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Jasariel takes a stab at Cyan, but misses. The attempt to dispel the magic surrounding Gruvok also fails.
Gruvok, however, then immolates Cyan, filling the air with the scent of burning hair and... bacon?
Farryn channels electricity...
...but this one is ready for it, and partially dodges.
Gedrim, seeing that Farryn is onto a good thing, does the same...
...and the poor man's head literally explodes when his brain boils inside the enclosed space of his skull.
After collecting all four documents, you return to Venture-Captain Esmayl ibn Qatari’s estate, where you have the chance to present your findings. There, you are introduced to a Mwangi Pathfinder agent with twin braids and striking glacial eyes, Karisa Starsight.
Going through the documents, it becomes clear that although both the Agarja spice merchants and the Patari cattle ranchers are, in, fact, related to the original landowner, Prince Agar ibn Karatari, the Agarja (who are definitely the wealthier of the two families, since the 'spice trade' is more lucrative than cattle ranching) are able to claim a more direct line of descent, and so technically the property is theirs.
"Thank-you for your assistance. I look forward to building the Sedeq lodge and freeing fellow agents from slavery."
Esmayl provides you with a bag of coins as payment for your work.
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You arrive at the iruxi island-city of Ekkeshikaar with Calisro Benarry and Venture-Captain Eras the Needle, as part of an expedition put together by Mirian Raas. Their mission: to re-establish ancient trade routes between the nation of Vidrian (formerly Sargava) and the iruxi of Ekkeshikaar. Although the expedition got off to a rocky start, they have now arrived at their destination, and negotiations have begun.
Mirian’s taste is more for adventure and exploration than for negotiating trade deals, and so her attention has mostly been focused elsewhere since arriving in Ekkeshikaar, leaving Calisro and Eras to lead the diplomatic efforts. These two leaders summon you to a small conference room located in the embassy suite that their iruxi hosts have graciously granted to the expedition during their stay.
“As you know,” Venture-Captain Eras begins, idly fidgeting with some paperwork in front of him as he talks, “our audience with the city’s ruling council to discuss the possibility of reopening trade is tomorrow, and it’s important that we make a good impression. It seems that there are some here who feel that Ekkeshikaar has nothing to gain by trading with us–“
“Backwards isolationists! Everywhere has at least a few,” interjects Calisro with a snort, taking a swig of a colorful drink that nonetheless smells strongly of liquor.
“Yes, well.” Eras clears his throat. “In any case, this… reclusive sentiment is certainly not shared by all of Ekkeshikaar’s citizens, but it has a grip on enough of them that we feel some additional preparation is in order. To that end, we’d like you to take on a few tasks that will help give us an edge when the time comes tomorrow.
First and foremost, we need you to recover some documents from the city’s Hall of Records. We’ve already identified the documents we need, which outline some of the finer points of local law, as well as the details of the original trade agreement with the people of Vidrian. We put in a request for the documents days ago, but we have continued to be met with red tape and bureaucratic delays.”
“He means they’re stalling, and don’t want to give them to us.” Calisro chimes in cheerfully, with a wry smirk.
“A tactic my colleague here is very familiar with,” Eras retorts good-naturedly. “Sadly, I’m beginning to think she’s correct. And without these documents, we’re essentially going into the negotiations blind. So, we’d like you to head down in person and sort these ‘irregularities’ out yourselves. How you do this is ultimately up to you, but by happenstance, we’ve already agreed to send a stack of Pathfinder Chronicles to the Hall of Records to be transcribed. These particular chronicles come with a rather complex index written in Hallit, which is not a language known here. Someone will be spending a fair deal of time assisting the clerks in translating, organizing, and otherwise sorting through the chronicles. If it’s you, you’ll have plenty of time to get to know these bureaucrats — and perhaps learn a bit about the iruxi yourselves.”
“Or,” interjects the half-orc captain, producing a small wooden box, stamped with a Taldan coat of arms and labeled ‘Voinarum Glade Winery: 4700 ar’ “I’ve never known a bureaucrat who would say no to a good bottle of wine. Just offer it as a thank you gift for ‘expediting our request,’ and try not to wink or nudge them with your elbow as you do it. That way, you don’t have to spend the whole afternoon sorting papers.”
