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Amir stands mouth-agape as he witnesses the events unfold before him, unsure of what even to make of it. Witnessing death was nothing new to him. Creating a living corpse to strangle the life out of another, however, was a very new concept. Deciding to break the harrowing silence, Amir speaks up, saying, "Ordinarily, I'd say thank you for the timely rescue, but I'm not really sure what the hell just happened."

Trying to clear his mind away from the recent events, Amir makes work of trying to find his and his fellow prisoner's belongings.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Would Amir know where the belongings are kept? If so, he goes to them. If not, my horrid perception check to try and find it: 4(1d20) +1 = 5

Cleo

[SHOW]

You check to make sure Shira'stasa is still alive. She appears to be breathing normally and her pulse remains strong, she must have just passed out from over exertion and will likely wake up soon.

Shirastasa

[SHOW]

You find yourself standing alone in a fierce sandstorm of black sand, but rather than large clouds, the sand seems to move in tentacle like plumes. The ravaging winds swirl around as if you are centre of the storm, you catch glimpses of shadowy figures through the maelstrom of sand. You feel something on your legs and you look down to see hundreds of scorpions crawling up your legs from the black sands beneath your feet.

Amir

[SHOW]

Having not been captured too long ago, you know the bandits were yet to go through your belongs and divide them up. You see them amongst a pile of other equipment and valuables, towards which your current companion, Ghaliya, walks, collecting her own gear.

On the trail of an incredibly valuable treasure, and feeling a little understaffed, you and Ali brought her on board to help track it down. The three of you, with Ali currently engaged else where, have been researching and following up leads for around a month or so.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Make a History check, a Religion check and a Streetwise check to find out what you have discovered already.

With Acenath dead, Khaled sheathes his sword and drops down to tend to Geral, doing his best to stabilise the unconscious mercenary.

"Well a rescue is a rescue, so thank you," the now freed woman chimes in after her fellow ex-captive speaks. She drops Cleo's longsword on ground and makes her way over to a pile of equipment and valuables, clearly the bandits' ill gotten gains.

She grabs a pack, checking over it's contents, before drawing an ornate sword from its sheathing and checking that over too. Once done she returns to the rest of the group in the centre of the camp.

Next: Short Rest? Level up

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Juliette: Dies.

Shira'stasa: Hits Acenath for 1000000 damage, Acenath dies, faints.

Cleo: Inspects Shira'stasa

Shira'stasa, Cleo and Geral level up to level 3.

Captive 2: Recovers encounter powers.

Khlaed: Stabilises Geral. (Taking a short rest will let you regain consciousness.)

Blade 2: Spends 3 surges to get back up to full HP.

Status

[SHOW]

Cleo | HP: 14/29 | Surges: 7/8 | AP: 0/1 | Melee attacks deal +5 fire damage until EONT Second Wind, Masterful Spiral, Sarifal's Blessing, Light the Fire, Bloodied
Shira'stasa | HP: 11/27 | Surges: 6/7 | AP: 0/1 | Flaming Sphere Attack, Arcane Mutterings, Memory of a Thousand Lifetimes, Bloodied, Unconscious, Prone
Geral | HP: -1/31 | Surges: 11/11 | AP: 0/1 | Unconscious, Stabilised (failed death saves 0/3), Vanishing Blade, Flame Cyclone, Second Wind, Fire pulse, Bloodied, Prone

Khaled | HP: 41/41 | Surges: 6/6 |
Blade 2 | HP: 36/36 | Surges: 3/6 |
Captive 2 | HP: ??/?? |
Captive 1 | HP: -4/?? |

Seeing that her friend is alright, or at least not dead, Cleo breathes a sigh of relief. She plops down from her kneeling position to a seated one, spread her legs out wide, and leans back, taking a moment to relax and stretch.

"You're welcome," Cleo says to the two people who had been, until moments earlier, prisoners of the bandits. "To be honest we didn't even know there were any prisoners here. We were just hunting down this group out of vengeance. Guess it was lucky for all of us that we found you here," she says, watching as the two begin looting the items of the camp.

