Once Recruitment is complete, an intro will be posted here.
“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.”
|
"My name is Iladora," says the brawny human woman standing with the others. Iladora is bedecked in steel breastplate armor and carries a variety of weapons, though her most favored is clearly the two-handed sword slung across her back. Her long white hair falls past her shoulders, though its jet-black roots belies its true color.
She nods at Corba Nana and Bobbie each in turn. "Corba, Bobbie. I... am pleased to see you again." Her tone suggests she isn't used to saying such things, especially to adventuring companions, but is making an effort to do so.
|
A muscular half-elf clad in full plate takes his helmet off, and gives the rest of the party a rakish grin.
"The name is Jarlaxle. I know a little bit about everything, and am decent in diplomatic situations... but when those fall through, I am no slouch with a sword. Speaking of which..."
He reverently pulls out an ornate-looking longsword.
"This is Gamin the Reforged. He and I have been travelling together for some time."
Jarlaxle then nods companionably to Tusk.
"Good to see you again, my friend! Hopefully, whatever mission they are sending us on this time will not be as tricky as that asteroid was!"
|
|
"Bobbie," says the tall, dark-skinned fighter, almost as flatly as Tusk. She gives a nod to Iladora and Corba with an awkward smile. "Good to see you again too."
It had been months since Erica last found herself in one of the Pathfinders' mission rooms - not since she saw Iladora and Corba last - but the most part she hasn't changed. Her scale mail, heavy shield and weapons look slightly more worn-out than last time, and from the looks of them they've been used often. While not quite as muscular or broad-shouldered as Iladora, she is lean and fit. She wears her armor easily, and the freedom of movement it allows for gives the impression that her combat style relies on quick reflexes as much as strength.
What can be seen of her skin shows some pretty impressive scars, including burn marks that run from the palm of her hands to her elbows. Somehow, they don't seem to have been caused by fire.
As the group filters in and concludes their introductions, the Venture Captain continues.
“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."
|
"Shannon of the Rosenthal family, paladin of the Lady of Valor, at your service." A silver haired pretty lady with beastpalte and an assortment of weapons steps into the room, "Sorry for being late, it took the HR department quite some time to find my profile."
She then turns to the Venture-Captain: "Is this Chaim friend or foe? How far are we allow to go to complete this mission?"
|
|
Erica's frown turns into a faint smile when Shannon walks in. It was all too rare to find another Iomedaean on a mission. Her own shield is proudly bestowed with an engraving of the sword and sun.
Besides, followers of the Heiress always asked the right questions. "Exactly," Erica piggybacks on what Shannon just said. "How convincing are we allowed to be? I don't mind being a bit rough."
She checks her notes and replies to Iladora, "We just recently learned of this sale and summoned you, so it's probably been at least several days already. The longer you take to track Chaim down, the higher chance they will have passed onto other buyers. But if you need to purchase anything before starting your search, go ahead. Just make it quick."
Yasmin turns to Tusk and waits until he has his pen and paper out and then very very slowly says, "Find Chaim. Find Four Osirian Artifact Statues. Return Here."
She raises an eyebrow at Shannon and Bobbie's question, "As much as you are usually allowed to do. Obviously don't murder anyone or torture them. But deception, intimidation... theft. Things like that are up to each agent's discretion as to how to complete the mission properly. You are of course allowed to defend yourself, but the bigger the ruckus you make the more attention you get."
|
A small red-haired female halfling in a Mithral Chain Shirt armor and a small longsword on her hip stands next to the half-orc. She is wearing a regular sized spell component pouch around her waist - and also an adorable little backpack on her back. When she recognizes two of her fellow pathfinders, she gets a huge smile on her face and blurts out:
"Iladora! Bobbie! Good to see both of you again!"
Three seconds later the halfling suddenly remembers the presence of the VC. With a disarming smile she says: "Oops. Sorry, I got carried away. These two are very capable Pathfinders, I can assure you! You made a good choice choosing them for this mission. Oh, and my name is Corba, Corba Nana. Pleasure to meet you all."
