8 hours a month is plenty, given how rarely we need urgent long-distance travel. But we still need it at times, so may I suggest arrangements to make this travel more comfortable than 'grab a tentacle and pray you make the Athletics check'? Some harness may be in order, or maybe turn this whole thing into a Zeppelin and make the Abductor hold a carriage/cabin with us inside?
We shouldn't rely on the Abductor fully for fast travel. It's good for that in some situations, but it has other uses, too.
Good point about having a proper harness made for it, though. We should definitely do that soon. I don't think we have the time to get it done properly here in Cassomir, but once we're in Andoran and can put in a commission order like with did with Warty's saddle, we should have one made. Maybe at the same place we got the saddle?
Sirim does not pause for breath, he needs none: "When my master pays premium prices for merchandise, he expects service to match. That includes discrete and expedited delivery."
Skal's face remains impassive as his chair creaks ever so slightly from shifting weight, violence and well-founded paranoia bubbling to the surface.
"Psst, left shelf-wall," Cob hisses in goblin tongue and you realize it's not just the chair. The wall he's pointed out is inching open, a secret door. Is the hand that pushes it living underlings, or dead things? You brace for both and Gorok reaches for his weapon, though oddly enough not Pisca, who instead keeps his hands in sight and his eyes on the old ghoulrunner's face.
"If you can have your stock delivered to the Locker by dawn, he will pay you the agreed upon seven hundred gold per head. If he must delay his departure until tomorrow evening, the price falls to three hundred each, and should he need to arrange to smuggle them across the city, it will be one hundred and fifty each. If these terms are not acceptable, he will look elsewhere for test subjects."
In the blink of an eye his face splits open into a grin, lips peeling back from yellowed teeth. "Heh... heh... heh..." It takes you a moment to realize he's laughing again. "Like your style. Word of warning though, others you meet in this business aren't going to be as forgiving as old Sallowflesh, no they aren't. Whereabouts in the Locker do ye want the handout to take place?"
Sirim Bluff: 1d20+13+4 (Bestow Insight) +5 (Mythic Heroism with Encouraging Metamagic)+ 4 (Bestow Insight) = 31 vs
Skal Sense Motive: 1d20+10 +10 (Even more Suspicious ) = 26
Perception (Akorian, Cob, DC 20): 15, 34 (Failure, Success)
Truth be told, you did not have the time to explore the tangle of twisting streets and timbers half-sunken into the airless bog. The rats would make good eating and the man-sized lizards would make good eating out of any incautious travelers. That said, the Taldan habit of carving statues of great leaders and those who would be great means that there are plenty of marbles half sunken into the mire.
"By Sir Brokeheels. Be there." To the rest of the company alone he adds: "I will remain unseen, see what his plans are, his allies."
Even through the glamor you can see Mina isn't happy with that, though how she tries to argue the point you can't hear, but you're not surprised she failed. If Sirim was one to avoid risks he wouldn't be here to begin with, and your company less for it. Wishing him a silent good luck you whisper a spell: The alloyed silver is still an unfamiliar weight in your hand, but the magic flows easily through it, rendering Sirim from smoke and shadow to a presence wholly unseen.
"Speak up, I can't hear ye!" Slak's voice makes you freeze in place. Damn his ears.
Thankfully he takes your weariness for terror and laughs again when you stutter out. "N...nothing master mage, just a saying for good luck me Nan taught me."
"Careful there, your employer doesn't seem to like gods."
You do not raise your eyes from the ground until all of you are back down the narrow stair and out of the shop.
Akorian Bluff: 1d20+14+1d6 (Mythic Surge) = 29
vs
Skal Sense Motive: 1d20+10 +10 (Even more Suspicious) = 21
"Fancy a drink while we wait?" Pisca asks, much to Mina's bewilderment. "We did spare that tavern a brawl," he shrugs.
Not the worst idea you heard tonight.
A pungent drink and a few hundred beats later the shadows grow just a little darker and start to speak in a friend's voice: "He sent a freshly dead bird with a message to the distillery where they make the eskelette. The alchemist in charge is one of those we seek, a drow of Zirnakaynin who calls himself Kerzen."
"That's not a name. It just means 'wisdom-seeker', with the implication that said 'wisdom' is to be found without," Mina's gift once more serves you in good stead.
"Did you get a feel for what their relationship was? Is Skali subservient to the drow, or an ally?" you ask.
