The drow turns to Pax and listens as she answers. He seems to be concentrating intently, watching Pax as much as hearing the words, then pausing ever so slightly afterwards. But he smoothly continues: An excellent goal. May Lolth guide you. then bows his head politely to the female 'attendant'.

He glances briefly at Sekkar and Kirin, then turns to face the other two female members of the group, and with equal courtesy (and slightly more deference) asks a question of each:

To Kaylyn: Summoning magic is your specialty, I take it?

Then to Rhayna: And you are responsible for overseeing this mission?

Sekkar quietly observes all this, as well as all the surrounds. No other 'groups' have approached the stair, although several individual drow have passed by and gone upward without any interrogation. There were no obvious magical detecting instruments. The likely conclusion is that this lone drow is simply a curious one, possibly a House informant, using his elevated status to glean useful information from those he deems likely to offer it. In Sekkar's opinion, the group probably could have simply ignored him and continued on their way.

"I study many things and have many interests.   Summoning is one of those.  Inorum lo’athi, uvrastes.  (In darkness, there is opportunity.)" Kaylyn responds with a hint of haughtiness in her voice. 

The male drow smiles as Kaylyn gives her answer. A smile on a drow is not usually a good thing, and this certainly conveys an element of smug self-approval. But there is something else there, something non-drow about the smile - could it be... happiness? He takes another look at the other members of the assembled group, then turns back to Kaylyn and speaks again in Elvish. But this time his voice is different, or similar but without the usual drow inflections and dialect, and it is a familiar voice:

Well said. We aren't short on darkness down here, are we, Kaylyn? Oh, it's so good to see you, except... wow that disguise! I didn't know you could do such magic! That speechless priestess there has to be Rhayna. I'd recognise you, moon cleric, if you were disguised as an ogre! And I assume one of those two fellows at the back is Kastix. But I don't recognise your friend here. Hello, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Zeno...

And the drow who isn't a drow extends the hand of greeting to Pax.

Sekkar made a step forward and sniffed the air around "Zeno". (Perception: 30 ) The familiar smugness was sure there, but who knows there could be a male drow allowed such attitude sometimes? Still, he knew Kastix and did not name Pax... Sekkar listened and watch as intently as he could searching for recognizable patterns. "When did you leave and with whom," asked he finally before the continuing conversation.

( Insight: 14 )

Pax stands there coldly, and doesn't extend a hand or introduce herself. She briefly considers a move to put him on his ass but figures it might make too much of a scene.

As Sekkar intercedes, she simple levels a stony glare at the man and waits for an answer. 

Rhayna is mesmerized by the grand structures that is Tier Breche that she has no idea someone is talking to her. It takes another poke from Pax that she realizes the presence of another Drow. "Zeno!!" She almost exclaims. She is immediately brought back to the "wedding", and she blushes a little. "It is good to see you are well. Say, have you seen Sarith here in Menzoberranzan? I believe he might be here somewhere."

Zeno's hand hangs awkwardly in mid-air in front of Pax for a few seconds before he withdraws it with another diplomatic smile. But he turns quickly at Rhayna's enthusiastic response and replies: It's good to see you too, Rhayna. We've come a long way from the Gulthias Tree, haven't we? But... Sarith? I don't recall that name.

Sekkar watches the drow closely. It smells like Zeno. It resembles Zeno now that he can get a good straight look at his face. Well-disguised, for sure, but not with magic. And yet... how could he not remember Sarith? After all the traveling they'd done together through the Darklake and Gracklstugh! Something was amiss...

Sekkar challenges the drow with his question, and Zeno replies with an eager nod: Oh, yes! No doubt you've been wondering that. Well I don't know exactly when I left. It wasn't long after we were captured by the drow and were all in a slave pen. There was a flash and I suddenly found myself alone in some tunnels with swirly patterns on the walls. I'm sure it must have been a shock to you all for me to just vanish like that. Say, you wouldn't happen to be that reptilian fellow from the slave pen, would you? And how did the rest of you manage to escape?

Pax glances about to see if anyone on the streets can overhear this exchange, and then says, "Perhaps we all might like to find a more appropriate place for this discussion, and....maybe an appropriate time."   Mentally she says to everyone, "Like, after we've saved the world. Why was he here waiting though? You trust this drow?" 

Nope, that did not clear out the suspicion. Not a single bit! It was Zeno - Sekkar trusted his senses - but a different Zeno all the same. On whose side was he and what was he doing here to begin with? "How did you get to the drow city? Why would you come here at all? How did you recognize us? And WHY did you expect us to come?"

Sometimes Sekkar wished he could be as carefree and trusty as Rhayna, but... Not, that was a lie, he never wished for it, if only musing in curiosity what does it feel like. Trusty and carefree do not last long in the tunnels. Zeno - the old Zeno - was true, solid. But here and now - too many drow, too much at stake to simply believe in a happy coincidence.

(Ops. I think I opened a can of worm. I think Zeno might sound about right because of the time travel. He wasn't with us when we traveled back in time.)

(LOL. Pax is like. Nothing to see here folks, move along, move along.)

Rhayna asks Zeno. "So Zeno. What are you doing in here? Were you expecting us?" She puts a hand on Sekkar's shoulder, perhaps she can try to diffuse the situation.

Kaylyn can't help it but her eyes widen in surprise.  But she quickly gets control of herself again.

