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Mary's response shatters his opinion of her and the hardening of his facial expression is the only indicator that he doesn't take the insult lightly. "I see." It's the only response he cared to give at Mary's retort before turning his back on the childish paladin.
He notes the corrosive nature of the The Glass Jar and warns the others if they hae not already discovered it's purpose.
Holding the basket had been a simple task and when the key was retrieved he couldn't help but notice the finer details...
"The key bears a faint aura of transmutation magic. Be wary."
Evan puts the blue stone key in the keyhole of the red lacquered chest, and without having to turn the key the chest opens. The red lacquered chest holds a key forged into the end of a jeweled scepter.
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Vitarri's hand snaps to his sword hilt at the sound of the mechanical click. His eyes dart to see the golden key hanging from a cord and he clicks his tongue in annoyance for being so jump. He absolutely hated puzzles and games, prefering a more straight forward approach.
"Another key up by the roof. Shall I knock it down?"
Vitarri hefts his Javelin and takes aim at the cord, hoping to sever it in one shot...
Vitarri cuts the cord the golden key hangs on. It falls into the opened red lacquered chest, and lies next to the other key.
Evan notices nothing special about the keys, except one's tiny and gold and the other has a scepter with jewels attached to it.
Evan unlocks the steel chest with the gold key, but doesn't open the chest yet. He carefully lifts the lid of the chest can now see the mechanism of the trap he expected earlier.
At the bottom of the steel chest lies the map of the Salhar burial vaults beneath Sothis, and a wand of knock. All that's left now is to escape the vault itself.
Written on the back of the plain wooden door is the message: “Within these cases lies your quest and your way out.” Evan also notices the door has a keyhole.
Vitarri smashes the jar against the floor. Some of the acid splashes up, onto Vitarri's leg.
The jeweled key that was in the jar lies on the floor, in between the shards.
While Muchiko urges the others to try the keys, Evan inspects the new key they obtained. Evan notices nothing special about the key, except it's jeweled.
Nothing happens when Evan uses the key from the jar on the copper-banded chest.
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"Alright lets recap!" Vitarri's voice rises momentarily. "We've found what we came for right? We've found the map of the vaults and one chest to open along with two keys." He nods at the one Evan is using and the jeweled like one(?). He considers for a long moment before gesturing back at the way they came in. "Lets use those keys to get out of here, we have what we came for don't we?"
Evan turns the key into the otehr direction, but still nothing happens. When Evan tries the scepter key the chest still doesn't open.
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Evan stands up then walks right through the copper banded chest. "That is a good illusion it had me fooled. That tricky old sage! Let's get out of here I am getting hungry again. Mary didn't you say you where going to buy me dinner at the docks?" Walking up to the door out of the room Evan tries the key from the water jar first. "I'm guessing this other key is the one for the Vaults."
Evan tries the key from the jar, but it doesn't open the door. He then tries the jeweled key, and the wooden door unlocks. On the other side of the door the party's greeted by the servant who led them to the vault. "That's quite fast," the servant says, and inspects every member of the party. "None have turned blue I see."
"You can keep the map and wand, but please give back any keys you have on you." The servant waits for the party to hand over the keys they have on them. After that the servant informs the party Amenopheus has left for the day. "If you wish to speak to him, perhaps you should try back tomorrow. Either way, I'll show you the way out."
The servant escorts the party to the estate's exit, and opens the door for them. "I'll inform the master of your succes. You have passed."
At the center of the City at the Center of the World lies the Ascendant Court—Absalom's religious hub, the site of ascension of four gods, and the final resting place of the Starstone itself. The Ascendant Court is the religious center of Absalom, holding the preponderance of the city's temples as well as the cathedral of the Starstone Located at the physical center of Absalom, it serves as a hub between other districts: all roads in the Ascendant Court lead to the Starstone.
Not far from the Starstone Cathedral one can find a number of major temples such as Sarenrae's Temple of the Shining Star. When the party gets closer to the Temple of the Shining Star, traveling in the cart Vitarri rented for the day, they get a feeling something’s wrong.
