An Audience with the Guildmaster

We discussed what to do next and agreed that we should approach Putnam. Perhaps we could get him to grant us an audience with the Guildmaster.

Firinne, our diplomatic Half-Elven Paladin, suggested that she could pose as a wealthy buyer who was interested in rituals. She would banish her armor and dress up in fine clothing. She would also take Kale with her to answer questions about the rituals.

They made their way to the top of the tower. They passed by merchants selling expensive goods and restaurants offering fine foods before finally reaching Putnam's offices.

At the door, they were met by a few guards and mercenaries.

"What do you want?"

"We are requesting an audience with Putnam."

The guards quickly let Firinne and Kale through the door, where they found Putnam, the Half-Elf, closely examining an artifact through an eyeglass. When he was done, he put the artifact away and approached Firinne and Kale.

"What would you like to drink?" he asked them.

"Brandy, if you have it."

Putnam pour them generous portions of brandy.

"We have learned -- through some unnamed sources -- that you have acquired some rare artifacts from the library under Lordahl," said Firinne, sipping her brandy.

Putnam clucked. "You learned this from Dennig, I presume? From that loudmouth?"

"We were hoping to peruse the artifacts that you found. We would be interested in adding some of these to our collection."

"Ah, this is most unusual. Are you suggesting a trade?"

"Yes. Any negotiations should be done through my agent, the mage Kale."

"What do you have to offer?" asked Putnam. "I'm interested in artifacts from the Old War."

"We have some trinkets from older civilizations," replied Kale.

"Old trinkets?" asked Putnam.

"Yes. We have an Iron Snake that came from an ancient tomb."

Firinne nearly choked on her brandy. The Iron Snake was still wrapped around the neck of the Mad Mage, who was in the Temple of Melora in our world.

"Could I see this Iron Snake?"

"No, you can't" replied Kale, as Firinne coughed again. "It's -- in a very safe place."

Putnam sighed. "Well, is there anything of substance that you would show me?"

Kale reached into his bag and drew out the Scarab. "We have this artifact, which has some unusual properties."

Putnam examined the Scarab. "Well, this is something of substance. I will arrange a meeting with the Guildmaster. Where can I find you?"

"Thank you," Firinne said. She gave Putnam the location of our inn. "Would you also happen to know of a cobbler nearby? My boot has a hole, and I am looking to purchase some new boots."

"Try the merchants closer to the top," suggested Putnam. "Cream rises to the top. You'll find better quality there."

Firinne thanked him again, and she left with Kale. After some time shopping, they returned to the inn with a number of new pairs of shoes.

"Those are quite a few shoes," observed Bran.

"I'm planning on trying them out tomorrow," explained Firinne, "I'll return the ones I don't want. There were a few others that looked nice that I might get when I return these."

We turned in for the night, but then, after midnight, we were woken by a knock on the door. A group of mercenaries had come to visit us.

"The Guildmaster will see you now."

"Now?" asked Firinne. "It's the middle of the night."

"Yes. You and your agent -- the mage -- can come with us."

"We'll need our bodyguards," mentioned Firinne, pointing to the rest of our party.

"No. Just the two of you," insisted the mercenary.

Firinne and Kale left with the guards, while Bran stealthily led the rest of us after them. We followed the mercenaries, Firinne, and Kale back to the tallest tower, where they stopped near a wall. One of the mercenaries fiddled with a device in his hand, and a platform descended before them. The mercenary motioned them to follow him onto the platform. We watched as the mercenary, Firinne, and Kale ascended up through the sand storm.

The platform finally stopped, and Firinne and Kale found themselves in a room with four guards. The guards led them up the stairs, past the barracks (where other guards were sleeping). As they ascended up more levels, the Turnip grew wider.

In the next level, they found a pale, glowing device in the center of the room. The device was attached to the floor and the ceiling. Kale surmised that this device kept the Turnip afloat.

Around the edges of this level were stables where the Vulture Drakes were kept. The guard continued up to the next level, leading Firinne and Kale through residences.

Finally, the guard led them up to the top floor, where he said the Guildmaster lived. The room was lavishly decorated. On the left was an exquisite table, and on the right was a finely woven carpet. Before them was a chair where the Guildmaster sat. Putname stood next to him.

On the left and right were doors to rooms. Kale sensed that there was an arcane object of immense power in the room to the left.

"Thank you for coming," said Putnam. "We'd like to see the Iron Snake now."

Firinne, with her most diplomatic words, requested that they show her what they had first.

Putnam relented. "All right. What would you like to see?"

"Rituals," Kale suggested.

Putnam turned to the Guildmaster, who sat in his chair, pale and slouched. The Guildmaster's eyes kept shifting from side to side, as though he didn't trust anyone around him. He flicked a finger upward twice to signal agreement.

Putnam nodded in acknowledgement and turned back to Kale. "We have ordinary rituals -- Raise Dead, Scribe -- you need to be quite skilled to practice these. Are any of these of interest?"

"Do you have the Ritual of Finding?" asked Kale.

"You know, you could just kill a Finder to get that."

Firinne glared at Putnam. "Do we look like the sort of people who wold kill?"

Putnum shrugged. "I wouldn't presume anything of you."

"Well," Kale continued, "What about Rituals of Illusionism?"

Putnam went into the room on the right and brought out a few scrolls. "We have Combine Soul and some others here... But if you're looking for the rituals that were in the Library under the city, the Rituals of Illusionism would not be among them. The 100 would have kept these rituals for themselves."

"What about the Ritual of the 100? The Ritual of Challenge?" asked Kale.

Putnam once again went into the room and brought out a scroll. This scroll was in a case decorated with the symbol of the 100. Kale was able to verify that this was indeed the ritual we sought, but Putnam did not give him the time to memorize the scroll. Instead, Putnam put the scroll back to the room on the right.

"All right," said Putnam, returning from the storeroom. "Where is the Iron Snake?"

"We told you," answered Kale, "it's in a safe place, far away."

"We did not want to be caught with it in an unfamiliar place like this," explained Firinne. "Otherwise, it could be taken from us."

The Guildmaster's head sagged. He turned to look at Putnam. "They waste my time. Escort them out."

The guard brought Firinne and Kale back down the stairs to the platform, and they begun their descent back down to the bottom of the tower. The rituals that we sought were moving farther out of our reach as the platform descended, along with our hopes for finding the Centenarch.