[X] Those pesky Duergar! -[X] Sirim telepathically asks Kori to buy him some time and to keep the occupants of the room distracted, especially the representative of House Basri. -[X] Kori sighs dramatically, before seeming to brace himself to recount hard truths. "I know much about the Duergar, and none of it makes for a pleasant tale." Kori then launches into a recounting of common Darklands knowledge relating to the Duergar, their culture, their relationship with other inhabitants of the Darklands, etc. -[X] Pepper will switch his Skilled Evolution over to Lore (Duergar) so he can weigh in on the conversation and help Kori while Sirim works. --[X] While Kori plays his part, Sirim reaches out to speak telepathically to the princess and the governor. "Please do not be alarmed, your highness. There is much you need to know and it may be best if House Basri believes you to be ignorant, for now." ---[X] He then begins to share the relevant information we've learned since first encountering the pirates on our way to Cassomir with Sir Pisca Fahlspar. ----[X] The pirates were hired to disrupt Dwarven shipping. Under magical compulsion to speak truthfully their captain claimed it was House Basri and a powerful Elven wizard named Swallowtail who paid them. The captain was later freed using magic despite being under heavy guard and multiple curses, possibly to prevent him from further implicating his employers. ----[X] House Basri has the governor's office under constant surveillance via a disguised Scrying device. ----[X] 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. Ask that she please be discreet and not share that she learned of him through us, if she follows up on our information. The Pathfinders have too far of a reach for us to risk offending them, and we would like to stay in their good graces if at all possible. ----[X] Explain the Drow, their worship of Demons, in this case Shax the Demon Lord of Murder, and their involvement with a Lamashan plot. -----[X] The Drow from the city-state of Zirnakaynin are venturing to the surface due to actions taken by the Apsis Consortium, who also happen to be the secret backers of the WWC. We don't know the full details of the event, but apparently they managed to assassinate the daughter of the Demon Lord Shax, who lived in the city and dictated much of their foreign policy. With her gone, the Drow are no longer required to tithe 90% of all income made through any trade conducted with the surface. ----[X] The governor asked us to find proof of the Drow in the city, since we were outsiders who had already proven ourselves trustworthy and capable, while he feared members of his guard force had been corrupted, possibly through bribes or threats from House Basri or their Elven allies. Then just days after that proof was provided and likely minutes or hours before he could share it with her, an assassination attempt was made against him, supposedly with Duergar backing despite there having been no trace of their involvement up to this point. --[X] "We don't have all of the pieces to this puzzle, your highness, but I believe we have found enough to raise some very damning questions if you and the governor wish to pursue the matter further. Whether you call out House Basri or the Elves, there is still the matter of the Lamashans beneath the city that must be addressed. In their fervor to hide the Drow presence, they have inadvertently aided the Demon worshipers in their machinations." -[X] "And that was the last we saw of the Duergar before coming to the surface," Kori finishes.
[X] Plan Buy time, probably play along
-[X] Explain that Kori's knowledge is from the perspective of a member of relatively disconnected tribe, but that Pepper would be likely to be able to give a broader perspective. Pepper introduces himself, and asks for a moment to change himself, and thus what he sees in the world. [Hopefully, the introduction and convoluted explanation for this ability takes about a turn, then it's a Standard action to change his racial bonus to Knowledge (Dreugar)].
-[X] Mina then speaks up after Pepper changes his racial ability and states that she wishes to cast Hermean Potential on Pepper, to help him find the context he is seeking (casting spells in the presence of the Princess without getting the explicit go-ahead being very foolish). If she gets the go ahead, she thanks the princess and casts Hermean Potential on Pepper.
-[X] That's three or four rounds. Sirim makes use of this time asks the governor how he wants to play this. Explain that our intention is to play along with the Brasi's lie regarding the Dreugar, while Sirim telepathically tells one of the Princess's guards the truth regarding the Drow, but we're happy to follow his lead on this.
-[X] If Kori's using his bluff skill to hide the fact that he's setting up something sneaky, Mina uses her Fortune hex on him at that moment.
