"I believe I have sufficient optical equipment to make worthwhile observations of any phenomenon within line of sight," notes Mr Cards, "Perhaps a suitable vantage point might be our next destination?"

"Regardless, if you would prefer payment in some other form than a single new observation, I am certainly not lacking in forms of payment," they boast, "I presume the simple currency of my own world would be largely uninteresting to you... barring perhaps those magical coins that will be issued in the Pillared City of Irem, which I will be able to provide in limited quantity. What sorts of things would you consider valuable? Commodity metals, including brass, steel, silver, and rostygold*? Chemical products, including those toxic, corrosive, explosive, or medicinal? Bones, including human, animal, monstrous, and amalgamous**? Precious stones, including amber, pearls, glim***, and jade? Intoxicants, including the mundane, rare, poisonous, or malevolent? Fabrics, including silk, satin, bombazine****, or puzzle-damask*****? Perhaps something more exotic, such as a fruit grown in Parabola, or a curse from the lips of a forgotten god? I don't believe that my trespassing and subsequent experimentation did much significant damage to your fortress, but you will not find a Master of the Bazaar wanting for trade goods to offer."

Mr Cards deliberately does not mention souls, since they are a net importer of souls. Devils rarely seek to export souls, but some find themselves in financial binds or in need of particular favours, and an advantage of maintaining good business relations with Hell is that they have the opportunity to make such deals directly... as opposed to those Shepherds who restrict themselves to violently waylaying unlicensed spirifers.

*: A reddish alloy, more copper than gold.

**: Warped by flesh-sculpting arts.

***: Zee-jewels, and/or insect chitin.

****: A heavy, dark fabric that absorbs light.

*****: Elaborately woven cloth in colourful patterns which encode secrets.

"Well, we certainly could check what you can see from the vantage towers. I might have accidentally mislead by saying that it would be simple and earlier telling that the Worldwound is "relatively close". Sadly for the experiment, here relatively close means we are approximately 250 miles away from the actual dimensional rift. We are at the border of what one might call the contained area, one of the purposes of the military installment here is to block Chaotic invaders from the Worldwound from making it past here. So even for taking a peek at the rift magical travel or escorting would be required. The place where one could get closest to Worldwound without entering the horribly corrupt territory itself would be from the eastern border, through Mendev. There you could be located within a 100 miles. But I think because of the curvature of land, one would need to go quite high up in the sky to be able to see into the Wound itself... If you have observation methods that allow you to cheat at the curvature of space this could work, or methods of travelling very high up in the air or to the moon for using the optics, but otherwise we might need to use scrying.* I will request a magic user to scry for us with haste, if you don't have an alternative plan."

"I have to ask, if you are talking about these items in the bulk, what sort of quantities you're talking about? Not asking you to reveal your whole inventorys quentities but how many pounds of any cheaper trade-item could you carry? In general this is a very impressive amount of logistics."

"Small samples of brass, steel, rostygold, and any other alloys that we also have here could be useful, to figure out if the alloy composition is same as what we use or different. Diamonds would be the most valuable stone to us, and this glim would be something we would be interested in sampling. The intoxicants of more specialized nature would be of more interest to us than the usual ones. Fabrics unclear, but all the special ones are probably of interest. That curse sounds of high interest."

"You list such a breadth of goods that besides the compensation we'd probably like to do some proper trading with you as well. In general I would expect in the longer run many of the highest value items to you would be magical in nature. Since you are a merchant with a wide inventory, would you be interested in bags that can hold, without the bags external weight growing, up to 64 cubic feet and up to 500 pounds of material? We also have rings that let normal mortals sleep two instead of eight hours, and remove the need for food-form subsistnence. There are also spell scrolls of so many singular magic effects, more than hundreds, that could be of interest depending what would be useful to you. And there is magical armour, rings, headbands and such, but you seem to have your clothing quite handled already. But the raw material those are made of, spellsilver**, should be very interesting if you don't yet have access to that."

*: Far-seeing magic

**: silver related to instances of magic-casting

"Ah, that does sound like a larger-scale expedition than I had anticipated from your suggestion," notes Mr Cards, only slightly disappointed, "I have been able to usefully exploit preexisting effects manipulating the curvature of space to make certain observations at extreme range, but absent such a phenomenon, it would likely be far easier for me to travel a few hundred miles, even through hostile territory, than to develop a device capable of making flawless observations at that range. Either option is certainly lower priority, if the Worldwound is not close enough to simply look at it, though I would not turn down an opportunity to see such a phenomenon through your local techniques."

"Truly bulk shipments of any given trade good largely fall under the purview of my fellow Masters, and the quantities of any given item that I happen to have on my person vary based on my own recent acquisitions," they remark, which is a much more persuasive way of putting it than 'based on how long it's been since I've cleaned all the junk out of my luggage', "Still, if you are asking how many one-pound metal ingots I could reasonably carry using only my own personal equipment in a single one-way excursion..."

They pause, considering the problem for a moment or two, before nodding to themselves, "I expect that I should be able to manage sixty thousand, though loading and unloading becomes somewhat of a chore at that scale."

"Diamonds are valuable in London as well," they note, "Though Mr Stones tightly controls the trade in them, insisting that they only be made available for sale to those 'of good character', on a limited scale and on somewhat difficult terms. Diamonds of small size and low quality are not altogether uncommon, though larger and higher-quality stones are considerably rarer and more valuable."

"A bag capable of holding a mere five hundred pounds of material in total is not of particular interest to me," they note frankly, "In London, if I were to capture and frisk a dozen of the commonest street thieves and pickpockets, I would expect to find at least one with some trick for carrying that much weight without external sign or apparent effort, though I would not expect such a trick to rely on a simple bag. If I instead had the opportunity to pick out a dozen prisoners from those currently incarcerated by London's government, I could easily prove that at least half were capable of such a feat... which isn't to say that the other half wouldn't also be able to manage it, merely that it'd be tediously difficult to prove it of the more experienced criminals without their genuine cooperation. Indeed, if I heard a report indicating that a given prisoner had been beaten to death, looted to their skin, arrested and sentenced posthumously, searched thoroughly, clad in rags, clapped in irons, shipped to the prison on the cavern's roof by airship, and dumped in a cell while still dead... it would in no way be a surprise to later hear from less official sources that the same prisoner had somehow managed to smuggle more than a thousand bottles of wine into the prison, which they then bribed the guards with, allowing their release within hours of returning to life."