"So who are you guys, anyway? A couple? Did they rob you on the road?" she asks, more out of nosiness than genuine concern. I bet they're glad they got to help beat some sense into those bastards.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Level up, woo! Gain Burning Brand lv3 encounter power. Stats increase and shit.

Short Rest: regain all encounter powers, spend 2 surges to get to 30hp

Combat Block

[SHOW]

Tn. Cleo

Female Hengeyokai Monk 3
Languages: Serran, Imardanian
Age: 22
Height: 4' 11"
Weight: 106 lbs.

Speed: 7
Climb Speed (as a cat): 7
Initiative: +6
Passive Perception: 11
Passive Insight: 11
Senses: Low-light Vision

AC: 20
Fort: 13
Reflex: 17
Will: 15
HP: 30/34
Bloodied: 17
Surge Value: 8
Surges left: 3/8
Action Points: 0

MBA: +11 vs AC, 1d8+6 damage. (+1 damage to bloodied targets)
RBA: +11 vs AC, 1d4+6 damage. (+1 damage to bloodied targets)

Resistances:
5 Fire

Vulnerabilities: None
Saves:
+2 vs immobilize, restrain, or slow

Active Effects:
+2 to checks to escape grab
+5 to bluff vs insight to discover I am not human

Powers:

Nature's Mask
Desert Wind Flurry of Blows
Blistering Flourish
Five Storms
Agile Recovery

---

Second Wind []
Sarifal's Blessing []
Light the Fire []
Burning Brand []

---

Masterful Spiral [X]

Consumables:

None

Important Features:

[SHOW]

Mental Crucible: I gain resist 5 fire (or +2 if I already have resist fire of 5+)

Unarmed Combatant: unarmed attack has +3 proficiency, 1d8 damage, unarmed group, can be affected by ki foci. Must have a free hand to use it.

Unarmored Defense: +2 to AC when in cloth armor or no armor and not using a shield.

Full Discipline: Can only use one full discipline power per round, but can use it as many times as the power would allow (at-will's any number of times in a round, encounters once per round, etc.) Can use full discipline techniques in whatever order I like, and if I spend an action point I can choose a different full discipline power.

Beast Nature: I am considered both a magical beast and a humanoid.

Elusive: +2 racial bonus to checks made to escape grabs and to saving throws against effects that immobilize, restrain, or slow me.

Fey Origin: I am considered Fey.

Language of Beasts: I can speak to and understand natural and fey felines in my hybrid or animal form, and understand but not speak to them in human form.

Shapechanger: I am considered a shapechanger.

Ki Focus Expertise: +1 to damage with ki focus vs bloodied targets.

Unarmored Agility: +2 to AC when in cloth armor or no armor.

Internalize the Basic Kata: I use Dexterity instead of Strength for my MBA rolls when using my Monk Unarmed Strike. My Flurry of Blows can trigger on an OA made with my Monk Unarmed Strike.

Amir grins as he sees his possessions all intact, having not been distributed among his captors yet. Collecting his belongings, he joins his companion in returning to the rest of the group.

"We didn't really expect any rescuers either, but we're glad you showed up. It was getting way too uncomfortable in that cage," Amir responds to the first of the newcomers to speak after the debacle, glad that they're friend and not foe.

At the girl's question, he answers, "Well I'm Amir and this is Ghaliya. We were tracking down leads for some sort of treasure when we were captured by these jerks. I'm a bit of a treasure hunter, you see. Anyways, that's how we ended up here." After a brief moment of silence, he adds, "Oh, and no, we're not a couple. Just travel companions in search of something highly valuable."

Mechanics

[SHOW]

History, Religion, & Streetwise check: 1(1d20,) +16(1d20) = 17; 4(1d20) +9 = 13; = 0

I messed up on formatting it because of dumb commas and semicolons, but it seems to be
History: 1
Religion: 16
Streetwise: 13

Shira'stasa looks out at the sandstorm's depths, realizing she is at the center of the storm. Who are those beyond my sight? she ponders, before her attention is pulled to a sensation across her feet and legs.

The Tenant opens her mouth to scream at the sight of the scorpions, but finds she can't. She stands frozen in horror as they crawl up her body.

