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The half-orc says:
"Well I can tell you have .."legitimate" bussiness to discus with this man. I think I could have you let first go at him..but I spend some time to get here..and to have to return without anything to show for it..time is money after all. But you seem like a likeable lot..so you know what. I will make you a deal, you give me 50gp and you can do what ever you want with this guy..and I'll come back some other time to see what's left and to finish my own personal bussiness with him"
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As Teric studies the half-orc he thinks there's some wiggle room to negotiate and after he talks with the half-orc somemore they decide that Madhi will have to play for the troubles he has caused all of you so far and the Half-orc leaves with a "down payment" of 50 gold payed by Madhi before with a show of proffesionalism and the promis to return later this week he leaves after shooting a fierce scowl in Madhi's direction.
After the thugs leave Madhi takes a moment to straighten his outfit and nervously runs his hands over his pulled back hair as he speaks
"My thanks for your assistance. And how can I help you fine gentlemen today?"
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Y'serid is about to reply before he sees Sahba setting documents on fire, leaping over he quickly tries saving the papers, "Wait wait wait! Lets at least try words before lighting this mans ill begotten gains on fire! I am glad to see you so fired up, but restraint!"
Looking over to Mahdi, he tries to give him a smile, "My apologies, some of us are from Andoran it appears. Please, we have some questions on a person that you sold that was used in a scrying incident on one of the nobles here."
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"Ah, you want information. I can sell you that information, for special special price, only 400 gp for you, my dear rescuers I give you special friend discount, it's a steal. I won't have money to feed my 4 sons and daughters this week..but for you I make special price."
Then as sabha starts to burn stuff in his office he visibly gulps
"Ah, the kids are getting too fat anyways, they can do without a meal or 2..I will give you the information"
He picks up a burning piece of paper and puts out the fire and reads through it
Mahdi explains that the slave Atlag came to him through an infrequent supplier, a ship captain named Waheeda Wardak. Her ship, the At Sea, sailed with the distinctive yellow sails used by the Okeno pirates the last several times it was in Absalom. Mahdi also shares that he expects another shipment from Wardak tomorrow, and the At Sea should be docking tonight if it hasn’t already arrived. Mahdi reluctantly adds he was told to expect an enslaved Pathfinder as part of tomorrow’s lot.
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Sahba smiles sourly at Y'serid. "Sometimes these scum only understand direct means. He and his kind are a cancer that needs to be excised."
She gathers the papers and ledgers into a pile in the center of Mahdi's desk. "It seems we have our next location, Sahba says to the party.
Turning to Mahdi, she threatens, "Should you tell anyone we are coming, we will return for you personally. And your office. And your partners. And all you hold dear. Be content we are only inconveniencing your business rather than reciprocating the pain you inflict on others."
She seems to be taking this slavery issue very personally.
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Teric smiles. "Nicely done, my dear. Burning the documents was a brilliant touch." He turns to Madhi. "Now, Mahjub. It seems you really need to make some better business decisions. I hope you can learn from this experience."
Teric turns to leave. "An enslaved Pathfinder. Interesting. I'm sure he would be grateful for our intervention."
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"I do not know anything more, please go now and leave me - the poor father of 6 children - alone, without me they would starve"
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"I'm sure your eight children would prefer you set a better example and choose a more honorable profession."
With that, Sahba sets fire to the pile of papers and ledgers she's collected on the desk, and storms out.
When her companions join her outside, Sahba says, "I'd like to be there early to greet the ship. Shall we meet there in an hour?"
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Shaking his head at the outcome of the office incident, Y'serid follows the others to the docks as night descends. As the smell of the sea and docks hit him, he grins.
"I do love the smell of the sea. It smells like adventure." The fox says, looking at the sign for the harbor masters office and drumming his chin, before continuing, "Hopefully the harbor master keeps all hours. Ah welcome back Firecracker!"
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Teric smiles. "Unloading, I suppose. Though, we're interested in special cargo. Mahjub Mahdi sent us. Where is the At Sea supposed to dock and when? It's captained by Waheeda Wardak, and Mr. Mahdi had problems with his last shipment."
Teric's hand slips into his pouch to bring out a couple gold coins.
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He seems to believe Sahba and is now a little less gruff after Yserids smooth talking
"Well since you seem to have some time sensitive wares that need your quick attention, it would help if you had a note from Lady Darchana to speed things up. I'd like to help you,but the time to fill in the necessary paper works might take you a lot longer then you have to get the information you are after"
You are able to easily travel to Lady Darchana’s estate in the Petals District. A tall wall of polished stone surrounds the property and its gardens, and many of the plants have arcane or alchemical uses in addition to their aesthetic value. A doorman greets you and after he confirms your identities escorts you into the three-story residence, noting that Lady Darchana has been expecting you. There, the estate manager, Jemina, leads you to the upstairs study;
The walls of the study are inset with bookshelves that are brimming with texts of all varieties. A large drawing table in the middle of the room bears an unrolled map of the Inner Sea region. At the far end of the study stands an impressive darkwood desk, and seated behind it is a woman dressed in midnight-blue robes. Her piercing gray eyes look expectantly at Jemina. The estate manager softly clears her throat and announces, “Senior Lesser Councilwoman, Archdean of the Arcanamirium, Second Spell Lord of Absalom, Lady Darchana of House Madinani, please receive these agents of the Master of Spells Aram Zey of the Pathfinder Society.”
