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Message: <blockquote data-quote="spyscribe" data-source="post: 2458169" data-attributes="member: 5808">Part the One-Hundred Forty-SecondIn which: the party finds that it’s hard to find a good cloak in Siunethrit, despite the cold nights.“I find the nights are colder than I like.  Can you make a cloak to warm them?”  Lira repeats.Gemil motions his assent as best he is able without benefit of a neck.  “Yes.  Just say that to Faaris the tailor when you go into his shop.”Anvil shakes his head.  “If you are deceiving us Gemil…”Gemil gapes in mock horror.  “Justicar… I’m shocked.  We have an agreement.”Eva lets out a long sigh.  “Can we just get on with this?”###Walking the streets during the daylight hours for the first time, the party finds the composition of the passers-by has changed somewhat, namely that many more upper-class looking people out and about.  The sun is shining fiercely and they cannot help but also notice that by and large the locals seem to get by wearing very little. Some small children run around completely naked.  All clothing is light-colored linen and many men—and women—wear only small skirts as a concession to modesty.  Thatch gulps and keeps his eyes fixed firmly on the back of Eva’s head.The party arrives at a small tailor shop in the mercantile district and is heartened to find that the sign overhead reads, “Faaris: Tailor.”As Reyu stays outside to watch the door, the others enter.The shop’s interior is dim and cool.  The proprietor quickly comes forward to greet the party.  “Hello, hello.  I am Faaris.  You are travelers here, yes?”Lira smiles.  “What gave us away?”The man laughs with an easy grin.  “A tailor can always tell.  So, you are looking for something a little lighter for the heat of the day, yes?”“Actually,” Lira says, “I find the nights are colder than I like.  Can you make a cloak to warm them?”Faaris’ smile abruptly vanishes.  He stops talking and his eyes bug slightly.“I’m… I’m sorry.  I can’t help you.”  He bustles the party towards the door with great haste.Lira tries to object, “Wh--?”“I haven’t made cloaks in a very long time.  I’m sure there’s someone else who can help you.  Yes, that’s it.  Sorry.  We’re closed.”And with that the party finds themselves back on the street in front of Faaris’ shop.  The door closes with a solid thump, followed quickly after by the sound of a bolt turning.###Half an hour later, back at the inn:“There’s one more place you can try… I have a friend at the university, a professor.  Her name is Zariah.  I had hoped not to trouble her directly, but… as we are running short on other options…”“Are you certain she is still loyal to you?” Anvil demands.“Oh, I’m sure of it.”###The University is almost like a walled city within a city, and beyond the gate can be glimpsed some of the strangest and most striking architecture in Siunethrit: buildings shaped like perfect spheres balanced atop cylinders, and a single cone that stretches over forty feet into the sky.At the gate however, the party is stopped by a guard.  He seems puzzled when the party tells him the object of their errand.“I’m sorry,” he says, “Professor Zariah is no longer employed here.”“Do you know where we can find her?” Lira asks.“…At the Necropolis,” he says slowly.“Oh.”  Lira does her best to recover smoothly.  “We were apparently misinformed.”###Half an hour later, back at the inn.“Okay Gemil, we promised to make a good faith effort, and I think we’re reaching the end of ‘good faith.’” Lira is not the only member of the party who is quickly approaching the end of her patience.  The deal that Anvil made with Gemil was never particularly savory, but they are willing to uphold it.  The amount of trouble they are willing to go to on behalf of the soul of an evil necromancer trapped in a golden skull is limited.Gemil seems no more pleased to still be at the mercies of the party.“Well,” he begins… “there is one more possibility…”“No!” Lira interrupts.  “No more possibilities.  Give me a good reason why we shouldn’t just dump you in the river right now.”“It wouldn’t be nice?”“Try again.” Eva forces out from behind clenched teeth.Gemil rolls his eyes to look at her.  “I would rather negotiate with the Justicar, if you don’t mind.”Anvil steps forward.  “Then do so.”“You wouldn’t really let them throw me in the river, would you?  It would… hardly be in the spirit of our agreement.”“We have made a good faith effort,” Anvil points out.“What can I offer you for your continued aid?” Gemil asks.Anvil shrugs.  “Make an offer.”“I could give you the opportunity to destroy a very powerful necromancer.”“So you could take his place?” Eva asks.Gemil looks thoughtful.  “I suppose that would create a bit of a power vacuum.  And you know how nature abhors that.”“I didn’t think nature was too keen on necromancy either,” Eva mutters to herself and turns to the other side of the room where the others are huddled in low conversation.###“Will destroying the skull kill him?” Thatch asks.Annika gestures helplessly, whispering back, “I don’t know.  I’m not sure how the skull was made, I don’t know what result destroying it would have.  I’m not even sure if we could.”“Why not?”“It’s not just a golden skull.  It’s a magic item.  That makes a difference.  What if we just turned him over to the military?”“Do you want to explain how we smuggled an evil necromancer trapped in a golden skull into the country under fake passports… Oh and by the way we’ve got two arcanists with us?”  Eva asks.“I guess not.”“Okay…” says Lira.  “How about this…?”</blockquote>

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