"That being said, rings which reduce the need for regular sleep may be of some use, depending on how said lack of sleep interacts with the usual Neathly* threats to one's mental integrity. The elimination of the need for food seems like a more promising property, as there are regions whose unusual properties make many of the usual tricks for carrying large quantities of supplies impractically difficult. Magical effects bound to paper scrolls seem likely to be of at least academic interest, though I would need more details before making any judgment as to the utility of such effects. As for clothing and equipment, it would likely be worth my while to browse various well-supplied equipment vendors and sample their wares for comparison with those offerings I am familiar with, though I agree that such is not an immediate priority. I would at least be academically interested in a sample of spellsilver, though I expect any serious investigation into its properties would need to wait until I am able to return to my personal laboratory."

Now that Mordessa has suggested which goods she is interested in, Mr Cards spends some time fishing within their Robe, and finds a clear space on the table to lay out...

A heavy brass medallion on a simple red ribbon, usually warm to the touch. A crude symbol resembling a grinning skull is engraved into its surface.

A solid steel ingot, its unremarkably regular form factor silently demonstrating its origin in industrial mass production. The words "Iron and Misery" are stamped into the bar.

A loop of string, upon which hang two dozen reddish metallic rings, each slightly too large to comfortably adorn a finger. They smell faintly of blood.

A dozen hand-sized irregular crystalline shards of something iridescently purplish. They're quite shiny, and heavier than their delicate appearance implies they ought to be, and their edges are very sharp.

A bottle of a deep red liquid that sloshes in its thick bottle even when not in motion. It is tightly corked, and the cork additionally tied in place with a yellow ribbon in a tricky knot . The label simply reads: Strangling Willow Absinthe, Graciously imported from Polythreme, bottled in London 1873, Open at Own Risk

Another bottle of Amanita Sherry, quite similar to the one Mr Cards gave Mordessa earlier.

They then proceed to lay out an additional six items, as a clearly distinct set...

A very fancy bottle full of an unappealing viscous oily liquid, which reeks of mustard and ammonia even through its wax-stoppered cork. The label is iridescent, depicting a warty and wide-capped mushroom whose colour is slightly different from each angle, and reads: Triple-Distilled Muscaria Brandy, Medusa's Reserve 1897, "To the Death of Law".

A dark glass bottle containing a pitch black liquid. The contents are thick and flow somewhat reluctantly. The label is a smudged little scrap bearing only the word OBLIVION.

A scarf-like strip of an extremely black fabric, which sits heavily upon the table for its size. It seems to almost grow darker as it sits in the light.

Something like an elaborately embroidered handkerchief in bright colours, though it's more like a work of art in thread form than a mere handkerchief. The design is a repeating pattern of coiling snakes, which almost seem to move even while the handkerchief is lying still.

A single diamond, perhaps half a carat in size, slightly marred by a cloudy inclusion.

A heavy and ancient-looking stone jar, the top half of which is sealed in a thick layer of black wax. A somewhat newer card is attached, reading: Aeolian Scream, circa** 1200 BC, verified by Dr Orthos, Benthic College, Department of Cryptospelunking*** and Portable Antiquities, excavated March 1882 AD

"Those first six," explains Mr Cards with a gesture, "Are items which I can currently provide in significantly greater quantities if desired. As a set, I would deem their inherent and informational value appropriate to serve as the third and final part of what repayment is owed. The remaining six are items which I cannot say that of as easily, and whose value is such that I would not consider them appropriate as part of that payment. I suggest that we might begin negotiations with the informal acknowledgement that all debts implied by the circumstances of my arrival here and actions to date are cleared by the combination of my previously noted payments, and the transfer of the first set of items to you. We might then enter more formal negotiations for the remaining six items, while you present your own trade goods for potential exchange. Does that seem agreeable to you?"

*: Underground

**: Approximately, in a different language than the surrounding text for no clear reason

***: Plundering of buried ancient ruins

"I'll arrange for the scry."

She opens the door up and talks to a nearby guard in a language that Mr Cards cannot comprehend.

Did Cards just say they could carry 60 000 pounds on their person with the capacity only becoming somewhat of a chore to to load and unload?

"That is a most impressive capacity! And the story makes it almost sound like these inhabitants of London have some in-built quality allowing them to carry things much more sneakily than a common mortal could. The story in general sounds quite incredible... I wouldn't be in disbelief if I heard such a report about a local adventurer, but they would certainly have to have figured some rare and unique methods of both returning to life and smuggling. If this is an effect of London itself then I would be most interested in eventually seeing what sort of effect it'd have on a person from Golarion."

"In any case, regarding the diamonds: large, high-quality, approx 25 carat diamonds would have an extremely high worth to us. A significantly smaller diamond or diamond dust would still be valuable here."

"Hm. There are also spells for creating supplies, but for the need to eat the ring is definitely the most permanent solution available for an individual who can afford magic items in general. I have to agree that for equipment browsing would most likely make most sense. For the scrolls, we can bring you a list."

"Do you happen to value unalloyed copper, silver or gold? Even though trading goods is common, our primary form of payment consists of those, and we would have access to these in bulk as needed."

"These six items as a bundle will definitely prove useful. Let us agree that the informal part has been covered, you are freed from any further demands regarding your arrival and the consequences of such. Would you think it more appropriate for us to consider you a foreign diplomatic guest, or a foreign trade negotiation partner? And I have to inform you, since you are now a legal visitor, you are allowed to leave as you wish, but be warned that especially if you move deeper into the Worldwound the area here is dangerous, and even the allied patrols might in worst case think you a Demon. Depending on your alignment and their vision and ability to use translation magic it might end up quite a situation."

Regarding the trade offers, we have access to at least the following, and if you need a casting of a specific spell our magic-users might be able to provide it for cheaper than the scroll would be. Many of the effects are temporary:

The aforementioned ring (Ring of Sustenance. Takes a week to start working, then the person only needs 2 hours of sleep per day, alleviates need to eat for sustenance.)

