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“This Spider character that’s been going around is a pretty sophisticated sort, I’d guess, because I hear he shows up incognito to every performance at 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.”
After you wait for the man to close up his shop he leaves and he will make his way through town to the merchant district where he goes into a theater called the Captive Audience.
If you wait for him to emerge again he returns after a few minutes and makes his way back home where he enters his shop and locks the door behind him
(You can either go into his shop and question the man, or go to the Captive Audience and look around there..or go look for more clues).
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Once again she will volenteer to talk to them man. About what tho, she has no idea.
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"Let's talk to the man and get him to rat on this spider! Then we go to that place."
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Right before the man closes the door behind him Tywin shoves his foot against the door, holding it open while some of you follow the man inside.
Jarovar—a crusty half-elf with little in the way of manners
and even less in regards to personal hygiene asks you:
"What do you people think you are doing? Do I need to call the authorities "
If Jules looks around the shop? she doesn't find anything of particular interest other then that it looks like this shop shouldn't be in businesses. It's not very appealing for customers.
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"Well I am sure there are people who would love to know what you have been doing. It only takes a couple of words to the right person and your corpse will never be found muahaha." Graxus suggests.
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Confused about what Jules thinks she already knows and intimated by Graxus the man starts to spill everything he knows
"I'm only a pawn..I'm low on the totem pole..you don't want me..you want someone higher up"
He didn’t even really think he was getting into slave-trading at first, just running errands for people who might be slave-traders. He tells you that if you really want to get to the bottom of the matter you should check out the Sailswift or the Captive Audience,
where the real trading goes on. He swears that he just transports the goods, and he doesn’t even know what they are (though he confesses that he’s sometimes heard muffled sounds coming from the back of the cart); he just drives the wagon from the playhouse to the ship about once a month. He doesn’t know who the Spider is, as he only deals with two people, both of whom give Jarovar the creeps: an eccentric gnome named Senlokto Boraminder who runs the Captive Audience and whom he collects the goods from, and Ruovarn Krillis, the captain of the Sailswift, whom he delivers the goods to.
Aside from a few half-hearted bluffs and easily discernible lies, Jarovar primarily tells the truth. He swears to go back to Katapesh on the next possible ship if you will spare him “just this once.”
(Where do you want to go now? Options include the Sailswift (the boat where he delivers his "cargo" or the Captive Audience (where he picks it up ))
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"I suggest going the the theater he mentioned. That would be more interesting than the shippers of the slaves. All the last guy would know is whom to sell them to." Graxus says.
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After you tie up Janavor you make your way to the Captive Audience.
The Theater District of Almas is filled with old architecture and buildings of a traditional style, save for one: a gaudy, tall structure painted several shades of bright green, everburning torches on either side of the face of the building illuminating the words “The Captive Audience,” painted in overly elaborate, nearly unreadable letters.
As you enter the theater;
A gnome directs the performers for the latest play, an indecipherable piece vaguely titled Dweomer Blade. He wears armor and directs with a longsword, pointing at the actors and the stage with his weapon as he
shouts commands and berates his workers, demanding seemingly impossible feats of them repeatedly. The actors all wear various pieces of armor and wield weapons, though these offer but vague clues as to what the obscure play is actually about.
The gnome welcome’s your arrival, and tells you pointedly that he needs a break from “working with these amateurs” anyway. He bids you to join him on stage as he dismisses his actors for a short break to their dressing rooms, which also act as personal quarters during times of high stress (which seems like all of the time at the Captive Audience).
"You're a bit early, we are not ready for the public yet"
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"Yes yes. Such an amazing place! I almost forced her to bring me, luckely for me she had same thoughts!" she said smiling broadly
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As you make some polite small talk both parties ask some questions to figure out what the other one is up to. At some point during the talk the gnome figures out that you are here to investigate and he doesn't respond kindly to that.
As he keeps you talking and distracted he suddenly pulls something out of his pocket catching you all by surprise and throws it on the floor..smoke starts to pour out of it.
He then takes his sword out of his scabbard and strikes at Ryuchi.
init
you guys
Gnome
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"Idiot mortal! Feel my wrath!" Graxus roars as he bites and claws at the gnome.
His bite and one of his claws find their mark. Cutting at the gnome.
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Tywin casts a grease spell inside the smoky area.
"Don't go in the smoke guys. Its slippery hihi" he says as he climbs on Graxus' saddle.
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Jules circles around the gnome and manages to stick him with her rapier (doesn't confirm)
Graxus manages to hit the gnome twice..and misses once due to the smoke (doesn't confirm and the attack that misses would have missed due to not hitting AC as well)
Tywin then makes the area underneath the smoke slippery
but the gnome doesn't seem to be bothered by that a whole lot.
init
Ryuchi, Liriel, Sora
Gnome
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As Jules suddenly realizes there should still be actors around here you start to take a look backstage;
You find a dozen dressing rooms through a short corridor behind the stage. Each room has a piece of paper with a name scrawled on it tacked to the door where it looks like a nameplate used to be. One of the doors still features a gold-faced nameplate that says “Senlokto Boraminder”;
The door is locked with an average lock.(Which requires a DC 25 Disable Device check to unlock or a DC 15 Strength check to break through.)
None of the other doors to the dressing rooms are locked. In each of the other dressing rooms in the back of the playhouse rests a charmed actor or actress. There are a total of 12 dressing rooms, not including Senlokot's. All of the actors lie docilely on their beds, muttering their lines to themselves repetitively, and don’t move or otherwise act.
As you get through the door and look around;
In the dressing room are a carpet, bed, desk, mirror, and chair. You find a note in a dressing drawer, which provides further incriminating evidence.
Comparing Senlokto’s signature on the deed with the signature on the renovation details reveals that these latest signatures are forged.
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All of the actors lie docilely on their beds, muttering their lines to themselves repetitively, and don’t move or otherwise act.
(Seems like a trance to me, but a DC 15 spellcraft check will confirm that)
Jules can send an anonymous note delivered by a street urchin to a nearby guard station if she wants (or go there herself and explain what she found)
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"Oh no... these poor people... they are not themselves, magic is keeping them like this... we must try and help them"
The sylph was obviously worried amd concerned about this situation
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What are your plans after having discovered the real Senlokto Boraminder and having found an incriminating note
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The party decides to go check out the ship they heard about;
As you approach the docks at night;
At this late hour, the briny sea air of Almas’s wooden docks is void of the daytime crowds of crew members bustling about.
Nearly a dozen ships are docked here, and several more are anchored in the calm waters further from the shore. One ship in particular still has lanterns hanging lit next to its gangway, a shoddy wooden plank that connects the old ship to the dock.
Red letters scrawled on the side of the ship read “Sailswift,” and several cloaked men move to and fro on the ship’s deck with uncanny grace, shifting boxes of cargo about and going below deck occasionally.
As you make your way towards the ship you are greeted by some Dhamphirs who in very broken common offer to sell you some "vewwy nice Kathapesi rugs" and when you appear not that interested switch to offer to sell you the finest pesh this side of the world.