"No objection from me."

Simon just nods.

"Alright. Let's start with the worst candidate on the list - the Puddles. The place is flooded half the day and smells of low tide the other half of the day. Major supportive organizations are the Consulate of the Platinum Band, which worships Apsu, and the Church of Saraenrae's Healing Raft. According to all reports, conditions are squalid, crime-ridden, and awful, with the Healing Raft running out of resources within hours each day. If we want to minister to the poor, this is the ideal place, but the nomarch of the place, Haigen Topkick, is notoriously corrupt. There's no Watch presence worth mentioning. I followed up on some rumors about goblins - they've made a market in the area, but seem to be fairly peaceful. More concerning are rumors of a murder cult of Norgorber. Nothing substantiated, but..." 

She shakes her head. "It's a horrible situation, but I don't think we have the resources to genuinely help at this point. We'd succumb to the awful conditions just as much as the rest of the people who have the bad fortune to live there."

"I have to agree. You need a safer location than that for a new temple."

"Yeah, I think this one is strikable pretty easily."

"I don't know enough about the local conditions to overrule anyone else on this."

"You might know more about the next one on our list, Ember. The Foreign Quarter. It's a whole collection of enclaves from a dozen other nations all crowded together. Major supportive organizations include the Grand Lodge of the Pathfinder Society, and the Lodge of the North Song-Wind, dedicated to the followers of the great mage Jatembe. Guard presence is fairly strong. It has a single, very notable flaw: It also includes Devil's Garden, the city's largest Chelish enclave, which is still monitored by the agents of House Thrune."

Kumi frowns. "The last thing I want to do is piss off House Thrune at this early stage. If we attract the wrong kind of attention we could be very in for it. On the other hand, the thought of aiding the Nidalese enclave is tempting. What do you think, Ember?"

"Don't try it. You will die of an accident and not even help anyone. I've spoken to some of those survivors and they mostly wish to be left alone."

"I'm with Ember on this one. We really, really do not want to piss off the Thrunes."

"We'll have to eventually, but now is perhaps not the time."

"Discretion is at times the better part of valor."

"Alright, moving along to the serious candidates now. The Coins. It's the central market district of all Absalom and as such an excellent place to do business. Major supportive organizations are the Guiding Hand, a soup kitchen in the Mudhaven rookery, and the Saucy Wench, the personal favorite dive of the local nomarch Kythes Finch. He has a weakness for pretty women, which would be useful to us. However, crime is rife, especially down the Red Silk Route, in Mudhaven, and near the slave pits, which are also in this district. We could do a lot of good here if we could improve conditions for the local working girls and help prevent crime and slavery, but in practice the local guards are too corrupt to provide real protection against all the sharks in the water. It also has the Second Labyrinth in it, which is a Chelish loyalist establishment by all accounts, operated by House Tevineg. Once again, it would seem we may run afoul of Cheliax."

She picks up a hard-boiled egg and eats it in two bites. "It's worse than the foreign quarter, which paradoxically makes it better on some measures. We could make this work, I think, but we would need real support, ideally directly from Nomarch Finch."

"I don't like the Chelish presence, and we'd end up paying protection money to Kythes Finch, too. I still prefer the Docks." 

Rose picks up a blackberry and eats it.

Ember surveys the assorted foods, and finally takes a handful of blackberries. She tilts her head in thought as she moves the squishy berries from one hand to another, feeling their texture. Then she pops one in her mouth and chews. 

"I think that it is better than directly attracting the attention of House Thrune, and much good could be done by it, but we would need proper backing and support that won't shift."

"Pen, you've been quiet. Did you have any comments on the Puddles or the Foreign Quarter?"

Pen looks up from a sheaf of notes. "What? I'm afraid I wasn't paying attention."

"It's alright. The Puddles, the Docks, the Coins, or the Foreign Quarter for the new temple?"

He tilts his head for a moment. "The Docks would be my vote. There's a pub down there that sometimes caters to Caydenites, and a thriving abolitionist group - you know them, the Firebrands, I shouldn't have to convince you. There are temples to deities there but they're all neutral ones for sea and storm; you would fill a niche. And yes, there's a gang affiliated with Cheliax - you can't escape House Thrune's influence in this city if you try - but they're a proxy of a proxy, much healthier to tangle with even if they are in fact a bunch of slavers and violent killers." 

"It sounds like you know a certain amount about this gang...?"

"They're called the Gylou Sisters. Female membership only. They're rival propagandists to some of my contacts in the city, we've tangled before. They take orders from the Chelish embassy but are mostly in it for the money."

"I see..." 

Kumi takes a slice of cheese and eats thoughtfully. 

"Do they have competition we could bolster?"

"The better option is the Dockside Dozen, which contrary to their name have almost a hundred members. Rumor is they have a noble patron as well, to stand up to the Chelish like they have, but no-one knows who it is for sure."

"It sounds like we have fairly good information on the Docks..."

"Let me lay out the rest of my notes. The docks are a hub for prosititution and a certain degree of crime. Most of the people here are laborers and merchants making a quick dollar off of tourists. Supportive areas are Besmara's Boardwalk, which is a tourist district with several disguised brothels with Firebrand influence. Lifter's Mooring is the station house of the Dockworkers' Union, and would likely support us. There's another Firebrand establishment as well, the Mithril Chef. The Watch presence is also actually present, at least in the tourist areas."

"Drawbacks: the aforementioned gang, and also the presence of the Devil's Own Shipyard, which is run by House Dureanz - loyal Chelish subjects, again - and employs plenty of muscle. Can anyone connect these two dots for me? Is it that obvious that the Gylou Sisters are sponsored by a noble lord?"  

"It is in fact that obvious. As you said yourself, who wants to piss off House Thrune?"