The little girl nods firmly. She seems pretty sure of herself. The other boy doesn't seem quite so sure, but he appears reticent to say more than "She can be pretty mean sometimes."
----
Gilga laughs at Khale's question. "Hoh! A lady... perhaps if I was twenty years younger again. But, no; I'm just your regular old woman. Raised my family here, you know, though my children have long since grown up and had families of their own."
She seems rather irritated that some of the others had wandered off, and chides them when they return, Bendy in particular.
"Where have you been, sticky-beak? You best not have been putting your filthy little hands all over things!"
Trig, before you head back into the sitting room, the younger boy tugs on your sleeve and pulls you to a crouch beside him so that he can whisper in your ear.
"Auntie told us not to tell people about this, but she gets some of the older kids to go do jobs for friends and people she knows around here sometimes. She said it pays for our room and board here. I like helping out and keeping busy, but if we do a bad job, that's when she gets really mad at us. And she's scary then." He looks worried. "You won't tell her I told you, right mister?"
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"Ahh, too many, too many. It's just me here, too. But someone's got to take care of the little ones, you know?"
After finishing up her cup of tea, she places the teacup on the table and looks up at you all.
"Anyway, thank you kindly for bringing me the donations from the church. I'm sure the children upstairs will appreciate it."
She seems to be trying to encourage you to leave.
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Trig assures the boy that he won't tell Auntie that the boy told him, "but if there's trouble someday, I'm usually at the Barred Goose near Pathfinder headquarters in the evenings."
***
Trig smiles. "So even with donations money must be tight. How do you get by? My friend Li asked about sending the children into town, but you brushed him off. We've heard from the neighbors that you are sending the children into town to work. It's sensible that they should earn their keep and train in some vocation. Where do the children go, and what do they do there?"
"Where would you ever hear such nonsense?!" Auntie Baltwin demands angrily. "The neighbours?! The Anthoses! How dare they say such slander! That's child labour, I would never do such a thing!"
"If you're going to start slandering the good work I do here, I'm going to have to ask you to leave!"
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Khale eyes her, "In point of fact, we have been asked by your benefactors to discover what really happens here. There have been questions, and rumors, and our job, as my associate said, is to find out the truth. We are not here to judge, nor are we here to stop whatever it is you do here. But I assure you, if you do not answer our questions, the Inquisitors who visit after us will not be as... reasonable."
He sips his tea and smiles, "Very pleasant, thank you."
Gilga seems incredibly flustered and angry, her face flushed and her eyes wide with rage. That said, the comment of 'inquisitors' makes her deflate a little. "You wouldn't dare arrest an old lady!"
"Alright, alright. Look, the only thing I've done wrong is sending some of the kids off to do some cleaning jobs around the local neighbourhood. Like you said, right? It pays for their room and board and it gives them some good skills for when they get older. That's all. Some people might not like it much, though they've never had much of an issue hiring them."
"Is that it?! Would you get out of my house now?!"
"I get donations from a couple of different charities! Most orphanages do! Now GET OUT before I call the district guard!"
"Yes, I think we go now. Deliver medicine, ask questions. No more. Yes?" he asks his companions.
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"Listen, Gilga; you don't mind if I call you that do you? Good. Here's the thing, I know you are hiding something. We need to know the truth in this. So tell me, what is it that you are hiding? And if you need so much medicine as to get it from multiple charities, why do you have so much extra?" At this Arithas opens the cupboard door.
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Khale slowly shakes his head and watches as Arithas opens the cupboard.
"That is an excellent question."
He stands up and glares at her, "You don't seem to fully understand what's happening here, so let me make it clear: this is your last chance to come clean with us. If we so much as suspect you're being dishonest, I'll go summon the inquisitors myself. I'm sure you'll enjoy their interrogation techniques. Now answer my friend's question about the medicine."
The old woman is shaking, both in obvious fear but also in anger. She tries her best to stand up to Khale, but it's clear that the threats are taking their toll on her. In the end, she spits out acidly, "Fine! I admit it! Much of the medicine I've got is for the children - but I sell some of the rest to a fence to make some money on the side. Time's hard here, you know? So many mouths to feed, and it's just me here. Without financing myself like that - perhaps they'd eat gruel rather than grow up fit and healthy!"
"Are you happy now?! NOW GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" She glares daggers at the group.
