"And now our group is not as strong because of in-fighting." Makoa grumbles after Gelik leaves. "I hope we do not find anything along the way that we need him to figure out."
Lorenz watches his friend go sadly but after Gelik is out of the room he lightly touches Sasha's hand for a moment before smiling, albeit a little forcefully.
"I'm sure it'll be fine. Douena knows all kinds of things. She'll be the one who figures things out for us."
"Wise man would consider the other side of the mirror," Mahjik says, "we should be able to leave anything we cannot figure out for the main expedition, so Gelik's expertise would hold regardless. If we have to wait a couple of days for the main body to catch-up to us if a problem is just that important, that'll be fine - any problem that we have to wait for, odds are any other expedition would likewise have to wait for as well."
"As long as we don't need another lighthouse fixed, we should be fine," Douena says crossly. "What else did he ever do on the Shiv, except complain about getting dirty? I'm tired of everyone either lecturing me or tiptoeing around me. You think I'm being childish? Well, I'm tired of you all treating me like a child. I'm fifty-four, and I'm older than any of you. If I don't like someone, I'm allowed not to like them, and if I don't want to do something, I'm allowed not to do it. I don't need to be scolded or bribed.
"I don't want my name on the expedition. I stopped caring about the stupid city as soon as it stopped being something we were going to do together because it was fun and we liked each other and started being about money and logistics and ... underwriting! This is why I didn't want to leave the island," she waves her hand around the room inclusively, as if to encompass the whole situation. "On the Shiv, it was just us, the group, together; we were all we had. Now that we're back on the mainland, everyone goes back to what they were before; all the old loyalties and problems that meant nothing on the island become important again." She points to the door by which Gelik exited. "Gelik's not one of us anymore. Now he's a Pathfinder, and that's more important than being a survivor of the Jenivere ... of Smuggler's Shiv," she amends, remembering that Pezock hadn't been on the ship with them.
"I don't particularly care where I go next," she concludes. "I won't be staying here. Desna's about the journey, not the destination. But...," she seems to remember something, a little uneasily, "it would be a good idea to get out of Eleder as soon as possible. I'll leave it up to Pezock. If he wants to go with you to Saventh-Yhi, I guess I'll come along. If he wants to go somewhere else, I'll go with him there." She turns her large eyes up to him mildly. "Where do you want to go, Pezock? Anywhere but here, and quickly."
"Well said." Makoa says quietly, crossing his arms and leaning against a wall. "I want to leave Eleder as well. Cities have always made me feel... unwelcome."
"But ,Douena, you forget that while we were off exploring the island, that Gelik stayed behind to guard the camp with the others. You forget that he read Aerys' poem for us, and that he taught us a way with words. Everyone one of us was useful on that island, and we are just as useful off it."
Pezock looks down at Douena, then at everyone else. "I left the island for the promise of treasure and adventure," he says. "Finding the lost city sounds like treasure and adventure to me. I couldn't care less about these Pathbinders or winders or whatever they're called. Let them give us their money. Then we go ahead of them like they said and find the city and claim it for ourselves! We don't need to turn it over to them. It'll be ours! We win, they lose."
Jask shakes his head. "If we make an agreement with the Pathfinders, we should honour it," he says. "If we don't wish to honour it, then we shouldn't make the agreement."
"Fine!" Pezock snaps. "Then we don't make an agreement with them! Or we do and we honour it. Whatever! As long as I get treasure and adventure, I don't care!"
Sasha leans forward (having manage early on to acquire one of the few chairs). "There's one other thing we should consider. That Glaur guy might be able to figure out how to get there from the translations without needing to go to the Colonial Archives like we'll need to do. If we don't make a deal with the Pathfinders, can we be absolutely certain Gelik won't hand over the information to him?"
The strain of holding his smile is showing on Lorenz's face. His brows are drawn rather tightly together and he's had to bite his tongue more than once.
"I don't think we can count on Gelik not to share information with the Pathfinders. He is a Pathfinder and his duty lies with them. They're like family to him, I think, although probably not quite so frustrating."
