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Mimi moves forward slightly, and with rapier still in hand, places herself between Morgroar and Greeleep. She smiles at Evindal's comment "Indeed. As my good friend 'ere 'as sede, de jeeg ees up, Master Sergeant Morgroar." Her tone then takes on a harder edge. "Your plotteengs vith de Aspees to overthrow Lieutenant Eloqi ees vell known to us and de proof ve 'old ees overwhelmeeng. At dees stage your options are veree limited. You can die 'ere tryeeng to stop us; you can throw yourself at de mercy of de Lieutenant and take your punishment like a ma.., uh, a 'obgoblin; or you can make a run for eet. In your boots I beleeve I vould select de last option, but de choice ees up to you."
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The hobgoblin gives a momentary pause, before he concludes, "Then Raike's suspicions were right. She did well to send me down here to put an end to you!"
The hobgoblin brandishes his halberd in a shaking hand as he drops the it. "You may have held your own against a bulettes, but you know not of what you face with Raike's vengeance." Knowing that this will not end well if brought forth before Lieutenant Eloqi Master Sergeant Morgroar turns his glare upon Mimi and rushes out one of the side tunnels as he chooses to flee with his life given no other option.
Having gathered all of your evidence you break for the evening.
Sunrise brings the arrival of Sergeant Drussem, who has come to escort you to the meeting hall for the recommencement of the formal talks. As before, Raike and her bodyguards are already waiting outside the hall.
Although, unlike before, Raike's demeanor is considerably less smug than on the previous occasion. Also, her halfling valet is markedly absent.
For their part, the hobgoblin security forces stand ready to usher you into the hall. While Morgroar is not present with them as before, the hobgoblins remain well-disciplined. If they have suspicions about the Master Sergeant's absence, it is not evident in their mannerisms.
You are quietly ushered into the meeting hall as are the Aspis agents. Drussem and other hobgoblin security forces spread out throughout the hall, awaiting the Lieutenant’s commands.
Lieutenant Eloqi emerges from his quarters and takes his seat at the table, bidding the prolocutors to do the same.
"Much has transpired since last we sat at table together." notes the wizened hobgoblin. "Yet, it is the next hour during which the future of Oprak with regard your respective organizations shall be determined."
"Prolocutor of the Pathfinder Society," bids Lieutenant Eloqi, "you have yet to make your full bid. Please, speak your piece."
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When given the floor by the hobgoblin leader, Hornietelle stands and nods in his direction. "Lieutenant Eloqi. It is unfortunate that our previous gathering was so rudely interrupted by the arrival of the bulettes, but rest assured that we have not been idle since they were defeated."
"As I mentioned previously, a fundamental tenet of the Pathfinder Society is cooperation. We believe that by working together towards a mutual goal, the chances of reaching that goal are much improved; with the consequential rewards being even greater than if we were to make the attempt independently. Mutual cooperation of this kind is founded on trust; after all, if you cannot trust your business partner not to betray you, then any serious degree of cooperation is impossible."
She pauses for effect before continuing. "Though the Pathfinder Society is well-known as a trustworthy organization that honors its pledges and works well with others, the same cannot be said of our adversaries, the Aspis Consortium. The source of their strength is not based on cooperation, but on lies and treachery."
Hornietelle raises her hand to quiet the room. Then directs herself to Eloqi again. "At our last gathering, Lieutenant Eloqi, you stated that mere accusations of malfeasance were insufficient and that you required substantial proof of their veracity before acting. I believe that we now have all the proof that you will need to be convinced that what we say about the Aspis Consortium are not merely empty words, but the naked truth."
"The coincidental arrival of the bulettes yesterday and the dubious behaviour of the Aspis representatives leading up to the event struck us as deeply suspicious; I suspect that you too harbor such suspicions. We Pathfinders thus took it upon ourselves to investigate these strange events and have since uncovered the truth behind them."
Hornietelle casts her eyes about the room as if searching for someone. "It appears that Master Sergeant Morgroar is no longer with us. This is not entirely surprising as we discovered that the Master Sergeant and Raike were plotting to remove you as leader." She raises her hand with the message they found stomped into the ground during the battle with the bulettes. "I have here a message we found after the recent battle which we decoded using this book we came across in Morgroar's hut." She raises the small, leatherbound book bearing a serpent motif. "I think you will find the serpent motif of particular interest as it is the emblem of the Aspis Consortium." She hands both pieces of evidence to Eloqi.
"We then decided to pay mister Muckfellow a visit to see if he could shed any light on things but found that he had disappeared from the camp. Instead, we found a profusion of kobold scales, and this." She now holds up the Hat of Disguise. "It turns out that Greeleep Muckfellow is not actually a halfling, but is in fact just Greeleep, a kobold shaman coerced by Raike against his will into using his abilities to call and control bulettes using these." She then lifts the crude zoic fetishes for all to see before handing them to Eloqi.
