[X] (Charm Plan) "... Lemme put you under a fake suggestion; little trick another of the Succubi taught me. Keeps you fully lucid and able to snag me if I do something bad, but if one of them detects magic, you'll light up as under my influence."
… Helen blinks. "So. Make it look like I'm under your control, but not actually do it? Is that legal?"
"... In what sense?", you ask.
"Like, will faking having control over someone get demonic authorities on us for your being insufficiently dark seductive manipulative?"
"... I think Solaria has led you wrong on how Succubi work, Helen," you can't help but respond.
"If it helps, it was mostly meant facetiously."
"Sure. Anyways, the idea is I use a suggestion like 'Do not let this suggestion get dispelled until I say otherwise', which puts an utterly irrelevant influence on your behavior. That way, you're acting entirely of your own volition but ping as under an outside enchantment influence. A very good eye for magic could figure out I did, in fact, cast it. But as long as you act coy, no one except us knows what the actual suggestion is."
"Making it really easy for me to do something like act oblivious about how obviously evil you're not actually being."
Eira shrugged. "I mean, just charming directly seems better to me."
You shake your head. "First, for that to work, Helen has to be far more trusting if me, because the charm will temporarily negate her ability to not trust me. And if I force it, I need to be ready to maintain it indefinitely because the instant it goes down…"
Helen glances to her sword, mostly to communicate the point.
"And second, I want her able to get annoyed or otherwise react negatively if I make a mistake. Charm spells influence her to think favorably of anything I say - which means she'd be less likely to notice if I piss off the Kobolds in time to most effectively enable an exit plan."
Eira pauses. "... Huh. Wouldn't you be able to get that by charming her and then-"
Helen sighs. "Eira, please understand, I'm not going to be as casually comfortable about having my mind played with by Senaz even if I am convinced she's of positive intent."
"Okay, okay, sorry, sheesh!"
You giggle a bit. "Okay, so, yeah. Fake out suggestion. If someone DOES dispel it, they'll be surprised when your behavior doesn't change. Useful for getting a drop on the situation."
Helen nods. "And then we go in, try to discover their goals, and act accordingly."
You smile a bit for a second, before pausing to ponder. "... A big part of that is the twin possibilities of things we know but they don't, and the other way around."
"Fortunately, you're a Succubus. Talking info out of people is still talking info out of people, as long as you focus on your force of personality more than traits your average kobold might not be into."
You blink. "... Right." Human communicative mindset. You did this enough as Sean. Sometimes decently. So just. That but more confidence?
That should work.
You focus a bit, engaging your voice to its full compelling potential. "Knowing the intent of this, do not let this suggestion get dispelled until I say otherwise."
The magic wording seems to be accepted willingly by Helen - you told her what you were going to do and you did exactly that, so she's fine with it.
(Save vs. Suggestion skipped - Helen let it take effect.)
You smile, trying to look dark and seductive about it. Eira gives a quick thumbs-up.
"Now, oh dear compatriots… We approach."
---
Walking right up to the front gate has the two kobolds at that gate looking at you a bit oddly.
"Ho, wayfarers!", you declare dramatically. "Interesting to see Kobolds out here!"
The first Kobold, with red, lizard-like skin, glanced towards the other. "Uh… What do we do?"
"I mean, they're not looking at us like they're gonna immediately attack," the other responded, his skin tinged with flecks of brown.
"The one with the wings, that's not typical civvies, right?"
"Don't think so?", the other asks.
… You sigh. "I'm a Succubus, demon of lust and desire. Sometimes some of your tribes pay a bit of tribute to my boss? No clue if you specifically have, though."
Both kobolds pause. Then, at once: "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."
The first says, "I mean, if we had old ones, would they count given the whole, um-"
"Don't think so. We should check with the boss."
You raise a hand. "Could I speak with this 'boss'?"
"Uh, actually, sure. Is it true you can carry eight times your weight in people so long as they're under your influence?"
"Sadly," you respond wryly, "charmed people weigh just as much as anyone else."
Eira, acting all chipper, adds, "She could probably lift me! But not Helen. Also I don't think you can charm armor."
Helen pauses. "Usually not." She skillfully pretends to miss the implication that she herself is charmed.
(Helen's Bluff Check: 10 on die + 3 = 13.)
(Kobolds roll Insight…)
"... Eh, fair. Come on!", the second Kobold responds, opening the gate. "Just uh don't draw weapons, yanno?"
"Of course not," you respond, motioning the others to follow you in.
---
"I be Torgo the Face Gouger," the slightly larger kobold declares from his hewn wooden chair, covered in furs. "You come to my camp. Why."
