Max leaps across the room and puts a foot on the bench, preventing Hagla from knocking it out.
---
Frustrated, Hagla lets out a bellow of curse words at Max before hitting Max with his spiked chain.
Baz's arrow hits the hobgoblin!
Alie hastes the party!
Kilian leaps forward and trips up the hobgoblin!
Max then lays his blade into the foe!
---
Hagla, not willing to yet take the risk in standing up, swings at Max from the ground!
The hobgoblin leader doesn't seem to take Alie's threat very seriously and only laughs at her. Kilian and Baz then quickly finish him off!
After being unbound, the rescued captives thank tyou profusely for your help. The exhausted Brackett immediately inquires, "The Spider-has she gone through with it yet? Do we know what more is planned for the city?"
Brackett calms down and explains, "The great Osirian sage Amenopheus is in the city, and has been working with me under cover as an inside agent among the local Shadow Lodge. I believe that the aged wizard is in great danger, quite possibly having been uncovered as a traitor by the local Shadow Lodge leader, a person known as the Spider, who I now suspect to be none other than a prominent member of the People’s Council named Dorianna Ouidda."
"Never mind that for the moment though. Get up to the belfry and muffle the bells in case additional hobgoblin forces remain in the cathedral; I overheard Hagla’s plan for invasion while held captive-they were going to use a particular tune on the bells to signal an invasion of key parts of the city. It seems like we may have stopped the hobgoblin invasion for now but that is the least of our troubles. I have a feeling very soon I'm going to need you to look into this Spider matter all too soon."
The cool ocean air of Almas is less forgiving than usual this early morning, leaving the streets empty even of vagrants. As the moon showers its last ivory rays onto the cobblestone street and the tip of the sun begins to climb over the watery horizon, a lone figure slinks out from a nearby alleyway, pulling back its hood and revealing itself to be Venture-Captain Alissa Moldreserva, a dour expression cemented to her face.
“It’s a shame we couldn’t have met at the lodge and that Brackett himself couldn't see you, but thanks to all the disappearances and political turmoil as of late, I’d say it’s best to keep a low profile for the time being, at least until things get sorted out. It’s bad enough that the good name of Pathfinders everywhere is being slandered by that treacherous group of villains, the ones who call themselves the Shadow Lodge—now the politicians are on our hides thanks to that damnable Ouidda."
“No doubt you’ve heard of her—Dorianna Ouidda, one of the representatives on the Peoples’ Council here in Almas. She showed up in Almas a few years back, and she’s been out to get the Society ever since. Her origins are damn-near untraceable by practical means; it took us this long to finally get to the bottom of the matter, and while it’s no secret she has it out for the Society, few know the truth behind the matter, which is what I’m here to tell you.
“We have it on good authority that Ouidda is none other than the Spider—the leader of the Shadow Lodge cell here in Almas—and that she’s been using her fellow cabalists to smear our name throughout the city. She’s trying to get the legitimate members of the Society either completely run out of Almas or completely under her thumb, but for what reason, we don’t yet know. We know she’s got some shady dealings in her past with the slave trade, and we think she might be up to some of that business here in Almas too.
"In just a few days’ time, Ouidda will be going up in front of the Council to make her most damaging speech yet, a speech which could obliterate the Society’s presence in Almas, if not the whole nation of Andoran. The tricky part is, the Society doesn’t have enough proof of her association with the Shadow Lodge or the slave trade to get her disbarred yet."
"That's where you come in. We need you to uncover evidence of Ouidda’s foul business in Almas, whatever that may be, and to stop her from delivering her speech before the legislature at the palace of the Peoples’ Council the morning after next. The general public is not keen on Pathfinders since Ouidda started smearing our organization’s reputation, so you'll need to move about subtly collecting clues during the day and make the rest of your moves after dark so as not to arouse suspicions."
"Do you have any questions before you begin your investigation?"
"The Spider's presence in the criminal underground is vast. Many citizens around town will either know something interesting themselves or know who you can talk to to find out more. Ouidda’s web of contacts is vast and her influence strong, so there’s no telling how many you might be up against if she catches whiff, though. Owners or proprietors of the corrupt businesses she uses to launder money or that serve as cover operations are especially suspect, and depending on how discrete you are, she may send some of her own agents after you in short order. Be on the watch for assassins, though there’s no telling what kind of creatures—or whether they’ll be magical or not—a person of Ouidda’s influence might have access to."
A short time later...
A man dressed in blue silks, complete with headwrap and veil, meets you at the first stop on the drinking tour. A blackened shield hangs across his back over a cloth-wrapped bundle, from which protrudes a large sword. With a hand on the pommel of a scimitar at his side, strapped neatly beside a monkey-handled whip, he strides up to Alie and speaks a half-whispered greeting in Kelish. Parting the veil, Maximo's face smiles behind. The grey has been washed from his beard, his mustache trimmed and waxed, and a bit of coal darkens his eyes.
"Greetings, my friends!"
The party heads to the Copper Dog—a tavern on the western bank of the Andoshen River—where you meat Gabro, a middle-aged bachelor who spends most of his time with his “gang,” a group of likewise middle-aged bachelors who fancy themselves bullies, but whose temperate and unimposing natures make them annoying at worst.
