"They got the right one!" Douena exclaims, her eyes flashing with excitement. She grabs up the trinket and positions it on her head with satisfaction, peering into her glass to see her reflection quivering on the surface of the ale. She now presides over her side of the table like a princess, the effect only a little spoiled when she plops Sir Ralph on top of her head as well. He takes up a position behind the tiara in her hair; it provides both cover and concealment, and as long as she's still carrying around stale bread-and-jam sandwiches in her backpack, she's sure to attract bugs for him to catch.
"I'd guess it'll be a few days still," Lorenz agrees. "They still have to figure out exactly where it is we're going. And we should probably pick up some extra supplies for ourselves when we get our advance."
Douena sighs unhappily at the delay, shooting Sasha and Mahjik a worried glance.
"Rations and potions at the very least." Makoa agrees. "Maybe parchment and ink so we can make a map as we go. If we get lost, having at a map we made and can understand will be useful."
"What about hiring a local guide?" Jask suggests. "Obviously, there won't be any guides who know the way to the city, but there must be people who know the jungle well enough to keep us going in the right general direction."
Lorenz nods eagerly at the suggestion. "What a great idea! It'd be nice to travel with someone who actually knew where they were going. And maybe we could find someone who knew the locals well enough to keep us from getting into trouble."
"Maybe there will be more cannibals," Douena pipes up hopefully. The concept of traveling without going off-track or getting into trouble doesn't sound very exciting to her.
"Wise man looks within first," Mahjik speaks up, "I don't like the idea of hiring a guide - it would be the first and easiest step potential rivals would take to get a spy on us. Wherever we're going, it won't be a place that a guide would have been to - I wager we'll be traveling more than a month or two from here, through most likely untracked and unmapped territory." Mahjik motions, "Sure, somebody that can tell us where up and down is, and can separate poisonous from edible plants, that is useful, but we've got plenty of those skills already - we ourselves even make up a significant part of those skills. Besides, any trouble a guide could warn us of, we'd have Pezock to steer us straight into anyway, right Pezock?" The last part is added with a grin to the bird man.
Pezock's eyes narrow and he glares at Mahjik. "Are you trying to make a point, Coward?" He thumps his chest proudly. "I can find my way around any jungle! I don't need a guide!"
"Yes, all right, Pezock," Jask says. "Mahjik wasn't trying to impugn your character." He turns to Mahjik. "You make a good point. I brought it up mainly because our agreement with the Pathfinders means they'll foot the bill. However, it definitely would be a potential security risk."
He looks to Douena. "However, Douena, I truly hope we don't encounter any more cannibals." Before she can become upset at this, he quickly continues, "That said, I'm sure there will other dangers in the jungle. New ones to keep you from getting bored."
"I get lost a lot," Douena says cheerfully. "And sometimes I forget whether the sun comes up in the west or the east. I always remember it's not the north or the south, though," she adds, as though she thinks she deserves some credit for the fact.
"Wise man harbors ships of doubt, have you considered that if you go far enough east, then the sun may appear to rise in the north or south?" Mahjik questions Douena.
"Just out of curiosity, how many of you have been in the Mwangi Expanse?" Lorenz asks lightly, a small smile touching his lips. "I don't know if there are any cannibals there but I've heard pretty terrible stories about the natives. I'd rather go out in the jungle with someone who at least knows the area and the people rather than just bumble around, particularly if we're in a hurry."
Douena's comment about not remembering where the sun comes up didn't make him feel any better about traveling into the Expanse without a guide.
"We survived cannibals, snake-people, snakes, some giant predator, dimorphodons, and the undead. I am not vastly worried about another jungle. An experienced guide would be useful though."
"Perhaps we should wait until we know where we're going," Jask suggests. "Once we know that, we can determine if we can find the location on our own or if we'll need some help."
"Wise man harbors ships of doubt, have you considered that if you go far enough east, then the sun may appear to rise in the north or south?" Mahjik questions Douena.
"If you go far enough east, you end up back in the west because Golarion is round like a pearl," Douena responds, "so if you go far enough toward the sunrise, you end up where the sun sets. Maybe that's what confuses me about it."
Urza listens to the conversation, but does not add anything.
After the fish dinner, when Pezock is safely ensconced in his chair in Bergi's common room, Douena approaches Sasha and Lorenz at their table in the corner. "Can I borrow Lorenz a while?" she asks Sasha. If the redhead vacates her seat, Douena slides into her place and deposits Sir Ralph on the table between them. "I'm sorry you're going to miss Gelik on the journey," she tells Lorenz once Sasha is out of earshot.