"I was sent by my mistress to investigate opportunities in this region," you immediately respond, even as you glance around the leather tent. The wood supports are hand-hewn and look to be treated with… Something. There's a shallow pit dug in the center, whose edge visitors are supposed to sit in. Given that the pit's dug to be suitable for kobolds, it's a bit small for you, but you still are trying to fit in it, knees up higher than they should be. Helen and Eira have opted to not try, instead framing you.
(Senaz's Bluff Check: 7 on Die + 8 = 15.)
(Torgo rolls Insight…)
The Kobold sighs. "... Well, yer boss lady - it's a lady, right? - hassa point. We're in a bit of a… Situation."
You nod twice - first to the implication that your boss is of a feminine gender identity, then as if to get him to keep speaking.
"... So, my old man, Torgo the Eye Gouger. He kinda went soft a while back. Stay in our lane, don't go trying to take stuff from highly patrolled Elven lands, don't attack their tiny-ass idea of a barracks, you know. Peacenikky stuff like that."
Helen looks about ready to say it sounds like he is a practicable sort, but a quick motion of your hand cues her to pipe down. All part of the arranged act, of course.
You observe, "I presume you acted on your disagreement?"
"Yep. And he wigged out, kicked me and all my 'co-conspirators' out while he tried to find a new place before the Elves try retribution - pffft, like they would. We didn't even kill any of the pointy-eared weirdoes. Uh, no offense foxlady."
Eira chuckles. "Different kinda pointy ear. No problem."
"Anyways, he banished a bunch of us off here. I heard about some weirdos trying to organize something up here, something about She Who The Weak Abjure, trying to pull something big. So, I figure, why not go join up with them? Help 'em out a bit, get a suitable reward, go back and rub in the old man's face that my way's better than his."
You pause. "... Tell me, then, what do you know about the grand plan?"
(Senaz's Persuasion Check: 18 on Die + 8 = 26.)
"Well, sounds like you know more than me. We've been scouting the area a bit, but best guess is they're working out to the northeast of the human settlement," he responds. "Other than that…"
Convincing someone who loves to hear themself talk to talk isn't difficult. And he gives a lot. They know of Arnstey Keep, but haven't bothered to approach, it'd probably end with the dumb humans going on the attack. There's the 'spiderwood' to the northeast of this camp, watch out for that, you look like you've got a lot of blood they could get off of you. Those spiders stay away from the Lizardfolk mound a bit north of the Spiderwood, and the bullywug lair on the other side of the river to the east. (Helen does pipe up this time, to warn that those guys would be a formidable enemy. With the tone that implies 'don't try them right now.')
There's a hill northeast of that that apparently has some adventurers or some tripe. Weirdos, the kobolds have determined.
"... A lot is going on to the south," you conclude. "But what of the north of the road?"
"I mean, that's gotta be the best guess of where to go, right?", Torgo responds. "But we ain't found what we're seeking yet."
You close your eyes a bit, considering what to do - using telepathy to collect ideas from Helen and Eira.
"My first reflex," Helen observes telepathically, "Is that Torgo wants to fight things. I didn't see any caretakers among his group, so they're all the type to go for raiding. If they don't have any caretakers, the first time they lose anyone in a fight, it's likely everything will fall apart fast… But they could still do a lot of damage in the process. If they get with the Cult of Chaos, they might gain some stability, but I don't think we want that."
Eira continues, her face impassive, "Yeaaaah, we need to stop them getting to the cult and quickly. Especially if they're getting closer to finding which mountain here is Chaos Mountain. But the question is how to do that."
You pause. "Best bet's a peaceful solution, get them on the Keep's side, but I doubt Torgo would agree to that willfully."
Eira pauses. "... And he's got the others cowed because he's tougher than them, that much is clear."
[ ] (Kobold Leadership Check) Charm Torgo into going along with working with the Keep. Depends on him not making the save, but if you can keep him going along until too far into the plan, he'll probably be stuck.
[ ] (Kobold Leadership Check) Suggest Torgo go home and admit he was wrong to his father. The others would definitely follow. Might end badly for him, might not.
[ ] (Kobold Leadership Check) Challenge Torgo's leadership - and fight him. If you can make him yield, the others, being prone to Answering To The Strongest, should fall in line.
[ ] (Kobold Leadership Check) Terrify Torgo into abandoning the plan with the Cult of Chaos, and to think of something better.
[ ] (Kobold Leadership Check) Write-In: There's many ways Senaz can potentially turn this situation to the Keep's advantage or at least negate the threat. Gimme ideas.
