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"Step away from the twist!" Milo growls, looking at Branson, small sparks rimming his hands.
"You want her breathin', get yer carked ass away from her." He glares at Kavaki too, "That means you too!".
"Either a you two gobs so much as glance sideways, I torch her right here."
"Live and in jail, or an ash pile. Yer choice."
Though Ouidda is crafty, she wasn’t able to escape a full team of Pathfinders set on bringing her to justice. Shortly after combat ends several guards join you in the room, who start investigating the scene.
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 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.”
After defeating Ouidda, you may speak with Amenopheus, who was held prisoner in Ouidda’s quarters after she found out he was investigating her operation as a double agent within the Shadow Lodge. He provides you with information about what's been going on.
In order to achieve her position on the Peoples’ Council, Ouidda used the influence and resources at her disposal. Indeed, her influence in the slave trade as the Spider is almost legendary throughout the eastern shores of the Inner Sea. She accomplished much of her people-trafficking through means of powerful compulsions, which she used to influence victims into following her, apparently of their own free will. In addition to her villainous acts of slavery, Ouidda is responsible for a large number of the Shadow Lodge’s outright attacks against the Pathfinder Society around the entire Inner Sea Region, and is one of the key figures working to force a complete split between
the Shadow Lodge and the rest of the Society.
By forming a small band of unwitting associates in Almas, Ouidda was able to construct an artificial history for herself in order to delve into Andoren politics, while simultaneously continuing her highly profitable slave trading activities and dealings within the Shadow Lodge.
First, she acquired the aid of a power-hungry doppelganger known as Yero, who had no trouble in disposing of and impersonating Senlokto Boraminder, a pudgy gnome who was the owner and stage manager of a rundown playhouse in the Theater District of Almas. In order to give the place a new image, Yero (under orders of the mystically persuasive Ouidda) gave the Captive Audience a few major renovations, turning the rundown dive practically overnight into a classy—if somewhat gaudy—theater. Throngs of young and upcoming performing artists now come from all over the nation to the Captive Audience, which serves audiences both in shows of amazing feats as well as lurid burlesque acts. However, the playhouse is merely a cover for the more illicit activities of the charmed male and female actors who work there both as performers and courtesans, offering their services to select customers behind the scenes. The bewitched actors never stay for long, though, as they are systematically shipped off to the far corners of the Inner Sea to be sold to the highest bidder.
In order for these unwitting slaves to be trafficked, however, Ouidda needed a front to mask her involvement in the operation. For this, she hired Zirunne Jarovar, an old Katapeshi half-elf down on his luck and willing to do anything for money without sticking his nose too far into his employer’s business. With him handling the money and shipments, the Spider had a perfect scapegoat should her slave-trading operation fall under any harsh scrutiny.
Finally, Ouidda required a ship and captain she could rely on to traffic her cargo out of Almas, and so she called upon a trusted ally of the Shadow Lodge in Almas, Ruovarn Krillis—a dhampir pirate whose passion for cruelty is only rivaled by his infatuation toward Dorianna.
With all these pieces in place, Ouidda could continue her slave-trafficking operation while at the same time bolstering her political presence in Almas and her fight against the Pathfinder Society as both a government representative and a leader of the Shadow Lodge. Venture-
Captain Brackett of Almas discovered the Spider’s plot, though, and attempted to oppose it. When Amenopheus, the Sapphire Sage of Osirion, offered his aid to Brackett and infiltrated the Almas Shadow Lodge cell as a double agent—his true loyalties known only to himself and Brackett—Ouidda caught on to their scheme and set into motion an attack on the Cathedral of Aroden while simultaneously capturing Amenopheus. Then, she planned to give a speech to the Peoples’ Council of Almas that would jeopardize the Society’s entire presence in the city.
Amenopheus 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 them for remaining true to the Ruby Prince’s cause despite his apparent betrayal.
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.
