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"Oh, but that's their ring leader wrote to the captain of that slave ship." Kryssa presents the letter found on the slave ship captain. She sachets all the way up to the front to present the letter to a random councilman. Not the councilwoman herself.
I hope this letter and the latest shipment of “supplies” reaches you well, my lovely helper. I would write more, but I ’m afraid I have a speech to give in but a few days—as well you know—and I must practice it if I am to convince these blasted bureaucrats of the Pathfinders’ treachery. They won’t abolish themselves from our fair city, after all.
It is not signed, but bears the Spider customary seal, a glyph with the likeness of a spider.
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"Good legislator. I" and here Rhuul puts a lot of emphesis on the I " am making no accusation against Lady Ouidda."
He shakes his head.
"I simply lay before you the evidence that the loyal Pathfinder society has found out. What shape you get when you connect the dots... Why, that is something your heads, so much wiser than myown, will have to acertain."
His eyes turn stern.
"But you ask for more evidence. Well, it is interesting is it not hat so many actors were enslaved. Making some quiet investigation, my fellow pathfinders came upon the aptly named playhouse: Captive Audience"
Here Rhuul gestures for some of the actors to be brough forward.
"There we discovered 'Senlokto Boraminder' acting most oddly. A little further investigation revealed the body of the real Senlokto Boraminder and that the creature pretending to be Senlokto Boraminder was a foul doppleganger!"
Rhuul shakes his head sadly.
"I present to you a note we found, and ask the actors who we saved from being turned into slaves to speak of what they witnessed in their own words."
Rhuul presents the note from the dressing room, and if we have a watchman who was summoned to see the doppleganger, him as well.
"In conclusion, I can only say that there is a dark plot afoot in this city. Your fine citizens should be able to walk free! Let them walk in the protective shadow of Lady Liberty, not under the lash of a slave master. We, in the Pathfinder Society, hold the values of Andoran close to our hearts. Please let us enjoy the freedom of Andoran."
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After hearing the response, the council of legislators call for silence so they may discuss things amongst themselves. Within a few moments, a female legislator comes forward to address both parties. "We have decided that we shall investigate these matter personally. For now, both the members of the Pathfinder Society, the alleged freed men and women, and also Lady Ouidda shall be placed into a sort of house arrest."
A few guards step up to take you away, as do two other sets, one for the freed slave, and a third group for Lady Ouidda. She goes without protest.
As you escorted away, and away from everyone else, the guards inform you that you that you will be staying in one of the legislator's private offices that he keeps for this. But, before you arrive at your destination, you hear a scream. The guards watching you stop, ordering you to stay put while one goes to investigate.
As you wait, you can hear that people in the distance are beginning to panic. After a few minutes, the guard returns, sprinting to report in. "Lady Ouidda has murdered the guards escorting her in cold blood. She has fled to her quarters. The legislators has requested that they" pointing to you Pathfinders "help if they are willing"
The guard's captain looks to you, "It's up to you. We could really use your assistance. We are spread pretty thin here, and our primary duty is to protect the legislators and the people..."
Knowing that this will clear the Society's name for good, and hoping to take a crack at The Spider, you heartily agree, and they direct you to her personal office within the building, where they think she has fled to.
Double doors lead into this large, opulently decorated room, a holdover from the palace’s former use as home to Andoran’s now defunct aristocracy. Intricately woven rugs cover the hardwood floor, and plushly upholstered furniture graces two distinct sections of the room. Bookshelves line the walls of the eastern half, while a small wetbar and decorative tables fill the western portion. Opening the doors, you find the room empty, though it is lit.
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ROUND 1???
Kryssa, Sarephta, & Umaro
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Dorianna Ouidda
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Rhull & Maldoc, Kryssa, Sarephta, & Umaro
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Just before completing the spell, she becomes visible.
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Just before the room fills with weaving and hypnotic lights, The Spider becomes visibly ones more. It doesn't look like she is ready to give up though. As you see your true enemy, finally, you recall the VC's words, "The Sapphire Sage may also be in a great deal of danger. . .". You might want to take her in alive.
Sadly, it seems to have caught by her spell, stands there looking into the light. Maldoc enchants his dark blade and moves up.
