I'll add Pepper to my plan. If nothing else, the novelty of a talking cat should help distract everyone else from Sirim's explanation to the princess.
I do have some notes:
First, while everything we give here might contribute towards a nebulous "brownie points" with the princess, I do think that you're being far too casual with risking pissing people off and I don't see the how some of your plan is worth that risk:
[] House Basri and a well known Elven Lantern Bearer threatened the local Pathfinder Venture-captain when his people discovered there were Drow operating in the city. He can confirm this information, if necessary, assuming he hasn't been silenced since we last spoke with him.
The above also inaccurate; I don't think the Lantern Bearer "well known" and I
know (am confident, but haven't reread the chapter) that the Pathfnder dude didn't tell us house Basri was involved in warning him to back off.
I also feel that said Pathfinder dude would be very annoyed if anyone asks him stuff, and I do think that we'd
very high up on the short list of people he'd suspect. I don't see why giving the princess as full a picture as we can give is worth risking pissing this elf of; I value his positive regard much more than an extra few crumbs of princess positive regards.
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These changes were the result of meddling by the Apsis Consortium <- Honestly, I think that you should go into more detail here; what the Aspis Consrtium did was badass and much more impressive than "meddling" and to say "killed the CR 19? 21? demon" better communicates the scale of investment/risk they took; and thus better communicates
how much the Consrotuium would have been ready to lock down access to those markets.
The Consortium's power has undoubtedly grown a lot not just because they have the first mover advantage, but because they
created it.
since it has become apparent at least some of his guard force was compromised, likely by House Basri or their Elven allies. <- Makes governor look bad, and I don't see why we want to do that.
"Is compromised" = "is doing a bad job"
"used external assets he could be sure are not compromised" = "is making wise decsions in the face of uncertain loyalites/he can't be sure which of his trusted suboridantes are being scried on".
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You (and I) don't have an answer in our plans for "how do you know all this Drow lore", and I think we need to decide what we want the answer to be:
1) Pepper
knows things, but it's almost impossible for him to direct except in the broadest of scopes (the death of that big demon). We learnt about the Lamashans via divination, and that's why we asked him about Drow society. (Racial bonus: Knowledge (Drow)
2) We interrogated a drow with magic, though he is beyone the reach of Ressurection (bluff, implying that he was burned after death).
3) We interrogated a drow with magic, and learning about his life; a childhood spent in a society of
demon worshippers, we learned that he never had a chance to be
better, and he agreed (while under a suggestion for honesty [bluff?, can't recall]) to avoid causing harm while he learned of the ways of the surface; free from demons, and with prayers to Desna to help him on his path, we hope that he might find solace and
redemption in the light of Sarenrae. [Absloute bluff]. If you wish to know more of the cruelty he escaped from, we can Sending him, and ask if he would be willing to help provide you context for the threat below, so you migth. But I
can not [Religious/aboulute overtones] agree to facilitate contact without your [oath/word] as Royalty that he will be allowed to leave unharmed if he causes no harm. (a moment's beat, wry amusement with an intention to 'humanise' him) He'll probably want payment for his time explaining this context).
... That said, you could probably snag another drow trader and interrogate them, now you know to look for one. Maybe one of those Lamashans under your city.
Look, the third one got away with me a bit a lot. Baileys is €21 down to €10 so I'm pretty drunk. I want to dangle this offer of "you can get access to the dude if you promise to let him go", but mainly I want to bludegon this fuckin' monarch with "honour" bullshit, and do it under the shield of "righteous faith".
OH! Fourth idea, though probably pretty non-viable. Ask drow dude if he'd be ok explaining
in depth drow stuff to the princess/one of her trusted people, and then offer to help make contact. Though that'd probably be something that the governor might prefer to do, depending on how in-bed him and the princess end up being.