Geral slowly stirs awake some time later, sitting up slowly before coming into a cross-legged position and sighing.
"... Damn. I'm out of form it seems. I cannot claim that she had improved greatly, though she had improved somewhat... Blades, I need a reprisal of the current situation please. What casualties do we have, and what have we found in the camp so far?"

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Definitely taking that short rest. Was waiting for someone to wake Geral up actually, I figured he wouldn't immediately wake up after that fight. I'll spend three healing surges to get him up to snuff.

As for that level, I'm taking Blazing Lunge. It's an Encounter Power I can use while charging, but with Aegis of Assault, I can use it in place of an OA, meaning I can use it when Aegis of Assault triggers to do decently good damage.

Combat Block

[SHOW]

Geral

Male Genasi Swordmage Level 3
Languages: Serran, Kurnish
Age: 29
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 160 lbs

Speed: 6
Initiative: 1
Passive Perception: 11
Passive Insight: 16
Senses: Normal Vision

AC: 21
Fort: 14
Ref: 17
Will: 13
HP:30/43
Bloodied: 18
Surge Value: 10
Surges: 8/11
AP: 1

Resistances:
Resist Fire 5

Vulnerabilities:
NONE

Saving throws:
I WISH

Active Effects:
Golden

Powers:
Sword Burst
Booming Blade
Guardian's Counter [ ]
Flame Cyclone [ ]
Vanishing Blade [X]
Arcane Mutterings [ ]
Aegis of Assault []

Other Abilities:

Aegis of Assault
Second Wind [ ]
Firepulse [ ]

Conditions: None

Important Features

[SHOW]

Genasi Firesoul: +1 Reflexes, Resist 5 Fire, and Firepulse.

Swordbond: By spending 1 hour with any light or heavy blade, the blade becomes swordbonded. As a standard action, the blade can be called from 10 squares away. If the bonded weapon is broken, the blade can be reforged with an hour of meditation.

Swordmage Warding: +1 AC or +3 AC when wielding a blade one handed and the other hand is free.

Heavy Blade Expertise: +1 to attack rolls with Heavy Blade. +2 to defenses against OAs.

Rose King's Shield: +2 to Endurance. While using a longsword, once per turn melee attacks grant +5 temporary HP. This is improved to +10 if more than 2 squares are moved before the end of your turn.

Aegis of Assault: Target is marked. It suffers a -2 to all attack rolls that do not include Geral. If a target is hit without Geral being included, Geral teleports up to 10 squares to a spot next to the target and makes a basic melee attack.

White Lotus Riposte: Until the SoNT, a target hit with an at-will takes that abilities modifier damage when attacking Geral.

"Oh?" Cleo says, perking up at the mention of treasure. She sits up a bit more and faces towards the man who'd been talking, ignoring the boring chatter between Geral and the other Blades. "What sort of treasure are you looking for? Sounds a lot more fun than hunting bandits." Maybe we can find more scrolls or artifacts if we follow these guys. Imagine the fame!

Ghaliya lets out at soft laugh at the idea of her and Amir being a couple. "As he says, we're partners of a different kind," although she falls silent as Cleo pries into nature the prize the duo seeks, looking to Amir.

"We lost one of ours and the Imardanian woman," Khaled says with sorrow in his voice, helping Geral to his feet. "It could have been a lot worse with how many of them were here though. This was a great victory for the Blades. We've not had a chance to properly search the camp yet, but it looks like there's enough of their loot left to have made this worth our time."

Shirastasa

[SHOW]

"Power," a deep voice bellows seemly coming from all directions. You blink and all traces of the scorpions are gone, a shadowy figure stands before you, obscured by the raging sands.

"You seek great power," the voice says once more, you notice it sounds familiar.

"Power over life and death... to save your mother perhaps?" the voice says as the shadowy figure steps towards you through the sand storm revealing your mother. However with each step towards you see takes you can see her ageing, growing older and older, until she nears you and the flesh begins to peel away from her bones in front of you. She starts to fall to the floor, only to turn to dust before reaching the ground, carried away by the winds.

"I can show you how to save her," the voice says once more, the gusts of black sand twirling around together in front of you. "Join me," the voice says as the mass of moving sand grows a tendril like arm, extending a hand towards you.

