Aikaterine heads for the bar instead of toward the tables with the Spartan military. To the halfling, the tall elf leans against the counter and gestures to get the smaller man's attention.
"An ale please..."
When he requires money from her, she will purposely overpay, but when he goes to take the extra coin, she gently keeps her finger on it to send a message that she wants information.
"I'm looking for someone who might know some information..."
She will attempt to pry out something of a clue regarding this man Pietro they came to Sparta to find or his merry band of terrorists. If anyone has heard something, it would be the bartender.
The halfling nods as he exchanges the mead for payment. "Pietro? He's a local boy. Shame what happened to him. Broke his arm in a joy ride with a stolen chariot. It wasn't your chariot, was it? If it was, I apologize on his behalf. He's a sweet kid who's only real crime is being young and not too bright. I hope you aren't too angry with him."
"Stupid boy! How is he a part of this group? I swear...what is wrong with all of these people? If he turns into something like Hermoine...I'm done. I am not going to kill a child!" "Oh no...Nothing like that. He's got a connection to someone we know; a woman named Hermoine. I was wondering if he's been off the island at all to maybe know if she's here in town or on one of her voyages for supplies. Maybe he's had better luck seeing her than us. Since we are in the area, I figured we'd check in with him, though he doesn't know us. That's it. Nothing serious." If he would like more information on H or isn't fully convinced, she will drop more details about her for a reason to speak to the boy and ask him her whereabouts this time of year.
"In any case, if you could just point us in his direction or in some areas he hangs out, that would be helpful." Aikaterine attempts to be kind and sweet; the kind of person you'd want to help out.
"Out of curiosity, whose horses were used to pull the chariot?"
"I assume the horses belonged to whoever the chariot belonged to. I didn't ask for specifics. Hermione? Never heard of her, but you seem like trustworthy folk. He's probably resting up at his home." The bartender replies giving directions. "Tell him that everyone wishes him a speedy recovery."
"I mean...we don't have to go riiight away. We could enjoy some merriment and wine, hmm?" she asks her companions as she takes a drink from her cup when it arrives.
"Stealing chariots is harmless child's play, but horse thievery is beyond the pale! A horse is a person's livelihood in many instances. I can't abide a horse thief!"
”Yes, thievery is the worst. This is why I would never steal a man’s sword. Instead I’d stab him in the face and take it off his dead body. Far more ethical.” He almost kept a straight face as he said it, but couldn’t stop himself from smirking. ”A drink or two before we leave. We have earned the rest and the tavern keeper has earned our coin.”
"It's important to have a code I guess."
She cheers as they agree it is good to have some drinking and will proceed to have some ale with her friends. Somehow, it tastes better now that she has come back from her grim fate once more.
After their enjoyment of some ale, she will let the others lead the way to the boy's home.
After a couple hours of merrymaking, the party takes the directions to Pietro's home. The trip is uneventful and it does not take long. The boy's home is a small one, smaller than most in the neighborhood and has obviously seen better days. Though not dilapidated by any means, it is clear that someone of means does not live here.
Kyronai knocks on the door.
Cyrene scouts the back of the building in case there is another exit and a boy trying to escape!
Amphitryon stood next to his brother, shield slung on his back and with his hands on his hips. He was unarmed, as far as the world could see. But if any danger was present he was ready to defend his brother.
Aikaterine stands back and keeps an eye out for any sudden surprises, as well as any signs of transformation that they've seen elsewhere. Small footprints turning to large ones and the like will be a good indicator.
No unusual footprints or really anything unusual can be seen.
Kyronai knocks on the door, and a few moments later, a young man of no more than seventeen years old answers. His arm is in a sling and he seems a little bleary-eyed from sleep. "Can I help you folks?" He asks, a bit confused at the sight of well armed adventurers standing at his doorstep.
Varocles considers the youth at the door.
"Pietro?
"Hello. My name is Kyronai. My companions and I are looking for information, and we think that we know of a person who has that information, and we have heard that you might know this person. Do you have a minute to talk?"
Before the door is opened, she will bow her head to the young man to set him at ease. Aikaterine doesn't look overly well armed except for her cestus. She is wearing a pack and some potions, but nothing alarming as a very large sword or spear would be.
"I'm Akaterine," she greets him with kind Spartan fashion with a brilliant smile on her face. She is trying to be appealing to him and sway his mind away from the danger at his door by being more engaging. She offers her free hand for him to take and greet her. It is harder to repel a lady.
