[X] (Interrogations) Ask if you can interrogate them yourself with some magical assistance. (Clever Self likes this one too. Helen will probably be better with this one than the other two personal ones.)
As the guards loaded the cultists into a cart to be dragged to jail, you approached. "Hey. Would you mind if I took the opportunity to get some info out of them once they're in jail? I might be able to get more out of them."
The guard captain shrugged. "Town policy is we can't accept anything from adventurer-led interrogations in court - but there's plenty of evidence there, between Eira and the other Inn patrons. So you can work 'em for your own benefit, long as you don't do anything illegal where we see it."
"So if you happened to not be around…"
The guard smirked. "There'll be some extra patrols around town in case there's more of them. Though you do get to have the Paladin with you, I've gotta put some lid on this."
You pout a little, but nod. "Fair enough, fair enough. I won't kill 'em or anything."
"Good."
Then, over to Helen. "So, they're gonna let… Really, us? Interrogate them. But first… What were they talking about?"
Helen sighs, as you both go towards the jail. "... She Who Must Be Abjured, is the proper reference for their apparent sponsor. The Tyrant-Queen, the Mother of Monsters, the Slavetaker… Echidna is the Goddess of many of the worst traits of our world. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that she draws particular ire from my patron, and of Aurora."
You nod. "So, cultists of… Well, based on their knives, I'm guessing snakes, too?"
"Indeed," the Paladin responds. "Cults to her appear every so often, and dealing with them before they can cause real problems is a fairly standard, even rote, job."
You pause. "But this particular group was traveling. While looking the cultist part. Meaning they want to look it where they arrive, specifically. So, I'll just need to 'talk' that out of them."
Helen pauses in turn. "I should probably be encouraging you to do this properly, but honestly, you will probably get more out of them with your abilities. At least, in terms of getting what we need to know, and quickly. Just… Put some lid on it, please?"
You shrug. "I was just thinking enchantment magic to get them talking. We don't need court-admissible confessions, we need them giving us information so we can, presumably, go stop whatever plan they're participating in."
This gets a bit of a sigh from Helen. "That's… Mmm. I'm not comfortable with it, but if you keep it to that, it should be fine."
You can't help but get a tiny bit of bounce in your step at that. "We've got a plan. Going to presume you'll go for trying to get them to repent a bit?"
The Paladin smiles. "You've got an understanding of me."
---
It's only about five minutes before the cultists are all isolated in individual cells, out of sight and easy hearing - if one screams, the others might notice, but otherwise you and Senaz can work them one by one. Their stuff's been stuck in boxes out of their reach - legally, you're apparently free to loot them, but frankly, most of the stuff likely carries a bit of Echidna's dark touch. Best not to deal with it.
You already know your plan…
[x] (Cultist Handling Routine) Good Cop, Bad Cop - sure, you're working with a Succubus instead of First Mate Frakes, but the right bit of kindness might get them to repent, while Senaz is likely to more aggressively extract information. Let her focus on that part.
… So you go in to chat with one of the lower-ranking cultists first.
"You're welcome for saving your life," you say to the one who had taken a crossbow bolt to the neck.
The cultist, alone in his cell and unarmed, doesn't even bother to look up at you. "I'm dead anyways. Dunno why you put off your 'justice'."
"Maybe because I'd rather learn why you did what you did?"
"What's it matter to you? I followed my orders, and I wasn't good enough to see 'em through. Take your victory and choke on it, Aurorite fool."
So he hasn't even looked at your particular holy symbol - though Solaria is less well-known. "Well, that's not very nice, is it?"
"Neither's the 'civilization' you lot uphold. Leave us in the dust, then kill us if we dare to speak up."
"Is that what you think serving the Empress of Ruin does? That it's a protest?", you ask, careful to control your tone.
"She brings down the haughty. For some of us, that's all we care about."
You pause, as if considering his words. "... All while blinding yourself to the suffering you cause in her name."
"Peh. Those too weak to invoke her get brought down like the rest. Not my fault they're unwilling to do what it takes to unfuck the realm."
"... What even happened to you to bring you to this point?", you ask.
The man pauses. "... What do you care?"
"If I listen to you… Maybe I can figure out what it takes to keep others from suffering as you have."
"... Hmph. Whatever, you wanna hear it, here you go…"
---
You've got a plan, you've got a couple rules limiting how you execute it, and you've got some great tools within them to get these cultists giving the information you want.
Let Helen, starting from one of the lowliest of the group, talk them up. You're a Succubus - you go down on-
… You bring people down. That sounds better. Though that's not what you're doing here - no temptation of the Abyss or any of that. Doesn't feel right anymore.
No, you're just going to get what you most need to know out of them through the power of bluntly-applied sensuality and a bit of terror. Not the painful, sort, though, that'd definitely piss Helen off.
But, say, disappearing from reality with an ethereal shift, switching to the full Succubus outfit, stepping through the cell door, and suddenly being directly behind the leader, then giggling a bit?
(Intimidate Check with Advantage: 11/[B]20[/B]+6 = 26)
"BY THE EMPRESS!", he shouts, spinning and backing away from you. Good, that oughta spook the others. "Wh-why are you here?!"
"Oh, you know, nothing too much," you say with a smirk. "Less, if you tell me where you were going and why. More if you lie about it."
"A-all right! We were, um, trying to get to Westen, big gathering there, the High Priestess wanted it a secret…"
(Insight: 7 vs. his Bluff: Nat-1)
Okay, if he's going to make shit up that badly, you're gonna take advantage of your abilities a bit. Leaning in a little, you practically purr, "Oh really now? My cleavage demands you tell me the truth instead of trying to hide things."
