((Yes that all makes sense. Maybe they go with the crowd but then swing back around towards the boat when they can)).

”Come on then, quickly!”, says Lia to the group that came with her. “But stay a little back, I’m not sure what this guy is all about…”.

Lia dashes off a little ahead, trying to stay about 20-30ft ahead of her group, to see if they can find Blue.

((So you want Thom and Derendil with you, or send them with Lex?))

((Ideally Lia would suggest to them that they go with Lex, but reconvene with everyone at the sister’s boat thing as soon as they can, once they’ve started what they’re starting by the docks. Hopefully they can sneak away amongst all the ruckus and the flow of faithful KT that will be around there causing mayhem?))

Sarith hurries to join Lia as she enters the ramshackle building. Hurrying up the pile of debris that serves as stairs, she comes face to face with the blue tiefling, who cocks his head and regards her with an amused look.

Lia, comes face to face with the blue fellow. She holds her hands out to the side and behind, as if to say, hold on, to those behind her. She looks at the tiefling and ‘listens at him’ too. … “Who are you?… Why do you haunt me so?… What is your part in all this?… … … huh… What is this ‘song of ice’ that I’ve heard?…”. Her demeanour is pleasant but her eyes drill into him.

Neth shrinks back at the harsh gaze and laughs nervously. “Are you working with those Kua-toa? That detective sent you. I don’t know anything about that body I just found it!” 

Neth seems to talk as if to someone else… “And what song of ice? Have I been signing out loud again?”

Lia is quite taken aback by this line of conversation. “What detective?… What body?…”.

”Wait!… Are you NOT the embodiment of the stars placed on this mortal Plane to guide me??…”. That piercing stare again.. but also now some doubt there too…

Lia looks almost human, with long white hair tied back into an intricate braid. She has pale, almost pearlescent skin, with a slight sheen to it. Some of this is obscured though by flecks and smears of refuse and detritus that makes it look like she’s been pelted by rotten fruit. She wears drow armour but this is mixed with other scavenged clothes and is mostly covered with a cloak anyway. She carries a beautiful white and gold Lyre-harp.

Lia takes a step closer, and stands up a little straighter. She looks left and right conspiratorially before adding in a low voice, “We are NOT with the Kua-Toa… Not really… …We are getting out of this place!… and you should do the same if you know what’s good for you!”.

”This place is on the verge of civil war, and all out riots in the streets!…”. She looks past Neth, and around the room for a second, and out the window at the city, trying to perhaps hide the fact that she may have had no small part in causing that…

Lia throws her head back and pleads to the ceiling, “Surely not him! Why have you done this to me!!…”.

She sighs, “You have a place to go, Plane-touched? Somewhere safe?”.

Neth:

 Lia:

Lia responds privately, via the spore-link-telepathy-network to Sarith…

Lia:

Lia is looking at Neth waiting. She is trying to hear her ‘song of ice’ again, she’s responding to her party via telepathy, and also trying to get a guage on the blue tiefling all at the same time…

’The Body’, she thinks to herself, ‘maybe this devil killed my contact and is taking his place’…

None of this Neth knows, of course. He’s just being stared down by Lia waiting for an answer…

Lia responds to Sarith…

Lia:

 Neth, you see the figure you spotted pull back from the entranceway and out of sight.

Neth grabs the front of his dirty, spoiled shirt and straightens it, trying to look more presentable. “Well, I don’t know about being the embodiment of the stars placed on this mortal Plane to guide you, but I have been, uh… guided myself to explore this abyss. I *nervous laughter* found this village just a couple weeks ago.”

Neth notices a crossbow being pointed in his general direction and asks aloud “why are people always trying to kill us?” 

Neth quickly brings his attention back to the vaguely human female addressing him “I have been thinking of getting out of here myself. These Kua-Toa seem a bit riled up at the moment and from what I understand they can get a bit out of hand. With all the reality warping. And what not.” 

“Plus I think the law is after me because I put a strange crystal in the gut of a fresh, ritualistically murdered fish man to see what would happen. Not murdered by these hands, however! The name is Nethnarei.”

Lia:

Lia is intrigued by what Neth has to say. “Nethnarei?… I am Lia…”.

”Exploring the Abyss, huh? And ‘reality warping’?… Maybe we have much to speak about!!…. But now, is perhaps NOT the time….”.

”Can you fight if need be? Can you handle yourself?…”. Almost without waiting for an answer, she says, “Come!…”, and holds his hand (if he allows it) and leads him out of the shack and onward towards the boat-home of Ploopp’s sister.

On the way out, Lia replies privately to the rest of the party…

Neth, if you follow, you see a trio waiting to see the results of Lia's negotiating.

The sallow drow you spotted, who puts aside his hand crossbow and gives you a curt nod. 

An unusually dressed kuo-toa looks around nervously, and a scruffy, disheveled derro chuckles at your appearance.

Neth looks towards Lia's outstretched hand, considers in for just a second, and quickly hands her a piece of lint he had just fished from his pocket. 

He speaks quickly and with an unsure edge to his voice "Oh will fight if I have to!" He puts up his fists and does a quick pantomime boxing match with no one in particular. "I would rather get out of here though. Lets go!"

 He looks at the others in the room as if just noticing some of them were there .. "Oh has anyone heard 'Gut Plucker' before?" and follows Lia.

((Presumably you're talking to Lia in Common, if you address anything to the others in Common, they all kind of glance to Lia.))

((OOC: Do we know ‘gut plucker’? Sounds familiar… not that one doing ritual killings out of town?…))

Lia looks at the offered pocket-lint for a fraction too long, considering it, and then sizes up Neth’s fighting stance, before just reiterating, “Come on then!”, and heading out the door as described.

She will also ask the others, out loud in common, but also translated through the spoor-link simultaneously, “Do we know of ‘Gut Plucker’?…”.

Then to Neth, “Gut plucker?!… What of it??…”.

As they wind through the streets, towards the sister’s boat-house, Lia will continually try to reach back for Neth’s hand, or sleeve, and try and keep him from falling back or getting separated.

It’s not aggressive, just almost subconscious. Like a mother running through a crowded shopping mall with a child. ((Just interested too if Neth will eventually consent to it, or evade it on the whole)).

((Gut Plucker was the name the KT put to the creature that murdered Eldeth and nearly murdered Buppido. So yes, the ritual killing doer. The others tell you as much.))

Neth, you see the drow, derro and kuo-toa become agitated, the drow looking even more warily at you, his crossbow creeping up, the derro wide-eyed and fearful, and the kuo-toa alternating between goggling you with his big eyes and looking around nervously. They look back and forth silently to the aasimar who has greeted you.

((Neth Arcana check?))

Presuming it all gets sorted out by Lia...

An awkward alliance struck, the now five of you make your way towards the dock area where Shuushar left the others.

Stena and Galingal, you notice, or Jimjar notices and hisses to alert you that most of the others are approaching. Lex, Stool, Thom and Derendil are not with them, but Lia, Shuushar, Sarith, Buppido and a blue-skinned, bald tiefling (perhaps being lead by the sleeve by Lia?) make their way to your position, looking around for you.

((Jokkord, the campaign page has images and a short bit of info about each of the NPCs that are part of the party. I know it's a lot of names all at once!))