A vial of spellsilver

Scroll of Polymorph (With a possibility of failure, transforms target creature into an animal, humanoid or elemental of the casters choosing)

Scroll of Teleport (The ability for the caster, their bearings, and up to one Medium sized creature to travel instantly to a location within 500 miles)

Scroll of Dominate Person (Lets the caster control target humanoid, the subject will notice and, if unwilling, try to resist this.)

Scroll of Sending (Send a 25 word message to anyone you are familiar with. Sometimes fails if they are on a different plane of existence. They can respond with 25 words of their own.)

Scroll of Fireball (Lets one do significant fire based damage in a 20 foot radius around a point within around 400 feet.)

Scroll of Tongues (What we are using to discuss, the ability to understand or speak any spoken language)

Scroll of Comprehend languages  (Ability to understand spoken and written language, but not speak or write them. Unsure what implications using this with your sigil language would have.)

"I do not believe that there is any London-specific effect pertaining to carrying capacity," disagrees Mr Cards, "Not everyone in the city benefits from it, for one, and methods do differ significantly between individuals... though talented and notable Londoners almost invariably find some way to handle larger loads. Some train and fight until they become incredibly strong, able to carry larger loads without significant issue. Some become extremely efficient at managing dozens of servants, hirelings, porters, and pets, until they can at any time have any desired item fetched at a moment's notice. Some make fortresses and warehouses of their own dreamscapes, hoarding their treasures behind whatever defences they can imagine. Some simply purchase more efficient luggage and furniture as their means increase. Speaking personally, my own methods rely upon the Red Science*, and would not be safe or easy to use by anyone not capable of independently designing them."

(This last is, if anything, somewhat of an understatement; the original interaction between an undergraduate's Parabola-Linen handbag and the Betrayer of Measures was an unplanned accident, and the subsequent failure of the resulting expanded space had produced an appalling mess. Usefully duplicating the process had been expensive and time-consuming, but subsequent study had resulted in a reasonably stable process which they could maintain without undue effort, provided they paid appropriate attention to the warning signs of potential failure and didn't try to put anything too large into it. They'd only had a handful of failures since then, and each subsequent revision to the process had become even more efficient... though it probably said something that, of their fellow researchers, only Lettice had been interested in acquiring such bags for herself.)

"Still, though not limited to London specifically, I would agree that there is something about the Neath in general that allows talented individuals to develop their talents significantly more rapidly than is typical on the surface," they admit, "And plenty of foreign governments have been eager to send all manner of adventurous diplomats, agents, researchers, businesspersons, and tourists to visit. I don't often guide others through Parabola, but presuming I manage to find a reasonably traversable route between the two worlds, I could certainly be persuaded to escort a few notable visitors, or even make more complex arrangements for less irregular travel."

At Mordessa's comment that 'large, high quality' diamonds of around twenty-five carats would be considered extremely valuable, Mr Cards cannot entirely keep a straight face. One of their more noteworthy contacts is a thief turned spymistress who came to London following rumours of a diamond the size of a cow. Though they are reliably informed that such a diamond probably does not exist outside the Elder Continent, other enormous stones certainly do, since the spymistress in question had received a diamond the size of a kitten in payment for... some secret service she'd done for Mr Fires, the details of which she'd claimed to have consigned to the rites of Saint Joshua, and which Mr Fires had been unwilling to discuss. They hadn't had the opportunity to see the thing in person, as she took security far more seriously than they generally bothered to (her own assorted lairs were well-trapped with irrigo, and nearly as hazardous as the Cave of the Nadir), but from its description, the mere existence of such a stone put the upper threshold of the Neath's largest commercially available diamonds at roughly three orders of magnitude above Mordessa's inquiry.

Indeed, they would previously have considered a 'large, high quality' diamond to be closer to the ones they'd obtained from forays into piracy (unlicensed privateering, mostly), each of them beautifully-faceted works of art weighing several hundred carats. Stones matching Mordessa's description would instead be what they considered moderate diamonds, of which they have a few hundred just lying around, not to mention even more lesser stones... and they aren't even particularly interested in diamonds. It's simply that some portion of their dividends from the Great Hellbound Railway are merely provided in diamond form, and so they just sort of passively accumulate over time, if not sold to fund some more urgent project, and the only reason why they have so many is that they've taken to keeping a notable quantity of the more significant stones around in the event it ever seems useful to bribe Mr Stones.

Still, though unable to suppress a smirk at the hint of a moderately difficult to acquire item being of 'extremely high worth' to their counterparty, proper exploitation of the implied trade opportunity would require a more precise determination of the relative value of such items. They quite deliberately hadn't revealed the best of their own stock yet, and to expect otherwise of a Devil under novel circumstances would be rather foolish.

"Diamonds matching your description are occasionally made available for purchase in the Bazaar, to certain authorized individuals," they admit, "Though not as frequently as smaller stones are, and even they are available only on an unpredictable schedule, at rather eccentric terms." (true; Empire Adornments neither posts not keeps regular business hours, only allows suitably 'important' patrons to enter when they are open, they take payment in information instead of money... and they don't generally stock diamonds of the specified quality on purpose; if such a stone shows up in the inventory of Empire Adornments, it's because Mr Stones' minion made a mistake, as that Master prefers to release such items only at more private sales)

"That being said, though Mr Stones does tend to hoard the best diamonds, it ought to be possible to arrange more substantial deals, given sufficient financial incentive," suggests Mr Cards, "What sorts of prices would your current suppliers charge for that grade of stone? The hazards of travel across Parabola seem likely to add some additional difficulty and cost to any attempted shipment, especially for a bulk shipment of valuable goods... but for the right price, I may be able to arrange a mutually-profitable deal. I am unaware of any specific trade in diamond dust, but I would expect a significant quantity of it to be produced from the work of Mr Stones' lapidaries; I might make inquiries into the topic when we next meet."

