Cob watches Saget even more closely when he mentions that he would take the children from the Residuum and take them to the Main Archive of the Archive of Ages.

"I think this one," Cob says to the others, while waving a hand at Saget, "is being truthful about not working for the Residuum but I think he has his own plans still and I think that involves the children still. He should not be let loose."

He looks back at Saget.

"At least not until we have a couple of days head start."

“It is odd to have such intricate well thought out plans, only to rely on hired mercenaries to keep your secret. Quite the oversight”, Drexon says to Saget.

”And now giving us this information, I agree with Cob, this is not altruism at play. However, I believe what you say. Tell us more about the Residuum and what awaits us. Who leads it? How does the Urgash brothers deal fit in? Can we use that?”, he asks, answering Yntar’s question at the same time. Of course he wants to go finish the job.

He remains focussed on Saget’s surface thoughts.

Saget looks at Cob and shakes his head disappointed. "What reason would I have in keeping the children? The Archive of Ages is massive and wealthy. If we want some children, the people of Sabitah will gladly give them to us. We will educate them and put them to use, making them successful and beneficial members of society. The children will be taken to the Main Archive, educated until the heat dies down, and returned back to Erdelun, mostly to fill the ranks of Erdelun Annex."

"Well, when you put it that way, that's kind of a win-win in my book," Halaster comments. 

"I miscalculated your involvement," Saget says to you. "I have thoroughly studied the villages that held the gemstones to know that their protection is second to none. Once an intruder that has not been keyed into the village comes in, the village will become out of phase with the rest of reality. The mercenaries will be trapped or killed and I will have no loose ends. Unfortunately, your involvement in the matter had saved the mercenaries from death or imprisonment far from civilization, thus enabling them to reveal my identity."

"The main trade of the Residuum as far as I know is in illegal substances. Merchants were employed to transport these substances in crates bearing the symbol of the Residuum, that of a tree trunk with many twisting branches. The Magisterium, specifically the individuals you said are called the Urgash brothers, provided information concerning which location had children that would be easily taken in exchange for a chance to earn extra coins. I commissioned them to deliver large numbers of Trinitas crates to a specific warehouse in Mantagard. It is managed by the Archive for temporary storage and is a perfect destination to acquire proof that my people in Mantagard can then submit to the Militarum. That part of the plan is still ongoing and will hopefully bring the attention of the Militarium to the Residuum if they successfully delivered it."

Drexon, a flash of memory emerges to the surface of Saget's thought when he is explaining the Residuum's trade. It shows an alleyway. Crates with the symbol of the Residuum. A figure dressed in complete darkness falls from some sort of a rooftop and stabs the head of a large goliath warrior before slinking back into a shadow. A smaller man is down on his knees, cowering away from the dead goliath. The same smaller man, dead, with the word 'TRAITOR' scorched on his forehead. Another flash of memory. It shows an empty road in the countryside. A group of people is traveling with crates bearing the symbol of the Residuum and several other crates bearing symbols of shops and brands of goods. A cloud of darkness surrounds the people. The people, dead, with the word 'THIEF' carved into their chest when the darkness fades. 

"Crossing the Residuum can be a fatal mistake I would imagine. It seems you feel entitled to freely use others as pawns in your plans", Drexon remarks.

"I am not surprised by this, nor do I really care what methods you use. Unless it effects myself and those I care about. Right now, I care about those children. I am not sure exactly why, but I do not wish them to come to harm. And even the Urgash brothers do not deserve to be used like this", he says, frowning at his own words.

"What should we be on the look out for? If the Residuum know of your part in this, they surely know of ours as well. If we are doing this, we must be prepared", he adds then moves closer to Saget.

"There is also a price for becoming your pawns. You are resourceful and well placed. We might have need of your services as well. Access to certain places, perhaps identification documents that will give us certain accesses", he says finally, looking to Karm and telepathically saying; "We are out of our time, what might we need here?".

He maintains his Detect Thoughts on Saget's surface thoughts for the rest of the duration.

"Your involvement with the conclave is your one shield," Saget says. "A Writ of Investigation would help them, First Ranger." 

"Yes, I have prepared the writ just in case it will be needed," Yntar says, pulling a palm-sized metal tube. He pulls one end of the tube and a scroll unravels. "This writ will allow you to have the backing of the Rangers Conclave until the terms written on the writ have been completed. In this case, this writ will be valid until the children have been returned to Erdelun."