Lorenz, initially startled at Douena's approach, takes a quick swallow of his ale and nods sadly. "I will. He's a good friend. He makes me laugh when times are tough and was really...nice...to me." He clears his throat at the lump that's suddenly formed there.
He stares intently at Ralph as he takes another swallow of ale.
Douena looks momentarily annoyed. "He was nice to you, but to everyone else...." She catches herself. "Look, it doesn't matter thathecan'ttakeajokeandallthetimeontheislandnevereverforgavemeforteasinghim aboutbeingtidyontheship. I know you think I overreacted; I guess everyone does. It's just ... I've been a priestess for practically my whole life, but I've never ever had a...," she waves her hand around the room at the group, "congregation, a group of people I was responsible for taking care of. It was always just me, there in Whistledown, living my life. Sure, I'd help people sometimes, but there was always a temple around with real priests that people really depended on when they needed them. I mean, when someone got sick or hurt, no one back home said, 'Hurry, go get Douena.'
"Then we were on the Shiv, and there was this whole flock of people who needed divine assistance. And Desna herself sent me those dreams to guide us. And I did things that were actually important: preached funerals and helped people who were sick and saved people's lives. And I liked taking care of all of you! Then we get back here, and first thing Gelik does is go running back to his old friends without even saying anything to the rest of us, making it clear that we're just people he was stuck on an island with and he's glad it's over.
She shrugs. "I know you'll think I shouldn't care; it's just Gelik, after all, and he never liked me. But he was just the first to leave." She nods across the room. "Tonight, it's Aakif. Eventually, Urza and Makoa will join a new crew, maybe Mahjik, too. When we've found the city, you'll be following Gelik to the Pathfinders ... and probably take Sasha with you. Eventually, you'll all leave," she finishes glumly.
Lorenz listens to Douena with growing surprise at how much she's sharing with him. He couldn't remember her ever really talking to him like this before and he wasn't sure why she was doing it now. He doesn't quite know how to respond at first; his first instinct is to defend Gelik, again, but Sasha had warned him about doing that.
Finally he says, "I think you're thinking a little too far ahead. It might take us a long time to find the city and even when we get there it'll hopefully be big enough to keep us busy for quite a while. I think you're going to have to, um, take care of us for a lot longer than you're thinking."
He shrugs and empties his tankard. "I don't even know if I'll go be a Pathfinder. Sasha doesn't really seem to care about them all that much and even if I did join them, they'd probably just kick me out eventually. I just...I don't know...I want to belong to something. I didn't like being alone all the time before the shipwreck."
He looks at Douena. "Assuming we all live to reach and explore the city, it doesn't mean we'll all go away. Maybe we'll find something else that's fun to do while we're there."
"Do you remember what Aerys said?" she smiles. "We hadn't been on the island long, and she was still ... upset. She said I acted like being shipwrecked was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was. It was for a lot of us. We hadn't met Aycenia, and Pezock. Jask was in chains. Sasha wouldn't even look at you on the Jenivere." She shrugs. "I just don't understand why anyone would want to put that behind them and get back to whatever it was they were doing before."
"So, Urza, you want to see if we can find someone to out-drink?" Makoa asks his fellow half-orc.
Lorenz laughs thoughtfully, thinking for the first time in a while how he'd felt when Sasha was avoiding him on the Jenivere.
"I guess it depends on what they were doing before we shipwrecked. One thing you and I have in common is that we weren't really doing anything before we got shipwrecked. I was traveling to Eleder because I wanted away from Ilizmagorti. Sasha was looking for somewhere new too. I think Aerys had plans, and Aakif did too. It's just different for some of them than it is for you and I."
"So getting shipwrecked wasn't a bad thing for us. Though I wish Alton and all the crew hadn't died. And we're still sticking together, at least for now. I'm glad for everyone who is coming with us to find the city."
Mahjik settles in next to Ishirou, the veteran has taken to his wary silence again - and the monk was eager to interrupt it. "Do you have wisdom to bestow on us? Perhaps there is some obscure bit of lore that you still remember from the Aspis Consortium, or have they no dealings deep in the Mwangi?"
"You and Sasha and Pezock are all from Ilsmagordy," Douena muses to Lorenz. "Why did you want to get away so bad?"
"No my friend. Not tonight. I am not in the mood. Though I will definitely be having a drink or two."
