Ava nods at Hobbes at his mention of the temple. "I visited this temple before we went to the market. The priests in there may be able to help, but I may need to don a cloak to hide my features, as my attempts at 'negotiation' did not bear much fruit."
"Don't forget to drag the bodies back with us."
"I got everything we need right here." Hobbes tells Kel as he lifts the bag with the head in it. "And the rest of their junk is in my backpack. I think we should turn in the bounty, and then regroup to figure out what to do next."
Ava nods at Hobbes at his mention of the temple. "I visited this temple before we went to the market. The priests in there may be able to help, but I may need to don a cloak to hide my features, as my attempts at 'negotiation' did not bear much fruit."
"Fine. Keep your hood up and keep to the back then when we go there. I can do most of the talking." Hobbes replies.
"Bah. The description was 'large half-orc.' They won't see me with the rest of the group, now, will they?"
"Besides all Orcs look the same to city folk."
"Let's be off, then. I want to finish the first quest before we start the next one. Keep your eyes peeled for Erik. He should be around here somewhere." Hobbes says as he leaves the room.
Emerging into the bustle of the Jewel, you see Pritchov, but no sign of Moirah, the forcibly marked barmaid.
As Urlag knows, the Watch can be found on the main marketplace and you make your way there without any difficulty. The immediate impact of having inquisitors in town seems to have died down, although people seem quieter and more cautious than you remember from the previous day. The officer on duty looks up as you approach.
"Anything I can do for you?"
Arrika pauses to pay for the bottle she took and finished off, and if he has another she buys it and tucks it into her pack for later.
Pritchov is delighted to sell Arrika another bottle of his hellbrew. Few of his clientele can stomach the stuff and his admiration for the teifling is noticeable.
"Greetings." Hobbes tells the officer. "We've come to collect on the bounties for that dwarf Barstow and his band of Bloodhounds." He says as he holds up the bag with the head in it. "Who do we see about payment?"
The officer looks briefly inside the sack and nods respectfully.
"That's a bit more than information you're offering. You'll need to see Sir Beren. I'll take you as soon as my shift here finishes. About ten minutes."
"O.K. I'll be right back, then." Hobbes says, deflated. He turns to the others. "Meet back here in ten minutes or so. I am still in a mood for some shopping."
Then he looks down at his bag and frowns. "But I guess I can wait. First things first."
The sergeant on duty fiddles with paperwork and waits almost as impatiently as the companions for his relief to arrive.
"Let's get going."
He leads the way through the backstreets of Oreme, reaching a smaller square lined with imposing buildings. The northern end is dominated by a small palace and it is here that the sergeant takes you, nodding a greeting to the guards on duty and making his way into the entrance hall.
"We need to see Sir Beren," he says briskly to the impassive footman. "It's about Barstow."
Footsteps and voices echo uncomfortably loudly in the entrance hall, but you are not kept waiting long. Sir Beren himself appears in short order. Close too, you see he looks tired, but also rather more approachable than he'd done in the marketplace.
"Sergeant Rastin. What can you tell me?"
Rastin bows. "There people have finished the Bloodhounds. They've got evidence and they're here to claim the bounty on them."
Sir Beren snaps to attention. "Show me."
"Here is Barstow's head." Hobbes says as he lifts the bag and places it before Sir Beren. "His gear and the effects of his men are here in my backpack." Hobbes says as he unshoulders his backpack and opens it to reveal the rest of the stuff. "We thought it was very fortunitous that you placed a bounty on the same men we were sent to bring to justice." He looks at Sir Beren and shrugs, "I gave them all the opportunity to surrender and be arrested and they chose death instead."
"We'll need the effects to prove to our employer that Barstow is dead, but you can have the head if you want."
Sir Beren looks and confirms Hobbes's words.
"I see. Maltin chose well. Barstow has been a thorn in my side for a long time. I'd rather have seen him go through the due process of law, but I'm not complaining."
He gestures to a servant and murmurs and order.
"You've earned the bounty on him and his gang. 2,000 gold. It's on the way now."
In the pause that follows, he looks thoughtful.
"You'll need to see Maltin, of course, but I'd like to talk to you all again. There are troubles in this town. You might be able to help."
Urlag continues to lurk in the background during the conversation, though he does grin toothsomely at the 2000 gold.
"Why not talk to us *now*?" Arrika says. "We are here, right now, and we're not going anywhere until the money arrives, so, we can save ourselves a trip back here later."
"I can do that, if you'd rather. Come in here please."
Sir Beren leads the way into what is clearly his office. A large desk covered in a jumble of papers dominates the room and he sits, shoulders slumping.
"You seem good at what you do. Will you take another job? People are being killed. We don't know what's doing it. It needs to stop. All we know is that the attackers have some kind of aberrant mark on them. We're trying to round them up and find out what's at the bottom of it and I've been prevailed upon to call in the church to help. I want to find the culprits and have them brought to justice. I do mean justice. I don't want a lynch mob mentality taking over my town. If you can find the murderer or murderers and capture them, then we have a chance of discovering what's behind all this."
"Truly, Tymora smiles brightly on us today!" Hobbes says with a smile. "We have a similar mission already in hand. And if I'm correct, the villians are the same ones who are causing the killings. You want us to find the people behind the aberrant spellscars, correct? We are already looking for them."
Hobbes can feel everyone looking at him, but continues anyway.
"I believe that there is a cult of spellscarred at work in town, seeking to bolster their ranks, who is infecting these people. For what purpose and to what end, I know not. I think we would be glad to find these people for you, but your condition of bringing them back alive is... troublesome. There was an agent of these people with Barstow and they fought to their last breath. If the rest of the group is similarly inclined, we may not be able to fulfil that condition. We will, of course, try our best, but I can make no guaranty that we can do that." He pauses for a second and then says, "Some people would rather die than face justice, Sir Beren. I am sure you already know this."