"Your involvement will be under the order of the Rangers Conclave," Saget explains. "The Residuum would not dare face against the entire forces of the Rangers Conclave. If you hadn't known, the Rangers Conclave is the auxiliary division of the Verdant Militarum, the main military force of the Republic of Yvraithe and her vassals. While the Militarum deals with threats from outside, the Conclave deals with threats from within, mainly in the forms of keeping the towns safe from raiders or creatures that attacked them. To move against the Rangers Conclave or someone employed by them would be the same as facing the full might of the Republic."

"However, the Residuum will try one way or another. The key is to do your investigation and rescue discretely. Speaking to or trusting the wrong person can bring you directly to the front door of the Residuum if you are not careful. Sometimes the most normal looking person you always ignored on the street is an informant to the Residuum. Another way is to go in with a bang and cause a lot of chaos that you can slip in and out mostly undetected. If all else fails and you are required to seek a safe haven, go to the nearest Archive of Ages Annex or board a vessel to the Main Archive. Someone will be waiting to help if you mention my name."

Drexon, you get another set of images when Saget explains his advise. You see a ship flying a royal blue flag. You see a carriage having a faint blue outline moving in and out of a city. You see a stable filled with a couple of horses with wings wearing a blue cloth around their neck at the back of a large cathedral-like building. 

“So we are sanctioned which gives us some protection and some information that seems to be above board.” He looks to Saget. “Any other secret missions or undercover operatives? Don’t want to gum up the works on anything that might buy us time.”

"That is everything I have done and known over the past few years summarized in a few minutes," Saget says. "The Archive of Ages doesn't really do undercover work. It is quite rare for a procurer to infiltrate an organization. A place, sure enough, but not organization. It takes a lot of work and preparation and not many procurers have the patience. As far as I know, only two procurers are currently working undercover, both following the rumors of people seeking the gemstones. I was one and the other is on another continent entirely. It is all public record if you are diligent enough to look for it. If you get into another Annex, ask for the Procurer's Compendium. It will list all active procurers and their topics of research, most of the time with a list of their sponsors and investors attached to it. The list is updated every year at the same time as when the entire collection is updated, which is on the 1st of Dawnlight, the first day of spring. The one doing undercover will have no sponsor attached to them."

Con readies himself to move on to the train station with the others. Now that they seemed to get all the information they were going to out of Saget he felt he could speak more freely now.

”You might think you represent Pancarona and some here might believe you but you and I both know better. You have nothing to do with the real Pancarona.

Cob’s blue skin flushes a little with the emotion that comes with what he just said but it passes in a moment. He hefts his small pack and turns his back on Saget.

For the first time since meeting him, you see Saget breaks his calm and collected facade at Cob's declaration. There is a flicker of disappointment, annoyance, and anger on his face for but a moment.

"I should have known I would meet one of you one of these days," Saget says to Cob. "You better mind your tongue, child. There is already enough strife in Pancarona as it is. This new movement about which ones are the true inheritor of Pancarona will only break the continent further. We don't need more preachers supporting this movement. Perhaps doing this job may give you a new perspective that will dissuade your notion of a certain group of people inheriting Pancarona in the future. We all are Children of Tuada."

A thought suddenly strikes you, Cob. In your time, there is a large divide between the elves and the other races in Pancarona. Is it possible that it hasn't happened yet now that you are in the past? Can you change it? Or would changing it only makes it worst? 

"Ah, before you leave, I will need you to read the Warrant of Investigation and sign it," Yntar says, showing you the warrant. "If you agree, each of you may sign with your names on the empty line with this pen." He gives you a strange-looking pen, red in color with a couple of runic markings.

{{A brief correction, in the previous post I said it was the Writ of Investigation. It is actually the Warrant of Investigation. Different meanings, different purposes. The Warrant is in the spoiler below. You don't have to read it as it is quite long, but it contains the legalese that will give you protection from the Rangers Conclave.}}

{{ Was there any Detect Thoughts time left for when Cob made his statement and Saget replied? }}

Drexon looks at the pen and the warrant suspiciously after the interaction between Cob and Saget. He does not wholly understand the antipathy there, so decides to ignore it.

"Are the runes decorative or do they serve a purpose?", he asks Yntar as he motions towards the pen.

{{There is still time and you indeed get something from it.}}

Drexon, after Saget and Cob's interaction, you get several images and feelings when your mind once again brushes against Saget's. You see a group of aarakocras waving a sign with the symbol of a pair of wings in front of a majestic white palace. You see young elves being harassed by dwarves and satyrs. You feel a brief sadness and anger at the image of a burnt-down village in the middle of a forest. You see several elven soldiers mowing down savage bear-like beastfolks while the beastfolks try to rescue their children and escape. 