Amir

[SHOW]

You have been on the trail of the legendary Swords of Veiastys, a warrior hero from the Age of Myth. You have a buyer lined up in the form of a wealthy patrician in the capital, they are only willing to buy the full set, but will pay a small fortune for it.

Veiastys was said to wield three swords at once through his absolute mastery of swordsmanship. Each encrusted with one of three gemstones, ruby, emerald and sapphire. You have managed to locate two of the three swords. You have found mention in texts of one being laid to rest in a lost temple to El-unod somewhere near Kruos. The other you know the location of is held in the private collection of another wealthy patrician in Crescent Bluff.

The third seem to have disappeared long ago, from. Clues to its discovery likely lie in the ancient tombs and scrolls of The Great Library, from before its disappearance.

"Are you at all familiar with the mythic hero Veiastys?" Amir asks the girl before he continues his explanation. "We're on the trail for his swords, three of them. A patrician out of Crescent Bluff is willing to pay a lot of money if can find them," he adds with a smirk, knowing the allure of gold can easily convince others to help.

"We know the locations of two of the swords, but the third is all but lost, unless ruins or the Great Library have any clues."

Shira'stasa jumps back as the image of her mother ages and peels away. She reaches out but there is only dust in her hands, twisting away in the swirling winds.

The voice beckons her and for a moment she hesitates. Everything in her perceptive mind screams at her that this isn't real, this is a trap, this is a poor decision waiting to be made. This is the only way, she justifies to herself. The choice was made some time ago.

The Tenant steps forward, lifting a hand to grasp the tendril-like arm in front of her. "I will join you."

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Does Cleo know Veiastys? Let's find out.
History: 10
Religion, in case he holds some sort of religious significance: 27

"Those robes. You're a Tenant aren't you?" Ghaliya says to Cleo, noticing her attire. "Maybe she can help us tracking down the last sword," she adds, talking to Amir. "What is a Tenant doing hunting down bandits?" She asks Cleo.

You all hear a loud gasp and turn to see Shira'stasa has regained consciousness and is now sitting up.

Shirastasa

[SHOW]

The moment your hand make contact you feel a sharp burning pain coursing through your entire body. The pain suddenly awakens from your state of unconsciousness. You jolt upright, out of breath, but back in the bandit camp once more.

You notice a strange black mark, almost like a burn, on the palm of your hand where you touched whatever the being in your vision was.

Cleo

[SHOW]

You have heard of Veiastys but Amir clearly is more versed on the subject than you. You do know he is often strongly associated with El-unod, some saying he was a sent to Ganoltir by El-unod to do his bidding, due to the nature of Veiastys' exploits, which when told often revolve around the hero righting injustices.

"A little," Cleo responds, intrigued by the mention of the hero of legend. "I know that he was a servant of El-Unod, righting wrongs and spreading justice and stuff. I can't really remember any specific tales, though." Why would he need three swords? Surely one is enough.

The girl's eyes glisten a bit at the mention of the Great Library, and she smirks once the woman asks about her rank. "I am a Tenant, yes. And so is my friend, here," she says, motioning to Shira'stasa. "Until very recently I was living in the Great Library, but had set out to study for awhile in Crescent Bluff when I was attacked by those assholes. So, naturally, when I heard there was a group hunting them down I wanted to come along to knock some sense into them. We tenants aren't just pretty faces or old geezers, you know."

Cleo is prepared to continue talking at length about her life and passions when Shira'stasa suddenly jolts awake, gasping for breath. She quickly turns and kneels back near her friend, asking, "are you alright? You suddenly collapsed!"

Geral sighs as he dusts himself off, shaking his head.
"Indeed, we could have taken more losses. Juliette and the blade should be remembered with honor, they both fought bravely. See to it that their bodies are properly tended to before searching the camp, I'd like for them not to be lost if a sandstorm comes by."

When Shira'stasa regains consciousness he turns to her.
"Shira'stasa, are you alright? Should we find you some shelter?"

Amir nods to his companion, responding, "I was thinking the same thing. An insider at the Great Library could prove extremely valuable."

