<div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"I have a question," she asked Alfreldi on the way to the pool, "before I got hit in the head, was I a dancer? What kind of dance did I perform?"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>"Unfortunately I don't know much of your pre-harem life," Alfredi answered.  "The transition of being taken to a new home can be quite taxing on a lot of slaves, I'm sure you can imagine.  You did not talk much of it, and while we were all taught to dance in Roshul's classes you did not take to it like the others.  But if you desire to learn, I think that you'd be a natural fit!  You have the body and the athletic prowess for it!"<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Sense Motive DC 12</div><div class="spoiler_body">Alfredi sounds a little sad when the subject of new slaves.  "Arensha" believes that Alfredi's first visit here wasn't a happy one.  If asked, she'll shake her head.  "That's in the past," she says.  "I had never been to the City of Glass, and my last master was very cruel.  I was so worried about the worst that all I did was beat myself up; I don't want others to go through what I went through, to feel afraid and alone in a new world."<br/><br/>She smiles weakly.  "I guess...that's why I'm spending so much time with you lately, after your amnesia.  I want your first memories here to be happy ones."</div></div><br/>In the meantime, Arensha is able to find the historical section of the library, but she doesn't have enough time to find the proper books.<br/><br/><br/>Instead of the sultan's bedchambers (which were occupied by Hanifa and al-Samara), Arensha went to sleep in her own room.  It was a small yet lovely place, with a fluffy bed and a table with a chess board alongside some books of various subjects.  A lantern on the night-stand was meant to be lit in the darker times of the day, although the City of Glass' light came not from the sun or any celestial body but artificial magic.<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: andale mono;">Third Day in the Gilded Cage</span></span></div><br/><br/>It was rather early in the day, and whether or not she searched for Alfredi the catgirl came to find her.  "Good morning, Arensha!" she said.  "How are you feeling today?  We have a lot of things prepared for you today!  Our great Sultan should be back before dinnertime from the Council, so we should ask Roshul if we can help give him a warm welcome!"<br/><br/><em>For the duration of Arensha's stay in al-Samara's palace, I'd like to focus on the general passage of days, with certain events interspersed between them, as opposed to focusing on day.  During this time she can pursue various hooks and events at her leisure, detailed below.</em><br/><br/><strong>Helping Zelda with her research:</strong><br/><br/>(http://i.imgur.com/Uau1Ump.jpg)<br/><br/>If Arensha visits the mermaid again, they'll continue with their swimming lessons.<br/><br/>"So, were you able to find anything out about Azlant?" Zelda asked as the two of them swam through a brightly-lit tunnel<br/><br/>"Oh, I see..." she said once she heard about Arensha's ill-fated foray yesterday.  "Hmm, hold on, let me get something."<br/><br/>Zelda swam into her room (guarded by a thin curtain of kelp in lieu of a door), sporting a bracelet.  Her face was cheerful, her spirits elated with some new scheme.<br/><br/>"There!  This bracelet should allow me to swim through what you land-dwellers call 'air.'  Unfortunately it only lasts a few hours in duration, so we need to do a cram session or else I'm going to flop onto the ground.  If your schedule's free, I'd love to have your assistance!"<br/><br/><em>If Arensha takes her up, the two of them will perform research in the library.  Ancient Azlant falls under a DC 20 Perception, Knowledge Arcana, Knowledge History, and Knowledge Religion for finding out interesting details.  Bardic Knowledge can be used as a bonus roll for any one subject of your choice.<br/><br/>Arensha can try new attempts on new days, until she gets at least 1 success in each skill.</em><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">1 check successful</div><div class="spoiler_body">Not known is much of the Azlanti, aside from the fact that they once warred with a people known as the serpentfolk.  The Azlanti were the victors, driving their reptilian enemies into the depths of the earth.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">2 checks successful</div><div class="spoiler_body">Some legends state that the demon lord Zura once ruled Azlant.  It is said that her terrible reign was responsible for Azlant's decline and the start of the Age of Darkness.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">3 checks successful</div><div class="spoiler_body">It is believed that the last remnants of Azlanti's cultural knowledge lie among the elves of the Mordant Spire, a secretive sect living on an island west of Avistan.  The high priests and priestesses of Aroden, God of Humanity, communed with their deity to learn of their ancestors.  But after the death of Aroden centuries ago their secrets lie within what few tomes survive.<br/><br/>Arensha is able to find one such book, written by the paladin Azkhal.  He tells of how Aroden told of how Azlant was not a golden age of society, but a gilded one.  They were grand, but cruel.  Their magic was great, yet hoarded.  The rulers lived in floating citadels and never wanted for things, yet commoners still toiled.  Aroden had grand plans for humanity, to succeed where Azlant failed, to bring a "true golden age."  An age which never came to pass.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">4 checks successful</div><div class="spoiler_body">Aside from modern humans, it is believed that the strains of Azlanti survive among the gillmen and merfolk of the sea, the dark folk of the Darklands, and the mongrelmen and morlocks of the hidden reaches of the world.</div></div><br/>If Arensha succeeds on at least 3 or 4 checks, Zelda will be ecstatic.<br/><br/>"I knew it!" she exclaims.  "My people are the heirs of Azlant!  This is an amazing breakthrough!  