The others melt into the darkness and hide behind a small dune a dozen yards away. But Lo'Laan's glaive clanks against his scale mail as the half-orc tries to move silently.
A sentry, noticing one of the heros of the scorpion fight, comes over to Lo'Laan and begins a conversation. Unseen by the sentry, Serenity circles around in the dark, watching the man warily and crouching low to the ground. She prepares to strike should the stranger strike her as a danger to her master.
Ashivla doesn't do anything, merely watching, trusting that Lo'Laan will excuse himself from the conversation eventually and attempt to sneak off again.
Lo'Laan allows the man but a few moments of his time before interjecting. "I'm afraid I need to get back to patrol, sir. Perhaps we can take this up another time?" He asks.
The guard blushes and nods. "Of course. Of course. I'm sorry I took your time." He hurriedly gets back to his own station, providing Lo'Laan with the opportunity to slip away.
You all meet up on the other side of the dune and walk silently toward your rendezvous, senses sharp to ensure you aren't being followed. After walking for a while, you come to the small opening hidden between two dunes. You duck inside and the torch-lit cave soon widens out so that you all walk side by side without ducking.
You enter a small round chamber in the cave with a pool of water in the center. A robed female figure sits facing the pool with her back to you, polishing a dagger with a golden hilt.
Without turning to face you, the woman who oversaw your training speaks in a soft voice "The desert winds brings four, but 2 quartets left. Report."
The turns around and nods at Zaza. She places a hand on the ifrit's shoulder and speaks softly "This is the way of those who serve in the Shadows." She turns to the rest of you, waiting for your report from Lopul.
Ashivla spares a sorrowful glance toward Zatinya before turning back to Shalazat, saying, "We accomplished our task. The leader of the smuggling ring was killed in the fight and we eliminated all of the man's cohorts. The local caravan company unwittingly aided us by paying for a job we were already contracted to do, thereby allowing us to purchase a reliable way to heal ourselves. Though Drakar and Basheer both lost their way, we were able to finish the mission and keep up our appearances as local caravan guards."
Shalazat bows her head to you. "You have done well, sister. Do not be troubled. Here are your next choices. Head to the quartermaster for inspection."
Shalazat does not seem troubled by the departure of Basheer and Drakar from the Shadows.
Shalazat motions for you to enter a side chamber holding an incredibly compact and well-stacked armory. A dark-skinned dwarf beckons you in.
"Lay out everything you found for inspection."
Wooden mission: A Taldane team is suspected to be in the northern desert, observing Qadiran troop movements. Seek and destroy.
Wooden mission: Recent intelligence reveals Taldane military scholars have been researching an ancient tomb near the border. Yesterday, a known Taldane agents passed through a town with 2 days travel of the tomb.
Copper mission: A Chelish diplomat is suspected of feeding information to Taldor. Find out whether or not he is guilty and whom his contact is.
Ashivla lays out whatever she was carrying from what they acquired without attempting to conceal anything.
"This is everything I found and was carrying."
She looks to the others.
You lay out everything in front of the quartermaster who tells you to look around through his wares and come back in a few hours as he looks through your gear. When you return, he has left everything you collected for you except for the papers on corrupt officials. He lays out four pouches of coins containing 500 gp for each of you for mission completion. He then places his hands on his hips and asks
"Well done. Be sure to report to Shalazat when ye decide what mission ye're gonna accept. Can I do anything else for ye?"
You choose the mission in the northern desert and read more in its description. Due to rising tensions, both Taldor and Qadira have kept their border well-manned. But the Taldanes have had an uncanny knowledge of Qadiran troop dispositions in the forts of the northern desert and have countered every move in this cold chess match. Intelligence reports suggest that a known team of Taldane operatives, who were last seen in a Taldane border town suspiciously recently, have illegally begun operations on Qadiran soil to spy out troop movements.
Hagen Cogsworth: The gnome is capable of dealing large amounts of fire damage at a time but is curiously competent with a wide range of useful arcane spells. His silver tongue has also slipped the group past too many Qadiran guards in the past.
Aelia Windswept: This dwarven woman typically casts spells to entangle or control enemies but occasionally takes the form of a leopard.
Tammen Harly: The burly human is known to fight using a glaive and is capable of attaining uncanny reach and control over the battlefield. The number of hard-hitting blows he has been observed to land in a few heartbeats are concerning.
