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An adventuring party recruited from Osirion teleports into Azir on the 8th of Desnus. Rahadoum's recruiting contact in Osirion wrote ahead to note they were expected. Couple of guys he's known a long time - a wizard, a ranger - and a new guy, sorcerer, probably to replace the cleric they usually travel with. They spend two days in Azir getting oriented and head out to the front. The ranger wears an unusually high quality amulet of Nondetection; the sorcerer wears a headband for intelligence, which is a bit unusual as sorcerers usually don't need it to cast, but some variants do; they are otherwise unremarkable. Chaotic Good, Lawful Neutral, no reading, which could mean neutral or 'hiding it'. They work quickly and effectively, manage resources reasonably well, get recommended to higher-ups for a closer look on that account.
Perfect! That's really good advice and he will definitely do that. Maybe he can fit it in when he comes back later with his team of mages to get started on the Gate-terminus.
Leareth kisses Khemet goodbye (and waits to be properly dismissed) and then heads back to Egorian first, to collect his mages and finalize the schematics for the new Gate-terminus.
While the mages are packing up to go, he swings by to ask Parmida about date activities in Absalom.
They have illusion theatres in Absalom! It started as a second screening room for popular live theatre shows, but then some people came up with the idea of telling stories directly for the medium; they can change between scenes, show the actors' faces up close, and do interesting things with the viewing angle that you couldn't do with theatre. Illusionists watch it carefully a hundred times, aided by a book of scenes, and then they put it up on a big screen and people watch. He should take her to see one.
She can also recommend restaurants.
That sounds amazing and Leareth will definitely take her to see one. He plans a schedule - illusion theatre in the morning, restaurant for lunch, take her by some magic shops in the evening.
Later that afternoon he Gates back to Sothis with a team of a dozen mages and all the supplies needed for the Gate. They don't need him for any of the initial setup, though he'll come help out with the tricky final bit of keying it to the other terminus to be built in Aktun.
And then he goes to see Khemet's sister-in-law.
"Hullo!" she says. She's got a bowl of rice, having timed her lunch break for this so she could still get in solid chunks of work. "I hear you're in the market for Chelaxian-style engagement jewelry?"
"- Am I supposed to bring her? She is in Egorian but I could invite her here and come back a different time with her. I am not really sure how this - courtship process - is supposed to work, I heard you had advice for that too."
"Who told you that? I suppose you're not Osirian but I don't think conventions in Avistan are a lot like 'dress in drag for ten years and get blackmailed about it and then marry a prince instead of fleeing the country' either!"
"I...see. The pharaoh said that you are generally very sensible and - used to straightening out people who are trying to do the courtship dance and are unsure how. For which I certainly qualify. I am not even from this world and I have not had a romantic relationship at all in a - very very long time." He's about to say 'in the last thousand years at least' but his immortality isn't common knowledge here.
"Oh, well, my usual advice as far as that goes is that if you don't know what kind of jewelry your girl likes somebody ought to ask her instead of guessing, I won't sell somebody wedding jewelry without a consult with whoever's going to wear it because about half the time he's all 'lapis lazuli' and she's like 'I hate blue'. I also need her ring size if you want a ring in particular."
"...Honestly that is very sensible and I should have thought of it. What times are you open? I am planning to take her on a date to Absalom, and I can bring her here and - I suppose propose to her by saying I will buy her the ring she wants instead of by having it already? Is that how that works?"
"My shop is open every day from fourth to fourteenth, but I'm not usually there these days because my security arrangements are annoying so I only go in twice a week and not all day. My staff can take a consult interview, or you can bring her into the Dome on my lunch break or after I knock off for the day - don't interrupt me while I'm making jewelry, though, it ruins everything in the worst way, I have a sign up when I'm busy. I don't know how Avistanis do it in general let alone Chelaxians in particular, for all I know until recently the tradition in Cheliax was to send a messenger imp carrying a cursed handflower to put it on the girl in her sleep! Here you'd say you wanted to marry her and she has thus and such a budget to pick out wedding jewelry with at Trilliant."
"Well, that sounds nice and straightforward, if not maximally romantic, so I think I will do it. She told me she likes surprises if they are well-executed, but I am not sure I can execute well on getting her an engagement ring she will like and that will fit her. - For reference I am going to get her a Ring of Delayed Doom, because my life is sometimes very dangerous and I want her to have it anyway, but that will take six weeks to make, so I figure it will be a wedding present or something and I will propose to her with a different ring that is less magic."
"Gosh. Not sure I can manage one of those. I have a great selection of nonmagicals and less-magicals, though, I have an inventory list here with sketches or you can go look at the real things in the store. And I can do custom commissions, and I can make it look different without busting the enchantment if she thinks it's ugly."
"I am glad to hear that. I already talked to a magic in Egorian where I live for the Ring of Delayed Doom, and I - did my best to think very hard about what was pretty so hopefully I can pull off a well-executed surprise, but if she thinks it is ugly it is a relief to have a fallback. Anyway, thank you for your sensible advice. I am not sure I feel any more like I know what I am doing, but I do feel less stressed about it."
He takes her up on glancing at the inventory book and sketches, trying to guess what Carissa might like; he figures he can tour the store itself with her whenever they come. Maybe he'll time it for the afternoon, as a final stop after he takes her around to magic shops in Absalom.
She can tell him where Trilliant is and show him all the rings in the book - she's got a really wide variety of designs. "I'll knock off five percent if she marries you and wears it to state functions and tells anybody who asks about it where it's from."
"All right! Thank you very much."
He tells her what day he's tentatively planning for his date with Carissa, three days from now so she has time to prepare and is less likely to have already scheduled something. "We will visit the shop and then come find you in the Dome if she wants to speak to you as well, I think it would be after your finish for the day rather than on lunch break. I think she will like you."
Leareth checks on his Gate team and makes sure they have everything they need for the next week of work, then heads back to Egorian. Before drafting his date-invitation letter to Carissa, he swings by to check with Parmida and Zahra that his ring shopping proposal seems reasonable.
"Also I suppose I need to set a budget for her. The Ring of Delayed Doom is almost fifty thousand gold," it's sort of ridiculous but still a small fraction of the total fee he gets for his contracted permanent Gates, "I assume this should be less but how much less would still be generous? Ten thousand gold?"
Leareth thanks her, and drafts his letter to Carissa, nicely handwritten on high-quality paper for the final version. (He discards half a dozen practice drafts first.) He says he would like to take her to Absalom for the day; he'll come to pick her up in the morning, if that suits her, and can Gate them over.
Do Parmida and Zahra think he should give her suggestions on what to wear or whether she needs to bring anything with her? He would probably appreciate clear guidance but maybe she just knows from cultural background context.
If he explains what the plan is then she'll probably be able to infer from that what to wear for it; if he wants to avoid that he should at least hint at, for example, whether the plans involve a lot of walking and whether they involve a fancy restaurant.
How much walking is involved getting between the various locations on his itinerary? If it's a long way, he can also Gate her around if he goes in advance so he has locations; he needs someone to drop him off there for a quick visit anyway so he can Gate her there from Egorian.