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"Thank you, Tarri! You clearly did the right thing getting man out of the clutches of Greeves."
Outside of Greeve's place, Azdak turns to the rescued man.
"Well met, my friend. I am Azdak. Do I have the pleasure of addressing Xarcious? How, may I ask, did you allow yourself to be indebted to that horrible man?"
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Li gives Tarri a brief bow of the head. "I am Li Shuo, from far Quain. I am a humble wanderer honored to call myself a Pathfinder." To Rikas, he adds "He who fights devils should beware he does not become one himself. This is dangerous idea."
Rikas chuckles. "Look at me. I don't think that's something I have to worry about."
Being a glibster and not a diplomat, the tiefling lets the others do the talking to their new acquisition.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Greeves laughs, shrugging. "Ha! This is the Puddles watch station. Or was, anyhow."
Xarcious coughs a replied at Azdak. "*COUGH*...yes, I'm Emral *COUGH* Xarcious. I... I *COUGH* I've been down on my *COUGH COUGH* luck for a while, and needed some *COUGH* cash..."
Back at Skyreach, Xarcious is still coughing up a storm.
Azdak twists the knife and forces the man to admit his gambling problem. "Lady Luck *COUGH* whisks it away," he says churlishly. "Eh? *COUGH* Sewer Dragons? They paid me right fine, they did. *COUGH COUGH* How'dja know about that?"
He gazes around at his surroundings. "Where am I anyway? Who are you? *COUGH* What are you *COUGH* going to do with me?"
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"I am glad you are feeling better but time is of the essence and we need information from you. We need to know about the Kobolds down in the sewers. Their numbers, who leads them, do they have any traps guarding their place, do they have agents in the city? We also need to know what their desires and intentions are. And please be truthful."
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"Where am I anyway? Who are you? *COUGH* What are you *COUGH* going to do with me?"
"Let us just say that you are safe for now, and we are happy to help you, but you must help us as well. We, Pathfinders, will not always be here, and people like Greeves are not going away anytime soon. Let us make a difference while we are in a position to do so. Now, kindly tell us what you know, and let us set matters right!"
The Taldan scholar thanks you profusely for securing his freedom, and is happy to repay his debts in information. "I can tell you ALL about them," Xarcious says, his cough momentarily subsiding. (He still looks pale and weak as hell though.)
Xarcious tells you much that you already know--the Sewer Dragons are among the most powerful of the Absalom kobold tribes, are led by the powerful sorcerer Kibizax, etc. Xarcious explains that he taught the chief's two children, his elder daughter Yiddlepode and his younger son Yippitok.
He also explains that the Sewer Dragons have taken over a massive underground theater, covered over long ago by an expanding Absalom. The kobolds have closed off most of the tunnels leading to the complex, but there is still one passage open. He gives you directions--"just south of Emire's Bakery on Gyr in Eastgate, near the Coins, there's a sewer entrance in a back alley, easy to miss"--and warns that it is usually well guarded.
For your kindness in freeing him from Greeves, Xarcious provides one last nugget of information. Yiddlepode, the Sewer Dragon chief ’s eldest offspring, is likely open to bargaining with the Pathfinder Society; she is your best chance for a truce between the Society and the Dragons. Further, it’s likely you can find Yiddlepode aboveground in Absalom proper, as she often dons a magical disguise to sneak into one of the operas in the Ivy District. While on the streets and in the theaters of the city, Yiddlepode disguises herself as a halfling and is easy to spot because she only goes to poorly attended shows where her disguise is less likely to be uncovered, and her blue opera cloak stands out like a sore thumb.
Rikas heads to the Ivy District, and picks up a lot of noble chatter. There are three operas currently playing in the Ivy District. They are:
1. Fall from Glory, a traveling Andoren troupe's performance of Chelish history.
2. Serpent's Song, performed by a local diva.
3. The Trouble with Swans, a comedic opera.
Based on what he's hearing, Rikas learns or suspects the following:
The Trouble with Swans is a hugely popular show performed by a largely gnome troupe. Serpent’s Song is a tragedy about a dragon who falls in love with a princess. The only showings of Serpent’s Song that aren’t sold out for a month solid are its midnight performances and even they are said to be crowded. Crowds were expected to be thick for Fall from Glory, as Chelish operas are known to often feature actual bloodshed in place of special effects. However, the debut was unpopular, as the Andoren troupe is said to have replaced much of the bloodshed in this traditionally gory Chelish history with illusions and sleights of hand.
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"Should we start with the first one, Fall from Glory, as distasteful as it appears to be about Chelish history? Good for the Andoran troupe to replace the bloodshed with illusions. No need to promote that nations despicable past." Darro says to the group. "Although the opera with the gnomes might be another one this kobold will attend since they are both small folk. I doubt our target will attend an opera that is packed full for fear of being seen."
Rikas knows the place.
