Tamryn walks over to Akyan. “Your idea was a good one and I’m sorry for appropriating it. I just thought it’s too soon for bounty hunters to show up; we don’t even know if she is aware her daughter is missing. Just showing up with her like that, demanding money, it would be seen as extortion and we’d likely be killed. But as potential assets, we might live.”

Turning to Spar, he says, “Well, the simplest is to just kill her. Or we could wait a day until Duncan is ready to turn her into a simpleton. We could teleport her to a far off land, exile her from all she knows. We could polymorph her into a parrot and keep her caged up forever. We could invite her to join the circle, although she doesn’t seem the type at present. We could ask her not to talk about us, which also seems unlikely. We could say we were a passing team from the Harpers or the Order of the Gauntlet who saw the caravan, realized what was up, and decided to help, and that we’ll be on our way after depositing the other girls at the monastery. We could say we were hired by a bunch of druids to protect the forest and have no interest in city affairs. We could make her our scullery maid. Um…that’s all I’ve got.”

Listening to the proffered plans, Jhaartael eventually responds, although speaking as if more to himself or the air about them, "Our chosen path will always be difficult. Whatever choice we make should be to do what is right, not what will make our work light."

Spar raises an eyebrow at Tamryn.  "I'll assume you are jesting... or did you get hit in the head?  If we don't return the girl, Athkatla will be engulfed in a bloody war between cartels, and many innocents will suffer.  The question is not whether to return her, but how to do so without compromising our teams."

Annika sighs, and steps forward.  "The girl is quite obviously smitten with you, you moron.  Tell her some story about how you how you're an abolitionist crusader, or a vigilante or even a secret admirer of hers.  She'll believe whatever you say, as you have saved her from a terrible fate. Tell her you are taking her to her mother right away, but that the other women will be taken back to their families, by your servants or employees or henchmen or whatever.  She shouldn't object, the Dannihyrs are a rotten bunch, but as far as we know they're not into slavery, at least, not this kind, plus she should understand, as she is demanding the same for herself.  Tell her you put your life (and mine) into her hands and that we two will safely deliver her back to her mother for no reward other than than the opportunity to do a service for the Dannihyr family.  If you get the girl on our side, I think it unlikely that the mother kills us, but if she does, at least the rest of our teams can continue to operate.  With luck, we gain a modicum of gratitude, maybe access to the guild and its plans, and a possible informant in the girl.  While you are inside charming the girl, send the others out with me, and we will redistribute them to the other wagons and send everyone else off to the monastery before Fatima and her friends ever see anyone else.

"If we gain the mother's trust, you can ask to be assigned to lead the investigation into the kidnapping.  We can strike these locations that we have information on, which will not be a deception, as they were indeed the kidnappers.  Tell her you want to hire local mercenaries instead of using syndicate troops to keep the Dannihyr family out of the spotlight.  With the gods' favor, we might survive and establish you in a place of trust in her cartel."

Akyan shrugs, “I won’t deny that your suggestion was more thought out. I should have been more specific, I wasn’t suggesting that as bounty hunters we were looking for her. I was suggesting we just stumbled across them. Though I did choose my words poorly.” 

Akyan has to stop himself from nodding to a few of Tamryn’s other suggestions. Several of them were completely ridiculous, but others sounded quite reasonable to him. However, when Spar asked if the wood elf was jesting, he realized what he was considering. Killing her, or wiping her memories were the two easiest options. 

Thinking about this, he isn’t sure why Spar is so concerned with the girl seeing their faces. Couldn’t Duncan just remove them from her memory? Or was that really that taxing on him. 

When Annika speaks up, Akyan raises an eyebrow, then looks at Tamryn, waiting to hear his answer. 

Tamryn's jaw drops open as Annika speaks to him. He tries to interrupt her a couple times, but doesn't appear able to find his voice. When she is finished, he just blinks, a confused look on his face. After about 20 seconds, he turns to Spar and says, " That sounds good"

Spar's eyes widen a bit as Annika launches into her plan.  You get the impression she's not usually quite that loquacious.  He mulls over what she has said, and replies, "If it worked, that would solve our problems, but I think the risk to you and to Tamryn is too great.  What if Mallika sees right through your cover story?  Tamryn here doesn't really seem like the crusader type.  Whatever you tell her about yourself and your motivations will need to be believable, and of course, you cannot reveal anything about the DCL.  Are you up to the challenge, elf?  Failure will almost certainly mean death."

Looking at Duncan, he muses, "We could also try erasing the girl's memories, but Duncan says this cannot be done until he's had a good long rest, which would mean that Mallika might well discover the disappearance of her daughter and start the search, making it difficult to return her discretely.  And if she comes back with no memory of what happened to her, I'm not sure how Mallika would react to that."

He looks at all of you.  "Well? Does anyone have any better ideas? Or any tweaks that might make this scheme more likely to succeed?"

"If worse comes to worse, can't Duncan just erase the memory of our appearances? That way she still remembers what happened, she just doesn't remember us. Or does it not work that way..."