Corba’s bullhorn doesn’t seem to be helping the situation of her being late even though her apology is certainly heartfelt. But it doesn’t seem like it hurt the situation either.
She replies to Iladora, ”Small enough to be easily carried around. You could probably fit all four in a sack, though I don’t know if you want to carry them that way.”
The Venture Captain smiles sweetly at the half orc, ”Oh I wasn’t done, just letting you catch up.” She resumes her incredibly insulting slow speech, ”Chaim. Should. Be. At. The. Topaz. Pavilion. Bathhouse. In. The. Qalli. Spice. Market.”
She watches Tusk closely to see his reaction.
|
|
"Starting well," Erica grunts. She looks a bit miffed that she won't really be able to use violence against Chaim.
Last, a diplomatic mission. Now, a heist.
She was a soldier, gods above. What next? Babysitting a dragon?
"I guess we enter the bathhouse as customers, then, and proceed from here." She sounds as happy as a food critic with a mouthful of moldy lime.
Jarlaxle easily recalls the way to the market and is pretty sure where the bathhouse is located. As he guides the group through the crowded location and past all the stalls and vendors clamoring for their attention, he is definitely sure the bathhouse is just around the corner.
The Topaz Pavilion Bathhouse is located prominently on the corner of Candlewood Street and Shackle Street, a scant block from the ramp down to the Central Market. Once the group arrives in sight of the bathhouse they see a man who clearly matches the description of Chaim they definitely got from the VC.
He is looking around like a person who feels they are being watched and then his eyes lock into the group. A flash of fear shoots across his face and he ducks quickly inside the door.
|
|
"Follow that man," Iladora tells her eagle companion who had rejoined her after they left the venture captain.
The bird swoops toward the closing door of the bath-house, much faster than any of them can run . Iladora, meanwhile, keeps pace with her allies as they head for the large building. "Once we're inside, look for any back exits!"
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
The eagle bolts across the plaza, disappearing into the bathhouse. The lumbering group of pathfinders jump into a sprint, pushing their way through the crowd until they get to the front. Bobbie easily arrives first and slips inside.
She is met by a receptionist behind a large wooden desk, "Hello, do you have an appointment?"
As Bobbie is trying to spit out some sort of convincing answer, the rest of the heavily armed and armored group slams through the door a moment later. The receptionist's eyes go wide and she ducks behind the desk, "Never mind, I don't want any part of this!"
There is only one area to go after this, so the group heads past the reception area and into a large hallway. Several rooms branch off from the main hallway. Each one is quickly checked and most are discovered to be empty solo bath rooms. Two are group baths. A couple old dudes sit in one, chuckling as the group comes in, "Oh man, I remember those days. Chasing after some knucklehead into a bathhouse. He went down the hall. Good luck!"
The other one has three women. Two cower behind a third who stands and shrieks, "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"
The next room the group is met by a wall of steam and...
After chasing Chaim through what must have been half the rooms in the bathhouse, jumping pools and slipping across slick tile, the body of Chaim lies on the floor of a steamy room, a bloody gash where his adam’s apple used to be. An exasperated voice from further in the room exclaims, “’Think,’ I said, ‘before you stab.’” The steam separates, revealing two sweaty half-orcs in heavy armor, one looking abashed with a bloody kukri in his hand. A man sprawls luxuriantly in a small steaming pool in the center of the room. His visible skin is covered with horrible scars as if from badly healed burns. Behold Grandmaster Torch, a notorious information broker who has helped the Pathfinder Society in the past—but always for a steep price.
Bobbie notices her eagle has perched on a nearby statue, starring at Chaim's dead body.
|
|
Bobbie takes a look at the chaotic scene that has unfolded before her.
One quick glance over her shoulder informs her that not one party member has matched her speed.
She turns back to the men. Until everyone gets there, she has to call the shots. "No one moves," she orders.
"You," she points at the half-orc holding the kukhri. "Drop that. Now."
The sheath on her side makes it clear that her blade is bigger than his.
Despite the race and the weight of her armor and shield, she does not sound out of breath.
