The halfling looks with wide eyes as Engashez sits next to her. But without anything happening, she eventually returns to watching the show as the first act begins.
It is quite a sight to see and the music is beautiful.
About an hour and a half of sitting and enjoying the show, there is an intermission. At least you guess this might be an intermission. The stage clears, the lights raise and people get up to stretch. A few head to the restrooms outside. But it definitely doesn't feel like the end of the show, more like a pause in the action. The halfling you believe to be Yiddlepode stays where she is.
The intermission is about to end.
Engashez leans toward the halfling, "Are you linking the show Chief Yiddlepode?"
The halfling jumps to her feet and looks for an exit while hissing, "You bounty hunters won't take me alive!"
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In response to Voices' question, Ruinor glances back at Engashez to see if she is talking to Yiddlepode. Seeing the halfling on her feet and apparently agitated, he frowns and turns back to the nagaji. "It looks like the latter but let's give Engashez a moment to see if she can get things under control."
He watches as his companion looks around the room, a confused look on his face. Ruinor quickly replays the conversation in his mind, wondering what Voices is looking for.
"Not ladder. I said latter," he says emphasizing the t's. "It means the second thing you said which was to grab her," he adds just in case his companion has already forgotten what he said. He motions for Voices to wait to see what Engashez does before moving to block the nearest exit if necessary.
Engashez lets her illusory disguise go down and speaks in draconic, "No bounty hunters, chief. I am true blood, like you. We try to find you. Come, sit back down. The show will start soon."
The halfling glares at the kobold and shushes her, "Idiot, put the glamour back up! Do you want us BOTH arrested and hung?!?"
Assuming she does, Yiddlepode continues, "Now, tell me who sent you and what you want and maaaaaybe I'll consider helping. Just because we are the same race doesn't mean I trust you. I don't even trust some of my own tribe. Also, I ain't no Chief so stop using that."
Failing to convince the kobold their intentions are pure, she eyes Engeshaz and moves to a different spot in the balcony, "Why don't you think about what you want to say and ask me after the Opera ends."
The groups sits quietly through the second act. As the lights come up, Yiddlepode stands and prepares to leave.
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Thyste sighs; she's not dressed for this. She's not dressed at all. But...
She moves up to the kobold.
"Hey, I'm with that one," she says, pointing. "I'm just gonna be honest. We're Pathfinders, and we've been tasked with getting your tribe to stop raiding our supply transports through the sewers without violence. We figured the best way to do that would be to approach you."
She snorts a chunk of black smoke. "No intention of scaring you," says the enormous fox rippling with malice, "but we need to make sure those raids stop."
"What they say is true Yiddlepode. There is an opportunity here for the true bloods of Absalom. The Pathfinder Society is a powerful ally with a great reach of influence. They have many a ruler or close asking favors of them. Surely the great true blood tribe of Absalom should be in such company."
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Ruinor stands up at the end of the performance and looks back at Yiddlepode. Seeing a few of the group interacting with her, he motions for Voices to wait where they are.
"Let's see if they are able to talk her into helping us. I think our presence might be too threatening," he says looking the nagaji up and down before turning back to see how things will end with Yiddlepode.
As the name of Xarcious is mentioned, Yiddlepode's features soften quite a bit, "OH? He trusted you enough to send you? How is the old bastard doing, well I hope."
Then Engeshez and Thyste manage to convince her to sit down for a chat, "I guess you all can't be that bad. But seriously, why was it so hard just to tell me what was up? I mean, it's not like if we got found out we'd all be thrown in prison or anything... heh heh..."
She listens intently to the pathfinders request for a truce or agreement with her tribe. The halfling taps her chin, "Listen, I'm all for it. But as I said earlier I'm not the chief. I can't make that call. I also know FOR A FACT that my dad, the current chief isn't going to be nearly as nice as me. If you don't provide significant tribute, he will probably make an example of you to his tribe."
She stands to leave, “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 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.”
She chuckles, "Oh yeah sure. I'm sure bringing back a pack of pathfinders would totally NOT get me exiled from my tribe and completely negate any chance I have of taking power. What do you think that we are goblins and stupid? Yeah, good plan big lady."