She gestures with her hand in a way that begs the question as to whether the man wishes to conduct this business outside or inside. He can see she is very pretty with a nice fragrance as opposed to many Greek women. Aikaterine is also an elf, and though her hair blocks her long ears for the most part, to some degree her long beautiful figure certainly is fey in origin and stunning. Some or all of this may influence the young man.
"Yes, that's me. I can't work right now, so I have plenty of free time." He chuckles nervously, pointing to the sling before letting the party in. He does politely shake Aika's hand when offered. Once inside the party notices that his home is rather sparse with only enough seating for three people. The young man does grab a pitcher, pouring cups of water, one at a time for all the guests. "Apologies, I can't afford wine right now. So what is this about exactly?"
Kyronai also introduces Amphitryon, Cyrene, and Varocles, but he introduces the latter as "Varocles, a priest of Poseidon" and gauges Pietro's reaction to the dwar's affiliation
"Apologies, I can't afford wine right now. So what is this about exactly?"
Kyronai gets right to the point.
"We have been tasked with finding out about someone who has been killing a lot of people. This person has links to a group called The Prometheans. Have you heard of this group?"
Cyrene, anti-social as always, puts her back to the wall near the door and watches with sharp eyes as Kyronai begins his questioning.
"Way to go Kyronai. Right to the point!"
Aikaterine regulates her breathing and looks for any potential flasks or bottles that may contain a mixture of alchemical goods in them. If he goes for such a flask, she may take action and thwart him.
Pietro seems unfazed as everyone is introduced. "Oh. I don't know anything about any killings. I doubt the Prometheans have anything to do with that. They helped me get back on my feet so I don't get put onto the street. Are you sure you have the right information? They're good people who just want to help." He asks taking a seat on the floor.
Pietro seems genuine in his confusion by the questioning and his words seem honest.
Kyronai is emboldened by the fact that they probably have the correct 'Pietro.'
"I see, thank you. I haven't heard this about them before. Can you tell me what happened to you, and how they helped you?"
"Promise you won't tell anyone? I told everyone else that I stole a chariot and crashed it. But I really broke my arm fishing. Up until a few weeks ago, I would go out to sea at Apollo's first light and bring back fish to sell at market. But I suppose I upset Poseidon because one morning I hauled up this beautiful massive fish. I almost didn't want to sell it. Unfortunately I didn't get that choice as some sea beast lashed out with a tentacle and broke my arm. I'm sorry I lied. I was worried that either people wouldn't believe me or they'd think I was cursed. The only people I told the truth to were the Prometheans. They said that it wasn't my fault. They even made sure that I could afford to keep living here and my meals paid for at least long enough until my arm heals. If it weren't for them, I'd be out on the street."
Aikaterine looks to Varocles briefly. The story seems strange to her. She bites her lip.
"Another strange beast-related event. Undead, golems, a necromancer, giant bears, transforming people, sea serpents, a giant boar, and now a giant tentacle; which I'm assuming is attached to something. What is the pattern? It makes absolutely no sense. I'm more confused than when I started...and hearing such innocence and yet violence paired with such seemingly mild people is just aggravating me. Perhaps I should do something else?"
"Where did this happen to you? And what happened before three weeks ago? Anything unusual? Did you say something or do something to curse the gods?"
"Or perhaps, did the Prometheans try and blame this on Poseidon?"
Kyronai tries to determine how truthful Pietro is being.
"Nothing as far as I know. Up until that point, I had no dealings with any of the gods. I just lived my life and tried to get by. No, I told them I might have upset Poseidon since I was at sea when it happened." Pietro replies. "It was a few miles off the coast, I can give you the directions."
The young man seems sincere.
"I see. It does seem generous how the Prometheans have helped you. Have they asked for anything in return? Do you know if they've made any similar arrangements with anyone else?"
Kyronai is listening for any names on their list.
"So instead of stealing a couple of Poseidon's creations, you lied about that, to cover up that you had somehow offended Poseidon in a completely different fashion? I think, perhaps, I know why I am here, and it is likely to settle your accounts with the Lord of the Deep directly."
Varocles pulls out his trident and advances on the blasphemer.
He shakes his head. "Nobody that I know, but I assume they have. They look out for the little guy. They haven't asked me for anything, they just wanted to help. They said the gods don't care about us so we have to look out for each other. It'd be hard to say that they're wrong."
Aikaterine audibly groans in frustration as the boy seems innocent and places her fingers on the bridge of her nose to alleviate stress. All the boy did was catch a fish. Poseidon allowed it to be on his hook in the first place. In devotion to the gods, he was not going to kill it but instead, a tentacle lashed at him. "How is he at fault? Surely this can't be the will of Poseidon."
