- 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
"Well, we can take advantage of their hospitality for a while; if they've got no news for us (or particularly if they do) we can take the day off afterwards and go explore the city some more. I want to see if I can find a monastery or shrine to Irori."
"You don't need to stay if you don't wish, Douena," Jask says. "Indeed, it might be best if most of you leave, as that way, there'll be fewer distractions."
He opens the door and calls out. "It's all right. You can come back in now."
Douena locks eyes with Lorenz across the room.
Urza stays for the negotiations.
Lorenz jumps a little in his seat and turns to Sasha. "Any interest in staying around for a while? Or shall we explore the city some more instead? I was thinking of waiting to see how negotiations go...if we get more gold now perhaps we can shop for more equipment." He glances briefly toward Douena and shifts his shoulders in a slight shrug.
Gelik, Finze, and Amivor Glaur file back into the room. Gelik rubs his hands together gleefully. "So, have you decided?"
"We've decided we want to do a little more talking," Jask replies.
"No," Pezock interrupts. "We decided you are going to do some more talking. I'm leaving because this is boring." He holds out his hand to Douena. If she takes it, he leaves with her. If not, he just shrugs and walks out. Finze's jaw drops a little.
"Don't mind him," Sasha says. "He's always like that. He'd just get in the way, anyway. Talking of getting in the way, this is a small room. We thought it would be better to whittle down the numbers a little for the actual negotiations. Let the people who are best at talking do the actual talking, that sort of thing." She turns to Lorenz. "It's all right if you want to stay. I'll make sure Douena and Pezock don't get into any trouble." She gives his shoulder a squeeze and gets up. "It's been a pleasure," she says to the Pathfinders, turns, and leaves the room.
"Well then," Jask says, "perhaps we should get down to business. This is what we were thinking..."
Lorenz smiles up at Sasha. "Okay. Have fun!"
He turns to Finze. "I, for one, am very interested in what you've offered thus far. But due to some...confusion...to how the information was given, there are a few things that might help to smooth things out, especially for those who aren't inclined toward membership..."
Diplomacy
"We were always in, there were just some personal issues that needed to be addressed before we could continue on. But, now that that's been taken care of, we can work on the details of how this partnership is going to work." During the negotiations, Urza admits to wanting to join the Pathfinders and asks about the workings of the Wayfinders.
Douena accepts Pezock's hand with a smile.
The negotiations go on for well over an hour, but they are pretty amiable. Jask keeps them talking, but the Pathfinders are reluctant to make too many changes to their initial offer. They eventually start to offer a few concessions; however, they balk at the mention of a tiara for Douena.
"A tiara?" Finze says. "What use is a tiara on an expedition such as this?"
"Douena has...unusual needs," Jask says. "There are many things that she keeps for religious reasons, and their presence helps boost her divine connection to Desna."
Finze stares at Jask, and for a few moments, no one says anything. Finally Jask says, "Not buying it, are you?" Finze simply shakes his head. "I promised I'd try," Jask continues.
"I'm beginning to understand Gelik's complaints about her," Finze mutters. He then speaks more clearly. "If she wishes a tiara, let her buy it from her payment in gold. That's one of the reasons for a generic payment in gold: so you can buy yourself trinkets as a reward. That, and to cover unforeseen costs on the journey."
"Perhaps the tiara can be given in lieu of some gold payment," Jask suggests.
Finze sighs, but nods. "I suppose that would be acceptable."
In the end, the Pathfinders agree to increase the initial payment to 750 gp each and the end payment to 1500 gp. Also, after reaching Saventh Yhi, you can choose between membership in the Pathfinders, an additional 500 gp reward, or any item of comparable value (such as a tiara). The Pathfinders do not agree to provide any magical supplies for the journey (other than wayfinders).
Jask shakes hands with Finze and Amivor at the end. The two also offer to shake hands with Lorenz, Urza, and anyone else who stuck around for the negotiations.
Gelik rubs his hands together gleefully. "I'm so glad things have worked out," he says. "You will not regret your decision!"
Lorenz shakes hands with both men as well. "I'm looking forward to working with you, Amivor."
He turns to Gelik. "And thank you, Gelik, for your part."
A few minutes after the negotiations are complete, he leans toward Jask.