"How is it we know all this, I hear you ask?" Now she brandishes the journal found at the bottom of Raike's footlocker. "I have here Raike's personal journal in which she describes these events in her own hand!" This too she hands to the Lieutenant.
"But that is not all. Within Greeleep and Raike's huts we found trapdoors leading down into a complex of tunnels below the camp that had been dug out by the bulettes. Within these tunnels we found the remains of the chemicals used by Raike not only to attract the bulettes, but to poison them and thus make them easier to kill." She passes the mug and broken vials of Hunting Spider Poison to Eloqi, "But that's not all we found down there. We also came across Greeleep himself, whom we rescued from giant ants intent on his demise." Horietelle signals Mimi, who had hitherto been shielding Greeleep from sight. The red-headed swashbuckler brings the kobold forward, standing at his side in case the Aspis tried anything funny.
"In gratitude at us having saved him from the ants and Raike, he agreed to come here with us to offer his testimony directly. I think you will find his harrowing tale to be particularly instructive with regards to the way in which the Aspis treat their allies."
Mimi nudges Greeleep into telling his story.
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"I did no such thing!" cries Raike rising to her feet. Sergeant Drussem and the hobgoblins reach for their weapons, but Lieutenant Eloqi waves them off. "Proceed." he nods as the small kobold hobbles forward nervously as the kobold makes himself known.
There is an audible gasp in the room, coming from both several of the hobgoblins as well as the Aspis agents. Raike shakes her back and forth head vigorously, but bites her lip as the kobold testifies, confirming your story and adding in a few missing details.
"I must interject," interrupts Raike. "But, I personally observed Master Sergeant Morgroar descend into the tunnel left in the wake of the bulette attack--as did these Pathfinders by their own admission."
"Master Sergeant Morgroar's disdain for you, Lieutenant Eloqi, is well known. How can you be sure that these Pathfinders are not in league with him?" Raike pleads with the Lieutenant. "The Master Sergeant is suspiciously missing from this gathering. Should his testimony not be heard alongside that of these outsiders?"
"The Master Sergeant's ambition is no secret. And his absence has been noted, but has yet to be explained." Lieutenant Eloqi concedes.
In an effort to maintain impartiality, Lieutenant Eloqi turns to the party. "You have set forth quite the tale and one, admittedly, quite damning of your competition. Nevertheless, the Master Sergeant is conniving, deceptive, and manipulative. Do you have any explanation for the Master Sergeant's absence?"
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When Eloqi asks about Morgroar, Mimi speaks up. "I beleeve I can cast some light on de Master Sergeant's absence."
"As ve vere leaveeng de tunnels, ve encountered de Master Sergeant, who, by 'ees own vords, 'ad been sent by Raike to put un end to us. I convinced 'eem dat attackeeng us vith an 'alberd vould be 'ees final and fatale erreur. As eet vas not in our purvue to bring 'eem to justice, I suggested dat 'e throw 'imself on your mercy and take vhatever punishment you vould inflict. Based on 'ees absence at deez proceedeengs, I presume 'e felt dat flight vas de better option. Last ve saw 'eem, 'e vas 'eadeeng out von of de side tunnels. Doubtless your skilled trackers vill soon find 'eem as 'e seemed ill prepared for a long voyage in de vilderness."
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Raike grits her teeth, but Lieutenant Eloqi seems satisfied by the explanation. "I am not surprised that Morgroar proved to be as cowardly as he is cunning. Exile may be too lenient a punishment, but it will suffice for now."
"The woman is lying!" protests Artennod Raike, rising to her feet. Her outburst is met by moves by Sergeant Drussem and the other hobgoblins within the room.
Not foolish enough to attack within the camp and clearly out numbered, Raike glares at Mimi and the other Pathfinders.
"You will pay for this outrage! I vow that I will have my revenge!" threatens Raike before she nods to her fellow agents and quickly storms off, the other Aspis following her.
"Let them go," Lieutenant Eloqi declares, "we have more important business to tend to. Securing the future of our nation is foremost now."
Gesturing to one of an attendant hobgoblin, Lieutenant Eloqi draws forth a pen as the attendant unravels a parchment setting forth the terms of trade. The Lieutenant adds a few additional lines to the document, before signing it with flourish.
"The sovereign nation of Oprak does hereby suspend all business dealings with the Aspis Consortium." says Lieutenant Eloqi. "My orders are for Raike and the Aspis delegation to be exiled immediately from the camp."
Handing the executed document over to Mimi, it is clear that the party has secured an exclusive trade agreement with the Pathfinder Society to the exclusion of the Aspis Consortium.
After the talks conclude, Eloqi invites you all to a celebratory feast, which is largely prepared by Chef Oltug, who is pleased to hear that Morgroar is in exile.
The next day, Drussem leads the party out of the camp and on its way back to Varisia. Upon reaching Magnimar, you meet with Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch for a debriefing. She is quite pleased, particularly as the party managed to expose the Aspis Consortium’s plots and stop them from reaching an agreement with the hobgoblins.