Eras sighs. “As much as I’d prefer we not start our relationship with Ekkeshikaar with bribery, it’s true that time is at a premium here. We do have other tasks we’d like you to attend to after this is done. I’ll leave how to handle the situation to your discretion, but please hurry back either way: Calisro and I will need as much time as possible to look over those documents, and you’ll need as much time as possible to complete the other things that need doing.”
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Farryn nods, "Ah yes, I'm well versed with 'greasing the wheels' of bureaucracy. Back home that is the only way things get done. But if we can just smooth our way through, that is definitely cheaper." He takes the box of wine and slips it into his pack.
He thinks for a bit, "Any clue about the other things that need done? We might run across something on this task that could help with those. Also, the last mission we had we were accosted by hired thugs, is this situation similar enough that might be a possibility?"
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“I’m sure you’re used to venture-captains laying everything down at once and letting you choose how you go about it,” says Eras. “Normally, that’s what we like to do as well. In this case, though, we really need those documents first and foremost, so we can start going over them while you attend to other things. We don’t need you getting distracted in the meantime. Get the documents, bring them here, and we’ll tell you what’s next.”
“Both avenues have strengths and pitfalls,” Eras adds. “We trust you to make the right choice.” Calisro quickly chimes in [b]“Right, they’re both viable. But take the bottle.”
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The Ekkeshikaar Hall of Records is an imposing stone building with a massive central dome made of blue-green glass. Surrounding the main building are a number of tall, spiralling minarets that transition at the highest levels from smooth stone to gleaming glass. The interior is no less impressive, with the glass-filtered sunlight creating beautiful patterns on the stone floors, themselves engraved with different patterns, that complement and seem to change with the light as it moves across the floor with the time of day.
As you enter, an iruxi librarian, wearing pince nez glasses, looks up from their desk.
"Greetings. How may I help you?"
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Speaking ever so quietly, because it's a library, Hannah steps up to the challenge. "I have heard that this is a very good vintage.. do you have many wines here on Ekkeshikaar? I didn't see any vineyards on my tour. Lots of Iruxi drinking wine. Maybe it's a symbol of status because it's so hard to get? We could always bring back more on our next trip, too, if only we could get this little issue sorted out in time..."
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The iruxi, who introduces herself as Narsha, sighs, and rubs her forehead in exasperation.
"Look, there is a queue for document access, and your request is in the pile..."
Her voice trails off as she listens to Hannah, and then nods.
"Alright. Fine. But only if you all agree to join me for a drink!"
She then takes the bottle, and heads off into the stacks.
When she returns, she is carrying a tray on which are seven (wine-filled) goblets, the (now empty) bottle, and a neatly rolled trio of scrolls.
She sets the tray down on the desk, grabs a goblet, and downs the contents in one long gulp, before looking at the rest of you, expectantly.
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Most of the party manages to hold their liquor, although Ukh and Jasariel get quite buzzed.
With that, the bureaucrat hands over the documents.
“Wonderful,” exclaims Eras as he sets the papers aside after a quick glance through them. “I’m sure these will be invaluable tomorrow. But our work is far from over. There is a visiting diplomat of some renown, known as Kesstraka, who is visiting on business from further south. If we could convince her to help represent Vidrian’s interests, or at least argue in favor of the trade deal, her words would certainly carry a great deal of weight during the negotiations.
As luck would have it, she’s staying here in the same embassy building we are. She’s asked to meet with you in her garden quarters just outside.”
Calisro speaks up, waving a drink in the air as she speaks to underscore her point. “If you ask me, your best bet is the old ‘stick and carrot’ approach: talk some big talk about the last guys who didn’t want to trade, maybe drop a few hints that Vidrian’s navy is a bit bigger than it really is, and get her to agree to help out. You can always smooth things over later by holding a couple minor trade concessions up your sleeve.”
“Alternatively,” Eras interjects, mildly frustrated, “if you don’t want to risk starting an international incident, you could simply tell her a few tales of derring-do and adventure, and once she’s warmed up to you a bit, broach the topic of her aid then.”
