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.
:Probably! Though you are still much better at politics so we will have to see:
They can spend lots of remaining pleasant evening together.
And then the next day is the state dinner.
He loves state dinners so much! He has an amazing time meeting and talking to everybody and occasionally passing gossip to Leareth through their telepathic bond.
She is going to never go near the pharaoh of Osirion again. Probably he didn't notice anything and is just from a country where women aren't people but - her gut says it was more than that and her gut is probably getting hypersensitive these days but it's a good enough reason to stay away.
She already talked her way into serving food but she can make sure she's at the opposite end of the room.
And she's not going to try the cactus for a week at least, just in case Leareth looking at her was him noticing something off about her stupid fucking life force which if she messed up the artifact probably looks like that of a fourth-circle caster and not that of a woman who could barely master Prestidigitation.
Leareth would not say that he's loving it, but it's much more enjoyable than he had expected, mostly thanks to Khemet's commentary.
He stays with Aroden for most of it, being introduced to people and mostly focusing on not seeming scary.
He's very charming and if he's not evil or advising Aroden badly in the war between Velgarth's and Golarion's gods he'll probably run the country very competently and she's so so scared of him.
Leareth spots her out of the corner of his eye and indicates this to Aroden. :The person I told you about, who Khemet had an odd feeling about:
He isn't going to go dig up all the notes on her hiring process in the middle of an event, but he might as well try Detect Thoughts on her.
She is refilling drinks.
She blocks him out.
Normal people do not block him out when he tries to detect their thoughts.
He goes still. He casts it as a spell rather than just using his permanent version, the spell is still a little stronger.
:Tell Khemet something is very worrying: he thinks loudly to Leareth. :She is blocking me too and she should not be able to:
Leareth keeps a normal expression on his face, nods and smiles slightly in response to the words someone is saying to him which he's barely hearing at all, and Mindspeaks Khemet. :I think what you picked up from that servant was not nothing. She is blocking Aroden's Detect Thoughts:
As a spell Aroden's Detect Thoughts works. She's thinking that the pharaoh of Osirion is part of the whole puzzle, presumably, he's also a cleric of Abadar - supposedly more than that but he really doesn't look like more than that - so it's a damned shame she can't get near him -
Khemet doesn't miss a beat in the story he is telling about how he met his husband.
:Should you get out of here. I think more people want you dead than the rest of us.:
Damn it. He is really, really not keen to get murdered again.
:Aroden, Khemet says I should leave, I am going to Gate out:
:One moment. If anything happens I will shield you, but - she is a spy and I wish to question her. I would prefer she not have any warning:
He says something to the person they're talking to, and then in a single fluid motion he reaches for his Bag of Holding and draws out his metamagic rod of Reach Spell, and without warning Plane Shifts the servant to his magic-blocked demiplane.
- she tries to throw it off and almost - but he's absurdly powerful and the spell is absurdly powerful and now she's -
- somewhere else.
Magic doesn't work.
Well, shit.
She collapses to her knees. I know that up to this point you have had zero guidance about anything but I could really use some right now.
It feels almost like there's a distant presence assuring her it will be fine but that's bullshit and she doesn't buy it.
She isn't necessarily the only threat in the room and so Leareth nonetheless Gates out on the spot, landing in one of the shielded areas he's set up that's well outside the Palace.
Aroden gives some very polite apologies to the people they're talking to, excuses himself, and leaves the room.
They have Telepathic Bond today, which has longer range, and so Leareth can still reach Khemet. :Are you all right?:
:Yes but now my security's stressed. Pretty sure no one else in the room expected that at all or has any context on it but I'm not the mindreader.:
:Aroden read her thoughts on the second attempt and determined she was a spy. I did not wait for him to say more. I assume he Teleported her out to his demiplane and will proceed there to question her. I left anyway since she might not have been the only person involved:
After some brief explanation to his staff, Aroden Plane Shifts himself to his personal demiplane and looks at the terrified servant huddling in his library. He’s silent for a moment, waiting to see what she’ll do.