Lady Darchana beckons with a short hand movement, “Pathfinders, join me. That is all, Jemina.” She folds her hands together and waits for Jemina to close the door behind her, then continues. “After my conversation with Master Zey, he agreed by necessity to keep the details that were passed on to you to a minimum. I am keenly interested to hear what you were able to learn based on what you were provided.”
She then focuses all her attention on Sahba "Please tell me what you have learned so far"
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"Our investigation led us to Solicitor Salbus, who in turn sent us to Mahdi Mahjub of Mahdi's Chattel (a dispicable euphamism for slavery, if there ever was one.)."
"With some persuasion, Mahdi explained that the slave in question, Atlag by name, came to him through an infrequent supplier, a ship captain named Waheeda Wardak. Wardak captains the At Sea, a ship yellow sails like those used by the Okeno pirates the last several times it was in Absalom. Mahdi also confided that he expects another shipment from Wardak soon, and the At Sea should be docking tonight if it hasn’t already arrived."
"We have reason to believe the At Sea carries illegally enslaved Pathfinders, however the harbor master impeded our investigation. Perhaps a writ from you would grease the wheels of bureaucracy."
"Of course, a full raid on the ship, the imprisonment of Mahdi and Wardak for knowingly trafficking in illegal slaves, and the freeing of those captured would be an even greater boon, should you have access to the resources to put such events in motion."
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"More importantly, my Lady, convincing the Captain to tell us how he acquired Atlag might lead us to who is scrying on you. Mahjab didn't indicate that Atlag was meant for you, so perhaps this isn't something meant for you, but it could be an insidious plot to spread unknowing spies throughout the city."
"It may be that all Wardak's slaves have such a scrying sensor on them."
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On Y'serids turn, he will explain his experiences, "Your Lady, I would be happy to give a report. We have learned that the slave in question is still owned by the household, and that the slave had no idea of her involvement. In tracking back the events that led to incident, we have found that she was originally purchased from one Madhi Majhub. This individual appears to have some enemies of his own as when we went to meet with him we had to speak with some ruffians who were interrogating him. With some interesting questioning techniques we did discover that the slave was sold to him by a sometimes supplies. The captain of the ship, At Sea. They go by the name Waheeda Wardak. According to Mahdi they are to make berth tonight in the harbor, and apparently they have some illegally enslaved Pathfinder aboard."
"While I am not usually one to jump on a crusade, I do think it best to show these slavers that the Society does not take kindly to our people being enslaved. The only bar to our path is the harbor master who requires some form of affiliation."
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"In truth, m'lady, it does seem that the slave was unaware of her usage as a spy, although perhaps that does not excuse her completely, but she did seem eager to help us discover the source of the scrying. "
"We are looking into the source of the slave, because this seems to be where the trail leads. Of course, you are probably already aware that Lady Silviana has left the area for Taldor, but that appears to be of no consequence. Still, we will follow all trails for you. We will keep you posted as we discover more."
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When Lady Darchana looks to Prospero, he conducts his best Taldane bow and says, My lady, I fear I have nothing of relevance to add to what my comrades have already told you. The harbormaster left no doubt, however, that with a note bearing your seal, he would provide us with the information we need to further your cause
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Lady Darchana listens intently while maintaining enigmatic but not unfriendly demeanor.
After listening to your accounts, she asks, “Anything else?”
“An Okeno pirate captain? Captain Wardak of the At Sea.” she nods her head, a brief smile. “Yes, that would stand to reason.” She flips open a ledger sitting on her desk that bears the seal of the harbormaster and begins scanning the pages, “When I became aware of the eavesdropping handmaiden, using my own magic I was able to follow the arcane trail back to it’s origin. I only got a brief glimpse of the heavily veiled perpetrator, but based on the distance and direction, I knew the culprit was on Stonespire Island—somewhere underground on the island at any rate, with a powerfully enchanted mirror. The Okeno pirates’ base of operations is a city on that island, and the Fleshfairs may be the largest slave markets on all of Golarion. It is a cunning place through which to move these sensored slaves.” Her hand finally comes to rest in the ledger. “At Sea, here we are. It has been to Absalom two other times in the last three months. According to this, however, it has been marked with a bounty. ‘Failure to fully declare cargo value for taxation.’” She clicks her tongue loudly. “Excellent. You said Mahjub Mahdi was expecting another shipment from the At Sea soon? If it hasn’t already docked, it’ll be anchored outside the Ship’s Graveyard, waiting for a pilot. We cannot allow those slaves to make it to the Docks unaccompanied! I trust I count on you to help?”
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Sahba smiles bitterly and lets some flames dance up her arms.
And wouldn't it be a shame if the ship were 'accidentally' burned in the process of recovering its owed taxes, she muses.
"Lady Darchana, can you provide us a write of authorization to board the ship and detain its crew? The harbor master seems a bit too preoccupied with his paperwork."
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"But off course"
She writes out a letter, seals it in wax with her seal, and hands it to Sahba
“Carry this note to the Harbormaster’s Grange—it authorizes the inspector to provide you with a rowboat and a pilot. So long as you can confirm the ship’s identity, you are legally free to claim the bounty yourselves. Which I've been informed is 725 gp”
Lady Darchana explains that by law, a ship like the At Sea must have a Pilot’s Guild member bring it in through the hazardous Ship’s Graveyard. She then excuses herself briefly to follow up on this information and returns 15 minutes later. “I have spoken with a contact at the Harbormaster’s Grange. There is an outstanding docking request for a ship called Kat Season, which is likely our ship with a flimsy disguise.”