"Thank you, Talryn. Be assured you three will be in my prayers as well." Chimon takes the oversized necklace and drapes it around his neck.
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Chimon's eyes bead up a little, and he shakes each of his companions' hands. "I will miss you all incredibly. Let's keep in touch, alright?" At the docks, he gives each of his friends a small box covered in gold leaf. Talryn's box: A golden shield with a sleek rune of abjuration on the front, which reads on the back, For the man who entered Beyond to protect his companions. The shield is strung on an electrum chain and can be opened as a locket to reveal a tiny compass.
"Take care, 'Officer Darrenby.' Keep Jo out of trouble." Korak's box: A black leather glove with golden studs on top of the knuckles, with the words, Hard truth conceals bold deceptions embroidered on the back in golden thread.
"I was not sure if you would actually use this, so feel free to re-sell it if you find something better." Jo's box: "Turns out the Vault has some very skilled craftspeople. A bit of a rush order but I couldn't even tell!" Chimon smiles at Talryn, Korak, and Jo in turn. "I'm glad we had the chance to work together. May Abadar bless your way and smile on all your endeavors. Fare well." A small scroll of red parchment covered in shimmering golden letters that seem to shift away from the reader's eyes. It is illuminated with pictures of white-clad celestials blessing mortals and of intimidating infernal dukes building great cities, along with smaller depictions of the races of Golarion. Scrutinizing it carefully, Jo can tell the handwriting is Chimon's, and it seems to contain the same translating spell he cast on her before.
"When all seems lost, your silver tongue will save you. This will help you better influence your enemies."
"You should try some, Jo! This is one of the joys of travel." Chimon orders a basket of pita bread, a bowl of falafel, and a couple bowls of spiced-vegetable sauces. He eats delicately but with surprising speed, and soon has beads of sweat standing out on his forehead from the heat. Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he beams. "Excellent!" Then, though, his eyebrows furrow a bit. "I actually wanted you all together here for a reason. The Vault of Abadar in Absalom is looking for a new actuary, and they actually offered me a job. I'm thinking of staying on there once we arrive. This would not mean my time with the Mandrigal is over, of course - there is a branch in Absalom, and I may take a few jobs while I'm there. It would mean I would not see you three again for some time, but it's a good job. And who knows, with you taking on more far-ranging jobs, who can say we wouldn't work together again?"
"Well, I am still doubtful, but we ought to celebrate nonetheless, Jo. Now, where should we go?"
The first thing Chimon does when they get to a settlement is buy a complete set of new clothing to replace his bloodstained tunic. Then, he arranges for a ship to Absalom, and supervises as Korak and Talryn carefully load the cargo on board. He addresses the camels. "You are odoriferous, but you proved invaluable in the completion of our mission. We will find a fair livestock merchant to sell you to." Then, turning to his companions, he smiles. He is very tanned, but his teeth are still a perfect white. "Shall we have some kind of celebration before departing?"
Chimon grins back at his comrades and dismisses the last archons. "Let's go back and get the camels."
As the buzzing orbs circle around the golem, they unleash one last storm of devastating radiant energy. "Yes! Yes!" Chimon calls excitedly. "It'll be just a few more months before we get back to Absalom, now, Jo."
"That's my last spell!" Chimon says once the sixth archon has buzzed off after the golem. He stands to the side, crossbow ready and loaded, but remaining still until the celestials return to Heaven.
The first archon disappears, but Chimon finishes summoning a fourth.
As another archon joins the fray, the pair already summoned pummel the golem with beams of high-intensity light. One seems to waver slightly as the heavy sandstone bounces off it, but it stabilizes and still seems hale enough to fight.
The next morning, after leaving the tied-up cultists with the camels, Chimon spends a couple hours racing after the golem's tracks and summons a string of buzzing light orbs. The archons fire at the golem as soon as they appear.
"Any idea where the archer came from? Why he wanted the golem dead?" That afternoon, Chimon prays for many more summoning spells than usual, then begins setting up a camp.
"Flying archer?" Chimon asks interestedly as he finishes patching the group's wounds with leftover spells.
"Talryn, tie him up. I have some rope if you need it," Chimon orders. Surveying the landscape, he points to the golem. "We'll have to go after it tomorrow, now that we know it has ranged abilities. I'll prepare a suite of summoning spells this afternoon, but given how quickly it exterminated that archon I don't have much hope for their usefulness."
"They really seem to love the thing, though. Better to just knock them out and leave them be."
