Making New Friends
While Arbin stayed behind with the Promise crew to help with some repairs, the rest of the group ventured into Safaga to find their contact, Aziza, at the Church of the Blind Wanderer. Along the way Amérre met some sisters from the Order of the Shifting Sands, Devika and Nari, and Lorelei had a run in with some thieving children, Lyra and Callie. The group also does some shopping at Rami's Armory and Karima's Curio.
Upon meeting Aziza the group discovered that the church is a front for a thieves group and the children they encountered in the market are a part of this collective. Aziza, a childhood friend of Baz, was able to give the group some information on The General and direct the group where to find him.
Will the Real General Please Stand Up
When the group arrives at The General's house they meet a fire elemental. Once he determines that the group is not a threat the real General comes out to greet them, dismissing the elemental. The General is a gnome wizard named Marius who got the name The General because he has a gift for summoning which has made him quite formidable in the arena as opponents can quickly find themselves fighting multiple powerful creatures commanded by Marius.
The group gives him Baz's pitch for coming to Cothrom and joining his arena as the new main event. While he is very interested he lets them know he is currently stuck here in Safaga. It seems that during a recent arena battle he lost control of a Yochlol demon and it killed a Kyodai, Kyodai Tentsu, which is a high ranking lieutenant in the local Yuan-Ti crime family known as The Silent Strike. Several high ranking members of the family called for Marius to be killed but the Kaicho, the head of the family, stepped in and forbade it. This wasn't a gift though, as the reason he did it was so he could keep Marius fighting in the arena making money from him without needing to pay him.
While the group is talking a pixie comes flying in and says something to Marius who then tells the group to hide as Sasu, a Yuan-Ti captain is coming to see Marius and it would be bad for him to see the group here. Sasu tells Marius he heard a group of outsiders was spotted visiting him. He wants to make sure Marius isn't trying to get out of his debt to the family. It seems Sasu may have been closely related to the Kyodai that was killed. Marius does manage to convince him to leave. The group then lets Marius know they will take some time to come up with a plan, as the best idea they have so far involves temporarily killing him.
Seeking Shelter
Needing some time to regroup and strategize, the group make their way to the monastery of the Shifting Sands. The sisters are pleased to see Amérre again and welcome the group in for the night. Most of the group heads to the library to discuss their predicament while Amérre goes to see the head of the order who is very eager to speak with her. Meanwhile, Myrnin reaches out to Baz to update him on the situation with The General and seek his advice. Baz let's Myrnin know that he would very much like the group to complete their mission to recruit Marius but warns them not to do anything that would start a war with Yuan-Ti.