As the young tenant explains how she got there, he adds, "So you went through all of this just for a little revenge? That's awesome! Sure beats a stuffy library, if you ask me." With the witch woman's awakened gasp alerting her companions, Amir turns once more to Ghaliya and says, "So, no hard feelings for us getting captured, right? Not that it was entirely my fault."

Khaled nods at Geral's orders and turns to bark his own at the other Blades, you set about dealing with the bodies littering the camp.

Ghaliya pauses to think for a moment, before answering Amir. "No hard feelings. Let's say you owe me one," she says with a smirk. "Which would make four or five now? I lose count," she adds.

Shira'stasa looks at the palm of her hand, her face awash with confusion. A dream, but it felt real. It WAS real. She sees her friend speaking but does not hear it, focused instead on her strange experience. It takes a moment before her hearing and focus finally return.

"I... yes. I think I'm alright now. What happened?" she asks, starting to turn and look at the others in front of her. "Who are these people?" the Tenant asks, staring at the newcomers.

"You killed that woman and then just... collapsed," Cleo says, ignoring the previous conversation for the time being. "You've been out for a minute our so, I was worried you'd died too but you were still breathing." At the mention of the new faces, she glances back to the duo for a moment before responding, "those are the prisoners we freed. They helped us in the fight, remember?"

"Just you wait," Amir says, returning a playful grin. "One of these days, the tables will turn, and then you'll owe me."

As his new tenant friend gives the introductions, Amir makes his way towards the now-awakened woman, saying, "I'm not sure how you did it, but whatever you did with that dead woman was the craziest thing I've ever seen. I'm impressed." Flashing Shira a cheeky smirk, he adds, "I'm Amir, and this is Ghaliya. We're treasure hunters who got captured by these goons, at least until you lot came alone."

"It needed to be done," Shira'stasa responds to Cleo, her senses finally returning to her. She stands up with her friend's help, if given. "Juliette's story was a tragic one. That bandit woman should have accepted death, instead of spite."

At Amir introducing himself and Ghaliya, the Tenant regards them thoroughly. They look capable. Perhaps they will be of use to this group. Perhaps not.

"Our paths intercepting was great luck," Shira'stasa says, ignoring his comments about her necromantic powers. "What sort of treasures do you seek?"

Geral grips the blade he carries, holding it tight as he looks towards Juliette's body.
"Ultimately, her death lies with me and the Blades. Although this woman broke from us, she should have been dealt with long ago. Yet we can only do so much with what information we have..."
He shakes his head, turning back to Shira'stasa.

"You should rest, I don't believe that walking about the desert after immediately fainting is the best of ideas. Come, let's get you into some shelter."
With that, Geral will reach out a hand to help her up.

"Some kind of special swords," Cleo responds to her friend, at the mention of the treasure. "And Geral is right, you should rest a bit. I'm sure that woman had a bed or something in her hut. You should lie down in there until we can make sure you're alright." The girl makes her way to the building Acenath had emerged from and peeks inside, hoping there are no other enemies hiding in wait.

The building is clearly Acenath's private quarters. It is furnished with a large bed, desk and other storage, all the furniture being ornate. There are also many elaborate wall hangings and other valuable decorations, likely stolen from merchant caravans.

She certainly did well for herself. I'm sure she won't mind if we repurpose her ill-gotten gains. Cleo steps further into the building once it's clear the place is safe. She takes a quick seat on the bed to feel its firmness, then begins to search through the various storage containers around the room. What have you got stored away?

OOC

[SHOW]

What's in the chests/etc?

"I am fine," Shira'stasa says, her voice raising a bit in annoyance at the urging of Cleo and Geral for her to rest. "Really. We all have a job to do and I will be the last person to slow such a thing down." She follows Cleo into the bandit leader's tent, relieved to find it empty. The Tenant notices the bed, however. On second thought, my head throbs like a pain I've never felt. And my entire body feels more than tired. Maybe just a bit.

"If you insist, though, I will take a moment to collect myself and my thoughts." The woman sits on the bed, taking a few minutes to meditate and steady her breathing while she idly watches Cleo rifle through the room. "There is no such thing as stealing from a bandit," she suggests quietly, assuming her friend's intent.

