Alright, I'm back. I had a dicey encounter with a few obligators, But I got some info.
Lord Tresting? He's part of the Mafia. I'm pretty sure he's in deep cover. One will notice in the first few pages of tFE that Tresting makes some observations that would likely seem natural to most Scadrians of the final empire.
"Ash fell from the sky...Tresting had hoped to avoid getting soott stains... parasol would likely be effective"
Now one will notice that he thinks of himself as Tresting. This may be a SEFBM tactic. If you use your real name as a code name, it will be natural to you. Those you encounter who figure you out will assume you much better than you are, as well as assuming that's not your real name.
He also notes the ineffectiveness of the Skaa after thousands of years of slavery. This is where his cover slips. Yes, a lord might have said and thought that, but if he was known to be a SEFBM member, this becomes a different statement, asserting himself as a character who is used to cooperative, effective slaves, which may give us a hint as to where exactly the SEFBM may have originated.
After speaking to the obligator, he offers that he stay for dinner, which the obligator refuses. This, I believe, may be an attempt on Tresting's part to kill the obligator, and use some SEFBM technique, or perhaps a native Kandra, to impersonate him and replace a servant of Straff Venture with one of his own.
This is what I picked up a little bit after my lengthy commute to Scadrial. There's more to come.