She goes to leave.
Yiddlepode jumps away as cat nuzzles her leg, ”Gross! I thought this place was clean of vermin.”
She leaves.
Cat has a couple misses, but manages to pick up the trail after each one. He arrives at a sewer grate and points to it. Obviously a cat of this size won't be able to lift the grate. Oddly enough several landmarks seem very familiar to the group. Almost as though they recently recall being given directions to here. But at least they can pretty easily confirm this is the right place!
Once they head down, things get quite stinky and the trail is lost.
The age of these tunnels shows in its crumbling walls, and the walkways along the deep central sewage channel are treacherously narrow, making footing uncertain. Near the intersection Xarcious indicated, territorial markings fill the walls, smattered with warnings written in the common tongue: “Keep out.” Scorch marks on the ground and walls smell faintly of ozone. Xarcious’s directions indicate that the entrance to the Sewer Dragons’ lair is through a grate in the east passage off a large, four-way intersection.
Thyste notices a large number of foot prints on the walkways. Her best guess is they were made by bipedal reptiles.
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"Didn't know kobolds had such greasy feet, damn."
If there's no objection from the group, she'll happily lead them along to follow the tracks.
...While keeping an eye out for traps because, y'know. Kobolds.
Of course, she's polite enough to wait for the blind to light their torches or cast their light spells or whatever.
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Seeing how dark the sewer is, Ruinor pauses. He holds his staff, staring at the top of it, his mouth slightly open as if he's about to speak. He then closes his eyes as if trying to remember something. He shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head.
"I guess I didn't think I might need to cast light today when I was preparing spells," he says with a nervous chuckle. "All is not lost though. Unless someone else has a way to create light, I can just use an old trusty torch," he says as he removes his backpack to retrieve a torch and his flint and steel.
Engashez strolls casually along, taking time to look at the marks with vested interest.
Ruinor believes the scorch marks are from some sort of large electrical discharge, likely from a dragon’s breath weapon, magical lightning, or similar effect. Engashez thinks they are graffiti.
With light resolved and cat deciding not to scout, Thyste leads the way into danger. Creeping up to the corner she peaks around to see what she can see.
She doesn't see anything worth worrying about. The sewer seems completely and utterly safe (other than the diseases obviously).
Thyste takes a short running hop and clears the channel. The footprints clearly indicate east as a more traveled path. She moves up fifteen feet and crouches a little to take her time looking.
The ceilings here are an annoyance for her actually. Only seven feet tall, she can stand but can tell that it might effect combat if it comes to it .
She glances back at her allies then refocuses down the tunnel. Two alcoves are visible on the sides. Both have grates and obviously lead down somewhere. She squints hard at the South Side grate. It looks pretty weak and rusted. Probably wouldn't support one's weight.
Thyste probably advises her allies of this danger then steps forward and a dark shape detaches from the next alcove and the tiefling hears the snap of a crossbow bolt being fired.
The crossbow bolt shatters against her shield.
Ruinor
Thyste
Voices
Engashez
Garsita
Blue Reptilian Humanoid
Fentar
Red Reptilian Humanoid
Bold are up. Please pay attention to environmental and light details.
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Hearing Thyste speaking to someone snaps Ruinor's attention back to the present, having been thinking about how badly he was going to need a bath after this. With no room to move anywhere except into the sludge, Ruinor waits for the others to move. He has no desire to end up in the sludge and so will wait for room to get a running jump to cross.
Engashez and Ruinor are up!
Eng backs up a little, runs and jumps to the opposite corner of the 4-way.
She then continues down the passageway to catch up.
Surprisingly, even the heavily armored pathfinders manage to negotiate the nasty sludge gaps and slick walkways. They advance upon the kobold!
Voices does notice a large boulder jammed into the end of the sewer tunnel .
Thyste
Voices
Engashez
Garsita
Ruinor
Blue Reptilian Humanoid
Fentar
Red Reptilian Humanoid
Bold are up. Please pay attention to environmental and light details.