"Right, exactly, and while I was stuck here, a little bird told me that Big Sister Kerismei wanted to see me, that she had some questions to ask me. You following?" 

"She's your boss in the Thieflings and she's mad you fucked up and got caught." 

Woljif makes a so-so gesture. "It's not so much that I got caught. That wouldn't bother her none, unless I squealed on her and the others, which I'm not dumb enough to do. No, there's something more serious going on, I can feel it in my tail. So, y'see, I knew as soon as I heard about it that I couldn't go alone." 

"And I was the first person who showed up who was sympathetic, and who you could," con into, "convince to come along?"

"Hey, don't sell yourself short! I wouldn't expect just anyone to be worth anythin' backin' me up against Sister Kerismei, you know?"  

"Well, sure. Anyone who could get you out of that cell, on the other hand..." 

He holds his hands up. "Hey, you said it, not me. Anyway, I don't need you to, like, get involved, just stand behind me and look mean for a bit." 

"I'm not sure if I can look mean. I can look friendly, and I can look sad, and I can probably look angry but I don't know if I can do that on command, and I can look terrifying if someone has no context, but I dunno about mean." 

"Terrifying if someone has no context?" Woljif isn't remotely sure he wants to know, but it wouldn't be better to get surprised with it later. 

Lusilla assumes starfish shape. 

Quick question what the fuck. 

Lusilla turns back human-shaped. "So that's what I meant by terrifying." 

"What was that?"

"Thaaaat was my true form." 

"Wow. Gotta say, I was not expecting that." 

"Yeah, if there's a word for the thing I am I don't know it. My mom is a normal human and my dad is probably the thing that leveled her hometown, we're not actually sure." 

Woljif whistles. If that's a story then it's a pretty neat story. 

"...Also I have been working with some other people. Who you should meet. And who I should, probably, have consulted before asking Anevia if we could co-opt you as party burglar." 

Hoo boy. Here's hoping that goes well. 

"Lead on, Chief." 

While Lusilla is introducing Woljif to people, Anevia finds her again with a list of things Irabeth would really like done that are plausibly best accomplished by a ragtag, if expanding, adventuring party. 

"But be careful. Most of this stuff isn't worth dying over." 

It is deeply convenient that Lusilla happens to be literate. "Thanks!"

"What's on the list?"

"Uh, Find the Storyteller--that one has a footnote to talk to Staunton Vhane, here, first--scout the Tower of Estrod, where there's a major cultist den, like, we might actually be able to find people high ranked enough to make actual plans--check on and clear some suspected cultist dens, and see while we're out if we can recruit any other useful survivors to the general task of crisis-resolving." 

"Seems pretty reasonable." 

"And then there's Horgus Gwerm's mansion and Woljif's thing...don't make that face at me, obviously those are less important than the things on Anevia's list, but people who aren't me have to travel at normal walking speeds, and I can't carry enough people while flying to obviate that as a concern. It makes more sense to do both of those things while we're doing whatever's nearby than to wait until we've done everything more important."