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Thror stands his ground, completely unfazed by Lucy's reasoning:"Seems like a fat lot of excuses to me... but let it not be said that Thror Tjarkson was the one to break the peace first, or worse, his word to the Society. Just know that I'm fully aware of your treacherous nature now. If you give me cause to I won't hesitate one second to smite you where you stand, you can bet your devil loving hide on it!" the dwarf claims sounding detached... but with his eyes aflame with righteous fury...
"Lead the way then! I suspect we'll have other evils to smite before the day is over"
The boy wordlessly leads the party. He stops just north of Ravenmoor's townsquare at a simple farmhouse.
"Pa! There's strangers in town that wanna meet ya!" he shouts from the doorstep.
A moment later a handsome kind-faced man of middling years answers the call with two more young children clinging to his leggings.
"Is that right?" the man says as he steps into the doorway. "I hope Ornigaard hasn't been causin' trouble for well-armed guests in our small town."
"I'm afraid not much happens in a small farmin' community like Ravenmoor", the man says after a moment of thought. "The name's Viorec by the way. Viorec Korzha. Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"
"Come to think of it, the monthly Founder's Festival is later this afternoon. The Founder's Feast is right after that. You're welcome to participate in both if you're plannin' to be in town for the rest of the day."
"If you're interested, come 'round the fallow pasture on the northern outskirts of town. You can't miss the festival grounds."
Thror gets the feeling Viorec is intensely curious about the party.
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Kenza bows respectfully to the farmer. "I am known as Kenza Bloodborn. It is an honour to meet you."
As the other talk of festivals she raises an eyebrow. Why have they not asked after the missing agent?
She lets them speak, assuming they'll get to it....
Which they don't.
Looking at the farmer, Kenza asks, "I seek a woman. Jeminda Anikee. She is a visitor to your town. Where might I find her?"
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Lucy waits patiently for the others to speak, and nods in appreciateion as Kenza brings up Jeminda.
I am Lucy of House Galonnica. My Guard speaks true to our purpose.
Her face takes on the look of a pained, worried look, almost like a mother fretting over a lost child.
Poor Anikee has not responded in some time. We are most worried about her... we're all so concerned that something might have befallen our poor, sweet Jeminda...
The crew have to admit, it's not bad acting. If you didn't know Lucy already, you'd think she cared about the fate of another pathfinder or something.
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Thror snorts loudly at Lucy's words but refrains from commenting, which seems to cause him physical pain. After a moment he turns his attention to Mr Korzha instead:"So... the Founder's Festival, eh? Sounds reeeeeeally nice... What do you do at these gatherings exactly? And who's this place's "leader" if you have one?" the dwarf asks sounding none too friendly...
The farmer pauses to consider Kenza, Lucy, and Thror's questions.
"I do recall hearing about a funny-looking redhead in town a few weeks ago - during last month’s Founders’ Festival. She didn’t mix much with the locals, she spent most of her time talking to the mayor. Last I'd heard she got whatever she needed from the mayor and left town."
"If you're looking for Ravenmoor's leader, you'll want to meet with Mayor Andretti. The mayor's manor is on the eastern side of town."
Neither Kenza or Thror catch wind of anything that makes them believe the farmer is misleading them.
A short walk through the center of town later, the mayor’s manor comes into view — the tallest and best-preserved building in Ravenmoor.
A surly-looking young man abandons his yard work when the party approaches. He balls up his fists, obviously spoiling for a fight. "Who the hell are you?"
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Vello groans to himself as the surly-looking man accost them. He gives a quick glance at Thror and tries to cutoff the predictable response Thror will give.
Vello smiles at the man, "My good sir. We were told we could meet the mayor of this fine village here. If it would not be an inconvenience to him. We would like to talk to him, especially before the festival begins."
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Vello's silver tongue softens the man's posture a notch but he doesn't become any friendlier.
"My brother is busy and doesn't have time for parasites like you. Move on."
Before the situation can escalate further the front door to the manor opens and a tall lean man with a severe bearing, a keen stare, but otherwise friendly expression steps outside.
