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Carini flips through the diary, but can't make much sense of it, not understanding the dwarven runes. She brings the diary to Aldran, climbing down into the pit after the dwarf if she needs to, and asks him to help translate.
When he does , Carini asks the group about some of the details that are bothering her. "I don't know, there's something more here... I read or heard something about this during my training in the Lodge, but I can't place it."
As everyone begins poring over the diary, Faeria's gaze wanders to the funny wax dwarf statue slumped over in the corner. She moves toward the "interactive exhibit" and begins poking around in the dwarf's beard, where she finds a shiny metal clasp that she recognizes. As she stands up again, she hums and sings a funny word to herself over and over.
"Gladdringgoch, gladdringgoch, gladdringgoch..."
More searching in the remaining structures and the massive hole in the middle of the former dwarf colony doesn't yield any further information, much less a fragment of the Sky Key, as Venture-Captain Benarry had hoped. And so, you all climb the ropes back up out of the pit and toward the entrance, where you find yourselves face to face with a small, but dangerous looking group. A young woman dressed in fine travel robes is accompanied by a small creature that appears to be made of pure ice, as well as a guard and his ice bear companion.
"Stop," the young woman calls out in a demanding tone, "You are under arrest, by the command of Baroness Nadya of Dalun for the abduction of her daughter, the Lady Uliyara!"
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Aldran seeing the crew before him. He puts the head of his ax on the floor while still holding the handle. He lowers and shakes his head, his beard sweeping from side to side. ” Noo lets nae git a' demanding noo. Th' Lady Uliyara wis not abducted. She traviles wi' us by her ain free wull. We even didnae ken that she wis Lady Uliyara 'til we wur aboot tae in tae this trove o' history”. Pointing to the dome. ” Whin ah fun oot th' lassie true identity ah asked her if this wid be trouble fur us, 'n' she said that she wid explain her actions. If yi''ll need me tae go 'n' staun tae explain masell tae Baroness Nadya, ah wull not cause a fuss, ye hae legal rights 'ere.” Looking over to Lady Uliyara "Ah think it's time fur ye tae stairt talking, don’t ye”.”
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"Oh? Hello." Faeria says surprised to see more tourists. "I don't thin the--well, it's not an escape room in the traditional sense, but what ever it is it isn't ready yet. And to be honest, it's not as much fun as you would expect."
Aldran seeing the crew before him. He puts the head of his ax on the floor while still holding the handle. He lowers and shakes his head, his beard sweeping from side to side. ” Noo lets nae git a' demanding noo. Th' Lady Uliyara wis not abducted. She traviles wi' us by her ain free wull.”
"And her friend, Haltani, too!" adds Faeria looking at the space next to Uliyara.
For her part, Uliyara moves up past all of you to place herself between the two parties. As she passes, she lays a hand gently on Aldran's arm and smiles to all of you, "Thank you for your patience, my friends. I will be glad to explain myself."
She moves on and takes the young woman's hand, "It's true, Kiryena, all of it. Well, all of it except for the part about the escape room. I think that woman may be a bit mad actually. But still, these people did not kidnap me. They actually have helped me, helped all of Dalun in fact, by stopping the Ulfen from attacking us! My mother should not arrest them, she should honor them!"
The young woman, Kiryena, stays quiet for a moment as she looks into Uliyara's eyes, then nods in assent. "Very well, cousin, I will not carry out your mother's command because you have spoken on their behalf."
Uliyara turns to face you again with a wide smile. "Good! Oh, this has all been so exciting, and I have learned so much." She drops her cousin's hand and moves back toward you, "Please, will you tell me how I can join the Pathfinder Society as well?"
Behind Uliyara, Kiryena's face grows wild with surprise and alarm. "Uliyara!"
After further discussion, Uliyara invites you back to Dalun, and you are welcomed back to Dalun with honor if you decide to return to the city. You are invited to dine with the Baroness and her family. Even if you decline the offer, you are sent back along the river with the good will of Dalun behind you, and with a gift from Uliyara herself--her ice diamond necklace.
The journey from Dalun to Kalsgard proceeds without incident. Once you return to the Grinning Pixie, Venture-Captain Benarry is able to translate the dwarven journal, if needed. While she initially expresses disappointment that you did not recover a piece of the Sky Key, her chagrin quickly turns to excitement as she reads through Vargrim’s journal.
Venture-Captain Benarry’s face breaks into a wide smirk, and she laughs heartily. “To think, Naldak’s piece of the Sky Key has been in the Hao Jin tapestry all along! Well, easy enough. I’ll just have to have a chat with the Master of Spells about sending a group of agents in to pick it up. The tapestry is vast, and we never would have known where to look it weren’t for you. To top that off, studying the section of Naldak’s Point that Hao Jin’s magic narrowly missed ripping out of Golarion could teach us more about the tapestry itself. Well done, Pathfinders!”
Thanks to the great rapport you built with Uliyara, the Society gains Uliyara as a contact in Irrisen and considers training her as a Pathfinder if they can get Baroness Nadya’s approval. Venture-Captain Benarry also thanks you for finding the Pathfinder Society a new ally in an unforgiving country. Benarry uses her network of contacts to keep in touch with Uliyara, trading books on customs of the Inner Sea for news from Irrisen.
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For her part, Uliyara moves up past all of you to place herself between the two parties. As she passes, she lays a hand gently on Aldran's arm and smiles to all of you, "Thank you for your patience, my friends. I will be glad to explain myself."
She moves on and takes the young woman's hand, "It's true, Kiryena, all of it. Well, all of it except for the part about the escape room. I think that woman may be a bit mad actually. But still, these people did not kidnap me. They actually have helped me, helped all of Dalun in fact, by stopping the Ulfen from attacking us! My mother should not arrest them, she should honor them!"
The young woman, Kiryena, stays quiet for a moment as she looks into Uliyara's eyes, then nods in assent. "Very well, cousin, I will not carry out your mother's command because you have spoken on their behalf."
Seeing the cousins reconciled Faeria hugs Haltani .
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"See?" Agon smiles. "Now that this confusion is wrapped up, let's go get some tea..."
Agon gladly spends the night with the Baroness. Well, the dinner with the Baroness, well, dinner with the Baroness, her court and the other Pathfinders. He steals a fetching smile from one of the courtiers.
The next morning, Agon has another contact in Irrisen. And another admirer. Sadly, duty calls and he hops on a ship back to Kalsgard. He has a stupid grin on his face throughout the day.
The Venture-Captain is pleased with the Pathfinder's results, and Agon shrugs. "See? One step closer to the Sky Key. And we made some good allies up there."
"The region is torn with bitter strife and rivalry between cities." Agon sighs. "If they were able to cooperate more their fragile peace would blossom. We'll do what we can up there, eh?"