Lorenz shudders at the memory. "Ilizmagorti is one of the most dangerous places I've ever been. People will kill you for looking at them wrong. The Red Mantis are in charge there and their laws and sense of justice are very...inflexible."
He shakes his head and grins. "I still can't quite believe I got away with my head. After Ilizmagorti, a bunch of cannibals on Smuggler's Shiv didn't seem all that bad."
He rolls up the sleeve on his shirt and shows Douena a bunch of pock marks on his arm. "See these? I had to take work testing poison antidotes just to have enough money to eat. And that was one of the better jobs!" He shivers again, remembering the three days he'd spent blind as a bat and all the hours of puking up blood.
Mahjik settles in next to Ishirou, the veteran has taken to his wary silence again - and the monk was eager to interrupt it. "Do you have wisdom to bestow on us? Perhaps there is some obscure bit of lore that you still remember from the Aspis Consortium, or have they no dealings deep in the Mwangi?"
"The Aspis Consortium have dealings here," Ishirou says. "They have dealings just about everywhere. If they find out about the lost city, you can be certain they will want to find it, too. If we have not already left Eleder, they will probably try to bribe us to work for them instead of the Pathfinders, but I would not recommend such an action. They will make their offer sound reasonable, but they will fill their contract with hidden clauses that result in them getting far more than you will initially suspect. It took me years to buy my freedom from them. I would not wish to see the rest of you caught up with them as I was."
Douena stands on the seat and leans over the table, knocking over Lorenz's luckily-empty tankard, her eyes wide as she examines the marks on his arm. Her expression seems to indicate that she finds the prospect of being repeatedly poisoned intriguing -- it's certainly an experience she's never had before -- but registering Lorenz's distaste for the memory, she refrains from peppering him with questions about it. "Pezock's old captain had that Red Mantis dagger," she observes, sitting down again. "Do you think that means she ... wasn't very nice? He certainly seems to have fond memories of her. Then again, Sasha has a Red Mantis tattoo. Maybe Captain Zoventai just had it because someone gave it to her, and not because she was fond of them."
Lorenz takes the brief confusion of his tankard getting knocked over to pick it up and raise it as a signal for a refill.
Keeping his voice low out of deference for the tengu, he shakes his head. "I don't know about Pezock's captain...his description of Ilizmagorti doesn't match what I saw at all. I can say that if the captain wasn't a Red Mantis, he was foolish for carrying one of their daggers. From what I could tell, if a Red Mantis saw someone with one of their weapons who wasn't one of them, that someone would die. Painfully."
He rubs his arm where he'd received the poison and shivered again. "I'd rather fight the cannibals again than have the Red Mantis be angry at me."
After a moment trying to think of something more pleasant to talk about, he brightens. "Is there something I could do to make Desna like me more? How would I go about worshiping her properly? It seems like I should give her greater service if I'm going to be traveling with one of her priestesses."
"I don't know," she answers brightly, a little startled by the question. "I've never thought about it. She's always liked me. " She thinks a moment. "You can't be like Gelik," she concludes, "afraid of getting dirty. Don't worry," she tells him hastily. "I don't think you are, but Desna doesn't like people who play it safe. Sometimes, maybe," she considers reluctantly, "you seem to expect the worst. Desna believes in looking on the bright side." She gives him an encouraging smile. "And be nice to butterflies."
Eventually, you all retire for the night to your separate rooms (or in some cases, perhaps a room is shared). The Pathfinders have your money ready for you the next day as promised. You can pick it up at any time, and spend the rest of the day (the 6th of Arodus) however you like.
Gelik informs you that Amivor Glaur did not recognize the location either, so the two of them are going to spend time at the Colonial Archives. They are confident they will have the destination worked out in another day or two.
The day starts out quietly. There has been no further word from Gelik or Amivor Glaur yet, so you continue to wait things out. Again, you can spend the morning and afternoon of this day however you like. As evening approaches and you return to the Sargava Club for dinner, Jask arrives back looking somewhat glum.
"My friends," he says, "our fears that word would get out are coming true. I was approached by government officials today. They demanded that I resume my duties with the Sargavan government and provide them with full details of everything we know about Saventh Yhi. They also hinted that they would reward the rest of you quite handsomely if you broke from the Pathfinders and went to work for the government instead. I did not tell them anything and did my best to talk my way out of the situation and gain myself more time. They told me to present myself at the Baron's palace first thing in the morning."
