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Back at The Wounded Wisp, you find Janira still telling stories to anybody who will listen. When she sees you again, she gives a huge wave that wobble her hole body--and the table she's standing on. The halfling wraps up her current story a few minutes later, then hops down to see what you've brought her.
"Back so soon? Does that mean good news or bad news?"
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"The moon moves in mysterious ways." explains Forvenniel.
"We found this coin. It's magical, but we can't figure out how to use it. It was one of the clues..." she starts to explain.
As she talks, her eyes search out the others in the gin-den.
I wonder if Yargos knows anyone at the arcanium? He is a scholar. Maybe he could pull a favour for us in getting into the gnomes house.
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Kembe bows solemnly in thanks to the Priestess as she bids them farewell with the coin. "We are men and women of honor here Priestess, our word has meaning, we will return soon."
With that he straightens himself and follows the group back towards the inn, eyes wary as usual.
Kembe stays within arms reach of his brother, as always, as the others head inside to speak with Janira. The Pathfinder way seems to be very reliant on others for assistance. It must build great trust within the organization. He thinks to himself as they enter.
His gaze catches Norril's longing glance at the bar It seems he may have an old friend behind the bar, maybe I should speak with him about honing the mind and body to avoid such temptations...
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"Unless it is vital to our case, the keeper of the grave we found it at would prefer we returned it quickly," Sejiri adds, keeping a bit of distance. "If it proves important for some other reason beyond this, I suggest talking to her to see if the Society can keep it. It was at the mausoleum containing Arkath, a mason."
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"How interesting!" Janira says as she handles the coin. "I've never seen anything like this, but I have something that might help."
The halfling hands Forvenniel a scroll of identify to use, but offers to activate it herself after finding out that neither Forvenniel nor Zevryn can take advantage of its powers until tomorrow.
After a few seconds, Janira claps her hands and pulls out a wayfinder. "This is a Pathfinder's coin! If you place it above a wayfinder, it will speak a secret message--but only once, so have your inkpen and parchment ready.
"Here, you can use some of my things!"
The boisterous halfling hands the coin and wayfinder to Forvenniel, then places writing materials in the center of the table for whoever wants them.
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Zevryn removes his own notebook, ready to take notes as well. He shrugs at the others.
"My Wayfinder is still in the mail. They engraved the wrong initials on it the first time 'round." He frowns to show what he thinks of that but keeps his eyes locked on the Pathfinders coin.
I wonder where I might find one of those?
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"Alright... everyone ready..."
Forvenniel leans closer and then carefully puts the coin on top of the wayfinder, listening for what may be revealed.
Once the message has come out she looks again at the scholar at the bar. "Do you think Yargos would be able to help us with the authorities at the Arcanium. He must know a lot of other scholars. Maybe he can help us get in..."
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Once placed above the wayfinder, the coin hovers for a minute and wobbles a little as it spins. A disembodied voice suddenly appears, and then disappears just as quickly.
”The path and chamber are complete, hidden behind the nameplate of the requested aspirant and guarded by the word you requested. Fimbrik will add more.”
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"The requested aspirant!" Zevryn says as he writes down the phrase spoken by the coin. "That ties directly to the names we read at the Wall of Names."
Zev smiles broadly at Janira and Bevole affectionately rubs his face on her ankles, sharing in his masters excitement. Zev still trying to piece things together follows the others toward Yargos.
"Fimbrik will add more? Add more what? Is the path and chamber what we found at the tavern? Or something else?"
He continues to jot down hypothesis as Norril and Forvenniel try to find a way into Fimbriks home.
"Do you know Fimbrik, sir? Is he deaf? We rapped on the window but he didn't move at all."
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"Hmm . . . no, I haven't heard of this Fimbrik, but I know a clerk at the Arcanamirium who might be able to help us."
With the elderly Yargos in tow, your journey back takes noticeably longer. Thankfully, his contact isn't the one you spoke to earlier.
"Yargos, you old hack! What lies have you been writing this time?"