Adding onto the shorter tenant's explanation, Amir says, "We're seeking the three swords of Veiastys, relics of the Age of Myth. We've tracked down where two may be, but third is all but lost, unless some ancient ruins or the Great Library hold the answer." As the group makes their way into the dead bandit leader's tent, Amir follows, hoping to escape the harsh desert sun that he'd been forced to stay in for days.

At Shira'stasa's advice on bandits, the treasure hunter says, "I like the way you think. In my line of work, you need that kind of judgment. You can't find treasure if you're too afraid of taking from someone long-dead."

"I was thinking the same thing," Cleo says with a smirk, as she peruses the room's contents. "And besides, they're dead now. We are just inheriting it."

"Hm," Shira'stasa returns at the mention of the mythic blades. "Sounds vaguely familiar." She searches her mind for any mention of them. I must have heard of them at some point, she assumes.

"Serves them right, for what they did to people like Juliette. Using a time like this to thieve and murder... Wanton fools is what they are."

Mechanics

[SHOW]

History check to recall info from the Great Library about the Three Blades of Veiastys: 6(1d20) +13 = 19

Geral nods at Shira'stasa, looking around the room himself, curious of what might be stored away.
"Banditry is not the wisest career choice, indeed. After all, she lies dead outside because of it. Still, her ill-gotten gains have become our well-deserved gains. Of course, I am willing to part with some of these treasures, though my blades will need to bring some back to justify their use in this assault."

As Cleo rummages around the chests, she finds most of them to be filled with clothes. However two are filled with full coin purses, likely the money of those killed by the bandits or the money they earned selling their other ill gotten gains.

Shirastasa

[SHOW]

You recall some tales of Veiastys, of how he supposedly stood for justice and was a servant of El-unod.

However you remember a colleague, Tenant Nasir Iyaad, mentioning the name in passing, while you were making small talk about your studies, a short time before you last left the library. You know his work mostly focuses on legends from the Age of Myth and if tomes exist in the Library about Veiastys, he will know where they are.

"Ha!" Cleo exclaims, as she comes across the sacks of coin. She grabs a few an tosses them gently, feeling their weight. "Looks like we found their stash. There's so many of them! How are we going to carry it all?" She tries to lift one of the chests of coinpurses, testing its weight.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Strength check to lift a chest of gold: 13

"Amir, was it?" Shira'stasa says, her memories dawning on her. "I figured out why Veiastys sounded familiar. A colleague of mine at the Great Library was studying legends from the Age of Myth, particularly any lore surrounding El-unod. If we find ourselves headed that way, I can perhaps get you in contact with him. His name is Nasir. Nasir Iyaad." She watches idly as Cleo tests the weight of the chest.

"We could always use the horses. These chests can't weigh more than a person, could they?"

"An expert on El-unod? That may prove useful," Amir responds to the tenant. "Who would have thought getting caught by bandits would be the most helpful lead with this mission? My luck seems to be turning itself around."

The chest raises off the ground for a moment as Cleo tries to lift it, however she quickly has to put it down due to the weight.

Khaled appears in the doorway. "Ah you found the bulk of their remaining plunder," he says, seeing the chest Cleo is attempting to lift.

"These Bandits were exiled members of our order, and it falls to us to return their ill gotten gains to their rightful owners. Where possible at least," he explains. "As the Pommel said, you will still all be well compensated for you help though."

"Good," Shira'stasa says in a curt tone. "Payment for services rendered is fair. Profiting from banditry is not."

Noticing the junior Tenant struggling to lift the chest, Shira'stasa ponders their choices. "My... apparition can perhaps lend itself to lifting, but we will still need more." With a mouthed excerpt from her tome, the Tenant calls her zombified hand under the chest where Cleo is placing it back down.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Mage Hand can lift like 30 pounds (13ish kg) or so.

Cleo's heart sink a bit as Khaled reminds them that the gold is going to be returned, not kept. Well at least we're getting paid. This would have made a nice fund for my research though. After having struggled with the chest, she turns to Shira'stasa and her apparition. "We'd probably just be best using the horses. Those are really heavy."

"Of course," Shira'stasa says. "But we still have to get them to the horses. Amir, Geral, Khaled -- help Cleo. Let's lift as one." She gestures toward the chest which rests upon her apparition's outstretched palm.

