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Dexter eyes majordomo Milana with disgust but continues to say nothing, how can people treat others as possessions, it just makes no sense.
When the handmaiden is brought out he waits for his allies to ask their questions and then adds his own, "my lady, if you would be so kind, could you tell me in short how you came to be a slave? If it was through an illegal method, there are none better to tell than me and my allies. We will seek to right any and all wrongs."
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"... Slavery is an unbelievably cruel treatment of a human being and should be abolished in my eyes! So please believe us that we just want to understand how this situation came to be and what you know of the instruments that were provided to you so that you can spy on these nobles!"
"I... am sorry," Atlag says. "... but I truly have no idea about this whole unfortunate dinner party incident." She gives you all a small smile, but it doesn't serve to mask her sorrow. "And I thank you for your sentiments, but I'm afraid enslavement was the only option I had. You see," she trails off, looking to her side. "I had made some investments, that unfortunately did not prove to yield the returns I'd hoped. In fact, I ended up owing quite a large sum. Debts that I... could never hope to pay back. And so, this was a last resort. It is... not ideal, of course. But it is better than... other possible outcomes."
She tries to smile again, but a tear begins to well up in her eye."But enough of my foolishness. I know nothing of any divination magicks, I was not coached by anyone, or put to any task. I was simply enslaved in Sedeq, then sold in Katapesh before being brought here. I... was used, it seems, but I have no recollection of ever being enchanted with such a spell on my journey here, I'm afraid."
She looks over at the Majordomo, who looks rather impatient. "Look, I assure you; I am treated relatively well here. I work all day, of course, but I've modest room and board - I mean, the horror stories I heard when I was first enslaved?" she looks to the ground. "... it's not that bad. I just hope you find whoever did this, and I'm sorry I cannot help you any other way."
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DC Zero Sense Motive
As Atlag speaks, Pai fishes a scrap of paper and a pencil out of her backpack, then writes down her name and the location of the Pathfinders' lodge. With an expression of warmth and understanding, Pai pats her on the arm. "Thank you for being frank with us. We appreciate your time. If there's anything we can do, please let us know. We certainly don't want to make things harder for you." She hands the scrap of paper to Atlag. "Here. If any memory surfaces, or if there is any way we can help you, go to this address and ask for me or any one of us. We'll do whatever we can."
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Misery Row is an enormous, elevated platform that runs along the eastern edge of the Coins district, and serves as the main destination to buy and sell slaves in Absalom.
The cages are set into the platform such that slavers and prospective buyers can walk over the pits to inspect the merchandise easily. Mahdi’s Chattel is located along the platform, where his many-windowed storefront can catch the eye of discerning buyers.
As you approach the store, a hanging sign sure enough identifies the single-story building with large, full-length windows as "Mahdi’s Chattel — Absalom’s Finest". Heavy curtains are drawn over all of the windows, and you can see one of which has clearly been smashed. A small painted sign that reads "CLOSED" hangs on the front door.
The door itself is slightly ajar, and a cursory glance reveals signs of chips, scratches and general damage to the wood around the latch. It appears as if Mahdi's most recent visitor(s) "let themselves in".
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As they walk, Dexter stews quietly about the whole slavery thing, if I get a chance and it won't come back on the lodge, I'm going to free as many slaves as I can.
Dexter looks around quickly for guards or nosy civilians. If none, he points to the broken door and window, makes a shhhh motion and slips inside with Salazar following closely behind.
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Dexter and Salazar enter through the door that was left ajar.
Inside, Dexter sees that Mahdi's Chattel is pleasantly decorated. An Andoren rug lies over the polished wooden floor of the entryway, and a small decorative table holds a curious stone statue, two feet tall, with simian features, massive horns and a long tail. The eastern half of the room is in slight disarray, apparently from light renovations that are nearly complete.
From the door's threshold in the southern wall, Dexter also sees that there are two windows in this room (on the northern wall, and another on the western wall) have also been smashed, and broken glass lies on the floor to the west and on a desk under the northern window.