The two banter back and forth a minute before Yargos introduces you. "These Pathfinders here could use some help. I told them you're an unhelpful and ungrateful mooch, by they still insisted on speaking with you."
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Sejiri almost breathes a massive sigh of relief when they do not end up with the same secretary. He bows cordially upon being introduced and says, "We were wondering if you could help us into the home of one of your Professors. We went there, and even saw Professor Fimbrik through the window, but he didn't seem to see nor hear us. What's more, there was a large stack of recent newspapers at his door. We wished to talk to him about an old contact of his."
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Kembe helps the aged Yargos to the next stop, allowing him a shoulder to balance on whenever they pass over uneven ground "I very important job you have Sir. Writing down the histories of the world for all to read some day. It must put a lot of weight on those shoulders to be accurate, does it not?"
Once they arrive Kembe shares his brother's trepidation, but a small sense of relief hits him. Maybe this one will recognize our plight...
"We only need but a key or at least permission?"
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"Why yes, yes it is!" Yargos answers Kembe. "So few realize the effort and responsibility required for good scholarship. Suppose you find a document supporting your hypothesis, can you publish it? What about two or ten pieces of evidence? What if there is a source disputing your hypothesis?
"It is not enough to find some or even a lot of evidence, we must make sure that there is no counter-evidence, too!"
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The clerk listens quietly, then shuffles some papers around with equal silence. "An odd request, indeed. I shouldn't . . . but if . . .
"I suppose there is one way it might be acceptable. One of our employees will accompany you, to document that Professor Fimbrik's rights and property are respected fully."
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The clerk summons a custodian, who arrives after several minutes. The walk back to Fimbrik's house is short, and the custodian fills the entire journey with conversation. Unfortunately, the only piece of relevant information he shares is that Fimbrik has been seen inside his home quite often, but nobody has actually spoken to the gnome in over a decade.
Once at the house, the custodian tries several keys before finding the correct one. He opens the door with a little flourish, then steps aside for you to enter.
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As Sejiri goes to take a step forward, a large hand reaches out from behind him and secures itself on his shoulder "I think not my brother, you know the rules, I go first and you back ME up." He heads inside with a nod of thanks to the custodian "Thank you Frank for your assistance and your time."
Kembe heads inside quickly to look around ahead of Sejiri and to also keep close tabs on the moon watcher.
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Zevryn sees Sejiri and Forvenniel move toward the room to the left, but he's curious to see if Fimbrik is still sitting in his chair reading the paper. He and Bevole head to the right, both of them looking for any signs of the gnome.
"No one has spoken to this guy in a decade right? That strikes everyone else as really weird, yeah? It's not just me?" He calls across the room as he investigates.
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"Ack!" Zevryn cries and Forvenniel bars his entry. Bevole turns his head toward Forvenniel.
"Creatures appearing? " Zevryn looks into the house and casts detect magic to see if he can pinpoint anything that might summon the creatures the moon has shown his companion.
A deaf old gnome with traps all around his apartment? What have we stumbled in to?
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"Professors do love their magical wards. You wouldn't believe the stories about Professor Zymnaster. Supposedly he booby trapped the bird bath in his garden, to kill the squirrels that kept using it. And then there's the one about his his toilet paper. He brought his own roll to classes, and students would try to play pranks on it."
Frank goes on for a few more seconds, then looks at Norril and says, "Oh, sorry. Yes, we should probably try to avoid the trap somehow. Who knows what damage it might cause when set off."
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"I don't really know the house all that well, never been here before actually. Or even met this particular professor. There's a lot of them, you know. Plus, they don't exactly invite us custodians over for tea," answers Frank.
A quick perimeter walk confirms that there is no other entrance without breaking a window.
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Zev uses the wand on Kembe with a nod and looks to the rest.
"I can send Bevole in to trigger the trap and run back through the door. He's pretty quick but if the creatures get too close he can take refuge on my skin. That way we don't need to risk the professors property or our coin purses in the pursuit of information."