<blockquote><div><cite>XarcesTheDelicious wrote:</cite>Xarces would remain quite as the others asked their questions of the man who was funding this expedition. (Anceint temples hmmm? Demons? Artifacts? this certainly seems right up my ally.....not sure what to make of the prospect of the lizard folk natives though...) He idly thinks to himself whilst looking for an opportunity to speak. When he was able he would chime in "250 per week? A respectable amount to be certain.....I appreciate your honesty about the group you sent out before us, their loss is unfortunate, though based on this knowledge I must stress that any and all compensation you can provide us with shall only ensure we are all the more likely to return successfully. For it would be all the more costly to send another ill prepared group of adventures off to die, even more so should word spread and you gain a reputation for such things.....You look after us, and I will see to it that you get the artifact that you seek." Xarces would say with a confident demeanor.<br/><br/>[going to take a 10 on the diplomacy so that would be a 10+19=29=success]</div></blockquote><br/>"Very well," says Surkil. "I suppose I can stretch to 350 gold peices per week. The balance will have to be added to your half-on-return, however," he spreads his hands helplessly. "I have insufficient funds with me at present, and Swiftwind must sail before a transfer from my account at House d'Kundarak could be completed. I will set the necessary processes in motion," he assures you.<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>Linda: "You didn't reach out to Droaam to hire? How unfortunate, the fact we were told to meet with you before leaving Droaam and were expected at the rail station here in Korranberg made it seem like my homeland was finally gaining some recognition among the Five Nations while I was studying in Karrnath." Linda shrugs. "Such is life for those of us born outside of the normally accepted spectrum of species I suppose."</div></blockquote><br/><br/>{I may have been unclear earlier, but I suspect that was me and that Zorakatra would not have been. Thus, the prophecy she was operating from said, effectively, '<span style="font-style: italic">if</span>you go to Korranberg, Surkil will offer you this job<span style="font-style: italic">and</span>life will get better in the Five Nations for vorish creatures.' It's not well-known that the draconic prophecy operates in this way, but I think Linda would know some hint of it from her arcane studies. But the key point is that there is no quid-pro-quo being offered by Surkil. That may be entirely unrelated to the quest he's sending you on. For example, it is possible to imagine that Elanna would not have survived without the training Alizome and Xarces provided, and that she'll go on to make vore acceptable in the Five Nations because of her new vorishness. Or maybe it is something that you'll yet cause to happen because of taking this job with Surkil. It's not by any stretch of the imagination part of your<span style="font-style: italic">payment</span>from him though.}<br/><br/>Surkil looks deeply puzzled. “Your greeting at the lightningrail station was at my behest. A simple service provided by House d'Sivis that provides some of their younger members with gainful employment, and teaches a measure of discretion. It preserves your secrets from, say, casual competitors, rather than governments or powerfully interested parties, but useful enough nonetheless. In this case, I simply wished to ensure my offer reached you rapidly. Sense Motive DC15<div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">Surkil's hiding something here – from his demenor, it suggests he may have sought to isolate you either from those who'd make competing offers of employment</div></div></div>. Had you rejected my offer of employment, I would've had scant hours before<span style="font-style: italic">Swiftwind</span>must sail to secure an alternative, or else bear the substantial cost of extending the vessel's charter.” Surkil grins, almost wickedly. “Don't bother to ask that the saving be added to your contract – your friend,” he bobs his head in Xarces's direction, “has already squeezed that stone dry of blood.” He shrugs. “In any-case I've certainly had some dealings in Droaam, although my recent business has more profitably focussed on the more distant past. Perhaps Vorgath recommended me to you? One or two of my wilder scrapes were with him, till we went our separate ways in older, more settled years.” Knowledge (local) Droaam DC8<div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">A former prospector turned entrepreneur, the orc Vorgath provides mundane goods to travelers in the Kennel district of Greywall. Vorgath is willing to buy interesting trinkets from prospectors, and he often buys interesting goods from adventurers or hunters, and he occasionally has interesting magic items to sell; he typically has 1,500 gp on hand.</div></div></div><br/><br/>{Great party interaction, Xarces and Bellicious!<br/><br/>PS: If I didn't give out XP for Elanna, she's worth 300XP each.}