"As for copper, silver, and gold, until I have the chance to familiarize myself with local markets, your local currency is only as worth its bullion value to me," they say frankly, "Which is not nothing, but I would tend to expect that value to be lower than its value as currency. If it would be of significant inconvenience for you to pay in other forms, it would seem more sensible to delay any significant trades until then. Still, if you do have lists of standard prices you would quote for assorted goods and services, I might take that list into account when considering any preliminary deals."

Mr Cards nods at Mordessa's acknowledgement that the debts are cleared, "Excellent; I am pleased that we can agree on that much, at least. As regards my precise status... though I am not formally here on diplomatic business, there is ample reason for 'unexpected circumstances' to fall under my purview as a Master of the Bazaar!" (mostly, these reasons amount to the uncommon number of messy situations they wind up resolving for their fellow Masters... which only seldom end up being profitable and taxable situations, more's the pity, but they had quite insisted on the distinction after quite thoroughly resolving the matter of The Creditor... and those Masters who had initially opposed that formality had relented after it turned out that keeping The Creditor on such excellent terms had resulted in that ancient being being drawn into an ongoing love story of its own)

"My unexpected arrival here would not be the first instance of London making its first contact with a foreign government through Parabola, and though I cannot take credit for the resolution of that situation," having been an soulless citizen at the time instead of a Master, not that they intend to mention that, "There is certainly recent precedent. If my visit here proves at all to be a repeatable phenomenon, I would expect to find myself at least peripherally involved in the ensuing diplomatic discussions. In that sense, it would not be entirely inappropriate to consider me as a diplomatic guest... although, like any of my fellow Masters, I would expect to be far more relevant in a mercantile capacity than in a diplomatic one. Either way, I will note that this notion of alignment, and how it might be detected, is not altogether clear to me from the translation; could you clarify your meaning further?"

Considering the list of items Mordessa provides, the revelation that a Ring of Sustenance only functions after a full week's use is somewhat of a disappointment; the only other significant ring they are aware of is mutually-exclusive with gloves, and tying up that outfit slot seems unlikely to be worth the benefits. Still, translation magic would be invaluable in making sense of local market conditions, and they'd have to make some arrangement to procure such a service before departing.

*: The investigation and manipulation of the metaphysical order of the universe.

"It seems definitely plausible that this Neath would affect more than the obvious properties. An arrangement for a visit or travel could certainly prove quite profitable."

(If the visitor, as they seem to be carefully implying, could arrange for a power-balance changing bulk shipment of diamonds, there's really little need to try to cut down the price here. Cheliax is rich, and one of the assets it wants to spend on is durable but quickly liquidable power projection capacity, like Wish diamonds.)

"A diamond of that size, or a larger diamond that could be cut down to multiple, would be usually around 25 000 gold per 25 carat in Golarion. For scale, a seaworthy ship can have a cost  between 5000-15000, and higher than that we are talking warship prices. This amount would also buy you significant quality housing. The more expensive ones of these spell scrolls would usually be priced between 1000-2000 gold a piece. The comprehend languages, and other cheaper spells, can be obtained for the hundreds. A single casting of such a spell from a user who has surplus spells at the end of their workday would be a bit cheaper, but of course here in military installments surplus spells are often valuable backup options if a situation arises. And for clarity, 50 gold is a pound, so 25 000 gold would be around 500 pounds of gold."

"Alignment is a metaphysical property that can be observed in individuals, with certain abilities or magics."

"For persons who can die, its fundamental meaning relates to which afterlife one goes after dying. It has two axes, one of which is the axis from Lawful to Chaotic. A Lawful being has followed rules and commitments, either societal or their own, consistently for enough of their existence to merit that label. A Chaotic being may eat their word mere minutes after giving it, if it seems worth it. Neutral individuals place in between, and individuals who have not done significantly large acts would not register for the usual detection methods. The second axis is Good to Evil. A Good individual often makes decisions that disadvantage them for the good of others. An Evil individual optimizes for their own gain. As may be obvious, Devils are primarily Lawful Evil beings."

"The Demons who haunt the Worldwound are primarily Chaotic Evil beings, escaping from their afterlife Abyss through the dimensional rift."

"The advantages you could receive from having this info would be that you could know if you would be likely to be read as hostile to parties using alignment to guide their threat detection, and of course if you were to be proven a Lawful individual you could receive loans at lower interest rates and other benefits from being visibly long-term credible. "

"Even if the circumstances are a bit complicated, we will aim to treat you as we would a diplomatic guest."

For a moment, greed looms large in the mind of Mr Cards. 500 pounds of gold? Per 'Magnificent'-quality diamond? That is a lot of money. That is, in fact, Cider money. In a single transaction? Obviously, they accept, take the money, and celebrate their good fortune... but no, practical considerations quickly reassert themselves before that line of thought leads them to making a premature agreement. That much money, paid out in a huge pile of gold coins? A few quick mental calculations suggest that the total payment would amount to over 50 tons of gold. Gold is rather dense, so that wouldn't actually be a problem for the volume limitations on their luggage... but that much mass would probably destabilize the binding arrays that keep the contents of their luggage securely in place and accessible. To make matters worse, a redesign is probably out of the question. They were already pushing the threshold on capacity vs safety and maintenance requirements. Even if they had access to their laboratory to make such a thing, they wouldn't feel entirely comfortable putting that much gold in a bag that fragile.

Well, then. As a Master of the Bazaar, they'd known that the day would eventually come when despite their best efforts, they would finally acquire too much wealth to carry. But since that time has apparently come, and they cannot in fact carry the full payment, there's no urgent rush to make the full transaction immediately. More to the point, the lesson of Mr Stones comes to mind; diamonds are a luxury good, and their value is a matter of scarcity. The first 'large' diamond would be worth 500 pounds of gold to the local Devils, but would the hundredth also be worth so much? If they speak too rashly, they may find that their imagined prize is an illusion, as they crash the local diamond market with a supply exceeding local luxury demands.

Hmm... no, that lens doesn't quite fit. They are speaking to a military officer, not a diplomat, solicitor, or poet. She describes the price of a diamond on a level of a warship, which implies that the strategic value of a diamond is on that level, to local interests. Not mere ornamentation, then... use in precision optical equipment? Possible, but not necessarily the case; they don't have enough information regarding the local science of Topological Complexity to do more than guess at what use those techniques might have for diamonds. The question of how many are needed at that price remains valid, but it is not an enormous leap of insight to conclude that whatever use is intended for the things, it's a militarily relevant use. It'll be worth investigating exactly what that use is before finalizing any such trade, but that won't stop some initial negotiations.