"Last we saw you, you had left with Y and Skriss to come to this city.  But things have gotten a bit... weird since then.  So I presume you are not here with Y and Skriss?  And so why are you here?"

<I take it I shouldn't turn to ashes?> Kirin question over the telepath bond as he looked at the arrival and around the area just in case. 

<No!> Kaylyn responds telepathically.  <We traveled with Zeno, he was with us when we were first captured.  But the time travel has mixed things up as he left our group at point to join a couple of members of the Society of Brilliance to inflitrate Menzoberranzan but now it seems that is not how he got here and ended up here anyways.>

((As far as I can tell each of us would know Zeno except Kirin as we travelled with him until just after the Oozing Temple.))

https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/play-by-post/47787-zorgs-lost-souls?page=189#c3789

(Pax knows Zeno, but....she doesn't recognize him as he is in disguise...but also doesn't seem to remember her, likely because of time travel.  But she has no knowledge of any societ of brilliance or infiltration, so him showing up here is odd timing, so in general she's playing it 'suspiciously') 

Zeno first responds to Pax, saying: A better place and time, certainly. Best not to climb the stair - those jade spiders will see you as you really are and will attack anyone that isn't a drow. But if you want to get into Tier Breche, I know someone who can help. Come, I'll take you to him, and I'll try my best to answer your questions on the way.

Zeno beckons the group to follow him as he begins to make his way to the north. Seeing hesitation in some of the group, he turns and attempts to reassure them.

Look, I'm not going to say "You can trust me" because in my experience anyone that says that is not to be trusted. But this city is a complicated place, and there are some who stand to gain more by our success than by our defeat. They can't be trusted either, but they make convenient allies. And a few... I do trust. Come. I'll take you to meet Jarlaxle. He already knows you're here anyway.

And with that Zeno again beckons and waits to see if the group will follow.

Not a single question was answered, just a promise to do so. But nobody seemed to worry about it. Maybe he was too cautious. Sekkar's suspicions did disappear but were postponed. Let's see that Jarlaxle. "Try not to tell them everything? Neither to that Zeno copy nor to that Jarlaxe or any other creature we are about to meet." Surely, his warnings were in vain but he had to try. Sekkar eyed the spider's statues. Yes, look suspicious - everything looked suspicious here. He would like to check if them being guardians was true, but could not risk it either way. Silent and menacing, he walked with the group watching everyone and everything.

Pax glances at the rest of the group, and then over at the jade spiders. She'd asked specifically and the wizard had known nothing of such things. 

Mentally to the others she says, "He hasn't explained how he, or this Jarlaxle knew we were here. And he implies he knows why we are here, referring to 'our success' and 'our defeat'. They better start talking fast when we meet them or things are going to get messy." 

Out loud, as they begin walking, she says, "Explanation about what you know and how you know it better come fast and furious."

Zeno looks at Pax in confusion and replies:

Is this what you call a more appropriate time and place? Well, I'll tell you what I know, but some of it doesn't make sense to me either. Like I said, after that sudden flash I found myself no longer in the drow prison but rather in some tunnels, which as it turns out are all below the duergar city of Gracklstugh. I hid there for a day or so, in a large patch of fungus, until Professor G suddenly appeared. I have to confess his sudden arrival was a shock, not to mention his appearance, but not as much as the surprise when he just casually called me by name! "Zeno", he said, "we have work to do. Your friends Rhayna and Kaylyn will be needing your help".

The fact that the Professor seemed to know about us gave me enough reason to go with him. I traveled with him for a few days. He has a network of informants, and was receiving information about the appearance of the demon lords. We were looking for one of them - Orcus, I think - but couldn't find him. He was determined to know as much about the demon lords as possible - their whereabouts, their activities - but kept saying that it would be me and my friends that would ultimately vanquish them. I would ask him how that would happen, but he would only say: "I don't know". There were other things that didn't make much sense. Like the time he sent one of his colleagues to find a quaggoth traveling with a dwarf and to guide the quaggoth to a stone giant library. When I asked Professor G the reason for it, he simply said "I only know it needs to happen. I don't know why".

And that's how it's been for the last tenday or more. Professor G knows about the demon lords and is convinced you - or we - will defeat them. He knew when you would be coming to the city, he knew that you would be disguised as drow, and knew that you would make for Tier Breche. Every time I asked him how he knew he would only reply "I've seen it". And whenever I'd ask him for other details like why you were coming, he would only reply "I don't know". He said he couldn't send anyone else to meet you, that I was the only one you might trust, and that I would need to practice my disguise and moving around the city. And so we came to Menzoberranzan and met with Jarlaxle, who I guess has worked with Professor G before. The Professor told Jarlaxle everything about the demon lords (a lot of which he knew of course) and about your pending arrival, and convinced him to let us help you in whatever you were doing, for the good of the Underdark.

While Zeno is talking, he leads the group along a wide street through a relatively quiet residential district that hugs the northern wall of the cavern. His voice is loud enough but discreet enough to not be heard by the group but not overheard by any of the few passers-by.

Pax chews on all of this, "Who is professor G? What manner of creature is he? Will he be at the location you're taking us to?"

"And Jarlaxle too. Who is it?" Not that it mattered much, the group was already going to meet both, but it's better to be prepared. "Zeno seems Zeno," hesitantly admitted Sekkar, "story checks. If true about the statues, and we can not use the stairs to enter, he is helping too by bringing us to someone who knows a back entry. All we can do is get ready."