The half orcs both immediately tense their muscles at the commanding voice, and turn towards the group. They start to raise their weapons, but apparently think better about it and glance back to The Grandmaster for guidance. A very subtle motion from him and their weapons are lowered, but not sheathed or dropped.
The Grandmaster speaks, "Please forgive the mess—my bodyguard was a bit… overzealous in guarding my privacy. I recognize Pathfinders when I see them, though, and I’m always happy to be of service to the Society."
He shrugs at Tusk's question, "Can't say he was anything to me, certainly not anymore. What is he to you, the one's chasing him?"
Iladora doesn’t feel a pulse and the blood pool size is not increasing, Chaim is dead-dead. The eagle gives the ranger’s shoulder perch a questioning glance.
The grandmaster puts his arms up in a welcoming manner, ”Statues? I know all about all sorts of statues. Was this poor fellow mixed up in something specific?”
|
|
"Osirian artefacts. From Sothis," Bobbie keeps an eye on the bodyguards, though she relaxes ever so slightly when they lower their weapons.
"He sold them to someone. We were supposed to find out who. And I don't suppose you know how to cast Speak with the Dead?"
Bobbie crouches down to search the body, just in case Chaim would be careless enough to keep some intel on him.
|
|
"Grandmaster Torch! I'd say it's nice seeing you again, but... that's quite a mess your bodyguard made."
She crosses her arms and gets a stern look on her face.
"I think you owe us now! Because of your bodyguard's actions we cannot interrogate this man anymore. We need to find those statues. Are they in your posession? If not, do you know who bought them from him?"
Torch rubs his chin, "Ah, those statues. Recently unloaded. I can certainly help but..."
"... nothing is free. Three grand and I will be your information resource."
Bobbie finds nothing obvious in her cursory search then The Grandmaster answer's her question, "That magic is beyond my purview, and usually a waste of time anyway. At least in my experience."
And then Corba wanders in, sizes up the situation and starts hollering into her bullhorn to get everyone's attention. It's super effective!
Torch puts his hand up to stop her, "Easy now lady! You don't want to attract all the attention in the world to this scene now. Fine, but I don't 'owe' you anything, though maybe 'a discount' would apply. Two thousand gold, final offer."
A glint of mischievousness comes into his expression and he quietly adds, "Or... perhaps a favor from your society? To be named later, of course."
He frowns, ”Alright, 2500 gold then. If you aren’t actual agents able to offer favors payable by you, then that leaves no option for that, so you can pay the gold or leave. I’m sure you will easily find the necessary information out there.”
The last bit is said dripping with sarcasm.
|
|
Iladora presses her lips together in anger, hating her position at the receiving end of such extortion. Once, she would have simply killed the fool and extracted the information from his corpse-- but if that were an option here, they wouldn't need his help in the first place.
That train of thought gives her an idea. She can't speak to Chaim any longer, but someone certainly can. "There is a third, far cheaper option. But we will need him." She points to Chaim's corpse. "I assume your business with him is concluded?"
The Grandmaster shrugs, "Alright, have at the body. But when you come crawling back the price is full."
|
|
"Now, now. There is no need for us to be unpleasant. I have no objections to paying for information - wear and tear on information sources..." Jarlaxle's eyes briefly flick over to the still-oozing corpse "...isn't cheap, but the Society has worked well with you in the past. I have personally helped you with that... unpleasantness... you experienced in Andoran. Surely we can reach a settlement amount that is acceptable to us, without breaking your bottom line."
"Now, now. There is no need for us to be unpleasant. I have no objections to paying for information - wear and tear on information sources..." Jarlaxle's eyes briefly flick over to the still-oozing corpse "...isn't cheap, but the Society has worked well with you in the past. I have personally helped you with that... unpleasantness... you experienced in Andoran. Surely we can reach a settlement amount that is acceptable to us, without breaking your bottom line."
Torch shrugs, ”Well, we did reach it. It was a full thousand gold less than my beginning offer. I took ALL those things into account when agreeing to 2000 gold. But then your companions start threatening me and acting like they can get the information alternate ways. So maybe you should negotiate with them, not me.”