Mivvy stabs the orc, who looks at her with fury in his eyes. "Oh you pathfinders, always sticking your noses where they don't belong."
The half-orc shrugs off the worst of the fear, though it does unnerve him slightly.
The bandit, quite injured, flees out the back door, but not before letting you know that you'll be paying for this insult.
The merchant was merely knocked unconscious, having taken something of a beating beforehand. The wand heals him almost completely. "Oh, you took care of them... thank you. How may I help you friends, as you are surely friends for coming to my aid?"
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Virog shrugs and squats next to where the merchant is on the floor. "I'll take friends. Friends 's good. Last group deren't seem t'much like friends. Ah'm... err ... We're respresentin' a group, lookin' for a slave that y'all sold, name of Atlag. T'slave was workin' fer Lady Silviana. 'T'weren't just who ye sold it to thas got us all in a bother. 'S that she were a spy. Ah need te know what'cha know 'bout this slave, and all'a these shenanigans. Ya'know... On account 'a us bein' friends. That way we can help smooth over any potenshal leads back ta here."
"Because we are such good friends I will tell you. The slave Atlag came to me through an infrequent supplier, a ship captain named Waheeda Wardak. Her ship, the At Sea, sailed with the distinctive yellow sails used by the Okeno pirates the last several times it was in Absalom." Mahdi also shares that he expects another shipment from Wardak tomorrow, and the At Sea should be docking tonight if it hasn’t already arrived. Mahdi reluctantly adds he was told to expect an enslaved Pathfinder as part of tomorrow’s lot.
The slaver seems honest, you feel that given the fact you scared off his assailants and are still standing, seemingly unharmed, that he might be a little nervous about the thought of a disagreement.
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"Now, Silvy - Lady Silviana - is far too decent to make a fuss about this but you must understand that you have creaated a lot of unwanted drama for her and need to smooth things over, otherwise people, people, will talk about your unreliable business regardless of how this turns out."
Mivvy stretches and sheathes her blade, "A simple reimbursement would probably be the simplest and cheapest way to make things good and protect your reputation. Her major domo can be very discreet."
Then she turns to her comrades in arms, "Pirates,eh? How marvellous!"
"A reimbursement? Now I don't know about that, I mean business is business but money is money." Mahjub seems uncertain about this latest request. It's one thing to part with information, but to give back his hard-earned coin? He may need some diplomatic convincing... alternately, you feel as though you could intimidate the poor man into bowing to your will.
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"Maybe my associates haven't been . . . generous enough. We did chase away your thugs, for now. How much coin have they squeezed from your stones so far? We can see about providing a more long-term resolution to that problem, but we do favors for our friends. Friends try to make things right for each other. It is the nature of friendship. One of our friends has suffered because of the behavior of property you sold her. If you could see clear to make that right, then we could see clear to reminding your recent companions that we are your friends, not merely random customers."
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Virog picks his yellowed teeth with the end of his cause fear wand. This doesn't help to clean them at all, but rather leaves an ashy smear across them. "Carrel 'as the way 'a it. Ah thought we was such good friends 'an all... Savin' yer life. Forgettin' about how yer business done us harm. Ye really could do us this solid, an' we would be right grateful. Mite show up again later te help ye out when ye need it. Ye never know when ye goan need friends like us."
Once again Virog's silver tongue sways the slave merchant. "Very well. I will..." the words sound like they leave a vile taste on his tongue, "refund the good lady's money." He then asks you to leave him to his misery and misfortune.
You get the distinct impression that before departing for the docks you should check in with Lady Darchana, who was the host of the dinner party where the spying/scrying was discovered. There is certainly no requirement that you do so, but it is advisable.
You are able to easily travel to Lady Darchana’s estate in the Petals District. A tall wall of polished stone surrounds the property and its gardens, and many of the plants have arcane or alchemical uses in addition to their aesthetic value. A doorman greets your group, confirms your identities, and escorts you into the three-story residence, noting that Lady Darchana has been expecting you. There, the estate manager, Jemina, leads you to the upstairs study.
The walls of the study are inset with bookshelves that are brimming with texts of all varieties. A large drawing table in the middle of the room bears an unrolled map of the Inner Sea region. At the far end of the study stands an impressive darkwood desk, and seated behind it is a woman dressed in midnight-blue robes. Her piercing gray eyes look expectantly at Jemina. The estate manager softly clears her throat and announces, “Senior Lesser Councilwoman, Archdean of the Arcanamirium, Second Spell Lord of Absalom, Lady Darchana of House Madinani, please receive these agents of the Master of Spells Aram Zey of the Pathfinder Society.”
Lady Darchana beckons with a short hand movement, “Pathfinders, join me. That is all, Jemina.” She folds her hands together and waits for Jemina to close the door behind her, then continues. “After my conversation with Master Zey, he agreed by necessity to keep the details that were passed on to you to a minimum. I am keenly interested to hear what you were able to learn based on what you were provided.”
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"Indeed. We found the merchant the slave was purchased from. Apparently provided by an infrequent supplier named Waheeda Wardak, captain of a ship named At Sea, which bore the yellow sails of the Okeno pirates. Also, the merchant promised to refund the money spent on her. The slave, I mean."