"Do you think we might be able to pick up a tiara for Douena with some of the coin they give us? How much do those things cost, anyway? If it settles her down for a few days, then I'd be willing to contribute a fair portion of the cost."
Mahjik steps out right behind Sasha, "I've got a mind for mindless entertainment! What you say we find a fortune teller or trained monkey or something?"
"Why would I want a trained monkey?" Pezock says. "What good would it do me?" He points to Douena. "Give it to her. She likes those kinds of things. It can follow her around and carry things for her or something." He strides off down the street. "I'm going to look for tengu ships!"
"Thank you very much, gentlemen. I truly hope that this is only the beginning of a wonderful partnership." He shakes hands. "I remember where the tiara was that she wanted. I'll say that Gelik wanted her to have it."
A few minutes after the negotiations are complete, he leans toward Jask.
"Do you think we might be able to pick up a tiara for Douena with some of the coin they give us? How much do those things cost, anyway? If it settles her down for a few days, then I'd be willing to contribute a fair portion of the cost."
Jask shrugs. "I suppose we could do that. I'm not sure it will really solve the problem though. At best, it just puts it off for a while."
After Urza mentions knowing where the tiara Douena wants is, Jask glances at Gelik, who doesn't seem to have heard. "Okay," Jask says. "Let's go there. Do you remember how much it cost?"
"You feeling clammy?"
Lorenz is relieved that Urza actually knows something about the tiara Douena wants. He isn't entirely sure he even knows what a tiara is. "Excellent. Yes, lets go look at that."
"You feeling clammy?"
Sasha rubs her face and hands. "Not especially," she says with a grin. "However, I wouldn't mind catching and eating some clams. Alton!"
The flappybite flies off his perch on top of the Pathfinder lodge as Sasha starts to follow Pezock and Douena. "Want some clams?" she asks. Alton seems excited by the prospect and squawks in response.
You need to go a fair distance out of town as you discover that most of the beach along the area of town called Northcoast is a military training area. Northeast of the city, however, you are able to set up on the beach and start searching for clams.
The clams are not plentiful, but there is fish to catch. Alton manages to catch several, but does not choose to share, instead eating them within moments of catching them.
"Anyway, the problem is, when the sailor contradicted Pezock about the Crow's Tooth, Pezock got angry and attacked him. Not with his sword, just with his fists. But the way things are in this city, he could get into real trouble if he starts a brawl with the wrong people. With human people. They could arrest him, maybe send him back to Ilsmagordy into slavery. That's why we have to leave quickly and why he doesn't need to be down at the harbor looking for tengu ships. I'm the one who took him off the island, so I'm going to take care of him. But," her glance goes to Mahjik as well, "it was the four of us up in the cannibal village together, trying to hold out long enough for the others to get there. We should stick together to look after Pezock, at least until we're out of Eleder. Help me keep an eye on him, keep him from going off alone?"
Mahjik momentarily looks serious, over to where Pezock is, then replies "He's a liability, but he's our liability. I'll try to help as much as I can. He managed to build a giant marionette of a crab house. That kind of ingenuity should be rewarded."
She looks back at Pezock, then at Douena. She nods. "We'll look after him. He's annoying as hell sometimes, but I've kind of grown to like him."
Urza is able to lead you back to where Douena saw the tiara previously. It's still there, priced at a 100 gp. The jeweller notices you looking at it and begins to discuss the exquisite craftsmanship that went into its design.
Jask looks at it and sighs. "I hope we're doing the right thing. There will come a time when Douena will need to learn that she can't always get everything she wants. This whole tiara business stems from her disagreement with Gelik, which she has transferred to the Pathfinders, but the Pathfinders are not really at fault. I can't help but feel that by purchasing a tiara for her, we're only encouraging more behaviour like this in the future. However, if you wish to go through with this, I will contribute a share of the price." He looks to the rest of you for your decision.
Lorenz nods soberly. "I agree with you Jask. I don't want to keep rewarding her for her behavior either. But I'm afraid of what she'll do if she doesn't get what she wants. If it were just a matter of her leaving the group..."
He hesitates, looking guiltily at Makoa and Urza. "Well, she does know a lot about history and languages and will probably be a big help to us once we're there. So long as she's happy, anyway. I'll buy the tiara myself if I need to. The lizard didn't cost much."
