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You stop back at Heidmarch Manor, where Sheila repeats what she knows about the Duchesses. "There were two women at the pre-auction who paid their deposit in Minkaian coins which, according to our sources, may have been stolen during a recent caravan raid. If such is the case, the duo no doubt have dubious intentions. The women call themselves the Duchesses and they likely have ties to one of Magnimar’s criminal organizations; I suspect the Rushlight Society. Still, it is their finances and not their intentions that most concern us. Some of our more reliable street contacts informed me that the two women were last seen entering the home of a local merchant named Windun Landers. Perhaps not so coincidentally, Landers has a wrought iron rushlight mounted on his door casing. Head to the man’s residence, and see if you can’t figure out how much money these "Duchesses” have. If all is as I suspect, they don’t have enough to bid competitively. I’m also near certain they’re using stolen funds, so leave whatever gold you find. I don’t want us bidding with illegally gotten coin—that’ll create more problems for us than it will solve. Lastly, whatever you happen to find, do not involve the authorities. I cannot risk the courts subpoenaing your testimony during the auction."
"It seems like we know how much money they have to use. Is this enough to bid competitively?"
"At any rate, we are done here. Reset the lock and we shall leave."
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Sirettis sees the 5,000 gold as not quite respectable enough of a bid to be able to win the Runecarved Key.
With the box locked again and knowledge of its contents, you quickly head back out through the window and secure it behind you. The man, who Cup learns is Windun Landers, is so intrigued by her knowledge of books that he offers her tea and asks for her to spend the afternoon going over their favorite literature.
Whether or not she accepts, you soon end up back at Heidmarch Manor, where Sheila instructs you on your next target: Lady Kaddren.
"Ah, so the Duchesses had 5,000 gold pieces. We need not worry, then. Now, I don't need to warn you how much of a threat Lady Kaddren is to our mission—she is wealthy, powerful, a wizard, and she hates us. Thankfully, our talented informants seem to have uncovered her weakness: scandal!
"It seems the lady has been seen slipping in and out of the tower of the Golemworks’s master wizard, Toth Bhreacher, at unusual hours. If the two of them are involved in an affair, it could imply Lady Kaddren might be showing Toth political favoritism—an illicit act that would also break her family’s long-standing efforts to keep nobility and business separate. Such evidence might stand to ruin her if it fell into the hands of her rivals. I need you to collect, fabricate, or purchase enough hard evidence to be able to blackmail her. While blackmailing her won’t help ease her opinion of the Pathfinder Society, it is perhaps the only way we can get her to back out of the auction."
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Cup asks Windun Landers for a raindate three days from now. “And I will bring the tea, I promise!”
★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★
Cup looks horrified. “Oh I could forge the evidence, certainly.”
She shows her forgery to the group, along with some smutty poetry.
Milady, let us pair up each to each
Together we’ll be fresh
Savoring your sweet flesh
Like the ripest peach...
“And goodness knows that I am an excellent liar and can disguise myself with magic too. Still... Do we want to frame her without knowing whether she is innocent or guilty?” Cup looks down at her feet. “I am not sure that I could do this in good conscience.”
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Mr Peppers raises his eyebrows at Miss Cup's poem "What sort of books do YOU read at the library? I can honestly say that they are different than the ones I do!"
He straightens the wrinkles in his cloak from climbing around the sides of buildings like a burglar... "I agree, it is pretty terrible to frame this woman publicly. IF we must work to keep her out of the auction lets do it as truthfully or discreetly as possible. Hating our organization isn't a crime." Unless she's a gnome, then we should ruin her...
"Who was Lady Kaddren again? I'm not sure I remember her from the party. Could you describe her?"
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Cup looks up at Mr. Peppers. “I thought that you would have spotted her. She was the tall and lovely Cheliaxian with the long dark hair... The one dressed in the height of Magnimaran fashion. I noticed her because when I saw her dress, I knew that it was one that I would never be able to pull off... It was one made for women with a bit more height than I. She was studying the key. I think she must have a scholarly bent.”
