People-Skills
Short Synopsis
Coine uses *locate object* to determine that one or slaad-stones are in the Red Palace. After collecting some information in the marketplace, the adventurers arrange to meet the Vizier. Dorian and Flynn are hired as translators for the library. During their employment, they solve a riddle that allows them to enter the sanctum below the harem, but they are blocked by fire genasi. When they return with the group, the genasi are sympathetic to the adventurer’s desire to find the mysterious stones, but demand that they provide a stamped form authorizing their entrance.
Long Synopsis (Flynn’s Journal Entry)
I wish my social skills were better. At least, when I write in this journal, I don’t feel all nervous and anxious. For the past several days, I’ve learned a lot hanging around my companions.
Some of them have better social skills than others.
Urzein has been acting a bit strange lately, sticking his hand into the fire or dunking it into water.
Anyhow, we tried to track down those cursed stones. Coine cast a *locate object* spell and we walked around the Red Palace. He used a lot of fancy words, numbers and diagrams that I didn’t understand, but he was able to triangulate the general location of the stone inside the Red Palace. Omar said that original Red Pasha gets credit for diplomacy with the old djinn, I guess that meant he had good social skills. The current pasha has pet fire salamanders and three gorgon constructs that are remnants of the old times.
Urzein has a unique way of talking with people. When we walked into the marketplace, a merchant named Hassan tried to sell perfume to Urzein. I don’t quite understand how, but Urzein ended up buying the perfume and getting information on the vizier, the head gardener, the gladiator instructor, the chief priest and the gate guard, Sabaz (who is a friend of Hassan). Anyhow, we went to the Red Palace. Urzein pretends to be asking about pit fighting, but manages to get Sabas to try and get us an appointment with the vizier.
While we wait to see if we can see the vizier, Brindle shows off his own social skills. He takes us to an inn and chats up some traders talking about Repek the Suntouched (a swarthy, loud human) who is a street performer gone missing. Brindle is very smooth and social and buys them food and learns that weird things have been going on in the Red Palace. Mysterious people wearing purple robes and with foreign coins visited the vizier. Zahara from the harem mentioned a staircase with a magical password.
By the time we head back to the Red Palace, Sabas has gotten us a spot on the vizier’s busy calendar. Fareez, the vizier’s aide, takes us to the mage tower to meet the vizier. The vizier wanted to know what we wanted. I tried to talk about my lucky red gemstone, but I couldn’t part with it. Meanwhile, Brindle mentioned the purple robed people and the vizier pretends not to know. He says that Dorian and I can be scribes to work in the library and that Fareez should take us to see if the others could be of use in the gardens.
The lady in charge of the gardens did not like Coine’s critical eye. I don’t think we should let Coine talk to people about gardens anymore, he’s too picky. Chunk picked up on the situation and picked up Coine on his way out. Brindle, Omar and Urzein followed them, leaving me and Dorian to go to the library.
Dorian’s an interesting fellow. He seemed to take an interest in the harem ladies. We got paid for doing some translations, and on our way out, we saw a doorway with a woman’s face. It gave us a riddle about a group of three: (1) What is sitting down and will never get up? (2) What eats as much as given to him, but his appetite is never sated? (3) What goes away, never to return? While eating dinner, I kind of pieced out the answer. When we returned, Dorian gave the answer (stove, fire and smoke). The door opened up and it led underground. Unfortunately, there were some fire genasi guards that would not let us through despite Dorian’s charm. Well, we spent the next couple days spreading word about the slaad infestation while making some coin.
We returned on the weekend when the Red Palace was open for the pit fights and other events. Our group traveled back to talk with the fire genasi past the stairway, but they insist that they need a stamped form. You know, I seem to recall that the librarian had forms with her…