"Why do we need any of them alive? These sandbags just nearly killed Jo!" Chimon shouts. His white shirt is now red all across the front.
"Confound it!" Chimon flies down to Jo and presses a hand to her side, saying, "Abadar, I beg to trade your potent blessing for my ally."
Finally catching his breath, Chimon runs through the air between Korak, Talryn, and Jo. "Be emboldened, my coworkers! These bleeding hearts are weak before civilization!"
Chimon cries out as the arrows sink into his chest. He mutters a few syllables of Celestial, collapsing his form into nothingness . . . only to appear right behind Talryn, breathless and bloody.
"There are cultists too?" Says Korak with a tired tone. "That's it... I'm going back to town."
"That should work, as long as the cultists don't get word of our actions. We might still try shooting it from long range - it seemed to be fairly inaccurate even just hitting something thirty feet above."
Chimon puts his rod away and casts a spell of protection on himself, just in case the monster decides to throw at him.
Chimon casts a couple of long-lasting spells and quickly ascends into the sky, pausing two hundred feet above the golem's "head." Holding his rod downward and readying his shield, he summons a glowing light-orb that begins blasting into the golem almost the moment it appears.
"No! We've spent weeks and hundreds of gold pieces getting here. Do not lose faith, Korak. We just need to adjust our plan a bit. If we fly a quarter-mile above it, do you think it could still hit?"
Spells prepared:
Chimon shrugs. "My crossbow is capable of distance shooting. Should I empower everyone beforehand?"
Well, here's the post I had drafted before the maintenance: "Jo, can you find out where the next area it's set to pass through is? If we move quickly, and don't get lost, we may be able to beat it."
"Talryn, are you able to track well in sand? If not, I suggest we see if the town of Dimayen has any inkling as to the whereabouts of the golem's tower's ruins." Chimon removes his heavier outer garments, rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt and trousers. He samples the local cuisine, but sticks to conjured eggs, bread, and spinach between settlements.
"Should we buy a pack animal of some kind to lighten Talryn's load? I could easily provide food and water for five mules or camels."
Once they've made their decisions, Chimon reports back to one of the captains. He gives them the names of those of his companions who'll be working, then hands over his twenty-five gold measures.
"I fear, as members of the Myrial, captains might take it as a threat for us to request "protection" money. I'll book us passage on one of the merchant vessels, but I would rather not dirty my hands with ropes and such, so I will pay. Which of you want to join the crew for the voyage, and which will pay their way?"
Chimon then heads down to the docks district to find a boat going south to Qadira within the next few days.
Before contracting their boat, Chimon revisits the Vault of Abadar and changes his money back to platinum. Then, keeping the coins split up in various pockets on his person, he takes to the streets, looking for a place that'll sell a specific kind of scroll.
Chimon returns to the Azure Dragon and knocks on Korak's door. "The others are off at the casino, huh? Well, I was able to find a Museum willing to pay for the fossils once we transport them back here."
"They seemed not too busy, when I visited. Perhaps Absalom has enough opportunities that life here is easy for subtle types. And I agree, we are not the most typical employees."
Frowning, Chimon leaves the Arcanamirium to visit the Museum of Natural History and negotiate a price for the fossil pieces.
Chimon arranges for lodging at the Azure dragon for himself and his three companions, each with separate rooms. He then ventures up into the Wise Quarter, hoping to find someone in the Arcanamirium who could make a scroll for controlling golems.
Chimon visits the local Mandrigal branch, doing his best to remember all the code names and passwords and such. He explains the reason for his team's visit and that they'll be staying here for a few days - would Mandrigal be able to provide lodging?
"Talryn, Korak, won't one of you go with Jo to appease - I mean, enjoy throwing away your money with her?"
Chimon agrees to the library option - there's a good chance someone there could be interested in the golem opportunity, if nothing else. "I do not enjoy games of chance, Jo. They seem only to increase chaos in the world, and when not that, tend to cheat you out of your money. Abadar would prefer I sit this out, though you are of course welcome to make your own life choices. I am going to visit the local Mandrigal branch - would anyone like to join me?"
Chimon follows Jo around the city, lending his vast recollection of reports from his fellow Abadarans whenever she's unsure of which area to ask in next. He also visits the Vault of Abadar in the Ivy District, where he changes the Myrial-stamped note into one from Absalom - in the Meraz Desert, he's not sure they've even heard of Cheliax.
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