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Cup spends enough time delicately forging a salacious love letter from Toth Bhreacher, and hands it to the paparazzi arm in Magnimar. They quickly circulate it to the masses.
Afterwards, you head down a short road destined for Lady Kaddren's manor, practically a miniature castle in both its design and regal prominence. Unlike Windun Lander's place, however, you find that there are a patrol unit of four guards consistently circling the three-story mansion at this time of day.
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With the cover of night assisting your stealth, you head back to Lady Kaddren's Manor. There are still two guards patrolling the courtyard with torches in their hands, but with only the ambient moonlight, scaling the walls of the manor should prove a little less obvious than it would have earlier today.
Gallix reactivates his wand of monkey fish and uses his modified hands to easily scale up the wall. He shoves the first window he comes across, and finds that it's locked. He checks another - also locked!
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Cup activates her boots. “I will go with you, Gallix.” She peers up at the windows. “Bedrooms aren’t usually on the first floor of these manors. Which window provides the best view of the gardens? That one is likely hers.”
Before she goes, she activates message on the entire party. “Sirettis, would you like to ask your delightful friend if he wants to scout the perimeter and tell us where the guards are? Also, do you want to come with us? There might be people to sleep.”
"Is she talkin' about me?" Isa pipes up again and flies off.
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D and Mr. Peppers aren't above admiring Lady Kaddren's fine flowers. Mostly tiger lilies and daisies, the garden is kept immaculate with the grass freshly cut and any stray weeds absent.
Gallix easily pops the window to the upper floor bedroom, and in he goes with Sirettis. Inside the luxurious bedroom is a mahogany armoire, a fancy golden jewelry box, and of course, Lady Kaddren's velvety red queen-sized bed. The sole guard upstairs hasn't yet noticed the entry.
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While D finds a new appreciation for the simple things in life, Sirettis rifles sort-of quietly through the armoire. It contains a trove of embroidered gowns, cocktail dresses, and an ample amount of lingerie, but nothing quite so incriminating.
Cup floats up with glowing eyes, and locates an abjuration aura emanating from the jewelry box.
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“Humph. There’s an alarm spell on the jewelry box, and who knows what else!” Then Cup thinks, and contacts Pep on the message spell.
“Hey Pep! I found something interesting for you. We have an alarm spell on this box. Now, what I recall about alarm spells is that they are set up by creatures who approach the perimeter. But my Unseen Servant is not a creature. Do you think that I can bring the box your way using the Unseen Servant, so that you can dispel it?”
She thinks. “Before I do that, let me keep checking to see if I spot any other spells on here. I don’t want to make a crucial mistake here.”
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Mr. Peppers' ears perk up when Cup activates the arcane radio. He concentrates and answers back.
"An alarm spell? Shouldn't be any trouble at all to dispel, anything beats looking at these boring, nonmagical flowers."
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After Cup dispatches her Unseen Servant to retrieve the jewelry box and floats it down below, Mr. Peppers gets to work, waving his hands over the box as he draws the auras into himself via spell disruption.
"What the...?" Sirettis, Cup, and Gallix hear a muffled voice, and watch as the door handle on the set of double doors that exit Lady Kaddren's bedroom begins to turn...
Back at ground level, the box is now free of traps and can be safely picked.
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Sirettis motions the others to hide as she approaches the door.
"What's wrong, soldier?" Sirettis glares at the guard. "I'm inspecting the room against magical intrusion. Lady Kaddren's personal orders, remember? Or did she not tell you about it?"
"I guess it's on a need-to-know basis. Oops." She grins. "Let's keep this just between us, alright?"
If the guard is suspicious, Sirettis will rely on her Charm Hex to convince him to calm down.