"That's quite enough Leonard. That's no way to treat visitors."
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Vello ignores the insult directed at them and addresses the man that stepped out of the house.
"Greetings. I'm assuming you are the mayor. We were told to come to you for information about a missing companion of ours. A Jeminda Anikee."
Vello looks for any unusual reaction by Jeminda's name being mentioned.
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Thror gives a long hard look at the uncouth youngster:"Parasites? Hardly. From what I saw today this sorry excuse for a town breeds and uses parasites as pets... which is a rather suspect practice in my book..." the dwarf exclaims in a dangerously calm tone before turning his attention to the boy's brother:"If you are the one in charge here you are the one responsible for the disappearance opf our colleague. Tell us about the undoubtedly dark fate that befell here in this swamp"
Vello detects nothing suspicious about the man's behavior. He seems undisturbed by Thror's specious accusations.
"Jeminda Anikee gone missing? Honestly, I’m not surprised to learn that. I’ve heard rumors that she retired from your Pathfinder Society and left for Riddleport, in which case I fear tracking her down might be difficult. I'm happy to gather the information she was asking after again and pass it on to you. You lot strike me as much more committed agents, frankly, but I’m afraid it'll take me some time to have everything transcribed again. I’ll extend to you the same offer I extended to Jeminda, though — enjoy the festival and tonight’s feast, stay in my home, and I’ll get those documents together as quickly as I can. Perhaps at a later date your minders might send you north to Riddleport to find out what became of that layabout.”
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Kenza suddenly turns her head to the mayor and narrows her eyes. She took the slander of her superior agents very seriously.
The man seemed honest... But, unable to even conceive of leaving the Pathfinders, Kenza seems on edge and wary...
Eventually she can take it no more.
"Who else in town did Jeminda speak with? Did she make any companions? What did she ask about?"
Thror gets the impression the good mayor is becoming increasingly nervous. He doesn't respond to the dwarf's wild accusations.
"The festival is a time of feasting and sport", he explains for those interested. "There will be games of strength and skill for the young lads to compete in and all the ale you can drink. The favorite lately is the pig race."
"I'm afraid I don't know much about Jeminda's activities in town except the time she spent with me. As I understand it she didn't spend much time mingling with the locals."
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Lucy steps down from the horse and walks to the mayor, looking him in the eye, looking suddenly less like a spoiled rich woman and more... dangerous.
You should tell us everything you know. My dwarven friend has a nose for sniffing out trouble... he pegged me for trouble as soon as he met me after all... and if he thinks your trouble, I'm inclined to believe him. Even if I doubt it has anything to do with deamon lords. So, talk please, and we can resolve this business, and we'll be pleasant guests, instead of unruly adventurers. Short of you killing her yourself, I doubt we'll have much quarrel with you yourself whatever happened to her, so spare yourself the headache won't you?
”I’m afraid I’ve told you everything I know about your friend young lady. I’ve already promised to get you the same information she was asking about. Have a good afternoon. I hope to see you all at the festival later today.”
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Kenza narrows her eyes at the man, entirely unimpressed with his lack of a straight answer. The papers would be helpful, but obviously the man knew more than what he had said. What were the papers about? The artifact, presumably, but what was the artifact? Were the papers about the object specifically or a location? Ancient lore or religious texts? Were the papers located in the Mayor's office, or had he gathered them from other citizens? Such information could assist in locating Jeminda. She had stayed in this man's home? For how long? Most Pathfinders were social creatures... And yet, they never spoke of anything other than getting her some papers? She could not believe that Jeminda hadn't spoken on any other topics with the man. Or with the locals, for that matter. It left her... uneasy. On edge.
Of course, she wasn't here for her investigation skills. She was here to defend the other, smarter agents around her. If they were satisfied by this man's answers, then she would accept that.
Kenza bows deeply to the mayor. "I am honoured to accept your invitation."
After they leave the mayor's presence, Kenza looks at her superiors, curious as to their next move.