"He respects the alchemist but does not fear him, unlike others of his kind. There are at least a dozen drow involved in the eskelette trade in the city, and they are its principal buyers. What's been leaking into the city is just the leavings, low quality batches, though still enough to make a middle man like Skal much richer than he was before the 'up-towners' approached him. He doesn't know who the up-towners are, they have been careful around him and doesn't want to rock the boat."
"Why here? Why come to Cassomir?" Pisca asks, as bewildered as he is sickened by what he's hearing.
"There are a lot more people for the raising and harvesting," you answer simply. "A pouch full of powder is also less liable to escape on route to Zirnakaynin than a line of slaves."
"That's... monstrous." The knight shakes his head in horror.
"So's slavery," Mina bursts out. "You're only now noticing because it's not humans doing it?"
"Imperial law doesn't allow a master to just...!" Fortunately you never get to learn the full contents of what the knight was going to answer.
"A topic to explore elsewhere," Sirim's words are interspersed with flashes of every single patron who had looked up from their drink, which is to say most of them, to which Mina blushes in embarrassment and Sir Pisca mutters a half-apology.
That is more Drow hanging around the city than I was expecting. If there are that many of them, there is no telling how many may be at the distillery or what sorts of hirelings or servitors they will have there as muscle.
I think we need backup, but I don't trust the city guard not to be compromised. If not the guard, we could probably go to the Pathfinders. They're probably less likely to be corrupt and are generally going to be more competent than the guards.
@DragonParadox, about what time is it? How long do we have until dawn?
The Governor doesn't have many options to help. He relies on the Guard, which is less than ideal for our purposes.
Alright, so we know what the drow get out of the deal. What do the 'up-towners' get; what are they doing all this for? Money? Weapons supply? Poisons? They are, I assume, our end goal in this investigation, and it's their identity and proof of their involvement with the drow that we seek.
Okay, it's only 2.5 hours until dawn, which means we don't have much time. I think we should try to raid the distillery when the slaves and any guards assigned to them will be gone. That removes some concerns for collateral damage and might reduce the number of enemies we need to deal with, assuming the Drow at the distillery are participating in Skali's venture.
Even if they keep those operations separate, when we don't show up to purchase the slaves that will make Skali super suspicious and he'll put all of his contacts on high alert, at a minimum. The Drow might go to ground, literally, and we risk losing the opportunity to hit them at the distillery.
I don't think we can trust the guards. Not only do we have to worry about them being corrupt, but there are also concerns about them being loyal. A loyal guard telling the wrong person, such as a member of House Basri, or a superior with a particular drug habit, could be just as bad.
[X] Time is of the essence. Seek out the Pathfinders immediately. They likely have someone manning the local Lodge even at this late hour, who can in turn call in nearby members on short notice. If necessary, we can pay them for their assistance, but try to instead sell them on the idea of putting down a great evil in their city, and beneath it, and by doing so earning the favor of powerful people, namely the governor of Cassomir and possibly the Grand Duchess Fahlspar.
-[X] Since we are likely to soon be going into battle with him again, ask Sir Pisca to avail himself of those pieces of equipment captured from the pirates which could improve his abilities (such as the +2 CHA headband, +2 CON amulet, etc). We will also lend him a +2 DEX belt and +1 Ring of Protection.
-[X] As the group travels to the Pathfinder Lodge, Kori will cast a Divine Favor spell into Cob and Gorok's Rings of Spell Storing. Mina will cast an Invisibility spell into Cob's and Sirim will cast Mirror Image into Gorok's.
I assume Leontas is still around, waiting for his share?
Could we get some dozen of his men as backup, if we ask?
Generally I'd trust the mercenaries we know iver the local guard.
Getting them should hopefully be quick, and more likely to get us some meatshields than the local Pathfinders.
Reaching the governor and expecting him to make anything helpful happen within 2.5 hours without letting every interested party in the city know what's going on doesn't really seem possible. As the ruler of the city, that dude has got a lot of eyes on him, magical, metaphorical, and literal.
If we had more time, he would probably be out best option. Unfortunately, while pressing Skali's greed button did get us a ton of useful information, including confirmation that Drow are operating in the city and where they're based, it also put us on a very short timer.