Duncan speaks up, "If I rest all day, this evening I could possibly go in and blur her memory of Tamryn and Annika.  It would likely become apparent if she were closely questioned that someone had altered her memories.  If they had a skilled psi operative, it is possible that they could go in and recover the memories.  I could instead remove the memories entirely, but that will leave a noticeable gap in Fatima's recollection of what happened to her. Also, remember, as this is an involuntary procedure, we risk damaging other parts of her mind as well.  In my opinion, this is not our best option, but I will do as Spar decides."

(Did Mina attempt to open the chest she found?)

Jhaartael holds his hand to his head, physically pained listening to this conversation. He responds abruptly, stopping the torrent of convolution. His words come slowly, "Why does this need to be so hard? As Annika suggested, we are vigilante abolitionists. We are here precisely here to free these women from slavery. Most of them are so far from their families that taking them to the monastery as a staging point for their safe return makes sense. Among the women we are saving, is a local woman whose parents are not far away. Any loving parent would be happy to have their daughter back after such an affair. As this Fatima seems intent upon returning home, she must be loved. If she were a poor farmer's daughter, wouldn't we just return her - no questions asked, no reward needed? Aren't we just complicating things with speculative intrigue?"

While listening to the rest discuss the plan, Mina takes the keys she stole from the guards and sees if any of them will work on the chest she found.

Mina does find a key that fits, and the opened chest reveals two more potion of healing and more documents indicating a roster of the slaves, and a delivery destination and password.  Comparing the instructions to those previously found, the delivery location and password are different.

Spar nods as Jhaartael speaks.  "Yes perhaps we are over-complicating it.  If the girl had any other mother, we would not be talking of exile, killing or wiping memories.  So, this is my decision:

"If Tamryn and Annika are willing to try to infiltrate the cartel, or at least make contacts there that could be used for information later, we will go with that plan.  Otherwise, they will take her to her mother's house, see that she enters safely, and then flee, and hope Fatima does not remember them enough to cause complications for our teams later.  But she must be returned as soon as possible or I fear the city will descend into chaos.

"While Tamryn and Annika are away, the remainder of Team Two will escort the remaining girls to the monastery.  If Team Three wishes to strike one or more of the delivery locations we have discovered tonight, you may do so.  Or you may return to the safe house and rest and wait to see how Tamryn and Annika have fared.

"If there are no further objections, please send out the other girls that will not accompany Fatima home."

Akyan listen's to what Duncan says then nods. He hadn't thought that the guild might have a psi operative in it's ranks, or that someone could reconstruct memories.

"Well, then I think Annika's plan is the best one so far." He says, then looks at Spar, "I'm up for striking one of the delivery locations. Has anyone checked the third wagon? It might have a third address in it."

"I agree," Kyrsa says. "This seems like the best plan, and I would definitely be up for striking one of the delivery locations. The more we can accomplish in one day the better." She looks to Akyan, "I don't think anyone has checked that wagon for another chest. Perhaps Tamryn can do so." She holds her set of keys out to Spar so that Team Two can free the girls when they get to the monastery. 

Spar climbs up into the driver's seat of the first wagon, and Millie unlocks the back, waiting for the extra girls from wagon 3.  Duncan and Rigel similarly ascend the front of the second vehicle, with Mollie in back.

Annika walks to the front of the third wagon, finding the chest there, and easily opens the lock with her all-purpose tool.  She walks back to you all, bearing two more potion of healing and similar documents to the ones found in the other two wagons, with yet another address and password.

She looks at Tamryn.  "Well, shall we get the other girls out of Fatima's wagon and send them on their way?"

Jhaartael questions "Are any of these addresses closer to each other? If we have to choose, we may wish to attack two close together rather than splitting the party."

Akyan nods to Jhaartael, "I agree," He will take the papers back from Spar if possible, then open them to compare the addresses.

“Yes,” says Tamryn, following Annika to the third wagon, “I’ll keep Fatima and her crew occupied while you get the girls out. What name would you like to be called? I shall be Gorondarel; I think that sounds sufficiently valorous. Also, what is our relationship? Partners? I think that would be best, don’t you?”

The addresses are all in the vicinity of the Slave Market, which is not far from the Julkoon Gate in the southern wall of the city.  To travel from one to the next on foot would take 15-20 minutes.

Annika blushes when Tamryn asks what their relationship is.  She says, "Uh, sure... partners.  Call me... Gretchen."

Tamryn enters the wagon after the obligatory reference to monkey hindquarters, and soon young humanoid women come stumbling out.  It is still dark, so Annika guides them by torchlight one or two at a time to the other wagons.  When the last have been loaded up, Spar gives the signal, and wagons one and two head off to the west, on their way to the monastery.

There is now one wagon remaining.  Tamryn is inside, and Fatima is waiting for an explanation of what is going to happen.  Annika is waiting outside the wagon.

The remainder of Team Three has the documents and the potions that were recovered from all three wagons.  Spar took the coins with him to contribute to the monastery for aiding the women, but he left the gems for your team.

The easiest entry back into the city is the gate you came out of, which is the Sparandar gate on the southeast of the city, where the guards were thought to be in league with these illicit slave-traders.

As everyone disperses, Mina turns to the rest of team 3, "So do we head back through the gates we came through?  We didn't have an issue getting through them, and what address shall we hit first?  And just so I understand, what is the plan at the destinations?  Spar said strike, does that mean that we eliminate the targets or ?  I just want to be sure we're all clear on the objective here."