"What I said before I got yelled at," Douena points out. "He is a Pathfinder, not one of us. Not one of us first, anyway. He'll always choose them over us."
"Oh, I wouldn't go that far," Lorenz says without thinking about who he was talking to. "When it comes to lost cities and artifacts, maybe, but it's not like he'd attack or try to kill us for them."
He suddenly thinks of something else. "Wait. Why do we have to leave Eleder so soon?" He looks more closely at Douena. "What did you do?"
"Nothing!" she protests innocently. "I just think it would be a good idea if we left really, really soon."
As soon as someone else speaks and attention shifts to them, she surreptitiously points a finger at Lorenz and mouths words under her breath.
Lorenz eyes Douena warily, unsure of what to think. When her voice suddenly speaks into his ear, he jumps slightly and looks very uncertain.
Not sure exactly what to do, having never been the recipient of a Message spell before, he just licks his upper lip nervously and nods.
"Well, we can't leave before we know where we're going," Jask says, "and for that, we need either Mister Glaur or the Colonial Archives. I suppose we should take a vote for whether to make a deal with the Pathfinders. This isn't necessarily to accept the exact conditions they've proposed, just whether we're going to deal with them at all. All in favour, raise a hand."
Jask raises his own hand. Sasha shrugs and raises her hand. Pezock simply crosses his arms.
Lorenz raises his hand.
Making Lorenz nervous is cheering Douena up considerably. She looks around at the people raising their hands. "What are we voting on? Oh! Doing the library work ourselves or letting the Pathfinders do it? I vote for the Pathfinders. C'mon, Pezock, you do too," she nudges him. "Wouldn't you rather spend your time in the tavern than the library?"
Lorenz's face floods with red heat and he coughs, looking away at the floor, his hand wavering a bit in the air.
Urza raises his hand.
Making Lorenz nervous is cheering Douena up considerably. She looks around at the people raising their hands. "What are we voting on? Oh! Doing the library work ourselves or letting the Pathfinders do it? I vote for the Pathfinders. C'mon, Pezock, you do too," she nudges him. "Wouldn't you rather spend your time in the tavern than the library?"
Pezock eyes Douena suspiciously. With a slight grumble, he raises his hand. "Good point," he says.
"Looks like we we're going to work with the Pathfinders then," Jask says. "The next question is, do we like what they've offered us, or do we want to negotiate for more?"
Pezock doesn't hesitate. "More!"
"I want a tiara!" Douena insists, her eyes flashing with excitement.
Having a little trouble with Douena's voice sounding in his ear at the same time as she is speaking to everyone, he shakes his head.
"An inn's a lot more comfortable," he says. Then he stops, flushes some more and whispers,
He coughs loudly, shrugs miserably and tries to speak more normally. "I mean, I don't think there's anything else to negotiate for, is there? Unless it means more supplies for the trip."
"I also think that we shouldn't take the first offer they make. Not only are we able to be the first off towards a Lost City, but we've got a pretty good group that has already faced much hardship and is experienced with exploration, we got the best idea of what we dealing with of anybody around, and we're going to be risking our lives on this venture. Adventure back and forth, there is a rightness to things and we should not sell ourselves short just to settle the deal quickly."
"I want a tiara," Douena repeats a bit stubbornly. "I don't care about being famous. I don't want to name the expedition; I just got done naming Sir Ralph. I don't need a wayfinder. I don't want to join the Pathfinders. And unless Saventh-Yhi is a lost city of halflings or gnomes, all the treasure there is going to be too big for me. I want a tiara."
"There's no reason you can't buy a tiara with your share of the money, Douena," Jask says. "However, I suppose we could try to negotiate for more money so that you can afford a more expensive one if it's that important to you."
"Psssh! A woman can't buy herself jewelry," Douena replies to Jask scornfully. "It has to be a present. You've never been married, have you?"
Lorenz turns away and puts his hand over his mouth.