Her eyes look worriedly to Varocles as he goes to potentially skewer the boy. She tries to detect if he is just intimidating him or if he means to run him through. That, she will not allow.
"So instead of stealing a couple of Poseidon's creations, you lied about that, to cover up that you had somehow offended Poseidon in a completely different fashion? I think, perhaps, I know why I am here, and it is likely to settle your accounts with the Lord of the Deep directly."
Varocles pulls out his trident and advances on the blasphemer.
"I'm sorry. I only fish so I can make enough to live on, I didn't know it was wrong I swear. " The boy stands up and starts to back up.
Kyronai stands up and places himself between Pietro and Varocles. Thinking quickly, he tries to reason.
"Varocles, wait! If the boy did something to offend Poseidon, then Poseidon responded with the tentacle. A broken arm was his judgement. This goes too far."
"I don't see that the boy did anything wrong in the first instance against Poseidon or his denizens. Coming from a family of fishers, we have hauled many beautiful and large-sized fish from the depths. They are gifts of Poseidon. We always give thanks and tribute though. It sounds like something more is happening here. Did you not pay your respects to the god of the sea, even when he sends you his best? If so, you were a fool and you deserved your punishment. Consider yourself blessed that he only broke your arm for he could have taken everything and more."
"Of course I did, I always do. I don't even know why he'd be mad at me." Pietro shakily spits out.
"It is not for mortals to determine the limits of righteous anger and vengeance that the gods may exhibit. It is only for the gods themselves. Why else would Poseidon have brought me here, if not to serve as the sharp tines of the trident of justice?"
"There are plenty of reasons, Varocles. Gathering information seems highly likely."
"Kyronai maybe has the right of things to some degree. We should gather more information. Not all of these people are likely Prometheans. Remember, you all also met Stavros the Centaur, and you all said he'd likely not be involved in this plot," She looks directly at Pietro. "But at the same time, I don't particularly believe you. We've already established you are a liar...telling people you crashed a chariot. Here is another lie: You say you told no one but the Prometheans the truth, but why would they suspect you of being against the gods if they themselves weren't on the ocean with you and didn't see what actually happened? Why then would they approach you? No...you approached them because you were mad with Poseidon, weren't you?" she accuses in a more stinging tone. Internally, she is struggling because the kid is pretty easy to read that he is scared and not lying, but things aren't adding up, and they are servants of the gods. "Tell us everything or I'll let him finish his divine duty."
Amphitryon looked at the dwarf, and then the boy, and then the dwarf…he kept his arms crossed, unwilling to stop either of them. The boy’s fear would make him talk and be trusted his allies to keep the dwarf from making a bloody end to the grudge. The story didn’t seem to hold up to him. How could the boy know that he had offended the gods if he did nothing wrong? He listened carefully to see where the falsehood was…
Varocles stops when Kyronai places himself between himself and the boy. "There is clearly more to this than some simple fishing, and I'll have the story from the boy, or his blood."
When Varocles stops advancing, Kyronai eyes him warily before turning towards Pietro. He takes a deep breath while he considers how to reconcile three different, uncoordinated interrogation strategies.
"Pietro, the killings we've seen have been... horrific. Finding who is behind them is something that we must do, even if we didn't have the authority of Olympus behind us. The Prometheans are tied to these atrocities, and you are connected to the Prometheans.
"Tell us anything that you are holding back. Tell us anything that may be helpful. Be complete with your answers. Please."
"I honestly don't know anything about any killings. I just told my story to a group of people and they walked up to me afterwards. They told me that I was a bad liar and that something else happened. They said they wanted to help me since they know that I need to work. They seemed like nice people so I told them the truth. I also panicked because I don't like confrontation. They said the gods won't take care of us so we have to take care of each other. I didn't think them to be the murdering types and I'm not one of them as I met them once. I only figured it was Poseidon's will because of the timing and the fact that the beast didn't try to kill me. It just hurt me, to send a message like a thug would. Besides, the gods do stuff like this all the time. We just don't talk about it anymore. I don't dislike or hate any of them, I'm not like that. I say my prayers, but I know not to depend on them. Please don't kill me." Pietro raises his good arm to feebly attempt to block an incoming blow.
She whispers to Varocles with her back facing Pietro, "Perhaps you should ask Poseidon's will before acting? I can't see that the boy is lying. Or we could just drag him to the water and let Poseidon decide right there...which might be what he had in mind."
"Where can we find the Prometheans?"
"I don't know where to find them. But I know how to contact them. If that will stay your hand, I'll do it. But please don't hurt them, they are good people."
"I could not do that until tomorrow, at least not in the fashion I believe you intend."