ROUND 2
Kryssa, Sarephta, & Umaro
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Dorianna Ouidda
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Rhull (Fascinated until Round 3) & Maldoc
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As Kryssa moves up to attack, Lady Ouidda waves her hand before her in a slow arc at Kryssa, "Lover, come, protect me. I know you will not slay your friends, but you can keep them from harming me to the best of your ability. Knock them out if you must."
ROUND 2
Kryssa, Sarephta, & Umaro
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Dorianna Ouidda
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Rhuul (Fascinated until Round 3) & Maldoc
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Kryssa moves up while Sarephta jabs her spear into the lady's side, not fatal, but something she will certainly feel. Umaro then advances and places a boot into her chest. With nowhere else to go, she backs into the corner and once more tries a spell, catching Kryssa, Sarephta, Maldoc, and Umaro in it's radius.
Another Will Save DC 17 please. Can I also have a Perception check from everyone.
ROUND 4
Rhuul & Maldoc, Kryssa, Sarephta, & Umaro
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Dorianna Ouidda (-18 <7nl>)
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With an electrically empowered swipe, Lady Ouidda falls to the ground in a heap. Not dead, thanks to Umaro's swift kick to the gut earlier, you easily bind and gag her, removing a small assortment f scrolls and potions.
Opening up the doors to the guards outside as they arrive to offer backup, they take her into custody. She refuses to divulge any information, or lies to hint at even larger plans yet to come. She does not admit to her affiliation with the Aspis Consortium unless magically compelled to do so, and even then does everything she can to hide the truth among layers of other conspiracies and affiliations (such as her work as the Spider and among the <false> Shadow Lodge).
The papers and correspondence scattered about the room all pertain to Ouidda’s position as an elected member of the People’s Council and don’t provide any evidence to her criminal activities, association with the <false> Shadow Lodge, or Aspis Consortium. The closet behind the northwest bookshelf, however, holds a trove of damning evidence of all her most illicit dealings, as well as proof of kidnapping in the form of the bound and gagged body of the elderly Osirian sage, Amenopheus.
Among the cramped closet’s crowded shelves are documents relating to years of criminal dealings in Almas and other Andoren cities including Augustana, Oregent, and Carpenden, almost all of which clearly incriminate Ouidda as the crime boss known as the Spider. Bills of sale confirm that she has been heavily and personally involved in the slave trade out of Okeno in the Obari Ocean, and the kidnapping of countless aspiring actors through not only the Captive Audience but also small
theaters and traveling circuses throughout southern Avistan. Many of these documents also allude to her role in the Aspis Consortium, though never overtly. A box of collected correspondence provides equally damaging evidence of her influence within the Shadow Lodge, including extensive letters from cell heads throughout the Inner Sea, including Hondo Heru in Sothis, Caggrigar in Irrisen, Chalfon Dalsine in Oppara,
and Kormiggon Sussworth in Kaer Maga, all suggesting they ramp up their assault on the Decemvirate instead of sitting idly by while the Shadow Lodge’s stodgy leader simply amasses contacts and resources in Absalom.
Other correspondence indicates she has powerful contacts within the Grand Lodge itself, though they lack signatures or proper nouns, so any evidence is purely speculative. Finally, a letter in elegant script from a person signed only “the Needle” promises that “the Red Mantis will see the assassination through upon the orders of your ally.”
With the Spider’s identity revealed, her vast crime syndicate falls apart, and the Andoren authorities use the information gathered by you to locate and arrest her associates throughout the city. The Decemvirate likewise sends crack teams of Pathfinders to locations throughout the Inner Sea to put an end to her poisonous influence over
the minds and motivations of her fellow Shadow Lodge agents.
Later, once the room has cleared out a bit more, Amenopheus approaches you with thanks for saving him. He explains that he had to appear to be a traitor against the Decemvirate both to convince Ouidda of his loyalty to the Shadow Lodge, but also to spur the Ten into action and expose the Society’s vulnerability to high ranking traitors. He apologizes to any members of the Osirion faction for deceiving them, and thanks you for remaining true to the Ruby Prince’s cause despite his apparent betrayal.