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The door opens and behind that door you can see two Warhounders on duty. They are equipped with leather armor, spiked gauntlets and they have a light crossbow hanging on their belts. They jump up as soon as they hear somebody at the door, waiting to attack as soon as somebody enters.
Tippy
Celentrai
Iso
Warhounder red
Borrobol
Warhounder blue
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At the unconscious men's bodies Iso finds the "Dog claws" (spiked gauntlets), a light crossbow with bolts, a leather armor, a torch and tindertwigs each.
Iso and Borrobol climb up the stairs. At the top they find another room equipped with a desk and a chair. You see a guy standing next to the desk.
Celentrai
Nessian
Iso
Tippy
Borrobol
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"Iso, hold for a moment. Let me cut him off!"
Tippy will try to tumble off the table past Nessien and flank with Iso.
With an extra step, Tippy vaults from the table, somersaulting over Nessien's flail swing and lands behind the man opposite Iso. In one fluid motion, he plants his dagger in the man's thigh, sadly missing any vital arteries.
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Iso searches Nessians body and finds two flasks with two different liquids, three different potions, five scrolls, a tanglefoot bag, a masterwork flail, a composite longbow, a masterwork studded leather armor, a heavy steel shield, three smoke sticks, a jeweled earring and some money.
At the desk Borrobol and Iso find an ancient book. Showing it to Yargos reveals that this is the book you are looking for. "Yes, this is the book they took from me. Now we can signal the master abort code and end the tide now and forever." Yargos says.
After sending the final signal you can see the unnatural fog disappearing over the next few days. Also the fog along the coast dissolves.
Though few will be aware of your bravery, you stopped the Silent Tide, you have saved Absalom from a potentially devastating attack. You have brought Nessian and his War Hounders to justice. You have the thanks of Yargos and his friends, and they ensure that your reputation within the Puddle District is deservedly enhanced. Yargos will prove to be a friend and ally that you can rely upon in the future. Finally, Grandmaster Torch may prove to be a valuable future business contact.
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A few weeks pass and our famous group of Pathfinders is summoned again, this time in Sedeq, a slave-trading settlement located south of the Zho Mountains in Qadira.
"Welcome to glorious Sedeq, Pathfinders. I trust your stay has been pleasant so far." The speaker is a strikingly beautiful woman, slender and dark, dressed in the most modern Qadiran fashions. Her study is opulently appointed and seems to have mementos and trophies of past adventures covering every available surface. She favors you and your comrades with a slight half-smile and continues in her thick Qadiran accent: "I am Venture-Captain Yasmin Kal’al — I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced." she says and shakes your hands.
"I am here as you are, by request of honored Venture-Captain Adril Hestram. I have been asked to brief you on the local situation as regards the Osirian artifacts. As you know, the smuggler Matzal Chaim moved the four statues out of Sothis into Qadira. The statues are supposed to be quite valuable and had been confiscated by the Osirian authorities for study. We are not sure how Chaim got access to the statues in the first place — he likely had accomplices inside the Osirian Cultural Ministry. At any rate, Chaim brought the statues here. Sedeq is his permanent headquarters, though he spends most of his time traveling abroad. When he is in town, he spends the lion’s share of his time on the Qalli. While most of the city is given over to the human-chattel trade, the Qalli Spice Market is almost as lucrative as the rest of the city combined. Much of the money seen in Sedeq begins and ends in its stalls and processing plants. The saffron trade alone —" she brings herself up short.
"But never mind, this is not of relevance to you. Chaim spends a good deal of his time at the Topaz Pavilion bathhouse. We believe that he uses it as a point of contact with his various associates. Once you find Chaim, you will have to convince him to tell you who he sold the statues to — yes, they are no longer in his hands, we are sure of that. Time is of the essence — if Chaim’s buyer sells to others, the artifacts may quickly move beyond our grasp."
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Iso, sweating profusely, seems to not like the weather one bit.
"It has not rained once." he complains. For the third time. In an hour.
He is starting to get a bit ripe too. Still he also claims.
"Iso will accompany you. But Iso does not need a bath. Smell of Iso attacts women like Flies to Dung. Baths bring on sickness."
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Iso shrugs. "Normal women find Iso Soturi Irrestable."
He raises an eyebrow. "You could be Normal if you wanted to. But Baths Do cause sickness. Iso Strongly advises against bathing. Bathing makes you weak. "
He says this with a very firm voice, as if it has been drumming into him over long hours. A cornerstone of his beliefs one might almost think.
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"Yes, please find the buyers and bring the statues with you. This is the only way we can avoid that they are sold to somebody else before the Society is able to acquire them." Venture-Captain Kal’al answers to Burrobol's question.
"If there are no more questions, I ask you to hurry. Time is running..."
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Iso, sweating profusely and swearing like, well, a barbarian - heads off down the road.
"Come on. Sooner Justice is Done, the Sooner Iso may cool off in river. Or sea. Or Rain." he again looks hopefully up to the heavens.
"I hope one of you knows the way. All steets in strange city are like maze to Iso."
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Seeing the effect, the sweating Iso is having on the townsfolk of Sedeq, Borrobol rushes up, making sure not to spear the poor folk with his spikes "Forgive my friend. We are merely trying to find the Topaz Pavilion bathhouse. I'm sure you can understand the urgency!" Successful in his quest, Borrobol passes the directions on to everyone else and hustles to the bathhouse.