"How much longer before it worsens if everyone thinks like this fairy?" Saget thinks to himself. The thought is accompanied by a feeling of mounting stress and inevitability before Saget's mind hardens and his wondering is put to the back of his mind. 

"Yes," Yntar says. "You might not see this kind of pen often in a public setting, but this is a Blood Pen. It is used to sign formal agreements. See, at the bottom, you can find that I've signed my name with the same pen. Notice the red ink. The runes draw a little bit of your blood, just one drop, to give the crimson hue to the ink. I know your reluctance with it. Believe me. I was too when I first started as a ranger. But, a contract signed with a Blood Pen is legally binding and recognized by all governmental bodies in the Republic."

"If you have an account at the bank, you will recognize the pen," Saget adds. "The bank gives you a pen to sign the registration form and that pen is a Blood Pen magically disguised. The pen that the bank has is a little bit more advanced because it only gives you a minor rash. The one that is used for a formal agreement will cause a feeling of being stung by a small bee. Your friend, the one that is also a procurer, will know of it. He must have used it to sign his registration form as a Junior Procurer."

Drexon, there is a thought that pops immediately to the forefront of your mind at the explanation. For one, you have never heard of or seen a Blood Pen despite gambling with a lot of people, including bankers and loan sharks that would benefit the most from using such a pen. You also begin to notice that perhaps there are a lot of differences between the time period that you found yourself in and the time period that you came from. It's an entirely different culture and way of life.

Cob cocks his head to one side as he realizes that a lot has happened between now and their own time line.

"When has an elf ever considered themselves a child of Tuada?" Cob finally says. "I had learned as a very young boy that your kind abandoned Tuada and went your own way, looking down on those who stayed in the forests."

He gets lost in his own thoughts for a moment as he makes his way over to the Blood Pen and the contract.

"Maybe it hasn't happened yet," he mutters to himself.

He takes the pen, sticks his finger and signs. As he does he skims some of the pages but doesn't really pay too close attention.

"What's the worst that can happen in a month?"

Eremoz picks up the pen and signs the warrant. He watches the exchange between Cob and the elf with some confusion. He remains quiet on the matter. “Suppose we should get moving now.”

Dvark puts on a small pair of reading glasses and inspects the form thoroughly before signing. "well that looks like it's all in order."

Drexon merely nods at Yntar as he describes the purpose of the pen. He watches as the majority of his companions sign the Warrant, taking note of Dvark reading through the Warrant before signing.

With a shrug, he takes the pen and signs himself before holding the pen out to Karm.

Karm takes the pen and signs the document as he has done countless times before.

After signing he asks Singet What gave it away. I try not to make it obvious and it usually works. Thats the advantage of an amulet over a tattoo he says as he takes out his amulet from under his coat and now wears it openly. It baffles me no one saw it. Sure there is magic to disguise such things but this magic itself makes it obvious to those that can see its traces. Do we not have to worry about any trained in the arcane or divine?

"Albeit seemingly very quiet and collected, Librarian Elbaf is very boastful," Saget says. 

"I can attest to that," Halaster says with a chuckle.

"When a procurer comes to town, he notified every librarian and every apprentice in Erdelun," Saget continues. "It is very rare for a procurer to come to a place like Erdelun without a purpose and where a procurer threads, there would be treasures to be found most of the time."

"There are wizards and sorcerers under the employ of the Residuum," Saget adds. "They are not as trained as the ones that are trained by the Archive of Ages or other formal magical academies. You wouldn't have any problem dealing with them if you dealt with the three riders that I sent. However, there are rumors that the leader of the Residuum is an incredibly adept practitioner of magic. I don't think you will encounter them during this mission, but it is good to know your enemy."

"Well, if there are nothing else to discuss," Yntar cuts in, "everything appears to be in order. Keep the warrant with you at all time. We have bought you tickets for a trainride to Mantagard and prepared provision if you don't have any. Godspeed, gentlemen. Bring those children back home safely."

Cob's attention drifts for a moment when Saget and Halaster discuss procurers and librarians, he's still trying to process whether this changes what he thinks about elves. But once he realizes they're done, he picks up his pack and heads for the door.

Drexon let's out a sigh, "So much information and bureaucracy, glad we can finally get moving", he says heading after Cob.

He stops as if remembering something, "Any chance of two minutes with that wizard first?".

Dvark rolls up the warren and places it carefully in a closed pocket of his pack. Nods to both men and says, with a oddly formal tone of voice you've not heard him use before, "Pleasure doing business with you both, hopefully we can resolve this issue quickly and efficiently so we can all return to our work." 

Does Dvark recall if any of the sites he noted will be near their next destination?