We haven't raided anyone yet. And it should only be the distillery, which has Drow for sure but there could be Human nobles there, too, I guess. Maybe someone from House Basri? If it goes beyond hitting the distillery, we will have to reach out to the governor.
There could be more than 20 Drow, but as best as Sirim could tell, he only confirmed there were at least a dozen.
The Pathfinders aren't necessarily heroic, but they do operate on an exchange of favors and reputation. That's a big way of getting things done within their organization, so the idea of earning a significant favor from the governor should be right up their alley. With Pisca along, and his aunt's interests in the city also taken into account, they could be getting a favor from the Grand Duchess, too. That's major league stuff, the kind of thing that could get the venture-captain of a Lodge promoted.
They probably are, but I'm not sure about the quality versus quantity factor there.
Leontas is a solid combatant, and I'm assuming more of his men are decent, too, but most of them are likely warrior NPCs with poor saves and mundane equipment. Do we want to try to bring them against a bunch of Drow?
The available Pathfinders are probably fewer in number, but higher level PCs with gear and skills to match.
@DragonParadox, what can you tell us about Leontas' and his men's combat prowess that we should have been able to pick up as we traveled together?
They are level 4-5 with masterwork weapons and good armor with skills you would expect of mounted cavalry used to fighting demons, they have good will saves for warriors because they selected for high wisdom. Also they are good at working together (teamwork feats) Pathfinders are likely to be higher levels, but they are also likely to put skills in things that aren't combat. Depends on how lucky you get
Huh, I thought we'd be going through with the deal after the successful bluff, and will be acting from there, perhaps after questioning the slaves. But hitting them while they are out sounds lovely.
[x] Time is of the essence. Seek out the Pathfinders immediately. They likely have someone manning the local Lodge even at this late hour, who can in turn call in nearby members on short notice. If necessary, we can pay them for their assistance, but try to instead sell them on the idea of putting down a great evil in their city, and beneath it, and by doing so earning the favor of powerful people, namely the governor of Cassomir and possibly the Grand Duchess Fahlspar.
-[x] Since we are likely to soon be going into battle with him again, ask Sir Pisca to avail himself of those pieces of equipment captured from the pirates which could improve his abilities (such as the +2 CHA headband, +2 CON amulet, etc). We will also lend him a +2 DEX belt and +1 Ring of Protection.
-[x] As the group travels to the Pathfinder Lodge, Kori will cast a Divine Favor spell into Cob and Gorok's Rings of Spell Storing. Mina will cast an Invisibility spell into Cob's and Sirim will cast Mirror Image into Gorok's.
We best acquire some evidence before we bring this to the Governor.
Hopefully we'll have a stack of Drow corpses to drop on his doorstep.
Just like my sister's cats like to leave dead squirrels and rabbits near my garage door to show off their hunting prowess. Or maybe because they think I'm not eating enough?
[X] Time is of the essence. Seek out the Pathfinders immediately. They likely have someone manning the local Lodge even at this late hour, who can in turn call in nearby members on short notice. If necessary, we can pay them for their assistance, but try to instead sell them on the idea of putting down a great evil in their city, and beneath it, and by doing so earning the favor of powerful people, namely the governor of Cassomir and possibly the Grand Duchess Fahlspar.
-[X] Since we are likely to soon be going into battle with him again, ask Sir Pisca to avail himself of those pieces of equipment captured from the pirates which could improve his abilities (such as the +2 CHA headband, +2 CON amulet, etc). We will also lend him a +2 DEX belt and +1 Ring of Protection.
-[X] As the group travels to the Pathfinder Lodge, Kori will cast a Divine Favor spell into Cob and Gorok's Rings of Spell Storing. Mina will cast an Invisibility spell into Cob's and Sirim will cast Mirror Image into Gorok's.
@Goldfish could I convince you to wild arcana a sending to the governor? Or some other manner of message? Though perhaps its better to wait until we speak with the pathfinders...
@Goldfish could I convince you to wild arcana a sending to the governor? Or some other manner of message? Though perhaps its better to wait until we speak with the pathfinders...
We don't really have that capability. Sending's level is too high and the casting time too long to use with Wild Arcana or Inspired Spell. The same is true for similar spells that could accomplish it.
The closest we could pull off is to use Shadow Enchantment to duplicate an Animal Messenger spell, but that has other limitations that don't really make it feasible.
Maybe the Pathfinders will have something at their lodge that will work?