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Rikas thinks. "I agree with ya. Even with their removing blood, guts, and gore, I don't think many would go. Don't know why the gnomes are so ruttin' popular. How could you even see 'em from the back rows? Or the front, for that matter? I'd say you'd have better luck with halflings, but we all know the slips can't act." He grins a little as he pokes Tarri jokingly.
As they go to the show, Rikas puts his blades away and instead fiddles with a silver piece in his hand.
Deciding to stake out Fall from Glory, the party settles in. Finding the disguised kobold turns out to be harder than Xarcious imagined, but Rhydderch, Tarri, and Rikas all spot a bright blue opera cloak on a short figure just before it disappears into the theater.
The ticket window advertises 5gp per ticket.
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Darro commands Blackthorn to wait outside while he also pays for a ticket and goes inside with Rikas. Keeping Rikas in view Darro also tries to stealth near the blue cloaked figure pointed out by Rikas. Moving around he scans the crowd to see if others are also interested in the blue cloaked small folk or if the party is alone in their pursuit.
All of you are asked to leave your weapons and armor in the coatroom.
Once inside the theater, all four of you easily spot a blue-cloaked halfling alone in one of the balconies, eyes intently gazing at the stage. No one else appears to be paying the halfling any attention.
The halfling is alone, and gives a momentary sidelong glance at Azdak, as though uncomfortable with company.
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Before moving closer, Azdak motions for the others to be prepared to grab her in case she tries to escape. He then moves in nonchalantly. When she gives that uncomfortable looking, momentary sidelong glance, Azdak tries to put her at ease by pretending to be familiar with her. Speaking in draconic he says, "Yiddlepode, my dear! I'm so glad you could make it out to see the production. What do you think of the show so far?"
Once she replies, likely not recognizing this stranger, Azdak tries to charm her and persuade her that it would be to everyone's benefit if they had a visit.
"Don't worry, your identity is safe with me. But while I have you here, may we have a visit. I always hate to mix business with pleasure, but it would be a great help to me if we had a chat. I don't think we'll miss any of the plot. These Chelish stories are nearly all the same. Besides, most of the bloodshed is now being done with illusions and sleight of hands."
Azdak continues to keep the conversation right to the point, informative, but not threatening in any way.
"Tell me, my dear, how is your brother, Yippitok? I would also be remiss if I did not ask about your father, Kibizax. I hope they are doing well. I'm wondering if you could help me. We've been having trouble with deliveries going missing. In fact, I'm sad to say that we even lost a few of our friends below Absalom. It seemed to happen near the lair. Do you know anything about this? I'm hoping your father might know something."
After assessing that the chatty Azdak is not an immediate threat, the halfling *shhh!*'s him rather urgently, waving at the stage and uttering a single phrase--in Common--[b]"talk at intermission."
***
At intermission she asks, "And you are?"
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Azdak reluctantly quiets down and puts up with watching the first act without saying a word. When intermission arrives, he finally replies.
"Forgive me, my dear. I am Azdak Ejderha. These here are my friends, Tarri, Li, Rhydderch, Darro, and Rikas. We are agents of the Pathfinder Society. As I was trying to explain to you earlier, several deliveries as well as some of our agents have gone missing down in the swers of Absaolom. We were wondering if you could help us negotiate some sort of agreement. Our society needs to be able to make deliveries unimpeded and naturally we would like to know what happened to our agents. I was wondering if you could help us in any way?"
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Rikas removes his mithral shirt and puts 7 daggers on the table, superstitiously keeping two mundane daggers and his favourite dagger hidden in his boots and breeches.
Rikas can't help but chuckle down the row from the others. The acting is so terrible even he can see it for what it's worth. The amusement at actors trying so hard to be so terrible amuses him greatly.
He meanwhile lets the more talkative folk talk. During intermission, he keeps an eye out for anyone else who may want to 'talk'.
"As I am sure you know, my tribe is likely responsible for killing your agents. Our tribe is strong and powerful, and we wish to make it known. Nevertheless, I am myself open to a negotiation, but I would be unable to act on it."
At this point, the intermission ends and Yiddlepode shushes you again to watch the end of it. Once the play has concluded, she heads for the door and motions for you to follow. As she makes her way to the exit, she explains her problem. "I would like to see a lasting partnership between the Society and my tribe but I cannot act against my father’s wishes. For now you will have to deal with him. He is convinced that if he has a showdown with the Pathfinder Society and defeats their agents, we will be able to demand tribute from the Society and bring the other kobold tribes under our leadership. When you finish *ahem* bargaining with my father, perhaps we will have an opportunity for an extended conversation about a truce and I will have a bit more leeway. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to return home." She waits patiently for you to leave...
"Only after he defeats the Pathfinder Society and ruins their presence below Absalom..."
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"The other...kobolds..." Li pronounces this unfamiliar Taldan word with exaggerated care. "...will follow you when your father no longer leads the tribe? Or will there then be other leaders you wish us to deal with?" The Tien is suspicious and does not bother to hide it.
<<Besides,>> thinks Li. <<What kind of name is 'Yiddlepode' for an ally to have? Embarrassing, that's what that is.>>