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"Madame, please. Calm yourself. If we leave on these terms the Iomedeans are certain to cut you off. We can see the children are healthy, and we know it can't be easy for you. If you were shut down where would the children go? Can't you see that making a clean breast of it is the best course? Tell us everything freely. Perhaps we can even make a case for increasing the aid they give you so that you are not forced to these extreme and unfortunate measures."
Gilga Baltwin slams the door in your faces as you leave.
You report what you learned back to Ollysta Zadrian in a rather damning report; the Sarenite paladin seems more disappointed rather than angered, on the whole. She promises to look into things further with the resources of her church, and thanks you profusely for your efforts.
Now you have three more tasks remaining: where to now, Pathfinders?
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* A man named Guaril Karela runs a curio shop in the Docks called the Pickled Imp. Go to him and fill his request as a favour to the Society. I believe it has something to do with a set of rare books.
* Ollysta Zadrian ... needs someone to deliver a parcel of medicine and curatives to a needy orphanage and verify the character of the recipient.
* Visit the offices of Osirian nobleman Dremdhet Salhar in the Wise Quarter. The Pathfinder Society needs to obtain permission to delve the Salhar ancestral vaults beneath Sothis. He has made a verbal agreement, and your visit makes it official. You will receive an official charter and detailed maps. Do not embarrass the Society in this matter.
* Chelish Paracountess Zarta Dralneen possesses an item loaned from the Vaults. Meet with her in her estate in the Ivy District and retrieve the item in her possession.
You're currently in the Ascendant Court. Closest would be either the Wise Quarter or the Ivy District.
Travel to the Wise Quarter from the religious centre of Absalom is quick and easy. The population wandering the streets soon changes from a veritable mix of laypeople and religious sorts to primarily scholars and students garbed in robes and often carrying around large tomes or chatting away about some esoteric subject to their peers as you pass. A few give you a rather disapproving look indeed. The district is home to many prestigious academies and troves of knowledge, such as the Arcanamirium - the largest school of magic in Absalom - and Forae Logos - the largest library in the city.
The rich estate of Dremdhet Salhar is visible from a distance, standing out with its ruddy sandstone walls and tendency towards curved, Osiriani-style architecture. A guard greets you as you reach the tall, wrought-iron gate at the entrance; he seems to have been expecting you, and allows you passage into the mansion grounds. The front lawns are kept cut short, and numerous meticulously maintained low-lying shrubs and wide-boughed trees are arranged in very particular intervals. A rectangularly-shaped man-made pond is set in the very centre, water tricking out of the mouth of a statue of a woman bearing a vase.
Before you make it up the stairs to the front door, the portal swings open to reveal a bald-headed servant of Garundi descent who bows deeply to you and directs you inside.
"Grand Councilmember Salhar is unfortunately not present currently," the servant explains calmly with an apologetic bow. "Earlier this morning he was called away on important Council business. However, his most trusted advisor--Amenopheus, the Sapphire Sage--is available to negotiate any business you may require."
The servant leads you down well-decorated hallways and past expansive rooms, all featuring artwork from around the globe. You walk by an enormous library filled to the brim with books of all shapes and sizes, and an opulent dining hall with a table that could practically seat an entire army. After a few minutes, the group arrives at a simple study near the end of a long hallway. Politely knocking at the door, the servant opens it and allows for you to enter.
A tan-skinned old man sits behind a desk here, flipping through pages in a large, leather-backed tome. Scraps of paper jut from the book marking over two dozen different places. The wise sage silently gestures you into the study with one thin hand while closing the tome with the other after finishing what he was reading. After you're given a chance to enter, he addresses you with the barest hint of a smile.
"Good day to you, Pathfinders. I am Amenopheus, the Sapphire Sage, advisor to Master Salhar. It is a pleasure to meet you." He nods his head to you. "I understand you were sent here to discuss archaeological permissions, correct? I spoke with Master Salhar at length on the subject before he had to leave; I should thus be able to assist you with what you need."
Amenopheus sighs a little as he continues. "Since Osirion was reopened to exploration a decade ago, adventurers, historians, and treasure-seekers flock to my country by the hundreds, perhaps thousands. While most families with ancestral burial vaults maintain guards and keep their sites out of the hands of casual thieves, not all families have the wealth or power to restrict everyone, and as we all know, not every defense is perfectly secure. Unscrupulous tomb robbers and maligned merchant organisations cause Osirion to veritably bleed relics into the Inner Sea--something we, the descendants of Ancient Osirion, cannot afford. We Osiriani have thousands upon thousands of years of rich history coursing through our veins, and while that power has been out of focus in recent years, we are content to wait, knowing our enemies will wear themselves down. As they fall into arrogance, folly, or greed, we wait for our return to power, knowing we bear the riches of our ancestors at our feet..."