Lastly, there is a large work table in the center of the room with an attached iron bar bolted to the surface, running the length of the middle of the tabletop. One would surmise that it is used as an anchoring point for manacles and chains.
To the east, there is an interior door to another room, and Dexter can see a wash of lantern-light glowing under the bottom of it. More curiously, he can hear a muffled conversation between two voices beyond it.
Getting closer, Dexter can make out something from one side of the converstation - something regarding missing a monthly payment, and that it would be a shame to see to the entire place trashed like the display room, all coming from a rather deep and gravelly voice.
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Pai also slips into the slaver's shop, lip curling in disgust. Upon examining the damage, a satisfied smirk alights upon her features. To better survey the destruction, she scrabbles up onto the table in the center of the room. After glancing around with a pleased expression, she turns to face the door to the room with the mystery people, ready for anything. (Except anything requiring decorum, however. She is still atop the table, after all.)
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Turen opens the door, surprising those on the other side of it.
Several smashed bottles of wine lie on the floor next to a refreshment cart, and a burly half-orc male is holding a bearded Keleshite man off the ground by his fine-spun tunic. Two other pale, rough-looking men stand on either side of the Keleshite.
""Hi something happened with a woman you sold to Lady Dimora. Any information about the sale would be appreciated. I'm investigating the situation"
The half-orc turns around, staring at the gnome bard. "Who in the Abyss're you!?" He lets go of the bearded man, who takes a step back and dusts off his tunic, bumping into one of the thugs, who pushes him back into his original space.
"And you!" bellows the half-orc, pointing at the man in front of Turen. "I told you to watch the door, and you just let him barge in?" He cuffs him upside the head. The half-orc looks down at Turen, and snorts. "I don’t care who you are, or what you want from him. We gots to get ours first. Just turn around, and walk away. This doesn't concern you."
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The warpriest arrives next Turen into the office. As he can see the man he supposes is Madhi is in a difficult situation. Sandokar doesn't want a fight with the people here. He continues what Turen has already begun.
Please, we'd like to meet this manpointing Madhi. We don't have for long with him. You could come back later to finish your job with him. I'm sure you'd like to have a break in your job. Don't be suspicious, we only want to ask questions to him.
Diplomacy, aid:
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What Pai really, really wants to do is scare the pants off these guys, but apparently that's not the way things are going to happen. Knowing that she'd muck things up if she tried to be diplomatic, Pai restrains herself, saying and doing nothing. However, anyone looking carefully at her can see her quiver briefly as she struggles to tamp down her counterproductive impulse.
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"Yeah Mr. Half orc. You could come back later to finish your job with him just as my friend said. We won't take up your time. I could buy you an ale later. I bet there's lot's of places around here to get good ale. You could come with my friend Pai and I. She's around here somewhere."
"Hrmm." grunts the half-orc. "I can tell you're a fellow professional. And from what I can see outside in the other room, you're also a bigger outfit than us" He looks to the two men he has with him, then gives them a signal to relax. "Tell you what - we'll wait outside the shop, take a stroll to pass the time. You do whatever it is you need to with him, and we'll continue where we left off once you're done. Just don't hurt him too much, we need his protection fees. Since he hasn't paid up this month, we can't very well protect him from you lot, eh? Haha!" the half-orc chuckles to himself. "The name's Mezuk, you ever make it to the Dog's Breakfast down the street, I'll take you up on that offer of an ale. Let's go, boys. Take a break, and let's leave these guys to their business."
The toughs shoulder past you and exit the shop, and the astonished bearded man that must be Mahjub Mahdi runs his hands over his pulled-back hair as he applauds Turen.
"I haven't a clue as to who you lot are, but I cannot thank you enough for getting me out of that situation. How can I help you? It seems like you were in need of some sort of information?"
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Once the halforc and his men are away, the warpriest begins to speak to the remaining man in the office.