Oh, if only this knowledge could be shared with the world...wait, why can't I do that?"<br/><br/>Zelda whisked back to the pool, various shells and ink sacs in tow.  Plunging into one of the library's rivers she began work on copying the contents of the books.  "The ocean covers the majority of land on the Material Plane, right?  So if we can transcribe these texts into an underwater-friendly form, we can spread the knowledge even faster!  And with the help of the marid, maybe even other planes!  Oh thank you thank you thank you Arensha!  I'll never forget what you did for me!"<br/><br/><strong>Gain 500 experience points if you succeed on all 4 skill checks.</strong><br/><br/><br/><strong>Cutscene: Hanifa at the baths:</strong>It was mandated by Roshul that every member of the harem bathe at least once a day.  When did not matter, as long as it was done before they retired for the night.  Hanifa was present, her tattoos drawing attention and admiration from the other women more than happy to theorize on their meaning.  She kept to herself in a corner of the baths, scrubbing her body with a washcloth and soap.<br/><br/><em>Two days and still no sight of her,</em>she thought with a sigh.<em>Oh I hope that Menya didn't get imprisoned or try to jump the ball too early.</em><br/><br/>However, her keen ears picked up a side conversation between two slave-girls.<br/><br/>"Did you hear about the new one?"<br/><br/>"Arensha?  The catfolk who got hit on the head and lost her memory?"<br/><br/>"Yes, and just as she got introduced here!  Such a shame!"<br/><br/>A sense of both happiness and anxiety swept across Hanifa.<em>So she hasn't got caught, that's good.  But her memory...oh no, this isn't good at all.  Hopefully it wasn't intentional.  I'll need to find her, maybe she'll remember me!</em><br/><br/>Arensha, Alfreldi, and Zelda were off in another section of the baths.  The catgirls came in by the hallway, Zelda by underwater tunnels.  The place was a lot more full than usual; Roshul knew that al-Samara sometimes liked to sneak in some erotic fun with his slave-girls after a long day's work.  Having them clean and freshly perfumed before he came home made all the difference in the world.  Alfreldi and the merfolk playfully frolicked, splashing water at each other in a mock battle.<br/><br/>"Sultan al-Samara should be home any minute now!" Roshul called out.  "Clean yourselves up and meet me in the main foyer, we have a lot to prepare!"<br/><br/><strong>Three's a Charm:</strong>It is fast approaching the dinner hour, and al-Samara was both tired and hungry from his meeting with the Council.  Although he would not admit it to anybody else, it was a true saying that governing a group of marids was like herding cats.  Not unlike the non-djinn and mortals, who were humble enough to see the rightness of his actions.<br/><br/>"Ah, but if only they were like us!" the Sultan mused in his shell-carriage back home.  His memories of his last two days with his newly-bought slaves aroused pleasant thoughts, and he deigned to indulge when arrived back at the palace; he was hungry, but a quick romp before dinner didn't hurt anyone.<br/><br/>The palace was otherwise normal, but the kitchen was in a frenzy.  Butlers rushed to the main hall, setting a grand feast not for the Sultan but the whole palace itself.  Not everyone was valued enough to sit in the grand hall, eating snacks in their own working quarters, but all of al-Samara's harem had a place at the table, even the new ones.<br/><br/><br/>Alfreldi was clad in a towel, having just finished her bath with Arensha and Zelda.  "It's almost dinner time.  Oh I hope Sultan al-Samara's time at the Council won't hold him back so much..."<br/><br/>But before they could even step foot outside the hallway the two catgirls met with none other than the Sultan himself.  Alfreldi rushed to hug him.<br/><br/>"Hello there, my lovelies," he said with a grandiose sweep of his arm.  "Before we come for dinner, I was thinking of spending some quality time with you two."<br/><br/>Alfreldi smiled.  "That sounds like a wonderful idea!  So, were you thinking of doing it in the bedroom?"<br/><br/>"Well, it's quite far.  Why don't we use the guest rooms?  Nobody's coming today, anyway."<br/><br/>Alfreldi smiled.  Briefly pulling herself away, she took Arensha's hand in her own.  "Follow us," she whispered.<br/><br/>Without bothering to change out of her towel, the catgirl slowly sashayed down the hallway, Arensha by her side with the Sultan following them.  By the time they reached the guest room, a flick of Alfreldi's tail knocked the towel of Arensha and herself, exposing their beautiful bottoms to the Sultan's gaze...<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: andale mono;"></span>Intrigues and Plots</span></div><br/><br/>The Council of Leviathan sat in the middle water-orb of the city's center.  Although many marid left, a few remained.  Consisting of the oldest and most powerful nobles, their long rule made them the most bitter of the marid.<br/><br/>"We can't have al-Samara flaunt our pact with the sahuagin!" a marid man clad in badges shouted.  "He holds too much sway with the war hawks, he'll ruin everything!"<br/><br/>"Everyone has a price," an old woman mentioned.  "Even the nationalist and the fanatic."<br/><br/>"No, not with him.  His dynasty's one of the front-liners, he lost everything to the devil-sharks.  His price is war."<br/><br/>"Well then, we'll need to remove him from the equation.  Then the rest of the Council should fall in line..."<br/><br/>Two masked figures arrived.  The first was a human clad in shadowy robes... (http://i.imgur.com/TjYmMl8.jpg)<br/><br/>...the second eyes of glowing yellow, his movements uncertain and jerking. (http://i.imgur.com/UFRM9EJ.jpg)<br/><br/>"You call for us, most honorable Padishah?" the one with yellow eyes asked.  His voice was inhumanly deep and throaty, impossible for any mortal humanoid to possess.<br/><br/>"Yes, we did," the oldest marid said, his skin rotting away from the passage of eons even magic could not cure.  "Go to Sultan Hasan ibn Akilah al-Samara, take his soul and bring it back to me.  He will soon learn to rightfully serve us in time..."