Yumiki explains with seeming indifference, save that she doesn't seem to like the word "slave."
"Interesting... that is your take on it. You, sir, what is yours?" She indicates Carrel, waiting for his version of the events which have thus far transpired.
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Carrel looks startled, eyebrows rising as he points at himself. "My opinion, truly? Well . . .." He takes a moment to gather himself. "So far it seems this entire thing has been an exercise in some as-of-yet-unknown party taking advantage of how little others care about what they might try to do. The slaver seems honestly ignorant of the slave's hidden talents, and unable or unwilling to protect his business from standard threats. Your guest considers the slave a total loss, and is looking for someway to restrict the impact of that ill-advised purchase on her and her family. Now, I am uncertain if that involves limiting the damage from being involved or not, but I don't think she was complicit." He fiddles with his hands for a quick moment before continuing. "This is simply conjecture, naturally, but, at this point I wouldn't be surprised to find this Mr. Wardak was paid by someone to sell the girl through the incompetent merchant, who was known to have sold slaves to this specific guest previously. As part of a long game to gain the sort of access which upset you, naturally."
He shrinks some, as he concludes his discussion. "But we, as discrete agents, learned nothing and have nothing to remember about any of this. Absolutely nothing."
“An Okeno pirate captain? Captain of the At Sea.” she nods her head, a brief smile. “Yes, that would stand to reason.” She flips open a ledger sitting on her desk that bears the seal of the harbormaster and begins scanning the pages, “When I became aware of the eavesdropping handmaiden, using my own magic I was able to follow the arcane trail back to it’s origin. I only got a brief glimpse of the heavily veiled perpetrator, but based on the distance and direction, I knew the culprit was on Stonespire Island—somewhere underground on the island at any rate, with a powerfully enchanted mirror. The Okeno pirates’ base of operations is a city on that island, and the Fleshfairs may be the largest slave markets on all of Golarion. It is a cunning place through which to move these sensored slaves.”
Her hand finally comes to rest in the ledger. “At Sea, here we are. It has been to Absalom two other times in the last three months. According to this, however, it has been marked with a bounty. ‘Failure to fully declare cargo value for taxation.’” She clicks her tongue loudly. “Excellent. You said Mahjub Mahdi was expecting another shipment from the At Sea tomorrow? If it hasn’t already docked, it’ll be anchored outside the Ship’s Graveyard, waiting for a pilot. We cannot allow those slaves to make it to the Docks unaccompanied! I trust I count on you to help?”
Lady Darchana explains that by law, a ship like the At Sea must have a Pilot’s Guild member bring it in through the hazardous Ship’s Graveyard. She then excuses herself briefly to follow up on this information and returns 15 minutes later. “I have spoken with a contact at the Harbormaster’s Grange. There is an outstanding docking request for a ship called Kat Season, which is likely our ship with a flimsy disguise.” She writes out a letter, seals it in wax with her seal, and hands it to Yumiki.
“Carry this note to the Harbormaster’s Grange—it authorizes the inspector to provide you with a rowboat and a pilot. So long as you can confirm the ship’s identity, you are legally free to claim the bounty yourselves.”
Lady Darchana is particularly pleased and requests members of the Sovereign Court faction stay behind for a moment before the rest of you depart. “I have spoken at length with one Lady Gloriana Morilla, who has demonstrated considerable ambition in Absalom and abroad. Among her strengths is her dedicated and talented corps of agents whose virtues she has praised at length. I have had few opportunities to see these agents in action, but consider me tentatively impressed. I would request a favor while you are at the Harbormaster’s Grange, and I trust you might complete it for me with discretion as a sign of good faith between your patron and us. Find and remove the docking certificate for the At Sea, then destroy it when you have the chance. It is perhaps not the easiest of feats, but you have proven your resourcefulness.”
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Saya listened attentively as the others related their discoveries to Lady Darchana, the nods at the proposed plan to get aboard the At Sea. She frowns however, at the Lady's proposal, "If I may, Lady, but would not such a certificate have been procured lawfully, if it was in the possession of the Harbormaster?"
The Inspection and Pilots’ Office of the Harbormaster’s Grange is cramped and perfumed by a particularly smelly bowl of salted fish stew that’s cooling on one of its several desks. Ledgers and loose papers occupy most of the horizontal surfaces in the office, and a bookshelf on the southern wall sags under the weight of heavy files.
At present only one inspector is on duty. The sleepy-looking halfling woman sits up, covers a yawn, and says, “Welcome to the Harbormaster’s Grange. I’m Inspector Second Class Lilia Ginsi. How may I be of service?”
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As they approach the harbor, Yumiki asks the others, "If I can see the files I ask for in the office, see if you guys can occupy the attention of anyone present. I'll need a quick moment."
Raising an eyebrow as she watches Mivvy go back outside, Yumiki then steps forward and answers the inspector, "I'm Lady Yumiki. My companions and I are investigating something on behalf of Lady Darchana." She presents Darchana's note. "We would appreciate being able to see the docking certificates for the Kat Season and the At Sea please. Additionally, we would appreciate a rowboat and pilot as I believe the Kat Season is ready to be brought into the harbor."