"I have a team of inquisitors questioning everyone in my town and I am not in a position to question their actions. Some people will do and say anything to avoid their attentions." Sir Beren runs a hand through his hair.
"People are frightened. I need to find the culprits. If the inquisitors can do that, well and good. But if you're right and there's more behind this than rabid humans, I need to know and I need them alive. Anything else is not an option."
"You misunderstand me, Sir Beren, I meant these cultists might prefer death to capture, not that your men are severe in their enforcement of the law. If your inquistors were enough to solve this problem, you wouldn't be talking to us. But you are." Hobbes pauses dramatically.
"Let's cut to the chase, shall we? How much are you going to offer us to show restraint to these villians? Our patron is paying us well to deal with the matter. Permanently. If you want us to bring back prisoners, then you will have to give us a good reason to."
"Inquisitors are usually too blinded by faith to do anything helpful without torturing a few dozen innocents first."
"We're quicker and cause less ill will. Surly that's worth something”, Kel adds.
Arrika listens to Hobbes and Sir Beren discuss things. So far, she has kept her own mouth shut.
Insight = for the assist.
Hobbes and Kel get the distinct impression that Sir Beren is not at all happy about having the inquisitors in charge of the investigation. Not only that, he's afraid of something.
"The sooner we begin, the sooner we can finish this. You want us to handle this and we will. We'll even bring somebody back to stand trial, if you want. We'll do it without going door to door and without getting the populace in an uproar. But I need to know how much you are going to pay us to do this your way. Otherwise, we'll take care of the problem our way and you get nothing to show for it. But make no mistake, the killing will stop." Hobbes says to Beren, looking him straight in the eye.
"We also have no interest in political power or fame. We're not trying to persecute or defame anyone, we just want the reward."
A half smile crosses Sir Beren's face as he listens to Kel and Hobbes.
"Oreme isn't your town to care for. I accept that. I can pay you, but I can't offer you any protection. I can't know what you're doing. If you fall into the wrong hands, I can't save you. 2,500 gold between you if you find the killers and bring them to me."
He looks hard at Hobbes. "Your methods are your concern. I want my town safe. I want to know who is responsible and I want them on trial and seen. How you accomplish it is up to you."
Very quietly he adds, "Kill them and raise them if you have to, but get me the killers."
"2500? Between us? For a covert mission where you expect prisoners? Not nearly enough. Taking prisoners when bounty hunting increases the danger to the hunters significantly. Not only do you need to not kill someone who wants to kill you, but then you need to guard them, which reduces your own effectiveness against other enemies.
1500. Each. That would be fair for what you want. Or your price, and we're not dark, we're in the light, with the full backing and protection of the city.
"Or, your price, but prisoners are no longer required." Arrika speaks from her spot against the wall, her tail flicking slowly.
Hobbes looks at Arrika after that outburst and then shrugs. "My companion is right. You offer us no help, no resources, and you expect us to be both discreet and nonlethal. This is a much larger and harder task than bringing Barstow and his boys down, and yet you offer the same reward. You either don't expect much from us or you are trying to get us on the cheap. Which is it, Sir Beren?"
"There's nothing I'd like better than to offer you my full support and all the resources at my disposal. It's not possible. If you can't take the offer as it stands, then go your own way."
Insight DC20
"Very well, then. We'll say no more about that. Do you know of the Order of the Blue Flame? Do they have any offices here in town? Or are there any well-known citizens who are spellscarred?" Hobbes asks.
At the mention of spellscars, Sir Beren's hands clench for a moment, but his voice is quite calm.
"The Order? I know of them. They'll have their hands full at the moment. Many people are sure that the marks on the murderers are spellscars and the Inquisitors are inclined to agree. Go to their Lodge if you want to talk to them."
Sir Beren draws a rapid map for you, sketching a location only a few minutes walk away, a few streets behind the main temple.
"Thank you. Now... where's your man with our gold?" Hobbes signals to the others that he is done with this. He signals Kel in particular to be quiet and talk about this later.
Kelgan continues to wait in the back, watching how things unfold.
Sir Beren opens the door, indicating that the interview is over and his face takes on the benevolent aspect of a calm and happy leader.
"Congratulations once more. You have rid us of a great nuisance," he booms for the benefit of the waiting servants.
"Here is your well-earned reward."
The secretary waiting hands over the 2000 gold on a small tray.
"Let's head back to the Mote. We can divy up this and talk about what to do next." Hobbes says as he dumps all 2000gp into a pocket of his cloak. Then he gives the secretary back the tray. And then he leaves, to head straight back to the Laughing Mote. He tips his hat to the innkeeper and heads straight for his room. He unlocks the door and goes inside to wait for the others. He begins to sort the gold into six smaller piles, one for each of them, on his made bed. He also rubs his tattoo to activate Cassie so she can wander around and stretch her legs.
"Urlag, Kelgan, Ava, Arrika, Kel, and myself. 6 piles. 2000 gold divided by six is an awful number, so I took the liberty of decreasing my pile to raise yours by another number. To be fair. So you each have 334 gp while I have only 330 gp. It's only 4 gp and I consider it a bonus for you guys putting up with my personality quirks. Now let's talk about what we know or think we know. I didn't want to talk in front of Beren. He's afraid of something, maybe the inquistators, maybe something else. I didn't accept his terms because as Arrika said, they are laughable. So we'll do this our own way and see if he'll pay us for that afterwards. What do you think?"
Kelgan
The marketplace is open again. You noticed as you came through to find the watchpost.