tea, eh?" Qillion winks at the woman, but as he is wearing an eyepatch, no one notices.
"So, this must be a job, eh? Chasing all these rugrats around? I often work the ships, and have to keep at the men to work hard, but I think it builds character. What do you think?"
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Gilga shoots Rudolph and Qillian and incredulous look and laughs. Ha! Seems most days you need it if you want to make it through the day in this house. These children are killing me! She says with shaky hands and a scratchy voice.
As Omar and Shonne speak with the children Lady Baltwin turns and yells at them before they have a chance to say anything. Go on now. Leave these nice people alone and go play outside! She yells as she swings her cane in a playful manner to shoo the children out the front door.
Believing Io to be one of the children she ushers him out the door with the rest of the children giving him a good swat with the cane.
A small black cat begins to rub up against Shonne licking at the grape stickiness left by the child outside the house.
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The children seem scared by Io and take off screaming down the road behind a bush. They slowly peek out at the burly dwarf.
Peering through one of the windows in the back of the house Torriki notices that there are a hidden stash of curatives hidden under a cloth. The kitsune is able to see that they are from three different charities.
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The kids slowly creep back out from the bushes and look at Omar's shining wayfinder in awe.
Torriki comes back to the front of the house in an attempt to gather the rest of his group to let them know what he found.
"Heh heh. Between you and me, how do you afford enough alcohol to manage? I think I'll keep my delivery boy job, thank ye much!"
Bah! There is never enough o manage. Turning her head to Shonne. Pickles.... Pickles! Leave her be
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Omar gets roughly the same responses from the children that Io did.
We already told the scary dwarf The children say to Omar with a confused look.
Obviously bored now they run off.
******************************************
Inside the house Lady Baltwin looks at Shoone. Oh, I am sorry dear. I thought you would be used to animals being an elf and all.
Finishing her tea she stands up.
Thanks for the supplies now if you will be off I have children that need to be cleaning.
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"let's get to our next stop. I don't want to delay the news about this place."
-Posted with Wayfinder
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"let's get to our next stop. I don't want to delay the news about this place."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Which is?"
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"woman is a drunk and she's gaming the system. I don't mind system gaming honestly, but I DO mind using kids to do it. I know what that feels like, and it's not cricket."
-Posted with Wayfinder
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"The neighbors admit to being happy when Auntie Baltwin sends
the children “off into the town” during the day,
as it gives them a few hours of peace and quiet. But are the kids safe? Do they have supervision and what tasks she sends them to do. Those should be areas of further scrutiny before any more aid is provided ."
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GM Tyranius: I don't think you ever answered this and I don't recall seeing it in the description.
The paladin nods her head in approval. Thanks for looking into the matter. We will have to keep a close eye on her and take it under consideration, though this definitely will involve further investigation.
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The group is ushered out the door and on their way to their third task on the list. Soon they reach the rich estate of Grand Councilmember Dremdhet Salhar, and are greeted by a guard who is expecting them as they reach the tall, wrought-iron gate.
Shonne, Omar, Io and Torriki see a man from across the block looking at them. As the guard motions them into the houses gates they look back to the man and he is suddenly gone, without a trace.
Once inside, a servant tells the group Salhar is not present, called away on important Council business, but his most trusted advisor is available to negotiate any business they may require. The servant explains this while leading the group down well 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, the wise sage silently gestures the PCs into the study with one thin hand, while closing the tome with the other after finishing what he was reading.
Once everyone is all inside the study, he addresses the group.
“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.”
The Sapphire Sage’s eyes twinkle as he smirks knowingly, then he turns back to reading his book as though he had never been disturbed.
After leaving Amenopheus’ study, the servant brings the group back through the spacious estate, leading you down sturdy 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 group to enter.
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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.
Once the group enter the room, the servant shuts the door and locks it behind you. Written on the back of the door is the message: “Within these cases lies your quest and your way out.”
The gallon-sized clear glass jar is about half full with clear liquid. At the bottom of the vessel sits a jeweled brass key.
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without touching anything, Omar will inspect the red-lacquered chest to see if it has a lock...especially if it is a brass looking lock matching the appearance of the key in the jar.
"Shonne, you were right. A test it appears to be afterall. Now what about this jar?"
Omar will also sniff the jar to see if the liquid smells of water or alcohol etc.