"You seem just the sort of man we are looking for, Gabro." Maximo says, staying in character with slight Qadiran accent. "A man with friends." He glances at some of the other men in Gabro's gang. "I believe one with your..." Waving a hand he searches for the right word. Questionable Character? Moral bankruptcy? Intimidating stench? "...iniquitous experience, might aid us in finding a certain individual. Have you heard of the Spider?"
"Iniqui. . . yeah, that sounds like me!" Gabro says as he struggles to keep up with Max. "The Spider? Well, there's this old half-elf, goes by the name of Jarovar—a real stingy, nasty type—well, he’s just set up his investment establishment in Almas, but he refuses to subscribe to any of the merchant guilds in the city and he only deals with a few clients who get small contributions from him, one of whom is the Spider, I hear. Queerer still, he makes odd ventures out of his shop in the dead of night, well after closing.”
---
---
Convinced that Gabro has given you everything he knows, the party heads back out onto the streets. Just down the street from the Copper Dog sits Audovini the Hungry, a female beggar well known in this area. Traveling from city to city in Andoran, Audovini wound up in Almas some years ago and has been begging for food and money to get back on her feet ever since. She’s clearly lost most of her mind, and she’s known for being “not all there” by the people who frequent the Copper Dog. She’s sharper than they give her credit for, though, and she knows it, listening intently to passersby’s chatter and absorbing as much information as possible. She seems not only to be in the know but also to be willing to sell that information for a decent amount of food.
After receiving a few coins from Baz, the woman happily divulges the party's questions. “If rumors are true—and I hope they’re not—then this Spider is the nasty sort of arachnid, the kind from distant lands like Katapesh that brings her creepy slaver buddies with her. Only sensible way in from Katapesh is from a boat, and the only boat I seen around here that says it’s from Katapesh lately is the ship they call the Sailswift.”
Maximo listens to the beggar with keen interest. Staying in character, he nods at the reference to the ship from Katapesh. "Fascinating. Your knowledge is quite worth the value of a few meals at the least."
Maximo promises to have a private messenger deliver food from one of the finest restaurants in the city, then asks another question.
"Would you know anything about an old half-elf, goes by the name of Jarovar?"
"A half-elf you say? Let’s just say I know someone who knows someone who says that one of the Spider’s cronies does odd jobs in the Mercantile District most nights. Around two hours past midnight, I hear, this skinny feller’s either on foot or with a carriage, and he’s up to some shady business, hauling loads of cargo from his shop to the docks. Weirdest thing is, he goes to the docks with the carriage, but comes back without it."
After handing over the generous amount of food to the woman, she thanks you for your business and the party heads on through town to find another potential informant. . . .
---
Nearby is a small shop and the party stops in to speak with the owner, as local businesspeople often know the ins and outs of the city. This shop is owned by Analis Broomwillow, a halfling trader. Having traveled the Inner Sea region a dozen times over, Analis is well-versed in the laws of lands both distant and near. Her adventuring days wore her out long ago, so she settled down in Almas to operate a provisioner’s shop, where she sells goods that might aid travelers such as yourselves.
"Ah, yes." Maximo follows Alie's lead. "The Sailswift. Sails out of Katapesh, I believe? You there, every heard of it?"
Analis smiles and greets you warmly. "The Sailswift? I’ve heard that some rather nasty crew members from a boat called the Sailswift have been showing up at the Almas docks more and more lately with rugs and contraband from Katapesh, only those sailors don’t look a bit Katapeshi. Real eerie, these types—and they only do their business at night. Their ship is anchored far off the shore during the day, but when dusk falls they bring her to the docks until sunrise.”
"Hmmmmm.." Maximo strokes his beard, perhaps with a little too much dramatic license, and lowers his voice. "Would you know anything about someone called the Spider?"
Analis responds, "Only thing I know about this Spider character is that she’s supposedly the madam for an illegal brothel in the Theater District. Some place that’s just undergone some strange renovations of some sort."
---
Convinced that Analis knows nothing more, the party once again takes to the streets. Exiting the shop, you nearly bump into Chulo Varotien, an Andoren Almas University don: he falls to chatting with you for a moment. He seems gossipy and full of himself; Chulo loves to prate about his colleagues at Almas University, particularly if they’re up to anything potentially scandalous. He’s oblivious to the fact that he’s a blabbermouth, and is happy to talk your ears off for a while, if you’re willing to sift through some petty details about his coworkers.
|
Alie responds to Kilian's not so subtle hint. "Master Varotien, do you know anything about the brothel scene in the Theatre District? I mean, of course you don't know personally, but I bet there is quite a bit of gossip on the street about people paying visits there under the darkness of night. I bet you've heard all the good stuff!"
Diplomacy
"I nearly died once after a visit to a brothel." Maximo says with a smile. "A word of advice. Always be wary of the gifts offered by Calistrian priestesses."
It's hard to tell, but Maximo might be joking.
"Well, I have heard a few people talking about this newly remodeled playhouse, some upscale house of burlesque called the Captive Audience. It’s been putting on a new show every month for a couple of years now, and never gives repeat performances. Seems these artist types are flighty and don’t stick around town long. But I don't have firsthand knowledge, of course, I've only heard about such a place.”