"It seems that there are grounds for a mutually-beneficial trade here," observes Mr Cards with a grin, not bothering to make a probably-futile attempt at concealing their greed after their initial reaction, "Approximately how many such gems do you expect your government be interested in purchasing at that price?"

Something about Mordessa's description of alignment seems imprecise, bothering them in a manner not dissimilar to the way they are bothered when reading public statements made by the Mithridate Office of the Presbyterate. If nothing else, there are definitely aspersions being cast on Good and Chaotic beings, given the disadvantageous implications. That description is probably not altogether incorrect... but they mentally flag the explanation as one to be investigated later in more detail. Still, their response is obvious enough.

"By those definitions, I would be inclined to agree with you as to the importance of both personal gain and the following of rules and commitments," says Mr Cards with a firm nod (charity is a crime, so when they seek to do good for others, they do try to ensure that they also benefit), "Though I find it interesting that these metaphysical properties are so easily observable that they can reasonably be used for threat detection in hostile environments. I do find myself rather curious as to what such techniques make of my own nature."

They've heard the properties of their soul described to them by Devils before, but the sort of technique implied is clearly different than the soul measurements they are more familiar with. If nothing else, the credibility advantages claimed from such an assessment suggest that it's likely to give more useful information than a statement like "invitingly warm, subtly flavoured, and abrasive; scented of monkshood, wine, and bees; appears densely shadowed, and constantly flickers".

Greed. A good reaction to observe. This is closer to merchanting than diplomacy now, but that is not a problem. It's clear as day that Mr Cards wants to close this sale, and they want to make this big. If Mordessa is reading this right the amount of resources on sale here is such that Cheliax might consider war to finance some of the purchase. (Obviously in the scenarios where Cards does enough security arrangements and no lawfully-separated-from-Cheliax secret organization can obtain the diamonds more forcefully.) (And no, this thought was never thought, it is only an implication explained here for the readers benefit.)

"For a sizeable purchase we would need significant time to liquidate assets. And the stated price was the usual market price; diamonds are not a most liquid asset so we might be able to purchase some at market prices, but if you want to make a larger sale we would be expecting significant quantity discount. If you would agree to a temporary, but significant, something like a year long non-disclosure clause about the source and existence of those diamonds, that could be another worthwhile quality for us. Regarding the amount: We could use 5 hastily, and if it would arrive with delay but within a month we could discuss a dozen or multiple dozens. Regarding quality: We would first purchase, or loan with a deposit, a single diamond to check if it qualifies for our purchase standards. Regarding authority: Our diamond budgets are separated from more local organizational budgets, and as such for authorizing the payment another leader would need to be present.

"It is a most curious, but also everpresent feature of our world that these metaphysical features seem to  be present in most beings once they reach a certain threshold of power. The usual, and perhaps correct explanation is that the Gods found it pleasing to sort mortals in these ways when creating the world."

"Since you are interested, I'll ask a threat detection caster to check for us. We could also get the far-seeing magic to check out the Worldwound done while we're at it."

Mordessa walks to and opens the door, and announces orders in a language that seems unfamiliar to Cards.

"It'll take a bit for them to get here."

Alas, the first diamond does indeed seem to be worth more than the hundredth. Disappointing, but there's still some non-trivial value here. The mention of non-disclosure terms is an interesting one; it goes a couple of steps beyond mere exclusivity, and implies that such purchases are more significant and sensitive than they would've expected. Perhaps a useful angle to press, if they can do so without being too threatening about it... and if they're waiting on preparations for some time in any event, they may as well push forward with the negotiations, at least so far as to set a framework of expectations.

"Perfectly understandable," acknowledges Mr Cards with a nod, "You don't have the authority and funding needed to negotiate larger transactions, and I have yet to discover a stable route home that would facilitate any truly large-scale trade, and merely have those trade goods which happened to be on my person when I found myself transported here. We are still sounding each other out over the very preliminary details of a far more significant agreement, and each of us have preparations to make before then. It will take some time for you to gather funds and determine whether the goods I have on offer are of value to you, just as it will take me some time to investigate local market conditions and determine what local goods it would be profitable for me to trade for. Regarding the privacy of information... I can understand wanting to keep the existence and availability of a militarily significant commodity away from real and potential adversaries, to offer such freely would be disadvantageous to my own trade interests... though I note that it would be similarly disadvantageous to me if, after I put in the effort needed to chart a trade route through Parabola and convey visitors to my home city, your government decided to 'cut out the middleman' and renegotiate with someone else, especially if this occurred after I was bound not to disclose even the possibility that I might have diamonds to trade to any other local polity. Still, given appropriate concessions, I might consider a more temporary agreement regarding non-disclosure as a part of a smaller-scale and preliminary contract, in the anticipation that you would find it to be a valuable term to include in a future agreement."

Their hint regarding their own potential vulnerability as a middleman in a larger scale trade deal is an unfortunate but necessary revelation, as any potential for long-term profits would likewise depend on a long-term agreement robust enough to prevent the local Devils from simply deciding to conduct any future negotiations directly with Mr Stones, or perhaps the Gracious Widow. Still, it's not much of a hint, since they've already mentioned the existence of their fellow Master, and they did not introduce themselves as being a diamond merchant specifically. Ideally, they'll want some nicely airtight language acknowledging that they are owed export taxes on all purchases of Earth's diamonds during the duration of the agreement, but whether they can get that will depend entirely on how well the negotiations go... or indeed, whether or not it seems at all sensible to engage in such a trade once more information is available.

At this point, Mr Cards digs into their Robe (and the luggage concealed within), and quickly fishes out a handful of flawed diamonds (several dozen small stones, none larger than two carats, with the larger specimens being considerably more flawed, showing notable cracks, discolourations, and inclusions), a dozen diamonds of somewhat greater quality (in the three to seven carat range, none bearing any flaws visible to the naked eye, and generally being cut and faceted to a higher degree than the flawed stones), and a single larger diamond (a flawless stone of easily 25 carats, cut in the brilliant cushion style); these are placed separate from the previously mentioned goods, as a teasing sample of both quality and quantity.