"I'd much rather you come with us, Jask," Mahjik insists, "Tell them that if they want your knowledge and act as if you employed by them, that they owe you backpay for the 'work' you've done for them since your arrest - as well as compensation for wrongful imprisonment and loss of future revenue, promotions, and so forth. If nothing else, it should keep their clerks occupied and confused long enough to make a speedy get-away with us."
He also whispers to Douena, when he has a moment, "Do you think we should kidnap Jask?"
"Definitely," she whispers back. "Officials like to give orders; if they back down, then they think no one will ever do what they say again, even if you can prove to them they're wrong. We need to get out of town before first thing in the morning."
"We're not even sure where we're going yet," Sasha says. "North, south, east? About the only direction it couldn't be is west because that would just take us straight into the water. How are we supposed to get out of here so quickly?"
"Don't know," Douena replies, "but if we stay here, everyone's going to start to get picked off by the people who knew them before the island, one by one. Gelik just abandoned us of his own accord, before he could have his arm twisted." She gives a significant look to Sasha's back, where her tattoo is hidden beneath her clothing. "You think if word spreads back to Ilsmgordy, they won't come looking for you ... and Pezock? What if we sneak out of town tonight and camp out somewhere in the countryside until the Pathfinders bring us word about where we're going? Some of us, anyway: Those who have people who might be looking for them. They might put Jask back in prison if he doesn't do what they say."
Lorenz found himself in the strange position of wanting to agree with Sasha but not sure how to do so without arguing with Douena.
"Leaving town without knowing where we're going could just get us in more trouble," he said gently. "If someone else is looking for us to get our information, they'll not be bound by the laws of Eleder. Here at least, they still have to find us, and it's not like they can just kidnap us in broad daylight here."
"Kidnap us, no," Jask says, "but arrest us, yes. If I don't show up tomorrow, they will start looking for me, and if they don't find me, they'll look for the rest of you, since they know you're associated with me. It would probably be best if I show up tomorrow and try something similar to what Mahjik suggested. The bureaucracy in this city can be quite convoluted. I may be able to keep them tied up in paperwork for a few days, giving us enough time to find out where we're going and then make a break for it."
He takes a deep breath and sighs. "It figures. I finally clear my name, and then I end up actually conspiring against the government. A little of the good. A little of the bad. Such are the ways of Nethys."
"When this is all over, I can take you out into a forest and let you shed a few of those civilization layers. You'll feel a lot better when you get back."
"Isn't that what we just did on the Shiv?"
"It would be his choice, and not on an island. It's a different experience."
"Can you or we be arrested for not agreeing to join up with them?" Lorenz asks. "I don't see anything wrong with entertaining their offer, so long as we don't end up in a dungeon for it."
He glances at Sasha and then back to Jask. "I'm honestly more concerned about other interests than the government, but then, I don't know how the government works here."
"Double-crossing Gelik when we've just spent the Pathfinders money?" Douena looks mildly impressed that Lorenz would even consider it.
"I will not lessen myself by betraying my word. I am staying with the Pathfinders. Don't forget that we had considered something like this could happen, well maybe not quite like this, but we made a decision knowing of this possibility. Let's not flinch from that choice now. Jask, you do what you need to do to not get into trouble. It would not sit well on my conscience if you were to come to any harm over this. The rest of us will continue on as planned. Once the Pathfinders have the information, we leave. Now that word has gotten out, any of us could be approached by interested party's who will try bribery, threats, or worse to get the location of that city. If that happens, I ask that you do as Jask has done, stall for time, but don't endanger yourself. Don't forget, that even if we have disagrements, we are in this together."
"I wouldn't double-cross anyone." Lorenz is quick to say. "I just meant that it doesn't hurt to listen to what others have to say, particularly if that keeps us out of trouble a little longer."
"I will listen, but I will side with the Pathfinders. We took a lot of effort to get Douena to work with them to think about switching sides. They probably wouldn't even consider getting her a tiara."
"My word has weight. I don't want to try the government, or any other offer," Mahjik agrees wholeheartedly with Urza, "Unlike many, we can hold the Pathfinders accountable. That should be worth something."
"I wouldn't go talk to the government," Douena warns. "Once they have us inside their building all surrounded by soldiers and guards, what if they won't let us out again? Jask, if you go back to them and then sneak out of town, won't they just have another reason to track you down and put you back in a cage? After all that trouble to clear your name in the first place! I knew this was a bad city," she grumbles.