"You think Sasha wants a tiara? You know, there will probably be loads of tiaras and better jewelry in this Saveth place we're going to."
Douena looks at Sasha pensively.
"What about you, Pezock?" she turns to the tengu. "What do you want? It's only fair that those of us who don't want to be part of their little club get something in place of it."
"Treasure!" Pezock proclaims. He pauses for a moment, then continues, "But it needs to be useful treasure, not pointless things like sculptures or paintings or bows and arrows. Stuff I can use!"
Jask sighs. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask for an alternative reward for those not interested in joining the Pathfinders. Douena can get her tiara and Pezock can have his...useful stuff."
"And you, Sasha?" Douena asks her carefully. "Do you want to be a Pathfinder?"
Lorenz shakes his head, hand still over his mouth.
"That's okay, I'll figure it out myself. Thanks anyway."
He turns his attention back to the group at large. "I wonder if it wouldn't help to have an intermediary working with the Pathfinder in terms of these additional negotiations. Just to keep things...calm."
"A smaller group's a good idea," Douena agrees. "It's crowded in here ... and something smells like dead fish. Someone trustworthy. I vote for Jask."
Sasha shakes her head in answer to Douena's question to her. "I don't trust organizations that much. I know most aren't as bad as the Red Mantis, but...well, I'd rather not take my chances."
After Douena suggests Jask as negotiator, Sasha seconds it.
"Jask." Makoa says simply. "I trust him to make the negotiations. I doubt any of you would want me doing the negotiating anyway."
To emphasize his point, Makoa grins toothily, showing off his pearly whites.
"I would be happy to do the negotiating," Jask says. "I only hope I can do an adequate job and live up to the trust you'll be placing in me. Before I do so though, I want to be clear on what our goals are. We want an alternative for people who don't wish to join the Pathfinders when this is all over. This alternative could be in coin or treasure. How big should that be? What value do we place on Pathfinder membership?"
"Nothing flashy," Douena tells Jask happily, squirming toward him through the crowded room. "It would make it harder to hide if I had something all sparkly on my head. I saw one I liked with Urza and Mahjik yesterday morning. It was kind of a dull silver, and it looked like a hair ribbon tied in a bow, and there were some pale green stones set right where the knot would be; they'd match my hair."
Lorenz considers for a moment. "500 gold is a fine offer for an advance but it won't be enough to procure any useful magical items for the journey. Perhaps we could barter for one, not overly elaborate, item for those will do not wish to join? Although I suppose the Wayfinders might count as such a thing, they're not really going to be so useful for each of us individually."
"Perhaps we can negotiate for a variety of useful magics," Mahjik suggests, "many things we'd only need one of, but we can't really afford - so it could make sense to have the Pathfinders provide those for us. Perhaps even just as a loan. Let's see..."
- a couple of ioun torches
- campfire bead
- muleback cords
- scabbard of vigor
- vest of endure elements
- jungle boots
- efficient quiver
- handy haversack
- rope of climbing
- sustaining spoon
- horn of goodness
- a couple of ioun torches
- campfire bead
- muleback cords
- scabbard of vigor
- vest of endure elements
- jungle boots
- efficient quiver
- handy haversack
- rope of climbing
- sustaining spoon
- horn of goodness
Jask nods. "That sounds reasonable. They're willing to pay for non-magical supplies for the journey. I'm sure I can make it sound reasonable for them to pay for a few low-priced magical supplies."
"And my tiara," Douena reminds him anxiously. "Do you want me to draw you a picture?"
"That's all right, Douena," Jask says. "I know what a tiara looks like. I'll do my best to get you one, but you may have to accept something else instead. Requiring a tiara for payment is, well, a little unusual. But I promise you I'll try." He moves over to the door. "Shall I call them back in?"
"Now's as good a time as ever, Jask. Good luck."
Lorenz takes a seat and tries to sit patiently.
"Oh, do we have to stay?" Douena asks, disappointed. "I thought we were volunteering Jask to do the boring work by himself."