He silently reminds himself that Sasha was worth 100 gold, easily.
"Douena has asked us to stop thinking of her as a child, so that is what I will try and due. As an adult she asked for a tiara as part of her payment in this. Perhaps if we request she does her best to put aside her disagreement with Gelik in return for her tiara when we get the rest of our payment, she will give it up entirely."
"No. Her disagreement with Gelik is done. If it isn't it's because she's a jerk. The tiara, like Makoa said, is part of her payment. Let's get it and get back so we can plan what we'll need for our journey."
"Well then," Lorenz says cheerfully. "It seems that we're agreed. Now the question is, are we all going to pool our money together to get this? With the four of us, that's 25 gold each. Not too bad."
"Wise man used to say, if I were a betting man I'd have no money; he was always broke as well - so the wisdom he imparted was particularly real." Mahjik nods to the displays of sea produce, "I've not seen them in so many colors before. Is food supposed to be that colorful?"
Lorenz looks surprised. "You're going to pay for the whole thing? You understand that we can't tell her it came from anyone but the Pathfinders, right?"
You purchase the tiara and then return to the Sargavan Club.
Eventually everyone makes their way back to the Sargava Club. The negotiators are actually the first to arrive back. Jask fills Ishirou and Aakif in on how things went. He's just finishing up as the others arrive back, Pezock carrying a bucket full of fish.
"Ah, a glorious day!" the tengu declares. He points dramatically at Bergi. "You!" The half-orc pauses in her activity and looks at him. "Take these fish and cook us up a fine meal!"
Bergi looks at the bucket, then at Pezock, then shrugs. "Why not?" she says and slaps Pezock on the back. "Fish for everyone tonight!" She picks up the bucket and heads into the kitchen.
While Bergi is cooking fish and the rest of you turn to trivial discussions or however else you plan to wait for food, Aakif stands up and calls for attention. "My friends," he says, "I've been doing a lot of thinking yesterday and today. I've been a bit nervous about bringing this up because we've just spent a month together on a deserted island trying to survive. In that time, I've come to respect and admire you all and to think of you as friends. However, I will not be accompanying you into the jungle in search of the lost city. I'm afraid the jungles of the Shiv have tired me of jungles for a very long time. They are not ideal places for Soulwind. I will miss you all and will always treasure our friendship, but I hope you will understand my decision." He takes a deep breath and waits for responses.
Douena's eyes grow sad at Aakif's announcement, although she doesn't say anything to try to argue him out of it. "Soulwind helped me across a lot of rivers before I got to be so good at swimming," she says glumly. "I'll miss her."
Urza stands. "The Shiv will tie us together forever. I am saddened by your decision but I will respect it. No matter the distance or circumstance, you can always call on me." He raises his glass. "To Aakif. To the Shiv."
"There will come a time when we too will tire of the mosquitoes, snakes, diseases and the constant wet clammy feeling," Mahjik grins, "We'll meet up then again, yes? Just follow the bard's tales of our exploits."
Lorenz stands and also raises his goblet in honor of Aakif.
"We all have our own paths to follow. It was good to fight at your side, Aakif. If you ever have need of me, you have but to ask."
Nodding at Urza's toast, Lorenz adds, "To friendship!"
"You have been a good ally and ally, Aakif." Makoa says as he raises his glass for Mahjik's toast. "Hopefully we can all meet again and share our stories."
"I agree with everything that's the others have said," Jask says, raising his glass. "You will be missed, my friend."
Pezock only half raises his glass. "I won't miss you," he says. "I don't do sentimental. But you were a useful ally and the others will miss you because of it."
Sasha rolls her eyes at Pezock's comment. "I think even Pezock will miss you," she says. Pezock starts to protest but she jabs him in the ribs. She raises her glass. "Best of luck in the future, Aakif!"
Ishirou raises his glass. "To friendship!"
"When are the rest of us leaving?" Douena turns to the group that stayed with Jask. "The sooner, the better."
"To friendship!"
"Oh! Almost forgot. Here, Douena, your tiara." Urza sets it on the table. "We need to gather a bit of supplies and wait for them to finish translating and researching. We should be able to leave the morning after they finish I would guess."