The woman's cunning eyes shifted from the general as he drew near to the secretive acolyte and his otherworldly companion, the latter of which seemed to enjoy the refreshment before excusing itself to a point of observation. Arthera's mind immediately drew to the thought of whatever Talionis and Travos had managed out of the dragonborn with the tiefling's aid next; they had secured something, but what exactly it had been, she knew not. If anything General Cavanaugh's point came across as more permission to do what they had already been seeing themselves into, a promising prospect at that, even if the city was not willing to cast in its lot with them officially. The worst she reasoned could come of it was having the lesser guardsmen incarcerate them for their dabblings or on suspicion they were up to the same no good as their actual targets.

Loxim, scribing hastily as he was with practiced grace, added to what was already assumed at that point, but delved more deeply into strange matters. Another outsider, akin to those present in a way, had arrived before them and was put under their scrutiny for the reason of unusual deaths; poison was an oddly specific choice, let alone finding the dead just left out in the muddied streets. The primalist was not the investigative sort outside of texts, be them scrolls or tomes now, but this was reasonable cause for interest, even if it was ill placed.

"Intriguing..." Arthera said, her expression becoming entranced in thought for a moment as she was unsure what role a foreigner from the Magocracy could have in a cult related to the poisoner Zehir. She reasoned the artificer might have been educated enough in the realm's lore to pursue such a god, but not much else presented itself immediately in mind.

"And you believe they might be related? The escaped witch, the craftswoman and a potential cult made up of Venomers? I find myself curious as to why." 

The fine details of her ever so slightly animal smile played out. 

She was still willing to engage in a give and take conversation with the man; she was not toying with him, a foolish notion that would be, but the exchange of knowledge was not going to be without a price. If Bourgund truly did wish their assistance, enough for them to be dispatched here and before this man in his official quarters, they needed more than what was being said. Anything and everything at this point, even if it were only circumstantial, was more than grasping at the shadows these people kept to.

"Granted of course that is why we are here, but my companions and I would like to know whatever it is you are willing to share on the matter, General." She continued a breath later, "Even [i]if[/i] it is only your opinion."

[hider=Rolls]
Arthera rolls a [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/rolls/2339]14[/url] for her knowledge on an Intelligence (Religion) check to know the basics of Zehir and his cult. She recalls him to be a deity of poison, darkness, serpents and secrecy, with no seeming relation to the Magocracy of Allain.
[/hider]