Geral steps forward, setting a hand to his shoulder and bringing his arm back, giving his shoulder a solid crack as he bends down to pick up the chest.
"Certainly, it is the least I can do to make up for my poor performance before."
And with that, he lifts.

Mechanics

[SHOW]

Strength Check:20(1d20) +2 = 22
Geral Stronk.

"Our luck," Ghaliya says dryly to Amir, before flashing a quick smirk.

The combined efforts of Shira'stasa's conjuration and Geral's raw strength lift the chest with ease.

"Does that mean we'e headed to the Great Library next then?" Ghaliya asks, continuing the previous conversation.

"Once we return this plunder and receive payment from Geral's organization," Shira'stasa says as she helps lift the chest through the camp, toward the horses. "The Elder Tenant must be curious about me after the ambush we suffered. Perhaps he will have more information about the some of the more... unexpected circumstances we have found ourselves in," she continues, thinking of the strange deific entity they encountered in the ruins.

"I can bring them one of the spearheads we found as well," Cleo says, enthusiastically remembering the ancient artifacts she'd found days before. And save the rest for gullible peddlers. "Maybe the find will convince them to provide us with a bit of funding for this expedition. Proof we've got some experience in archaeology and aren't just on some fool's errand. If we're really lucky they'll send some people with us to do all the heavy-lifting and stuff."

"I like the sound of that," Amir responds to Cleo with a smirk. "Finding treasure is great, but having to lug it out of temples can be a real pain in the ass."

"I just hope your library has information of the artifacts we're seeking. If it really is as grand as I've heard, there must be something on it.
And I'm sure your connections can be of help," he says to the pair of tenants.

"If there exists any information on those artifacts, the Library will have it. If not, then perhaps we can be the first to uncover them," Shira'stasa says, excited at the prospect of new research. She turns to Cleo, mulling over the possibility of support from the organization. I'm sure Gru'id would be open to such a thing.

"They hardly need proof of our experience -- at least mine," the elder Tenant says. "The difficulty will be convincing them to fund something. There are a myriad of avenues that the Library has under study right now. Hopefully they will accept another."

"We have credible sources for the locations of those of the swords we're seeking, so hopefully that should be enough of a push for funding. If we can find out where the third is, then the Library would be foolish not to help," Amir responds to Shira'stasa as the talk turns to the funding of the expedition.

"But worse comes to worse, Ghaliya and I are already quite used to doing things ourselves. You get more freedom that way."

Geral gives a grin to the others, still hoisting the treasure.
"Well, perhaps some of this funding could purchase a guard or two. I might know a good man if you're looking for added protection, unless you wish to hire myself. I will admit to having grown a bit fond of the company you've provided during this journey."

Shira'stasa sours at the apparent excitement of Geral about the treasure. "The contents of this chest are being returned to their rightful owners," she reminds him. "Lest your band of Blades become a band of thieves. That would seem hypocritical, judging by the fact we just hunted that woman and her lieutenants, for resorting to the same, no?"

She does not speak upon the notion of hiring, instead simmering. He? A guard? Geral left Juliette and I stranded on the far side of the bandit encampment, faltering from our sound plan. I hardly need an impulsive sellsword to watch my side so long as they deem it profitable. If he wants to accompany us, it will be in his own interest.

"Pssh, who says I need a guard?" Cleo scoffs, offended by the man's words. "I can take care of myself, the only ones who'd need a guard are other scholars, if we can get any to accompany us." I'm sure a few of my friends would gladly join a treasure hunt.

"Who knows," Amir says after Shira'stasa explains the fate of the treasure. "Maybe we'll get a reward for returning the belongings. A favor from a powerful merchant or something could prove more useful than just loose coin if that happens."

At Cleo's comment, he adds, "As if we need stuffy and helpless scholars following us around anyways. I'm sure we could have a lot more fun without them."

"Not all Tenants are stuffy and helpless, I'll have you know," Cleo says, folding her arms in frustration. Who is he to judge? He probably has never even seen a Tenant until today. How rude to judge us all so quickly.

"Hey now," Amir says, holding his hands up defensively. "I was referring to those same other scholars you were. From what I've seen here today, you two can definitely hold your own."