Suggestion is a tricky magic to work with. Wording can be finicky, and you've gotta make it sound reasonable to the recipient. Fortunately, starting the sentence with a call to your, ahem, 'assets', is usually a pretty good trick for making them slip on what's reasonable or not.
(Cultist Leader's save: 12 vs. DC 16.)
And as he glances down at your chest, he doesn't realize what you're trying to do until your focus on it has beaten his will. He's staring directly at you in a way that honestly would be kinda creepy if you weren't actively nudging for it, and now words are tumbling out of his mouth.
"I don't know the exact ritual, but the High Priestess called for every cell of the cult that could to go to Chaos Mountain amongst the Borderlands. The caves within will bring the conditions for the Mother of Monsters' victory over the Fourteen and ascension to her rightful place, she says. Dunno if I trust it, but I dare not disobey the High Priestess' will."
He pauses, realizing what you just pulled after the fact… But you're already asking the next question. "How big is the cult?"
"Don't know for sure, but there are cells among several of the nomadic tribes and in several cities. The orcs oughta kick your ass like you deserve, traitor."
"Okay, what makes you think I was working for Echidna?"
"You're a Succubus, one of the monsters. Yet you refuse the will of the Mother of Monsters."
"Oh, so you're just stupid, got it." The words come out before you realize they're probably a little too mean. Or not mean enough. Point is - "I do not serve your Master, and never did. Don't think I will if her idea of recruitment is four random idiots drawing knives on me, either."
"... What - how?! You should be…"
"Well, I'm not." And you step towards him. "And if you're bad enough at this to seriously just sort any monster in with the Profane Beasts, you probably should listen to my partner when she shows up. Very. Very closely. Is there anything else you know of use to trying to stop your cult's plans?"
"Um… N-not really?"
And then you disappear from his sight via another ethereal shift, just to unnerve him a little more. He's going to have the most awkward boner, and your darker influences can't help but appreciate that.
---
The chats with the others go about the same - no new information, the ones who Helen spoke to first seem at least a little repentant. May Aurora's grace bless them with salvation or whatever. (Would it be Solaria's grace? Point is, that's way out of your context.)
And then you're outside, having quietly switched to the bard disguise. "So, a bunch of groups of the same cult are going for 'Chaos Mountain' in the Borderlands. None of them knew which mountain it is, but they do know it's the Arnstey Keep area, so their plan was go there and just kind of…" You facepalm, and finish, "Just kinda guess until they're at the right mountain."
"May Aurora bless them with not just salvation, but a lick of sense," Helen responds. You can't blame her for not facepalming given she has heavier gloves on than you, but she clearly wants to and it's hard to blame her.
"So. This drops in on both of us literally two hours after I officially enter 'reincarnated hero' status. You had no clue about them pulling anything like this until now, right?"
"That's correct."
"Yeah… Maybe it's my bard side going off something fierce, but no way in any layer of the Abyss this isn't related to the divine quest somehow."
"That's about the conclusion I'm drawing as well, yes. That's about how it went several times for my ship, at least, so…"
"... You're going to have to explain that one later," You respond. "For now - we definitely investigate this, right?"
"Agreed."
The irony that this means you technically fulfilled your exact plan for the day is not lost on you. Charm people, find rumors, pursue plot, cause mayhem.
Just, you know. There were some rather serious added steps.
"I… Hm. I feel like we should try to set up a bit of plan. We need to journey to Arnstey Keep. Do we want to build a crew, or try to duo this given we're the ones with the divine blessings?"
"That's…" Helen pauses. "That's a good question. I doubt most of the cult is as incompetent as these four, so a few helpers might be good, but on the other hand…"
"If this isn't the entire quest, we're gonna need loot," you can't help but observe. "I mean, hate to say it like that, but it's true."
"It's also a matter of who can be trusted - both in terms of 'not betray us', and in 'be useful in the inevitable fighting'."
And then a voice you definitely didn't expect to hear pipes up.
"Well, um. Card on the table?"
You blink, turning towards Eira, who has shown up unexpectedly… And dressed differently, too, as she continues, "If you're heading out to Arnstey to deal with more of these guys, you probably want help. And it so happens I'm…"
[ ] (Eira's Class) (Rogue) "... Sneakier than you'd expect when we get down to it. Not that I've had a lot of serious practice lately, but I did just sneak up on you two pretty easily." (Plenty of possible subclass/build picks for a floofthief.)
[ ] (Eira's Class) (Vigilante) "... Well, there's a certain rumor around these parts, which I can advise you on in private. But I've got a useful reputation in Arnstey Keep already." (Oh this could be a FUN bit of narration to build.)
[ ] (Eira's Class) (Psion) "... A bit of an expert in Psionics, if you know much about that." (I've long loved Psionics as a system. I'd probably lean towards DSP's implementation for PF1st over the core 3.5 content. Assume sufficient Psionics-Arcane transparency that any arcane-knowledge type stuff would be in the realm she can cover. This IS squishier than the others for sure though.)
[ ] (Eira's Class) (Psychic Rogue) "... A sneak and thief, but not your normal sort exactly." (Oh the potential mix of options here could be fun to say the least.)
[ ] (Eira's Class) (Write-In) "... Hm, how do I put this…"
***
QM Note: I've put my favored ideas down as the starting options, but encourage Write-Ins. If a write-in is noted as similar to a class already voted for, I'll add the two together; if such a combo wins, then a vote between the options will ensue.
There'll be a second vote round regardless to set her basic build style (including subclass if it's a 5e class, Archetypes if PF1, etc.) afterwards.
I wish people an excellent evening?
FTR, I was planning on Eira just being a civilian, but then got down the writing and the "card on the table" line just kinda popped into my head and so I put up the vote to decide if I was going to overrule what my reflex told me to do. The vote clearly said to go with what my reflexes said to do.
I see what you did there.