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The guard opens the door to peek into the room, but given that Gallix made his way back down to work on defeating the jewelry box's lock, and Sirettis and Cup hid, the guard shrugs and closes the door. "I could've sworn there was a jewelry box on that desk..."
Gallix spends enough time tinkering with the jewelry box, and after managing to open it, he finds something truly scandalous in the top drawer: a collection of erotic poetry that's all been initialed T.B.!
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"It seems like the rumor was quite founded." Sirettis reads the poetry. "Return the box, we have what we need." Sirettis offers to fly back and return the jewelry box back to the desk.
"We have what we need. Let us return this to Heidmarch and get some rest... Is this really how she wants to operate, I wonder?" Sirettis ponders over the tasks they have completed.
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Uesugi nods at Spirit's suggestion. In truth the tasks they were being asked to do did not make him feel well. It felt like the work of a shinobi to tip the scales in the favour of Heidmarch. No matter how important this task was he would voice his concerns to the venture captain following the auction.
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With the incriminating poetry retrieved and the jewelry box returned, you head past the unsuspecting guards and back to Heidmarch Manor to rest for the evening.
The following morning, you debrief your Venture-Captain. "Oh, so you have found something juicy," Heidmarch says, scanning the papers, a coy grin growing on her face. "Perhaps you might have a little talk with Lady Kaddren with some ..." she hesitates, "Gentle persuasion, if you will."
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This woman and her many, many schemes. Sirettis still remembers the many efforts of the Sovereign Court to establish some Pathfinder influence into Thuvia. With Lady Heidmarch's zeal in keeping Lady Kradden out of the auction.
"Blackmail. Are you certain this was the best method? How will this improve her opinion of the Pathfinder Society?" Sirettis stands defiant. "If she had done some crime to us, I would do this without a moment of hesitation. But all this will do is cement her belief that the Pathfinders are up to no good."
"I will write a letter and deliver it to the Lady's manor, warning her to stay out of the auction. I shall return one of these poems in the envelope, as well so she knows we could ruin her life. Once the auction is over I will return the remaining letters."
"We must be above our enemies, or we are no better." And with that, Sirettis goes to begin writing a letter. She dons the guise of a courtier and prepares to head to the manor. Once she's at the gate, Sirettis will charm one of the guards into delivering it to the lady post haste.
Sirettis writes a threatening letter, warning the Lady to drop out of the auction.
Sirettis uses her Disguise Hex to make the journey.
Sirettis sweet talks one of the guards into delivering the letter for her.
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Sheila stares at Sirettis sternly as she replies. "I'm afraid that in this case, blackmail may be the only way. I'm certain that you can see it's for the greater good. The Runecarved Key is our utmost priority, and a bit of scandal won't cause her too much harm in the long run, ... I suppose."
Sirettis takes on the appearance of a noblewoman and delivers the letter. Lady Kaddren is sitting on her luxurious bed when the guard arrives with it. She opens it, and as her eyes scan the words, she immediately drops the page and rushes over to her jewelry box.
I musn't tell them I've been robbed, or they will ask what is missing.
She pulls open the top drawer. Nothing. Then the middle. Pearl earrings, silver bangles, gemmed rings, and nothing else. Bottom drawer? No, why would it be there?
She turns, leans up against the dresser and slumps down to her knees, her head between them. "Lucian, send word that I will not be participating in the auction," she whimpers to her guard.
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Back at Heidmarch Manor, Sheila is thrilled to hear of your success. "And that, as they say, is that." She dusts her hands off. "How about something a little more... Clear cut? It seems the Runecarved Key has attracted the attention of a small exporting company run by the dubious Vaor family of Underbridge. Why the Vaors are interested in the key, or even how they came up with the deposit, is beyond my imaginings. I doubt they have much in the way of finances, but one can never tell. Perhaps they represent someone else more powerful, perhaps not. In any event, I need someone to head down to Underbridge and find out. This map should get you to their warehouse quickly. Best of luck, Pathfinders."