Realizing that they are largely at the Pathfinder's mercy, Kafar and Nefti capitulate. Kafar promptly drops the poisoned sickle from his hand. The wounded Nefti reluctantly bends down and gently sets the vial in his hand onto the stone floor.
The pair, then, with their hands in the air, exit the stinking cloud and stand on the steps of the entrance to the Sanctum of Sages.
Now outside the cloud, Kafar has no recognition of Corey. However, when he glances at Merida, he declares. "I know this Pathfinder. How could I forget her face?"
"And why have you been chasing us?" Kafar continues. "Don't tell me this has something to do about a missing bell?"
"Any hidden weapons on you guys? Let's act in good faith!"
The pair simply shake their heads.
And do you have anything to deal with that stuff you put on your weapon? I can feel that crap going through my blood...
"Regrettably, I am only able to create a certain number of extracts each day," Kafar shrugs. "By tomorrow, it will have run its course. And, in the event that it does not, I can do no more than delay the effects."
As Kafar speaks, the poison continues to flow through the fighter's veins.
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Nightkit puts her weapon away.
I suppose the bell has something to do with it. she sighs. At least for me personally. I have to admit, I was really annoyed when you swiped it. But, it seems to me we're sort of heading in the same direction. Dunno why, but we're here ... and you're here ... so I presume we're after the same thing. Can we call a temporary truce? I don't really wanna kill you guys unless I havetae
She grins. Did you guys have fun with those akatas earlier?
Nightkit puts her weapon away.
I suppose the bell has something to do with it. she sighs. At least for me personally. I have to admit, I was really annoyed when you swiped it. But, it seems to me we're sort of heading in the same direction. Dunno why, but we're here ... and you're here ... so I presume we're after the same thing. Can we call a temporary truce? I don't really wanna kill you guys unless I havetae
She grins. Did you guys have fun with those akatas earlier?
Kafar and Nefti are wearing bandages and look sickly.
"We are here," Kafar concedes, somewhat weakly. "As for the bell of obedience, we turned the artifact over to an Aspis broker long ago, but te have tracked the bell through several informants since then and could provide additional information given some time. If we agree to this, we are free to go then?"
As Nightkit reaches for antitoxin the poison runs its course, leaving Theron no worse than during combat.
"I have no idea what's wrong. Did you get hurt by the akatas?"
Kafar instinctively yanks at his sleeve to hide a bite wound, but says nothing.
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I'll be fine Corey...I think this stuff is wearing off...I could use a little help though... Theron gets out his curative wand.
Look...I have no idea what kind of trouble you two will be in when we're done here...anything you can tell us that will help your case would be a good starting point. Theron suggests as he takes a drink of water to wash out the foul aftertaste of their cloud.
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Nightkit sighs and hands over her antitoxins to Kafta and Nefti.
Here. Get these down you. I dunno if they'll help but ... frankly ... I know what those things can do ,,, the akatas that is, and frankly, I'd rather not wish that fate on you guys.
The only other thing I got is a potion of Lesser Restoration. Oh, and you may as well take these too. She hands over a Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds to each of them.
Nightkit sighs and hands over her antitoxins to Kafta and Nefti.
Here. Get these down you. I dunno if they'll help but ... frankly ... I know what those things can do ,,, the akatas that is, and frankly, I'd rather not wish that fate on you guys.
The only other thing I got is a potion of Lesser Restoration. Oh, and you may as well take these too. She hands over a Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds to each of them.
The pair eagerly accept the potions and drink them down.
"We are free to part ways then?" Kafar asks.
Yeah. At least I'm okay with that. I'm just curious though. What are you doing here?
"We were traveling into the Pillars of the Sun to meet with a prospective client." Kafar replies.
Hakuna akata. What a horrible term. Hakuna akata. A time of great concern. It means great worries. For the rest of your days. Cause inside you grows, some embryos. Hakuna akata.
Nefti taps his foot along with performance as he and Kafar prepare for a trip across the desert sand, just as the party did some time ago on the day some received a note from Venture-Captain Balentiir.
"Gems?" Kafar replies indignantly. "You mean the trinkets we picked up at Seeker's Folly?"
"If you are interested in them, you will have to find their new owner. They've been sold." He declares. He starts to reach for his pack and then stops. "If you will allow me, I can show you the documentation to back up my claim."
She frowns as she notes the name down and any other relevant details.
Are you sure that second bill of sale is legit? You might have been ripped off.
Nefti and Kafar exchange a glance, then Kafar states, "I assure you that we have not been--as you say--'not ripped off'." The pair share another glance between them. Clearly the pair know something that they are not willing to offer gratuitously.
