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"You will inform her Excellency that we will come to her in three hours." Say'ri says firmly to the slave. "Her Excellency would not want us to appear in this state I'm sure." She points out the blood that still stains Adol's clothes, the dust that streaks Uthe's fur and the large smudge of ink that Jazadi has (inevitably) managed to leave across her face. "We will bathe and then make haste. Three hours, as I said." She stares at the slave until he nods his agreement and then hands him a few coins before he leaves. "If you wish to wait in the common room for another hour or two, no-one is to say you weren't waiting for us." She comments lightly, before watching him retreat down the stairs. "Well I brought you some time." She says, turning to Jazz. "Let's all get a bath and then we can deal with whatever ridiculousness she's cooked up this time."
With no way of telling what time of day it is, and flagging much earlier than all the other researchers, Say'ri sets to work building a temporary camp for the night. She cooks near the entrance, so that the smoke can head up the long entrance shaft and works hard to make sure that Jazadi eats a proper meal, or at least something close to it. After a pleasantly warm night with her cuddly, furry companion Say'ri is up 'bright and early' or whatever passes as such, ready for another fun day of learning!
"We'll do that one last then." Say'ri says. "Ok. Logic. Jazz, Uthe, you're going to see what you can do about that trap. Adol and I are going to go over every inch of this corridor. There has to be something there. Once we've done that we'll move around and check the whole corridor and then try the trapped door, which won't be trapped any more." She pauses and frowns for a second. "Too many damn doors. We'll start here with Sad Face. Check it and open everything that we can. If there's nothing there we'll move around to Sick Face, and then Scared Face. Got it?"
"There's a lot of doors here." Say'ri says, having looked around. "I can't see anything there around the fightened face." "But I probably missed it. There's a door here behind sadness and at least two in this corridor, but we can't open one of them without blocking another. This is going to take some planning!"
Even if Say'ri wasn't already suspicious of her, that deflection was transparent enough that it would have raised her suspicions regardless. A hand on Uthe's arm restrains the amurrun's amorous advances enough that Say'ri can keep half an eye and at least some of her attention on Talibah. Definitely following her now. She decides. --------------------------------------------------
"If you say so sweetheart." Say'ri replies. She gives a shrug towards Talibah. "I'm not much of one for reading and so on. I just carry the books around and make sure our scholars don't get in trouble or forget to eat. Speaking of which." She takes Uthe towards one of the buffet tables, pushes a plate into her girlfriend's hands and starts choosing food for it. Uthe:
"There's something off about her. Her clothes aren't right and if you listen closely her voice cracks sometimes mid-word. Combined with the fact that, out of all the people here, she chooses to chat to Dhakira and Jamie? She's got an agenda of some sort. I think she might be another Velriana, looking to profit off someone else's work for reputation and a fortune. She's not as rich as she seems, I'm sure of that." She finishes Uthe's plate and leans in to rest her forehead against the amurrun's, a momentary gesture of quiet intimacy that provides cover for another brief conversation. Uthe: "Shall we follow her later? I think Jazz is going to be busy afterall..."
Given just how badly the race has gone Say'ri and Adol manage to make it to the finishing line in time to see Uthe and Jazadi win. Say'ri whoops loudly and swings Uthe round in a whirl when the amurrun comes charging through the crowd to her. Uthe:
"I like the sound of that." She replies softly. "You can have your prize later." -------------------------------
Since Uthe has no sense of caution Say'ri stays quiet and makes no effort to hide the fact that she is watching the noblewoman and her bodyguards closely.
Say'ri is already up, having risen before dawn to complete her devotions to Horus and attends, fortified by strong black coffee. Upon Muminofrah's request she manages to restrain an eye-roll and nods to Adol. "I'll ride with you." She says. "Let's get this over with." --------------------------------
Try as she might, Say'ri cannot see a clear path as the race begins in chaos.