Well, you're right. You have a debt to us. You can pay it giving us some informations. First, you sold a slave named Atlag to Lady Silvana. Where from did you get this slave? Who is your supplier for this one? Where can we find him? We will discuss the second after that.
Diplomacy, to aid Turen:
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Well, you're right. You have a debt to us. You can pay it giving us some informations. First, you sold a slave named Atlag to Lady Silvana. Where from did you get this slave? Who is your supplier for this one? Where can we find him? We will discuss the second after that.
The Keleshite strokes his beard, then grins. "A debt? I don't know about that. Thankful I may be, but I am a businessman at the end of the day. What you're looking for is information!" He walks over to the wine cart that is in shambles, and picks up a decanter. "And information? It has value. With value comes a price." he removes the stopper from the crystal decanter, and picks up a fine looking glass. He begins to pour, but the red wine trickles through cracks in the glass, soaking his hand and dripping to the floor. "Gold fixes all things... And for you, with the help you just gave me? I'll give you a special price for special friends..."
He drops the glass to the floor, and takes a swing directly from the decanter. "Four hundred gold pieces, new friends."
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To move the narrative, I'll bot Turen's roll.
Mahdi practically pulls out some of his beard hair in anxiety. "Okay, fine! You have a point. I'll waive my customary information brokerage fee. I mean, that other lot roughed up my office as you can see, so you can't blame me for trying to make up the difference."
He moves to his desk, then looks over a ledger containing his recent transactions. "This Atlag you mentioned... yes, here she is. She came in from a rather infrequent supplier, a free captain by the name of Wardak. Waheeda Wardak. She's a pirate, sails with the customary yellow sails of Okeno, on a ship called the At Sea."
He closes the ledger with a thump, then clears off a corner of his desk to sit on. "In fact, it's your lucky night - I was expecting another shipment from Wardak tomorrow, which means the At Sea should be docking tonight. I uh... was expecting a rather special shipment, as it were."
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There are still two others points which are interesting and which you'll give us for free because you're full of understanding now.
First, who are your others clients? Second, the slave you sold to Lady Silvana made a problem. So you ought to accept a refund as a commercial sign with a such a nobility in the city.
Diplomacy, aid for Turen:
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"Special, huh? How so?"
Mahdi strokes his beard, then looks a touch sheepish. "... I... uh.... I was told to expect an enslaved Pathfinder as part of tomorrow's lot."
Mahdi cautiously guards the sales ledger, but relents and opens it back up. He spins the book around to show you, with most of his records having been scrawled in encoded shorthand. "This column here are the names of the slaves, and these here are the noble houses they were sold to. This information is for your eyes only, to take back to your superiors', understand?"
- - - - - - -
With the names of the captain and her ship, and the information of its pending arrival tonight, you've exactly the sort of information that Lady Darchana is expecting you to report. You make your way to 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 all, confirms your identities, and 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 eyes the entire party, then nods to Xiao. "You there. Tell me what you've learned so far, won't you?"
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Xiao looks left and right and when he realizes that Lady Darchana means him he is quite surprised.
He steps forward.
"Ehh ... during our investigation we learned that Atlag, the slave that was used as a spy without her knowledge, was sourced from a slave merchant called Mahdi. He purchased Atlag from a rather infrequent supplier, a free captain by the name of Wardak. Waheeda Wardak. She's a pirate, sails with the customary yellow sails of Okeno, on a ship called the At Sea. Additionally, we were able to receive the names of all unfortunate slaves that Waheeda Wardak sold to Mahdi and also know to which noble houses they were sold to. Here ... please see the documents for yourself!" Xiao says and hands over the papers after getting them from his team mates.
He then steps back.
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Pai so badly wants to pipe up that the next shipment is due within the day and will include an enslaved Pathfinder, but she knows these hoity-toity types. Speaking without being directly addressed only irritates them, and they almost always make things more difficult when that happens. So she remains respectfully silent, irked by the quirks of the nobility.