Though Nightkit's intuition is impressive it falls short on its own. The efforts of those Pathfinders who have tried have proven unable to garner any more information from the behavior of the two Aspis agents.
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Merida pays close attention to the Aspis' words and any non-verbal cues.
"If Kit says there's something fishy about this document, you should believe her. She knows her stuff."
Her eyes narrow when she notices the other possible meaning of Kafar's words.
Huh. He said "We have not been not ripped off." But that sentence doesn’t make sense..."
"Wait. Maybe you... Did you rip off your client?"
Merida sighs.
"You're clearly hiding some important information. But I'm done playing games, so I suggest you spill the beans and tell us everything you know... or I will try to cut that infection out of you - using Kafar's sickle."
She turns to her teammates.
"I think we should search them and their stuff. Maybe they stole the jewels back after they were sold..."
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Corey takes a look at the papers...
"It appears here that one of the terms of sales—the one matching the value on the letter of credit—is genuine, but the other is an underpriced forgery. What do you have to say about this?" he glares at the Aspis agents waiting for an answer.
"Like my friend here said," he motions to Theron, "We could have killed you. And we still can. Or, we can have Grandmaster Torch make your lives miserable." he says with a smirk.
"Like my friend here said," he motions to Theron, "We could have killed you. And we still can. Or, we can have Grandmaster Torch make your lives miserable." he says with a smirk.
"There are already those who wish us dead and who actively seek to make our lives miserable." Kafar declares.
"Such is not an uncommon fate among those who have worked for the Aspis Consortium," Nefti sighs for a moment, then composes himself. "Yet, we have managed to stay alive."
"And we shall remain so." Kafar agrees defiantly. "We do not fear the actions of the Pathfinders or of Grandmaster Torch."
Corey senses that, thanks to their captives’ fading loyalties, the party might be able to convince Kafar and Nefti to abandon the Aspis Consortium.
Kafar and Nefti acquiesce.
"You would count us among you, then?" Kafar asks.
Before the party can answer, a figure appears at the entrance to the Sanctum of Sages. It is Amenopheus, who has now caught up with the party. The Sapphire Sage seems exhausted, and although any wounds he may have sustained have been healed, his clothing is scorched and torn.
"Ah, Pathfinders!" He calls out in greeting. "I see you have found your way here, beyond the illusory wall on your own." He pauses for a moment, taking in the number of persons before his eyes fall upon Kafar and Nefti. "Or, perhaps, not quite on your own."
"I note this pair appears somewhat beaten, yet rather conscious and unbound." Amenopheus says, nodding toward the two until-seconds-ago-Aspis-agents. "Tell me, Pathfinders, how have you fared?"
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Nightkit was about to shake hands with Kafar to seal the deal when Amenopheus arrived.
Faired okay actually. Ran into some akatas, and, no, I'm not going to do another rendition of Hakuna Akata, chased and caught up with these two, and they've just agreed to join us. I call that a win, especially when we don't have to kill anyone.
She turns to Kafar, hand still outstretched. Yeah. Why not. Welcome aboard. I'd rather drink with you as friends rather than have you at the wrong end of my blade
"To join you?" Amenopheus repeats, somewhat warily. "Very well. I entrust them into your care and responsibility."
"Now, to the task at hand," The Sapphire Sage continues. "Unfortunately, my damaged sapphire gem leaves me with only fragmented
memories of the Sanctum of Sages." He scans the fourteen columns and fountain in the present chamber. "Much of the sanctum is sealed to anyone not of the order of the Jeweled Sages, so this room is meant to provide pilgrims and petitioners a safe place to take shelter until a sage might acknowledge them."
"However, I believe we must go deeper." Amenopheus declares. He turns to the party. "Do you wish to take the lead, or shall I?"
Up ahead the chamber’s floor angles upward as it meets the walls, which in turn angle inward like those of a pyramid, creating a space shaped like a cut diamond. The walls are smooth and somewhat transparent, like foggy quartz, save for where three opaque doors stand to the north, east, and west. In the center of the room, a clear 5-foot diameter crystal hovers a short distance from the floor and spins slowly.
"Is this some sort of Sage Jewel?" he asks Amenopheus.
"Indeed it is," Amenopheus declares. "This crystal as a gatekeeper built to prevent non-sages from traveling deeper into the sanctum. The crystal itself harbors rudimentary sentience, allowing it to communicate with Jeweled Sages and those wielding their power by means of empathic cues and simple images reflected in its surface."
Theron does not spy any tracks or signs of recent passage. However, when he approaches within 10 feet of the crystal, he receives an empathic feeling of curiosity and inquiry, as though the crystal is trying to determine who he is.