Bishop: The Taldane team possesses one member who has managed to conceal his or her identity much more capably than the rest. The small figure has only been seen robed and veiled carrying a pair of saps but has slipped through many patrols inexplicably.
You will begin your mission at Fort Hashbaz. The commanders at all five forts have been ordered to cooperate fully with your investigations, though some may take umbrage at being ordered to submit to investigations by their juniors.
When the new team finishes with the quartermaster, they turn to find Shalazat standing behind them. She bows respectfully. "You four will journey together from now on. The commanders of the forts will recognize your authority if you privately give them the code phrase 'The river rises daily.' If you succeed in completing this mission, we will have new hilts for you. Can I provide you with any other assistance?"
Shalazat nods at Zaza's intelligent question. "They will be trained not to be taken alive but if you can bring them alive, that would be far preferable. Only be wary that you do not lose your lives attempting to preserve theirs."
Amari moves his hands quickly in question <Any time constraints on our mission?>
Your handler nods at Amari's question. "In a sense. We reward our operatives for excellent work. Here is an explanation of how the rewards for this mission will be determined." She hands you a roll of parchment.
Mission completion by Desnus 15th: 1500 gp each
Each enemy operative captured alive: 500 gp each
Determining identity of any Taldane contacts in Qadira: 250 gp each
Determining identity of primary Taldane contact in Taldor: 250 gp
The above considerations will be used to determine the base reward for the mission. An additional 10% (not compounded) will be added for every 3 days early the mission is turned in back here at base. 10% will be deducted for every 3 days late the mission is turned in.
Ashivla nods at the questions and answers. She says, "Yes. We will complete the mission quickly and efficiently. We will need to be ready to stabilize those that fall in battle when we arrive at those battles. Does this pass phrase work for the guards that may or may not let us in to these forts?"
She then addresses the others, "I propose we head to the Fort Hashbaz commander and interview them for any leads. The goal is to separate these spies from one another, defeat them, and deliver them to justice."
Your handler calmly replies "The guards will not know the password nor will they know your mission. But all you need accomplish is a meeting with the commander and your password will take you from there."
She nods slowly to Zaza. "We will observe with great interest. The enemy most recently countered a movement of our troops between Fort Seleukka and Fort Perez."
"A sound plan as any, when shall we depart?" Lo'Laan asks.
Ashivla says, "We leave now. We may get a good lead at Fort Hashbaz to follow. Every second those spies are out there is another they have to do more damage to our defenses. Let's go."
Shalazat nods as you finish your preparations and depart. You reach Fort Hashbaz, a small outpost with archers manning a low, stone wall. The garrison is typically about 50 men. When you are spotted approaching the gate, the archers on the wall ready their bows and challenge.
"Who goes there?"
Ashivla raises a hand. "Hold there. We are travelers and seek an audience with the fort commander. We have information for them."
Their curiosity piqued given the boredom of their guard duty, the guards murmur quietly to themselves. They open the gate and a tan young man with a hint of stubble on his chin leads you to a large, mud brick structure in the center of the fort. He speaks to the guard outside then the guard lets you into the cool, dimly lit office of the fort's commander. A balding man in his forties looks up questioningly from reading some papers while the guard stands behind you in the open doorway.
"Who are you?"
Lo'Laan makes a note to introduce the group. "Our trip here is not spontaneous, they should be expecting us." He clarifies for good measure.
Hamin's eyes widen a bit. "Expecting you, eh? Why should I be expecting you?"
Ashivla waits for the man's reply.
Should be cautious, her father's lessons echo in her head. You don't know if you can trust anyone. A spy could be a spy for someone else, too, y'know?
A look of recognition flashes briefly over Hamin's face before it is concealed. He jerks his head at the guard who, puzzled, closes the door and leaves the five of you inside alone with him.
Once you are alone, Hamin opens up "You are here to do something about the possible Taldanes, yes? Most welcome. We recently tested a new design for a composite longbow. Its range proved quite impressive but it was impractical in the majority of combat situations as the rate of fire was slower. Still, a welcome addition to our arsenal, no?" Hamin shakes his head sadly. "But only two weeks after our tests, our spies observed Taldanes testing the same weapon. The word reached them very quickly, indeed. Unless the Taldanes have placed spies here of extreme magical power, getting word back to Taldor within a matter of three or four days is quite a feat. I suspect they have some sort of device that aids them."
