Laia has decided to try all the cafés in the neighborhood one at a time. Ooh, this one has pistachio buns. She gets one of those to go with her sandwich for supper.

Oh, it's Laia! 

"I'm glad I managed to catch you, sister, when we're not busy with the committee. Do you have a moment?"

Shelyn's holy symbol is, as ever, readily visible in front of her shirt.

"Sure, sit with me! - Eloi, just pick something, don't press your nose against the glass like that -"

She can sit, and do a bit of chitchat before getting to business - she's not a theater person herself, not primarily, but she knows her stuff.

"I know we're all busy at the convention, but I think this is important enough that I feel like I need to ask anyway. I'm on the committee for rooting out Diabolism, but the one thing that's come up that we can't easily do anything about the people writing the constitution itself. And while I'm sure most people will vote against it when they see it, I doubt all the diabolists will be as easy to identify as Theopho was, and even he could just have someone else propose something with whatever loopholes he wants for him. That's why I'm trying to put together a bit of a cross-committee group of people we can trust to keep each other informed of things, so it's harder for them to catch us off guard with it. Are you interested? And do you know anyone else trustworthy you'd recommend I talk to?"

"I'm not really sure what to think about Delegate Lebanel. The Abadarans were allowed to operate, a little, in a few cities at least, before, and they're still allowed, and Abadar's lawful neutral like Erecura, but maybe it also matters a lot where the gods make their homes... I remember being favorably impressed with Enric Porras, from our committee."

Alicia nods.

"I expect he's one of the cleaner ones, if he's bold enough to still be operating openly. Still bad enough that I'll be second guessing what he does, and of course it could be a double bluff, but if I'm being honest I'm just as worried about the ones I don't have any reason to suspect yet. As for Enric Porras...  I didn't see too much that made him stand out to me, but on the other hand considering some of the other options like the hellknight that ought to be a point in his favor. Do you happen to know what other committees he's on?

"I don't, I'm sorry."

"That's not a problem - it's not like I know either, and I was at the meeting same as you. If you learn something urgent after hours when I'm not at the convention, I'm renting a room at the Dominech for storing my notes and hosting meetings, but hopefully it doesn't come to that."

"Where's the Dominech?"

"It's one of the old asmodean adjuncts, right by the river in the old city. Obviously the new owners are trying to distance it from that now, so I gave them some help with redecorating when I arrived and now I'm renting one of the rooms in the evenings for meetings and such - I'm rooming at a cafe myself, which has a much preferable aesthetic, but if it comes up I'd rather it be slightly harder for any diabolists to learn about what objections we plan to raise."

"That makes sense - I haven't really looked into the lodging here, I'm just staying at our temple. Dominech, by the river in the old city." Nod nod.

Alicia nods. She'd have been staying at the temple herself, but whenever she'd considered it she'd felt terribly embarrassed about it and therefore settled for merely frequent visits. Part of her regrets that, but it's good to see Laia is making good use of the place.

"I haven't seen you there - I cover the morning channel shift, most days - but probably it's just a matter of schedules. I appreciate you hearing me out on this - Eternal Rose guide your steps."

"Oh, yes, I keep theater hours. I wake up at dawn because I must and spend an hour telling Shelyn all about my dreams and then I fall right back asleep. Lady of Chrysanthemums, guide this heart."

Then with another friendly smile, she can set off in search of her next recruitment.

A familiar face is eating a fast dinner, talking to a teenage dressed in similar monkish attire.

Dia is trying to both absorb as much about the convention as possible and mentally prepare for the halfling confrontation conversation.  At least Thea has realized she can bring people, so Dia can tag along to "take notes" and try to pick up on any subtler cues Thea is missing!

Thea she Alicia and her face changes from intense concentration to a warm smile.

"Hello-" it takes her a moment to recall the name "-Alicia!"

Her committee was so much more functional than the open floor.

Oh! There we go. An Irorite is in some sense not her first choice for a member, but any diabolists are likely to speak much more freely around one of those than a Shelynite, so that's definitely a positive. Plus it's unlikely they'd lie about anything. She'll swing over by the table to chat.

"Thea! And who's your companion?"

"This is Dia.  She is one of the sisters at my monastery."

She gives a shy smile and a soft "hello".  She'll let Thea take the lead and try to nudge things as needed.

Aha, so probably not a disguised diabolist unless Thea is, and certainly not one who can do things at the convention. No point in angling for privacy, then.

"Do you have a minute? I have a few things I'd like to talk to you about, but I don't expect it's urgent on the matter of hours. About the convention, but not specifically committee business."

More time to delay before the halfling conversation of death mutual appreciation and goals!  Dia stays silent.

"That's fine, we can easily spare minutes, maybe even up to half an hour.  And I trust Dia with everything, if anything she's the one with more common sense out of the two of us."

"Right. I don't know if you've heard, but I'm also on the Committee for Rooting out Diabolism, not just the one for supporting Good gods."

"I didn't remember that.  I actually mean to try to join that committee myself tomorrow.  I think I'll have the time, and there is one evil diabolist cult in particular I would like to see hunted down."