Arriving at the Temple of the Shining Star, you’re immediately directed to Ollysta Zadrian. This paladin of Sarenrae is young in her years, but holds herself with the poise of a queen and warrior simultaneously. As she notices the party’s arrival, she strides forward, addressing the group in a strong voice.
”Thank the light of Sarenrae you have arrived! I knew Ambrus would come through for us in the Silver Crusade. I desperately need you to bring medicine to an orphanage and let me know if the headmistress, Gilga Baltwin, is deserving of our charity. Since our quest began, the needy have clamored for our aid, and I suspect some are abusing our generosity. It may sound cruel, but there are plenty of dishonest people out in the world eager for easy gold.”
”Do you know of the Silver Crusade? After discovering so many factions splintered the Society, a number of us banded together to proliferate the cause of charity and kindness using the Society’s resources. As it is said, ‘The Dawn brings new light’ and I’ve made it my life’s work to use our recent darkness to bring a new light to the world and to the Pathfinder Society. I apologize for straying off point. Will you bring this parcel of medicine to Auntie Baltwin’s Home for Recovery in the Eastgate district?”
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Sense Motive
He watches the young man with his intense gaze, watching him disappear into the crowd with interest. At Evan's words he nods."Perhaps, it's common for a CO to check on his new recruits from time to time. Don't let you guard down however either."
Ascendent Court
He watches the hoity toity Saranraen with an even look, he softens up considerably when she mentions the orphanage and seeing if it was on the up and up. "Do you have evidence of misdeeds or anything in specific for us to watch for?" They're would be hell to pay if this Gilga Baltwin was messing with kids, he doesn't hide the interest in his question.
"I don't have any evidence of misdeeds, neither anything specific to watch for. You might want to ask around in the neighborhood, before heading to the orphanage itself."
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Evan sits back and listens to Ollysta, overwhelmed by his surroundings of the Temple of the Shining Star. ...I know i am small but I feel smaller now being in this grand temple in the middle of the city in the middle of the world..
"I have an idea! I could get to the orphanage before the rest of you and blend into the children just to see how this Gilga Baltwin treats them and maybe hear a few things."
While asking around in the neighborhood the party learns the following:
Miltivis, who runs a nearby market, claims he’s served Auntie Baltwin for over 30 years, and while a good customer, she is quite demanding and often rude to the other customers. He says she’s kept his supplier of fine whiskeys in business for decades.
Gilga Baltwin’s neighbors Travost and Tirelle Anthos are frankly tired of the noises the children make and the retinue of cats—though they do appreciate the latter’s mousing skills. They admit to being happy when Auntie Baltwin sends the children “off into the town” during the day, as it gives them a few hours of peace and quiet before they return in the evening.
Nearly swarming with cats and children, this fine upper-class home appears to be clean and in good condition considering the number and ages of its inhabitants. Three young boys shoot marbles in the dirt near the side porch, and inside strewn toys and more cats lie about on the floors. A few children take care of chores, while coughs and sneezes softly erupt from the children’s dormitories upstairs.
The boys look up at Mary, and one of them stands up. "Hello darling, I..." The boy doesn't get to finish sentence, as he's whacked against the head by one of the other boys. "Behave," the second boy whispers.
"We're fine," the second boy says to Mary, "just playing a game, miss." The third boy nods in agreement, and quickly glares at the boy who's rubbing the back of his head with a pained face.
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"Why such a harsh reaction? You're not misbehaving in my opinion. In fact, I like it when someone calls me darling. It's a compliment. Let me take a look at your head."
Mary takes a look at the boy's head for bruises. "Hmm, the light here isn't bright enough for me to see well. Come with me over here and let me get a better look at your head." With a wink and a nod, Mary motions for the boy who got hit in the head to walk away from the other boys for a second.
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Arriving at the orphanage, Muchiko takes a moment before she steps in.
....this, is an orphanage?
Walking alongside Mary and the following scene, Muchiko tries to see if anything could be traced from the boy's mannerism.
"I'm heading inside to see if the lady is in the house. But she sounds like a complete alcoholic to me, so hopefully there will come a sane sort of response from her."
Muchiko, along with anybody perhaps, heads inside and looks around quickly.