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Uaine weighs the risks and her knowledge of local nobility and that Lady Darchana has contacts within the pathfinder society:"We also discovered the "At Sea" should be docking tonight, and there is a special passenger that we feel should not be allowed to continue to be held by cretins such as these. Any aid you can offer would be appreciated by our betters in the society."
Then Uaine accidentally knocks her tea on the floor, or other embarrassing social gaffe.
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"An Okeno pirate captain? Captain Wardak of the At Sea..." Lady Darchana Madinani nods her head, and gives a brief smile. "Yes, that would stand to reason..." she gracefully extends her hands, and accepts the notes copied from Mahdi's ledger from Xiao. "Such astute reporting, Mister Katsu. I see you take care to abide by the Society motto." She takes the documents and looks them over, deep in thought.
When Uaine begins to speak, Lady Darchana puts a finger to her lips, silently. "Please, wait your turn." She examines the list, then sets it aside. "Now, Miss Cailleach, you were saying?"
She listens to the arcanist's words, bowing her head when Uaine finishes. She goes to her desk, flipping open a ledger sitting on it 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 — or somewhere underground on the island at any rate, with a powerfully enchanted mirror. "
She picks up the ledger, still flipping through the pages while walking back to you all. "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. "Aha, here we are. The At Sea... it has been to Absalom two other times in the last three months. According to this, however, it has been marked with a bounty." She raises her eyebrows, and meets your gaze. "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 tomorrow? 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?"
She rises from her seat, adjusting her luxurious robes. "By law, a ship like the At Sea must have a Pilot's Guild member bring it in through the hazardous Ship's Graveyard. Give me a moment, and I can make the arrangements."
She then excuses herself, insisting you wait here for her.
- - - - - - -
Roughly 15 minutes later, the Lady Darchana returns, holding a piece of parchment in her hand.
"I have spoken with a contact at the Harbormaster’s Grange. There is an outstanding docking request for a ship called the Kat Season, which is likely our ship with a flimsy disguise." She takes the quill from her inkwell, writes on the parchment, seals it in wax with her house seal, and hands it to one of you.
"Carry this note to the Harbormaster’s Grange — it authorizes the inspector to provide you with a rowboat and a pilot. And so long as you can confirm the ship’s true identity, you are legally free to claim the bounty yourselves. Good hunting, Pathfinders. I give you my blessings."
As she entreats you to exit her parlour, she holds the hand of Uaine. "Stay for a moment, I have words for you."
Once the door closes behind the rest of the party, Lady Darchana implores you to sit, and she does the same. She steeples her hands, and smiles. "Don't be so nervous, my dear. You are a member of the Sovereign Court, no? I am particularly pleased that you were able to secure this list of Mahdi’s slaves purchased from Captain Wardak. If you will indulge me, I have a request of you."
The tone of her voice lowers a bit, as if to ensure that no one can overhear her. "A simple task, really. I have spoken at length with one Lady Gloriana Morilla, who has demonstrated considerable ambition in Absalom and abroad. Among her strengths is her dedicated and talented corps of agents whose virtues she has praised at length." She smiles and nods in your direction. "I have had few opportunities to see these agents in action, but consider me... tentatively impressed. I would request a favor while you are at the Harbormaster’s Grange, and I trust you might complete it for me with discretion as a sign of good faith between your patron and us."
She gestures with her hands, as if to accentuate the task. "It is perhaps not the easiest of feats, but you have proven your resourcefulness."
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As they leave Dexter nudges Xiao, "nice job there, you seemed to impress her."
He whispers to Uaine when she comes out later, taking an educated guess at what the Noblewoman talked to her about, "you alright? I hope she didn't get after you. Snobbish nobility tends to think a bit highly of themselves but they really aren't any more important than anyone else. Don't let it get to you, plus we did need to tell her about those details so you did your job. Let's go stop these slavers."
While walking to the docks to find their rowboat Dexter advises, "I do have a magical wand that should greatly aid us if we end up taking a dip in the water. It doesn't last long, but might be the difference between drowning and not."