"Ah, but I ramble too much. Please do forgive an old man's obsessions." And thus returns the thin-lipped smile. "Master Salhar remains impressed by the Pathfinder Society. He has orated in your favour a handful of times in front of Absalom's Grand Council, in fact. His previous relations with the Society has caused him to agree to grant permission to the Pathfinder Society to explore his family's vaults below Sothis, which I imagine your venture-captain would be most pleased to hear. The only thing he requires is that you retrieve the map of the vaults from his own vault here."
Amenopheus nods to the servant, dutifully waiting in the hallway with his head turned from the room. "The servant here will lead you to the basement and show you the room." The Sapphire Sage's eyes twinkle as he smirks knowingly, then he turns back to reading his book as though he had never been disturbed.
Amenopheus appears to not be interested in answering any questions, and so the group follows the servant back through the spacious estate. He leads you down study stone steps into the cool basement, and from there down a curving hallway. Eventually, you wind up in front of a plain, wooden door. The servant opens the door, gesturing to the room with a bow, and waits silently for you to enter. Once you do so, the servant suddenly shuts the door, and you hear the loud and scraping sound of a lock being set behind you.
The plain stone room contains three chests: a copper-banded chest of smooth, dark wood; a red lacquered chest; and what looks to be a cube of solid steel. Behind the chests sits a low table holding a clear glass jar half full of liquid and a covered wicker basket. Written on the back of the door is the message: "Within these cases lies your quest and your way out."
The two-foot round wicker basket does not appear to be restricted in any way, its lid resting gently atop its wide rim.
The gallon-sized clear glass jar is about half full with clear liquid. At the bottom of the vessel sits a jewelled brass key.
The copper-banded chest has very little that is remarkable about it.
The smooth, red lacquered chest appears devious. The solid metal plate surrounding the gaping keyhole pulses with glowing amber runes.
The steel cube chest has only the faintest crack where its lid meets the base, and would be completely featureless save for its narrow keyhole.
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"The yelling probably starts when we open the items. Ware the basket. It looks like something a snake charmer would house his reptile in"
Seeing Elysia begin casting, Trig forgoes casting detect magic himself. He merely cautions, "Check the whole room, Eylsia."
Is there any significance to this set of items?
Know(local)
Not that Trig's aware of.
The copper-banded chest glows rose pink with an unknown aura of faint magic.
The steel chest glows faintly with a strange, colourless aura; it doesn't belong to any school of magic at all.
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Bendaxalon bounces a little with excitement. "Aha! Now this looks like my kind of problem!" With an act of will, he produces his innate gnomish magic in the form of prestidigitation, and begins slowly lifting the jewelled brass key out of the unknown (and presumably hazardous) liquid. "Maybe we could get whatever we need out of the basket in the same way."
Arithas immediately recognises the pungeant acrid smell of cleaning agent the moment he approaches the glass jar. Bendaxalon is, thankfully, able to magically draw the key out of the acid solution without touching it. (Might wanna clean it off before touching it, though.)
Trig flips the lid off of the basket, but... well, nothing immediately jumps out at him. The basket is padded with a thick, wadded cloth upon which a rune-etched key sits. The runes on this key match those surrounding the keyhole of the red lacquered chest.
The wizard also points out that the key faintly glows with a grassy green aura of transmutation magic.
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Using his prestidigitation (which lasts an hour), Bendy cleans the jewelled brass key with a thought and plucks it out of the air. "Aha! One down!"
"I hear hissing; let's see if the same trick works twice!" With that, the exuberant little gnome slowly lifts the rune-etched key high enough for someone to put the lid back on the wicker basket.
The same trick does indeed work twice. Bendaxalon now has two keys floating around him.
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Plucking both keys out of the air, Bendax Brillam examines the room with detect magic, particularly the copper-banded chest that Elysia couldn't identify.
"So. Who wants this one?" Xalon Morrow offers the jewelled brass key from the jar to the others, and prepares to open the red lacquered chest himself with the rune-etched key from the basket.
Bendy likewise doesn't know what the aura is on the copper chest.
The gnome inserts the runecarved key into the red chest; oddly enough, before he even has a chance to turn the key in the keyhole, the chest's lid flips open by itself. Inside there is a key forged into the end of an exquisite jewelled sceptre.
It looks like it might fit. Actually... it looks like it might fit any of the chests. Like a skeleton key.