"A possible preliminary contract might include the single large stone you requested for testing purposes, plus a number of lesser stones, and the various sample goods I have presented, in exchange for an initial payment in gold, and your own presented scrolls and trade samples," they suggest, without actually committing to any specific course of action, "As part of the purchase contract, I could be persuaded to agree to a non-disclosure clause lasting for a one-month period, in exchange for certain concessions. Other terms to be negotiated might include demonstrations of the various 'magical' effects previously mentioned, access to scholarly works and training relevant to those effects, transportation and access agreements for a selection of notable markets and libraries, and the services of 'magic-users' able to provide access to translation and transportation effects as needed. Once a preliminary agreement of that sort has been signed, I might spend some fraction of that month doing my own investigation and research while your own government arranges any necessary financing and logistics. Then, once each party is properly prepared for such negotiations, a larger and longer-term contract might be negotiated."

Of course, Mr Cards is well aware that this last term is a double-edged sword, as any 'magic-users' provided for this purpose may well also be spies; but they have significant experience playing the Great Game in Khan's Heart against the White-and-Golds, and had achieved some significant successes before they'd even managed to learn much Hudum! Accordingly, they feel rather confident in their ability to outfox most sorts of guards and minders while they figure out what other opportunities might exist, if only to give them a clearer idea of how much to charge for the privilege in later negotiations... and so expect that any such services will be undervalued with respect to the utility they might gain from them.

Huh. They really are throwing diamonds around like they are a standard trade good.

"A preliminary contract seems plausible. Given your own fears about being cut out as the middleman, I will also admit that one risk that is present here for the interests of Cheliax is if, after your research, you decided to just sell the diamonds to another party from Golarion. Therefore such a preliminary contract does sound sensible. The mentioned trade of items does also seem beneficial, but do you have any specification for how much gold you are looking as part of this initial trade? The services and transportation you mention could definitely be provided. Do you have specific requirements for contract terms or contract language?"

In a later possible agreement, with no set deadline, guarantees could be considered in the manner of promising to negotiate you for a matching deal before making a direct deal for the same good with an alternative party, and in turn, you would provide us the same guarantee if you decide to sell to another Golarion party. This would provide both signatories the ability to use their merchanting skills to improve their negotiating position, while still keeping a manner of exclusivity."

There's a knock, and Mordessa opens the door. A person wearing black robes, that have a red pentagram symbol on them arrives through the doorway. 

They discuss with Mordessa. And announce to Mr Cards: "I'll be checking your alignment. This might take a minute." And begin doing hand movements that seem like casting things.

They check in the following order (each check taking around 6 seconds): Detect Chaos, Detect Good, Detect Evil, Detect Law. They also mix in fake gestures and castings of detect thoughts. The aim is to spend 9*6 seconds on the toal operation, to make it plausible to claim that they checked for all alignments during the time that passed. Subjectively it feels like their consciousness is being probed a little.

Cards will need to make some will saves against a Chelish security Inquisitor, level 13. They need to beat a DC 18 Will save 5 times.

In response to Mordessa's question about specific contract requirements, Mr Cards openly laughs, their laughter high and slightly bitter.

"For a contract negotiation with a Devil? I have extensive requirements for contract language and terms. Unless you are comfortable simply accepting my current best practices for contracts with the Brass Embassy, I fully expect to spend the rest of the day negotiating the specifics, starting with a discussion as to what paper and ink should be used for the agreement itself. As to the gold price from the initial trade, that would depend on the specifics of what other terms are being offered... but perhaps 90,000 of your gold coins would be a reasonable starting point?"

By London standards, 'Ostentatious' quality diamonds ought to be worth about a 25th of what 'Magnificent' quality diamonds are (which would give them a value of 1,000 gp each, or 12,000 in total), and 'Flawed' quality diamonds a quarter of that (250 each, approximately 18,000 in total). That would make the diamonds worth 55,000 gp... assuming that the relative value of the different stones is consistent with their intuitions, which isn't necessarily true. Still, 90,000 gp feels like enough of an additional charge to make it a safe place to start haggling from, amidst the uncertainty of the other parts of said transaction. Still, this is only a guess, and Mr Cards carefully observes Mordessa's reaction to the proposal to assess whether their initial price point is in error.

Either way, the arrival of the caster makes a reasonable breaking point. Mr Cards watches the caster, carefully observing their movements, while idly considering what Correspondence symbols, if any, might potentially be used to duplicate the feat being performed.

Firstly, neither Mr Cards, nor anything currently in their possession and in range of the spell, detects as Chaotic... since the Absinthe on the table behind them isn't quite powerful enough to have a visible aura. Other results might be visible if their luggage was open, but it currently is not. There is a similar lack of response to the attempt to detect Good, for similar reasons.

Detect Thoughts initially confirms that there are conscious entities with thoughts in Cards' general direction, which encompasses much of the room. However, even in their social outfit, Mr Cards will detect as having an Intelligence score of 26. Unless the Chelish Inquisitor has an Intelligence score of 17 or higher, they are Stunned, and lose control of Detect Thoughts before the spell even gets to the point of requiring a Will save.

Luckily for Cheliax they had gotten a reading of Cards' intelligence earlier, and as such the reader had been prepared with a Fox's cunning to reach a comfortable 19 intelligence for the castings.

The detections continue as planned.

The laugh gets a raised eyebrow, but no other acknowledgment.

"That does seem most sensible. I would be interested in hearing the form of your current best practices. Spending the rest of the day for the specifics is not implausible, but with these sort of stakes on the stable we might even need to bring in some contract devils."

That offered price is high. In selling the items one by one over months of time to sell that could be close to possible, but here it seems like something of an overshoot. The counteroffer is of course a tactical decision, not so much a statement on what Cards' wares are worth.

"I would consider something closer to 40 000 gold pieces plausible here as a straight cash payment."