"We know you're not happy about spending tomorrow in that woman's circus. We can make an excuse for you if you'd like to avoid it." She eyes Say'ri with an understanding gaze. "We don't think she'd miss you anyway. She's so set on claiming Adol as her prize, we could probably hire a halfling to stand in for us and she wouldn't even blink." Say'ri sighs and pulls Uthe into an embrace, resting her chin on the catfolk's head for a few moments. "Thank you." She says once she pulls back. "But I need to go. If she does notice that I'm not there then she'd probably throw a truly awful tantrum and we could kiss goodbye to ever getting any more information about Hakotep. I'll rise early and greet the rising sun - that way the day can still be meaningful even if we do have to watch her cooing over Adol all day." -------------------------
That is not a pleasant thought. "Well let's get out of here then." She says once Jazadi declares their work done. "We might as well not use up all the days. It might buy us some goodwill...?" Her tone makes it clear that Say'ri knows that's a long shot.
Say'ri already knew about the festival and had, quietly, been looking forward to it. The prospect of spending a serious holiday of her faith playing attendant to Muminofrah is enough to put her in a seething bad mood. She manages to not take it out on any of the Falcon's but the way she convulsively grips her pistol butt as they deal with the librarians makes it clear she is not a happy Horusian.
"That's all we'll get for free I suspect, but Markhan doesn't charge much so I'm sure we can get some more." Say'ri says with a smile. Once she's polished off her own skewers she does just that, treating Uthe to three more skewers tinted with a red glaze, and picking up one more for herself, along with some flatbreads.
"My choice of dinner and a grooming session!" Say'ri says in delight as the group leaves the archives. "This is going to be a goooood night! Anyone else want to come, I know a place I think you'll all like." With dusk falling Say'ri leads Uthe and anyone else who wants to come into Tephu and towards the river bank. "Now it's not exactly the food you're used too..." She says, "But try it, I'll think you'll like it." The place she's heading for is little more than a street vendor with a shabby lean-to. The short, dark-skinned man grins at them as the pair approach. "Aha, my new favorite supplier! Here, for you. No charge." When Say'ri protests he grins, showing some remarkably crooked teeth. "I paid you so little for them, hbeeti. The food is the least I can do!" Say'ri accepts the meals with good grace and manages to suppress her discomfort at an open flame long enough to smile, thank the man and apply plenty of salt to the meat skewers. "Have you ever eaten crocodile before?" She asks, handing two of the skewers to Uthe. "It's much better than you'd expect."
Say'ri grins, waits for Uthe to have a headstart, and still beats her girlfriend to the top. "Double or nothing?" She says with a rather feline purr. "First one back down gets a grooming session tonight?"
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"Don't worry kitten. You're right, it's a very old form of writing and only people who love books like Jazz does have any real way of reading it any more. If you really want to perhaps we could get you a scroll or wand that would help you?" She doesn't press the point, but keeps up the stroking and cuddling until the sorceress feels better. "Come on, let's try and find some useful things for the others. Let's say... first one to find five useful things, as decided by the others, gets to pick where we eat tonight?"
Say'ri raises an eyebrow at the woman but doesn't see any major reason to distrust her. "Will this do?" She asks, pulling out a ring of polished brass. "It was forged in the Gunworks of Alkenstar. I doubt many have ever made it as far as Osirion." Thankfully Uthe gets there first and Say'ri pockets her ring once more, secretly glad to not have to give it up. Class rings from the Gunworks are the very first smithing test, so it isn't valuable in the slightest, but the sentimental value is enough that she's glad to hold onto it.
Say'ri reads the Hat-ya's expression easily enough and whispers softly to Uther. "I hope we don't ever come back here. The Hat-ya is going to hate us for this, no matter that its Muminofrah's fault. -----------------------
In the archives themselves she holds out a hand to stop Adol, who is leading the group. "We're supposed to be the only people here..." She says slowly. "We should talk to her, but carefully."