From your brief, you are certain that the enemy team contains spellcasters capable of some short-range communication magic but nothing that would reach all the way back to Taldor, such as sending. In addition, the sending spell seems too restrictive for the detailed information leaking across the border.
You have heard of a magical construction known as an ahncibel. In it is suspended half of a unique lodestone. The stones twin is kept at a separate location and manipulation of one lodestone results in movement of the other, which can allow for communication. These devices can be shipped in pieces but this takes quite a long time so once one is established, it typically stays in one place.
The commander nods at Zaza's explanation. "That sounds correct to me. As for the bows, 3 are missing. They are kept in a locked hut on the south side of the fort."
*** Back during the journey ***
As they row the boats along the Pashman River, Amari is convering with the newcomer who has eagerly learned the finer aspects of the sign language their team is using.
<We are searching spies.
They might be part of the garrison forces.
Maybe it would be good to introduce me as deaf-mute to them.
Maybe someone will say something in front of me, that he would not in front of any of you.>
*** During the talk with the guards ***
Amari is looking straight at the guard, as if not understanding anything that is being sad.
*** Now ***
<Someone ask him, whether there are rotation of guard personal between the forts.
A spy may move as part of such.>
Towards Ashivla:
<We should head out this night and check the guards awareness and search for any blind spots, someone could have exploited to enter the fort undetected.>
Ashivla nods. "Yes, how many guards do you have guarding the bows. Are any of them new or missing? Was there any sign of a break-in or arcane tampering?"
Ashivla signs, <Yes, good idea. We need to interview each of these guards.>
The commander squirms uncomfortably at Zaza's rebuke, particularly since he doesn't know who you are: only that you are mysterious strangers of unknown position whose questions he has been ordered to answer. He hopes you are here to catch the Taldanes, not evaluate him.
"Perhaps three is a lot. It is not many for a single foe to escape with. The hut is guarded all night and day. I interviewed all of the guards personally and could not determine who kept watch while the bows were stolen or establish exactly when. You may examine the hut, if you wish. Here is a list of 9 guards on duty the three days between counts."
"Yes, please have someone lead us to the hut. We will interview these guards and go on from there. We will find these bows and the thieves responsible. We are professionals."
Ashivla moves to leave once they have the information they need and once all the others have their questions answered.
Jezar calls in a guard who leads you to the hut. It has a sturdy, locked front door and no other doors or windows. He unlocks it for you and shows you in. There are racks upon racks of bows kept in wooden tubes with their strings coiled into a small, oilskin pouch. There is also a drain in the stone floor to ensure any water drains away quickly to keep the sealed interior as dry as possible.
There are five racks holding 20 bows each. Three in a corner are gone and presumably were not missed until there was an inspection.
"How many of your people have access to this room?" Lo'Laan asks.
Amari will not follow the conversation in the tent but rather walk around the inside and inspect the fabric of it, searching for (probably concealed) cuts or other signs of entry other than walking in through the front.
Amari returns his belongings and hands him a few stripes of scribbled paper that read:
Have thanks for those blunt arrows, they came in handy against a giant scorpion.
The bow did well, but I think I am ready for an even stronger one.
An one of a kind. A real weapon.
Strong, precise, lethal.
During the fights, I though about how handy it would be to have additional, magical arrows, fitting for different situations.
I do not know what you have or can get but I think this could be a very useful thing for our cause.
Maybe we can work together on a project to create such arrows in the future?
For now, I know that there is magic to imbue weapons with killing power against special enemies.
I think those will come in handy to finish our targets more quickly.
If you can, I could use one for gnomes, dwarves and humans each.
As if in an afterthought, he quickly scribbles another note as the dwarf is reading the others.
Is there such a thing as a magical quiver that will hand me the arrow I am searching for at just the right moment?
If I go into a mission with many different arrows, it will be crucial to draw the right one in the right moment.
I probably do not have the coins for such a thing right now, but give me another mission or two and I would pay most of my rewards for such a thing.
Ashivla checks the locks and the door on the hut to check for forced entry or tampering.
The guard responds to Lo'Laan's question "Whoever is on duty at the time has a key to the hut." Ashivla and Amari search the hut carefully, seeking for any signs of tampering. Ashivla, seeing no scratches or other signs of tampering on the locks, becomes convinced that entry must have been found by another means. Amari examines the mud brick walls carefully and the interior of the hut. This takes him a while but he notices that the drain is loose in the middle of the floor. Though it is only about 6 inches in diameter, it appears to have been filed loose from underneath.