"Any haggling with regards to the exact price can be left until more of the terms have been settled," Mr Cards states firmly, waving off any further attempt to fix in price at this point, "If you feel the need to bring in specialists to negotiate on your behalf, by all means do so; I have been called upon in such a capacity myself frequently enough. I dislike having to repeat myself, so should you consider this likely, I will wait to discuss my standard contracting practices with whichever negotiator Hell sends."

There are... a strangely puzzling number of thinking minds within range of the Detect Thoughts spell, which is usually better at giving an exact number. There is Mr Cards themselves, of course, with an Intelligence of 26. Their hat detects as having an Intelligence score of 12, while the book at their side shows an Intelligence of 16. Little else in the room is intelligent and conscious... but the bottle of "Strangling Willow Absinthe" ambiguously either has dozens of minds, or just one. Its Intelligence is somewhere between 1 and 5, a number which fluctuates strangely from moment to moment while the Inquisitor examines their minds.

Tuning in to find specific thoughts... Mr Cards makes their save, as does their book, but the hat and the absinthe fail. Mr Cards adopts a considering expression as they notice that strange mental sensation of passing a Will save once again; they're paying considerably more attention this time, making the hint more obvious.

The thoughts coming from the hat consist of a rude, rambling, and judgmental internal narrative criticizing Mordessa's aesthetic decisions: ...such a terrible outfit... classless, crude, and tastelessly revealing... despite exposing her flesh so indecently, she isn't even making the slightest hint of an attempt to weaponize her sexuality... not that the Master would be so foolish as to let such an attempt influence them... certainly one of the most boorish Devils I've ever had the displeasure of meeting... and with those stupid-looking horns... like she's pretending to be a Demon... quite tempted to tell her so myself... but the last Devil I spoke sharply to was so terribly rude as to set me on fire... (a vague memory of pain, and the wordless fear of being burned alive)... I don't care to repeat that experience...

In contrast, the thoughts coming from the absinthe are a chorus of wordless screams. There is a terror in it not unlike that of a herd of cornered and traumatized prey animals, finding themselves surrounded once again by predators, while it sits trapped and helpless, straining against their prison, waiting to see if it will be consumed today. They would be screaming audibly, if it still could scream. Their thoughts are tainted by a desperate rage, an urge to wound and kill whatever it can, should they have even the slightest opportunity to hurt another as it has been hurt... so long ago that they no longer quite remember what happened to it... and since then, there is nothing for them but terror, yet no hope for it to escape. And so they scream, and it screams back, until their screams drown and shatter its thoughts once again.

(The Inquisitor will need to cast their spell again if they wish to make another attempt to detect the thoughts of Mr Cards, or their book.)

Once the spell settles, Detect Evil reveals a strong aura of Evil about Mr Cards' person... but a careful examination localizes this aura to the Robe of Mr Cards, rather than the being within said Robe. Mr Cards personally radiates a moderate aura of Evil, and the book at their side radiates a matching aura. The ancient stone jar on the table also radiates a strong aura of Evil, while the bottle of 'OBLIVION' beside it radiates a moderate Evil aura.

Similarly, Detect Law demonstrates that Mr Cards has a moderate aura of Law, matched by their book, while their hat radiates a faint Lawful aura. The ancient stone jar also radiates a strong aura of Law.

Smart move, not unexpected for an experienced merchant.

"That does sound sensible. And just to confirm, you would prefer to negotiate here on Golarion, not in Hell?"

There is considerable effort on the inquisitors part to not leak information by way of making expressions. There is the beginning of a reaction, immediately suppressed, at the hat's rambling. The hat being set on fire is noted as relevant intel for tracking similarities and disparities between Cards' known Devils and Golarion Devils. The screaming is bad but not so bad as to make a Chelish security personnel react visibly. They've been trained to be able to look at the thoughts of paving stones without a significant visible reaction.

The succesful detected thoughts are silently and telepathically reported to Mordessa. Then they state:

"Esteemable guest, it seems both your Robe, and your personage detect as Evil, with some difference in magnitude. The book, jar on the table, and the bottle of 'OBLIVION' also detect as such."

"You, and the book also have a moderate aura of Law, while your hat seems to have a faint aura. The stone jar has a strong aura of Law."

"I will note to you that as a whole having an assortment of alignmentful equipment, which is usually associated with high magical power, especially items that nobody has ever seen before, might raise you some additional attention when travelling publicly. The equipments magical aura are most likely also visible to any guards or adventurers using Detect Magic. Also note that there are certain states where specifically having an Evil aura could raise suspicions, but in some cases, such as Osirion, having the Law to go with that and being able to swear to abide to local law for the duration of a visit can remedy much of that."

"Oh, certainly," agrees Mr Cards, "It would be foolish to deliberately enter Hell without a formal agreement pertaining to my legal status and the terms of my passage."

Something itches under the skin of their left wrist in response to that sentiment; they ignore it, as usual. Any description of the way they entered Hell through the Marigold Gate would likely conflict with facts known to any local Devil, until they've learned enough to know which would need to be emphasized, and which omitted... a problem for later, in any event.

The caster's explanation proves rather interesting. Apparently, their Robe, made by the other Masters in concert, is Evil, but not Lawful? Unsurprising, perhaps; each of the Masters is clearly self-interested, but not all have seen fit to keep their word... Mr Veils and Mr Wines certainly have not! As for the jar, they had certainly known that Aeolian Screams were ancient, and had something of Storm's power to them. Unfortunately, their own experience with investigating the remnants of Storm's power had taken a thoroughly unreasonable amount of time and effort, and yet the end results had been more confusing than revelatory. Well, let the Devils puzzle over the ancient thing; they have more where it came from... and in the meantime, they certainly aren't above taking advantage of the situation.

"I believe I understand the difference. Each of the items you mentioned came from a different maker. The Aeolian Scream is an ancient relic of the god now called Storm, Bottled Oblivion is produced by some secret art known to Mr Wines, my hat was touched by the power of the King with a Hundred Hearts, my Robe was a... collaborative effort, and this book was my own personal work," Mr Cards explains, giving the latter an affectionate pat; the warm leather of its spine pulses under their fingers in response.

