Iron Desert PF2e

"Shhhh! Not so loud! But yes, that Julian Daye. You're getting 100 GP for bringing me Lexi successfully."

Nodding, "Good money, for a day's work. Explains the desire for secrecy too."

After the negotiations of payment are dealt with, the group heads out to the ruins specified. It's late-mid afternoon by the time they arrive and spot a group of five bandits looking around something.

Vesh takes the initiative to sneak up the stairs, set up his arquebus and fire a potshot into one of the goons.Several of them attack him, but Thrash and Claw run past to take out even more and draw attention while Stripes heals him. The lead bandit tries to grab the book and run, but is chased by the good guys and is forced to surrender, only for Thrash to kill him dead while the others get mopped up.

Stripes recoils a bit at each gunshot, then recoils even more when Thrash kills the yielding man. "Hey!" he protests. "Not cool! He said he surrendered!"

Thrash pants for a few moments as she cools down from her rage. She rests her hammer down on the ground and leans against it. "So? He was a bandit. We weren't asked to bring him back alive. He was a thief, and he tried to kill us. Let him live and he'll just keep being a problem. Now that his head's a bunch of goo, he won't be bothering anyone."

"Besides, our job's not done here yet. We were hired to rescue his friend, who we haven't found yet, and as much as I love an excuse to put my glaive to work, I'd rather not risk him fetching an entire gang or warning them we're here," Izatri adds

"Well maybe this will help," Claw says, standing from where she was actively rifling through the dead leader's pockets. "Seems to be some kind of note, might have some clues about their hideout."

"Bring me the book and consider yourselves rich men. Bring it to the town of Lowater at the agreed upon time. -M" Is what the note reads. The book lies not far from the dead bandit lead's hands. To all your amazement, the tome opens and closes as if pantomiming a talking mouth. It then speaks. "Oh! Are those dreadful bandits gone? I wasn't about to make a peep for them!"

Thrash stares down at the book. "Why the fuck is the book talking?"

Izatri's amazement passes quickly, with half the connection brought to mind back in the tavern, "...I thought the book was named in vanity of a friend, but it seems the Lexica Tyr Gana is instead no mere book!"
She turns to address the book directly, "For the moment, though it seems they do have a client after all. First things first, however; my name is Izatri, and we were hired by Julian to bring you back to him safely."

"Oh! Indeed I am the book described. But everyone close to me just calls me Lexi," The book mentions. It seems the book is quite feminine and feminine pronouns would not be remiss

"Well, this is weird even compared to me," says the griffon. Then he considers the note and asks "Hey, did you hear these guys say anything about meeting someone in Lowater?"

"Oh! Here:" The book, Lexi, says before talking in a perfect imitation of the now headless head bandit. "Remember, we take this thing to our employer at noon in three days. We do this, split the cash, and we won't have to be bandits no more!" The book thinks for a moment and returns to her normal voice. "That was only a couple hours ago."

"We've got a time and we've got a place, definitely sounds like the start of a good ambush to me," Claw says, leaning against a ruined pillar, tail swishing as her metal claws tap against the forearm of her other crossed arm. "If only we knew the exact target, or exactly where the intended meetup was. But we've got a few days, we'll just have to make it to this Lowater and scout the area before the hit."

Stripes grumbles a bit. "Ah, OK, you're right. Guess I got too excited. Let's take Lexi back to Mr. Daye."

"Oh! You know Julian? I'm sure he missed me!" Lexi enthuses, "I'm not really fancying being taken again so if you can hide me I'll appreciate it"

"Yeah, he hired us to find you."

Stripes thinks for a moment, then offers the book to Izatri. "Here, you hold on to her for now. No one'd pick a fight with you."

Izatri nods, carefully tucking the book in her pack, "Fair enough. Are we ready to head back, then?"

"I believe so,"  Claw says, stretching her clawed hand out and examining the blade tips before straightening and turning in the general direction of town. "Not much point to sticking around, we've already stripped everything useful from these losers, and we're losing valuable daylight."

The party finds no trouble heading back to town. They arrive just as the sun starts to dip below the horizon. The Hammer and Anvil is much busier now than before, and there's no sign of Daye in the tavern. The barmaid flags the group down. "Mr. Daye said he'd be up in his suite and wanted you to head up there, first room on the left."

"Welp. Better not keep him waiting, I guess," Stripes says with a shrug-like gesture.

Stripes climbs the stairs (somewhat awkwardly, as stairs aren't made for quadrupeds) followed by the others.