Yes, what he said!

07:58, Today: Zaphkiel rolled 77 using 1d100.  Percentile.

Knowing the direction Yommah went, you work your way along the road toward that direction until you find a small dive of a tavern that looks like a great place for those that are looking to stay out of the guard's gaze.

Carefully vacating the Warehouse District, you work your way down through Old Lydan and into the Guard District. Off the main road, you find yourselves at a single story timbered building with a yellow tile roof and shuttered windows. Within are a pair of desks with papers and scrolls stacked about in a somewhat orderly manner. A small collection of books is haphazardly stacked within a bookshelf in the back next to a door. At one of the desks sits a male stout halfling with sunken eyes, dark brown, unkempt hair, and a look of exhaustion about him. At the other desk sits the half-eladrin Agama. She smiles and waves you over, the halfling goes back to reading his book.

"You're nearly half your number. Did the others come into some trouble?"

Baelen shakes his head. "The others became disinterested in the task and decided to abandon it. Of course, they did this without consulting us. I do hope that doesn't effect anything." He smiles a little, obviously uncomfortable at sharing that news.

Agama shakes her head, "It's no trouble. I only assumed given...Yommah, wasn't it? Given Yommah's current state. It appears you found some trouble since we spoke this morning.

"Anyhow, so what can I do for you?"

"Yes, I have experienced the trouble very much. Yet it is unrelated to your job." Yommah says, then use her psychic powers to grab the drugs that look like salt,"Is this the evidence you need, I found someone carry it when they left the warehouse. Also, I inquire rest."

Hearing the prompt from Yommah, Baelen hesitantly hands over the pouch. "Strange that this stuff is causing all this trouble. Seems like it's salt."

We also have a name for you: Nechepso Padunub. Zaphkiel reads the man's physical description from his book. He didn't admit to trafficking in illicit substances, but he was certainly amenable to the idea. Our discussions with him left open the possibility of a sting operation, should you need more incriminating evidence than what we were able to gather thusfar.

Agama peers into the pouch and nods, "Yeah, this look like Korian. The salty smell we believe comes from where it's harvested from. Its origin is still not really known, only that it comes solely out of the seas. The waters all may be fresh, but there are some creatures that add a measure of salinity to the area around them.

"This should be enough, especially with the name. I believe Nechepso works the customer service in the front. If he's open to trafficking, that should be enough. Now whether you want to perform a sting of some sort to gather more is up to you. But I would be satisfied with what you have already given."

She sets the pouch on her desk atop some papers, "Do you wish to call it satisfactory? And, did you raise any suspicion or are they unaware of your investigation?"

Yommah pauses, silent upon their employer question,".... I raised some suspicion during the warehouse, they spotted me trying to break into the crates, though I believe their unaware of my intentions. Security might be on high alert." she says, though she doesn't know if she should continue this operation since she almost botched it. For now she'll wait on the employer's response.

Agama nods, "Good to know. I admittedly would have been surprised if you managed anything without even slight suspicion. Even moreso considering the fact you performed the investigation during broad daylight.

"So does that mean you wishing to hand over the next steps to us and take your payment?"

Zaphkiel looks to his two companions for agreement then says, Yes, I think we've had enough for one day. But if you need anything in the future let us know. I, for one, would be glad to help.

"... I too would be willing to help, if you wish to. For now, I prefer rest." Yommah says as Zaphkiel made his response.

Baelen nods in agreement with the others. "Perhaps if you need us for a sting, that would have to come later. We do need to take a break."

"That's completely understandable. Two things then," Agama says as she frees a coin pouch from her hip. "First, payment. Let's see, though you may not have fully confirmed Nechepso's direct involvement, it seems there's an acceptable assumption that he is. And you were able to provide physical evidence, but I wouldn't go so far to say it's incriminating. It could easily be denied. As such, you did so without raising too much suspicion. I think fifteen gold would be sufficient pay for the job." She sets three stacks of five gold on the desk before you and secures her coins back to her belt.

"And you've already touched on the second point I wanted to bring forth: further work. The job also doubled as an interview of sorts. You three were able to reasonably accomplish what was needed and I'm willing to offer you a contract if you'd like, individually to each or as a whole depending on your preferences. Nothing fancy, but you'd be on retainer for future jobs we get that we feel would suit your capabilities. Do well, get better jobs with more pay. What do you say, interesting in joining?"

Baelen nods, glancing at the others for their opinion before speaking up. He seems amenable, but doesn't want to speak for his companions.

Yes, that would be amenable to me as well Zapkiel says, nodding in agreement. And I'd be happy to work with these two again should the situation arise. Does our employer have a name?

Yommah happily takes her coinage,"Hmm, if you wish to call on my assistance, ask. I do not care if I were to do it alone or with this group, but I wouldn't mind either way."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:51, Sat 10 Sept 2022.

"I'll just mark you as individuals. It was Yommah, and I don't believe I gathered your names?"

"You'll be in the employ of Illuminating Shadows as Inquiry Agents." She sets out three sheets of parchment before you, "These are the employment contracts. Says you work for us and documents proof as such. You'll get a percentage of the pay for the job: fifty percent for now but more as you prove yourselves. There'll be some other perks, too, but I'll not go into the details. There are two main stipulations of employment, however. First, you're restricted from being employed by other investigative services. Bounties, freelance stuff you get from taverns and all that's fine. Second, you'll need to come in ever couple days or so just to check in and see if any work is required to maintain employment. And lastly, and it's more of a request than a requirement, but just help get the name out. If you complete some other job or big task, it'd help you, me, all of us if you mention you come from Illuminating Shadows. More awareness is more jobs is more coin.

"This is Gozolon, co-owner with me. We'll assign you jobs, individually being your choice, that'll need to be completed within a certain time. However, in between them or if you're able, at the same time, you're free to grab some from our cold stack. Those are jobs that don't really have a timeline, just low priority things we get or would like to have occasionally. I deal with more subtle, intriguing jobs like reconnaissance, information gathering and the like. He's handles more of the direct type: asset and evidence recovery, finding missing people or people not wanting to be found.

"Any questions?"

"Would it be possible to include individuals not part of the group to participate in whatever job you might want? Say the three of us go our separate ways and an upcoming thing needs more than one to complete it, do I get to pick who comes? Or is it assigned by you?" Baelen asks.

Agama waves dismissively at the question, "Of course. Employ whatever help you feel is needed. Your job is to complete the job, preferably staying within the law. But know that you are responsible for the actions of those you bring on for aid."

"Hmph, I have no other questions." Yommah says as she keeps her parchment,"I'll come back in a couple days to find work, and will gladly take any aid I deem worthy. For now, I'll rest and find something else to bide my time." she says, leaving the group to their discussion. Maybe find a bed to sleep on.

Baelen watches Yommah walk away, then looks at Zaphkiel and shrugs. "I'm not sure what upset her." He looks back at Agama. "No other questions, thank you. Any from you, Zaphkiel?"

Zaphkiel looks equally perplexed. Perhaps she doesn't like getting punched in the face. I'm really curious to learn about her culture, but maybe when she's feeling a bit better...

OOC: No more questions from me; I'm good to finish.

Baelen nods. "Indeed. I have such little exposure to other races outside of human, elves, and half-elves. So many questions." He smiles a little.