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The part proves unable to administer sufficient aid to save Lady Qualstair's life based on their own training and resources. But then, Hannar recalls a discovery he had made in the attic of the Traitor's Mews, where Goldtooth and her lackeys had planned their assassination attempt--a potion that will delay the effects of a poison affecting the drinker.
He rushes over, unstoppers the vial, and tips the liquid into the noblewoman's mouth. With some coaxing, you are able to work the potion down her throat, and a moment later, she takes a gasping breath as the poison's effects are reversed for the time being. Lady Qualstair's life is still in danger once the effects of the potion wear off, but you suspect that this magic will be sufficient to keep her alive until Zeeva can return with a cleric powerful enough to purge the poison from her system entirely.
Just as you all are celebrating saving the noble's life, you hear a soft chuckling from the base of the ladder a short distance to your northeast. Goldtooth still lies there, bound, but grinning. With a bitter snarl, she says, "Well I suppose you'll be wanting to hear the whole story then..." and begins to unravel the mystery of what has been going on here.
Madreki Gael was an influential leader within the loose collection of crime families known as the Sczarni. Joelle Goldtooth, on the other hand, is a ruthless opportunist, but hardly a master strategist. Gael hired her to assassinate Lady Qualstair because of Goldtooth’s convenient grudge
against the noblewoman who once caught her cheating at cards. Gael arranged to provide Goldtooth with equipment, and coached her on a plan that would not only eradicate Qualstair, but also destabilize international trade and perhaps even reignite a cold war. To bring this to pass, Gael instructed Goldtooth to do the following:
First, posing as victimized travelers, Goldtooth and her mercenary allies snuck into Korvosa and holed up in Traitor’s Mews. Soon after, Goldtooth met with a Sczarni associate of Gael’s to obtain several poisons and alchemical items.
Gael wanted witnesses to the murder, so Goldtooth sought to draw Lady Qualstair out into public. Recalling the Taldan’s love of Varisian blondberries, she stopped at the Frisky Unicorn and left some forged flyers for the Green Market. Goldtooth correctly wagers that the fussy noblewoman would make a personal appearance, instead of just sending her chef.
Gael also instructed Goldtooth to frame Qadira for the murder. Having heard rumors about the Andoren Chameleons’ “mask powder,” she visited Kendall Amphitheater and persuaded Flavicomos Maximos to sell her some dust of illusion. Finally, she returned to the Unicorn and shadowed Lady Qualstair to the Green Market.
Gael believes that witnesses, connecting the fast-acting poison with the conspicuous Qadiran in the crowd, will interpret Qualstair’s death as an act of war by Taldor’s ancient enemies. Whether or not the incident leads to war, Gael hopes that Qadira will invest more in their local defense, to the detriment of its mercantile partnership with the Exchange—Gael’s enemies among the Sczarni.
"So all of this was about Gael's desire to get revenge on the Exchange, you getting back at Qualstair for catching you cheating at cards," Zeeva asks as she suddenly reappears with a cleric and a city guard in tow.
Gold tooth confirms this, but when pressed for Gael's current location so he can face justice as well, she states that knows little of Gael’s current whereabouts—their last rendezvous was over a month ago in Kaer Maga—and she does not know the names of the Sczarni black marketeers who equipped her with poisons.
Gold tooth then turns and catches sight of the city guard. With a grin, she laughs and boasts, “I already dodged their dungeons once. My luck will hold.”
Foxglove then asks Goldtooth why the Yellow Prophet frightened her during their initial reading. Goldtooth laughs off Foxglove’s fears, declaring, “Dark fates and prophecies. All just part of the game.” When Zeeva then points out that the harrow cards helped apprehend her, though, she begrudgingly admits their power. When Foxglove inspects Goldtooth’s harrow deck, the Yellow Prophet is nowhere to be found.
Zeeva points out, the Yellow Prophet is a card of paradox and self-fulfilling prophecies. “Perhaps,” she says, “Korvosa is better off without it.”