As he approaches, Corenthiir receives the same feeling from the crystal.
Kafar and Nefti begin to enter the chamber next. Yet, as soon as Kafar approaches within ten feet of the sage jewel, he stops abruptly. This causes Nefti to bump into him.
"What is the matter?" Nefti inquires.
"It is the jewel," Kafar explains. "It is warning me to travel no further."
Nefti slips past Kafar, then also quickly stops. "I am receiving the same message." He explains. The pair scan the room as if looking for any threats.
Spotting nothing, the two ponder their next move.
"You are neither Jeweled Sages nor chosen custodians of a sage jewel." Amenopheus explains. "That is why the crystal warned you to go no further."
Kafar and Nefti exchange looks. Then, Kafar turns to the party. As he does so, he removes the scarf that he wears around his waist like a sash. He reveals the scarf to be pocketed as he removes a set of papers from within it.
"We are allies now. Our fates are entwined." Kafar declares. "Which is why I am providing you with these important Aspis Consortium codes and ciphers that I have been carrying and kept hidden among my gear. Nefti carries another set among his belongings."
"And, since we are in this together," Kafar continues. "Perhaps you could convince the crystal to allow us to continue with you?"
Amenopheus turns to the party and shrugs in reply. "I was not a party to any deal that you made with this pair." The Sapphire Sage concedes. "I will defer to your judgement on the matter."
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I accepted the agreement. I made the deal. You hear that crystal? They're with me, and I pledge their good behaviour on my honour as a Pathfinder
She does take the papers, in case the crystal still won't let them pass.
((and a mythic point))
for a total of 28
If this doesn't work, should I stay back too?
I accepted the agreement. I made the deal. You hear that crystal? They're with me, and I pledge their good behaviour on my honour as a Pathfinder
She does take the papers, in case the crystal still won't let them pass.
Nefti slowly pulls his sword from its scabbard. It is noticeably too short for its case. The young man then reveals that the scabbard has a false bottom. From it, he produced a slightly different set of ciphers.
If this doesn't work, should I stay back too?
"I do not think that wise. It is seldom a good idea to split the party." Amenopheus suggests to Nightkit, before turning his attention to the former Aspis agents. "If only you had the topaz sage jewel in your possession, perhaps it could be convinced to accept one or both of you as its chosen custodians."
Kafar and Nefti share another glance.
Having witnessed the revelation of the ciphers and the behavior of the two former Aspis agents, Amenopheus turns to Nightkit. "Perhaps, you should search this pair further?"
"Are you guys?" says the halfling turning to the two Aspis. "Trying to pull a fast one on us?"
"What?! No, of course not." Kafar protests.
Nightkit conducts a search and discovers the topaz jewel.
Well well well. Tsk tsk. Holding out on us Kafar?
"Had you asked for it, I, of course, would have told you about it. We are, after all, now allies." Kafar explains. "Believe me, we never had any intention of turning the gemstone over to the Aspis Consortium."
Theron scowls at Kafar.
Do not make me regret sparing you two misbegotten mutts...savvy? he says as he points a finger at the pair. I spared your lives..remember that... he growls.
"Savvy! Quite savvy! We would do no such thing!" Kafar says, throwing up his arm in an effort to provide assurance.
"Kafar is correct!" Nefti affirms. "We were hired to turn the topaz gem over to the Diamond Sage. That was, and remains, our intent. Are you not also here to meet with the Diamond Sage?"
"Indeed, we are." Amenopheus states. "Thus, let us go about doing so."
Amenopheus enters into the chamber with the hovering crystal. "I am the Sapphire Sage," he says, presenting himself to the gem. He then announces, "I have come seeking the Diamond Sage."
The crystal briefly shows an image of a Garundi man walking toward the north door in the room, then a small, keyshaped sliver breaks off of the crystal. Amenopheus nods and picks up the key. "The north door will lead us onward." The door opens as he approaches.
Confident in Nightkit's skillful use of magic, the two former Aspis agents follow. "I am Kafar and this is Nefti," he says, presenting the pair to the hovering crystal.
"We are...guests... of the Topaz Sage." Nefti declares.
"We have come seeking the Diamond Sage." Kafar announces. An image of the topaz sage jewel appears to be reflected off of the hovering gemstone.
The pair enter further into the room--this time unperturbed-- and meet up with Amenopheus, who stands before the open door that leads to a hallway ascending northward.
Theron leads the way up the stairs.
Well, we're not gonna get this over with standing about...
As Theron moves forward to head through the door, Amenopheus shouts, "Stop!"
He sighs. "Would you first care to introduce yourselves to the Screening Stone?" He says, pointing to the floating sage jewel. "Or would you like me to do it for you?"