"Still, if the Aeolian Scream is an item of particular interest," notes Mr Cards opportunistically, "I note that I have similar items available. Admittedly, few are as old or as potent as that one, but perhaps you might wish to perform any destructive tests on a less-valuable sample?"

A dozen more jars quickly find themselves crowding yet another part of the table. Half of the jars are clay, and none are legibly labelled, but each is clearly sealed in the same way as the original.

"I expect that it would be difficult to entirely hide my strangeness from the locals," suggests Mr Cards, eliding their own experience at handling such difficult tasks, and the means by which they would disguise themselves to do so, "But I could certainly reconsider my travelling equipment with an eye towards being less conspicuous, if it seemed appropriate to a given situation. The swearing of oaths would be a more serious matter, of course."

There's something almost naively charming about the idea of a place where one could gain permission for safe passage merely by swearing an oath... although come to think of it... they would not, themselves, even consider swearing such an oath without complete knowledge of the terms of the laws in question, and would need a very good reason to break such an oath thereafter. Hmm... on second thought, perhaps there is some significant metaphysical weight behind this local concept of Law. For an unreasonable moment, they're tempted to ask what the caster makes of the broken remnants of Mr Wines' signet ring, but then they'd need to explain what it is and how they got it... no, definitely not worth the trouble.

"Foolish is one fitting word to describe that course of action. We have a policy to ask valuable negotiating partners for it, but it is rare that an experienced one would agree."

"That's a lot of stories behind just few visible items. And significantly respectable skill in packing power into a book. A few smaller items relating to this Storm do seem of interest. Hell does appreciate their trading partners taking oaths seriously."

"As it stands we expect that the contract devil should take an hour to arrive. Also the magic to cast a far-seeing spell to see closer to the Worldwound, the place where the Chaotic Evil afterlife of Abyss connects with our world, takes an hour to cast. I requested earlier for a wizard* to start casting it when it came up, so it will be done in approximately 30 minutes, in a close-by room. We can keep exchanging information here, or if you have any preparations for the contract negotiations you can use this space or a private room as needed."

*academically practiced magic-user

Mr Cards considers this a moment, then nods.

"Understood. In that case, I shall take a brief walk, and be back in half an hour."

So saying, they rather quickly scoop up all the items which they have yet to trade away, leaving only the initial six that they'd already agreed to exchange. A degree of informal trust is useful for establishing cordial relations, but it is not to be extended to the point of leaving large quantities of valuables lying around unattended!

Without further ceremony, they stride quickly out of the room, and then, in the moment in which they've broken line of sight with the room containing Mordessa and the caster, perform another quick change... at which point, any guards posted outside the room that happened to be watching at the moment find themselves unable to quite recall exactly what it was that Cards happened to put on, or in which direction they went afterwards, other than to note that they left the area.

The Chelish happen to be somewhat, if possibly not adequately to counteract irrigo, prepared to detect invisible intruders. They are in standard alert mode for a high ranking civilians visit, since this is a friendly negotiation. (As is standard for Cheliax, standard alert mode is prepared for situations where a person would try to defect.)

As it happens, the security assigned to passively use detect thoughts and see invisible to detect any invisible spies, enemies or adversaries get a decent dose of irrigo.

However there are also the security sitting in secret hallways and rooms who do not have direct line of sight to the hallways Cards is now moving in.

How far will Cards' steps take them, are they intent on getting all the way outside or finding an untracked private corner? Will methods be applied to notice possible guards inside the walls of the fortres?

Meanwhine, the "cleaning" crew, having a more than standard presence of detect magic users and a person to detect alignment with, is cleaning the bedroom.

They unscrew the Nevercold Brass screws, and do a full check of the floor, walls, and most importantly ceiling, that being where a mediocre trap-setter could have left something.

After that they start doing a search of containers and furniture in the room against their list of expected contents. Will the detectction magic reveal a hiding scarf, or will a common maid put to the task of going through drawer and dresser content receive a surprise?

Well. That is a fast takeoff. These sort of goodwill gestures do come with a price but it was estimated to be worth it here. This is somewhat worring signal to the fact that Cards surely knows that giving out their true escape capacities would come at a significant information cost, and if this is them saving tricks then the wilder cards certainly require some more tricksy precautions. They will consider investing into a Contingency for a negotiator that'd prevent leaving in an unfavourable manner.

The speed at changing clearly high-grade and body-covering magical equipment is quire something to note, as well.

Communication will continue by telepathy and Mordessa will, now able, set more of her attention to coordinating the fortress. They are still treating the visitor as friendly, which means they are following plan for "visitor location unknown, scan for adversaries", that oh so coincidentally happens to be an effective way of usually also locating the visitor.

They want to know Cards' location sooner than possible. (Meaning, in non-Chelish: every second of delay will be felt in someones skin, eventually.)

See Invisible is useless. Mr Cards is not, in fact, invisible. That's... part of the problem, actually.

Detect Thoughts is more helpful; Mr Cards has a slightly lower Intelligence in this outfit, and so does not automatically stun every non-Intelligence-based Detect Thoughts caster they walk by.

However, and perhaps surprisingly, their ongoing movements through the fortress are often not being reported. If guards that may have seen Mr Cards are questioned, most claim not to have noticed anything unusual, though they may recall their lapse of attention under duress. The more competent guards are at least able to testify to the fact that someone walked by them and passed their save against detect thoughts. They moved openly, as if expecting not to be detained, acknowledged the presence of any guards along their path, and kept going. The affected guards have difficulty providing any specifics of those encounters, though.

Some guards suggest that the 'someone' was an unfamiliar Devil of obviously high rank, and they did not feel confident demanding that they stop. Other guards instead claim that the 'someone' was instead an attractive woman wearing an elaborate and expensive-looking dress and surrounded by a strangely distracting perfume, possibly a visiting noblewoman? Those guards who claim that questioned the one who passed them, report that they had a good explanation for their presence, and so took no further action.  A few guards report that the individual in question was singing and dancing... but this did not seem unusual, for some reason.

Extracting and tracking these reports is somewhat difficult, but if the effort is made, it doesn't seem that Mr Cards is going anywhere in particular. They're wandering the fortress, casually exploring, and apparently making a musical number out of their casual bypassing of Chelish security.