“The important thing,” says Calisro, lounging back and taking a long sip of her drink, “is to get her on our side and come right back here, because there’s still one more job we have for you today.”
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Ukh starts acting even *more* drunk...
The party heads off to meet with the Ambassador!
The interior of the embassy is home to a sprawling and luxurious courtyard and garden, including several chairs and tables on a terrace overlooking a stream. It is calm and tranquil, with no one about at this time of day, and only the sound of birdsong and the flowing of the stream. Kesstraka, a matronly-looking iruxi with faded green scales but sharp, piercing yellow eyes, sits at one of the tables that has been laid out with tea and snacks, and motions to join her.
She avoids any attempt to get straight down to business, instead asking a series of non-sequitur questions:
“Tell me of the lands that you come from. What is your peoples’ greatest achievement, the thing you are most proud to show to the rest of the world?”
“What is it that you do when you are not working for this society of Pathfinders I am told you represent? What do you do when your time belongs to you and you alone, I wonder?”
“We have those here who range and explore in the wilds and go on grand adventures. I am told it is a business that keeps your mind on the present. But what about your future? Do you ever think about your plans five years from now? Ten?”
“Explorers and adventurers like to talk about their great achievements, I find. But not so often do they tell tales of their mistakes. Will you share with me a time you failed?”
“You have come a long way to negotiate a trade agreement—and from what I am told, you do not belong to this Vidrian you represent. Why come all this way to speak for another?”
'Interesting. This ambassador engages in pleasantries...but avoids the meat of the matter. Seems it wishes to know the nature of whom it's dealing with before pressing onward.' considers Merisiel.
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“What is it that you do when you are not working for this society of Pathfinders I am told you represent? What do you do when your time belongs to you and you alone, I wonder?”
Farryn takes little time to burst out an answer, "Oh that's easy, I build things. Mostly chemistry with a bit of physics and biology mixed in. When I can figure out how to mix multiple constituent parts together to create something completely different, it just gives me a thrill!"
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As the wine continues to percolate through Jasariel's body, she spends a moment looking perplexed by Kesstraka's question before finally answering with a bit of indignation. "Ten years? Ten years is the present. It is merely a flicker in the eternal cycle of wind and waves to whom I have devoted myself."
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To Hannah:
“Tell me of the lands that you come from. What is your peoples’ greatest achievement, the thing you are most proud to show to the rest of the world?”
"Well... I was born in what you now call 'Vidrian', and what was formerly called 'Sargava'. As is customary for well-to-do colonists there, I was shipped off to a boarding school in Cheliax. After my first year, Sargava began to rebel, and funding for my boarding school ceased. I ended up at an Iroran monastery for my last few years before joining the Pathfinder Society. I've been searching for my parents ever since, but I fear that they didn't survive the violence. So I suppose I emulate the Vidric's perseverance despite a history of hardships."
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The Ambassador nods thoughtfully, obviously pleased with most of your answers.
"Thank-you. I believe that I now have a sufficient understanding of your characters..."
Her voice trails off, as a faint hissing sound presages the arrival of two terrible lizard-like creatures with eight legs and an unsettling gaze wend their way through the garden and toward the terrace, snapping their jaws menacingly...
The sidle up to the party, and the Ambassador gives a strangled gasp, as her body turns to stone!
The other one then turns glowing yellow eyes upon Farryn...
B (-, -)
Farryn (-; Fort save x2)
Merisiel (-)
Jasariel (; Stupefied 1; Fort save)
Dranald (-)
Hannah (-)
Ukh (-; Stupefied 2)
"HEY! We were talking to that one!" cries out the rogue. Rushing across the room, she leaps over the beast. Spinning around on one foot, a rapier appears in her hand.
With a quick stab, she draws her dagger and slashes at the creatures back. "Turn it back to flesh. Do it now!"
for
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Farryn cringes as the creatures turn their gaze to him. Then he looks up and stares them in the eyes, "Hah fools, my hair is way too bouncy to be restrained by mere magic!"
He quickly tries to identify the creatures, then zaps both with electricity.