Say'ri nudges Adol forwards with her hip, subtly relieved that the noble is focusing her attention on him. She makes a point of sitting on Muminofrah's right, so that the scarred side of her face is not visible - the noble seems like the kind of woman who would either be offended, or would ask questions Say'ri has no intention of answering. She eats sparingly and avoids the barley beer entirely. Clear heads may be required for what is to come...
Say'ri's lips thin, but knowing what she does of Muminofrah she decides it's better not to risk provoking the noble woman. "She has a reputation for being generous or cruel by turns." She explains softly to the rest of the group once the music will cover their conversation. "Will throw you to the crocodiles if you displease her but once gave a poet his weight in gold and raised a slave girl to a noblewoman. If we impress her I'm sure she'll give us access, the question will be what she wants in exchange. Best behaviour everyone." With the warning passed on she focuses her attention on Uthe, well aware that her girlfriend is going to need some help keeping her calm here.
"Stay calm kitten. We'll be gone again soon." Say'ri whispers. She can't stroke Uthe with all the eyes on them but she does rest a hand on the amurrun's arm for a moment
Say'ri catches Muminofrah's glance, divines its meaning and shifts subtly to try and position herself behind Adol. Something about the woman's gaze makes her shudder inside and her hand itches to raise her hood and shield her burns from the onlookers. But she can't. To betray weakness now would be more dangerous than anything else. So she stays quiet and inclines her head respectfully as Jazadi speaks.
Say'ri has sharp ears and although she doesn't try to overhear the conversation between the Haty'a and the slave she can't really avoid doing so. "Interesting." She says quietly. "Muminofra has just summoned the Haty'a; and given how quickly she left I'd say the power definitely isn't with the Haty'a. We might be able to use that."
"You have no doubt heard of the troubles in Wati." Say'ri continues, placing a reassuring hand on Uthe's lower back, out of the Haty'a's eyeline. "We are commanded not to speak of the details, but our research is directly related to it. Please, in the name of Pharasma's temple and the people of Wati, allow us to do our research."
Say'ri, who has now slain three crocodiles in the reed beds of Tephu and is awaiting a local artisan to finish some lovely new crocodile skin boots, practises her diplomacy by leaving it up to the more charming members of the party to speak. Better that than she blow the interview they've worked so hard on gaining.
"Would we do such a thing, Adol?" Say'ri asks, all innocence. -----------------------
"Anyone want to come with?"
As Say'ri fumbles through her attempt to persuade the Deaconess, Uthe cringes. Slipping an arm through the woman's elbow, she draws her back slightly. "Perhaps it would be best to let someone with more skill with their tongue engage in intercourse with this woman?" she whispers. "Are you really complaining about my skill with my tongue?" Say'ri asks softly, keeping a remarkably straight face as she does so.
Say'ri winces slightly at her own mistake but presses on, trying to make the best of a... less good situation. "We would like to request access to the Spiral Archive." She says, trying to keep a smile on her face. "As for the topic, I must request that you contact High Priestess Sebti, we are sworn to discretion on her orders."
The next morning at breakfast Say'ri shares the information she managed to 'extract' from Uthe overnight. "Apparently a powerful noble has just arrived from Sothis, Her Excellency Muminofrah. If we could persuade her then she might be able to secure us access to the archives." She pauses to listen to what everyone else has learned. "Ok, so the haty-a is the 'proper' way to go about things. Muminofrah might be a way to go around him if we have to, and breaking in likely won't work. So, shall we try the haty-a or just go over his head immediately? It might be worth asking around, to see if we can find out what this noble likes. Presents always help if you have to ask a favor."
"Well..." Say'ri says as the group reconvenes at dinner. "We seem to have had a profitable day." She works around each member of the group and then succinctly summarises everything. "So Hakotep is the Sky Pharaoh and could 'ride the stars by night'. There is a collection that will tell us more, called the 'Spiral Archive' and we don't know exactly where that is yet. In that case we'd best ask around tonight so we can make an early start!"
Say'ri asks questions over cards that night and, by tactically losing money at the right times, loosens a few tonuges.
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