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The plush red carpet and oak furniture upholstered with velvet lend this room an air of comfort, but it's also clearly a place of official business, with several layers of administrative papers, staff memos, maps, and charts covering the wide surface of the solid desk in the center. From her tall-backed chair behind her desk, Mayor Sandra Trinelli looks up, shaking herself out of a deep concentration. A subtle look of relief flashes across her face as she motions to the oversized chairs in front of her.
"Please sit. Normally, I'd exchange more pleasantries with my guests, but I fear there is no time," she says. "The business that brought you here is quite urgent—it may actually be a matter of life and death."
"Let me explain. You may have heard that several young apprentices from various establishments in Saringallow have disappeared in the last couple of weeks. Every one of them has failed to show up to work, and nobody seems to know where they've gone."
"That's not all. Rumors are spreading about sightings of enormous insects roaming about town. So far, the townspeople have chalked up such rumors to overactive imaginations, but I fear they might be real, and that they might have something to do with the missing apprentices. I have no proof that the situations are connected, but if folks get that notion into their heads, things are bound to spiral out of control."
She shifts nervously, as if avoiding an uncomfortable implication, before continuing.
"Please, I implore you to look into this matter quietly and thoroughly—find out where our apprentices have gone and discover te cause of our vermin problem. Don't jump to conclusions until you have investigated every possible angle; we need to be absolutely sure that we know who or what is responsible before we take any necessary law-enforcement actions."
"I suggest you start by interviewing the masters of every missing apprentice on this list I've compiled. I suspect that, collectively, they might shed some light on the youngsters whereabouts. That could in turn illuminate our vermin problem, but until we have more information, I caution you against suggesting to anyone that the two situations are connected. Beyond that, though, you have my full cooperation in this matter. If anyone gives you guff about your line of questioning, show them this letter."
The mayor pushes a scrap of paper with several names scribbled on it across her desk, as well as a rolled-up, ribbon-bound letter written on thick parchment.
"As far as incentive," the mayor says, "I've pooled together 50 gold pieces as a reward for each apprentice you manage to find and rescue, as well as an additional 100 gold pieces if you can determine the cause of our vermin problem—and eliminate it. Do we have a deal?"
Earll thinks the Mayor could have given him at least a small opening to flirt with her. He, alas, will make do with letting his eyes convey his words to her as he listens to her proposition. He is intrigued by the story and his heart leaps to the challenge of rescuing the apprentices.
” My fair lady, let your mind be at rest. My new compatriots and I will endeavor to find these lost lambs and if at all possible, return them to the bosom of hearth and home.”
Earll takes up the tendered list, peruses the words written and offers it to the Halfling.
As Earll reaches for the tendered list, Mayor Trinelli fixes him a piercing glance. "The preferred address is 'Madam Mayor,' Mr. . . . uhhm . . ." she quickly scans her ledger, ". . . Fynn. And I will thank you not to stare at me like some lovesick puppy when we've just met. There is serious business to discuss." Her tone is cool and nonchalant, but something in her eyes makes it clear that this topic is not open for discussion. Her tone warms as she continues, "Nevertheless, I thank you for your kind acceptance of my offer."
Turning to face the group, she continues, "Though I should have said so explicitly earlier, I will be happy to try to answer any questions you may have before you get started."
Lalia, a tall dark haired druid, remains standing with Fyrra the reticulated python at her side, ignoring the invitation to sit. She slightly inclines her head to the mayor. "Giant insects are certainly a concerning issue. We will do our best to stop them from doing more damage if they are indeed here. Were there any more details in the reports you received Madam Mayor?"
Lalia then looks down at Fyrra "Are you ready to find me some insects, Fyr?" Fyrra glances at her before lazily flicking her tongue, both at Lalia and at the small fox on the other side of the room. Lalia raises a warning eyebrow at her snake at the latter.
The skinny tiefling takes the invitation to sit, walks up to the oversized chairs and moves his tail out of his robes and to the side to find a comfortable position. As he is moving his hands through his long red hair he uses his tail, without looking, to catch the interest of the fox that's following him who was focused on the python across the room. He gently pushes her up to sit in his lap and the fox curls up on his lap as he curls his tail around the animal. A few embers spark in his black eyes, looking past the mayor, barely listening to her.
Giant insects... wasn't there a demon... Malochi muses, I can buy the tome of demons and their minions with that 100 gold too. Madam Mayor, why do you suspect that these giant insect rumors are real? Malochai asks without looking at her.
A pale almost translucent man leans against the outer wall staring out the window. He seems more interested in the outside then the discussion in the room. Without breaking his gaze he states, If there is coin to be had I will do my best to retrieve the lost souls. If it is indeed large insects then the task shall be a doddle. Fire or lightening will purge them from this world and we can resume our own personal quests within the week. If not I fear this sum presented to us will not be adequate. Turning his gaze inward toward the congress he asks, Do you have any reliable intel or just heresay from the locals?
Mayor Trinelli looks contemplatively out of the window of the Town Hall, taking in the townsfolk milling about outside. She sighs as she turns towards the group. "Giant insects aren't unheard of in this part of the Inner Sea, but it is unusual for them to be seen so close to a town. What I mostly have to go on at this point are rumors, and for a while I discounted them as idle gossip. But there have been too many people talking about the giant insects they've seen for me to continue to write it off. And I can't have the townsfolk getting into a panic over these rumors. It just . . . we can't have it."
"The same holds true for the apprentices. At first, people thought maybe one or two had just run off. But now we're missing six young apprentices, and people are starting to talk. The townsfolk are a superstitious lot, and even if the worst has happened and these apprentices are dead, it would be better to know a definite answer."
She glances around the room, eyes lingering on Malochia briefly. Only that ladies' man seemed to show any real concern for the apprentices. The rest are either mercenary or more interested in the bugs. I can't have them focusing on that and failing to find the children. "I have one more person in mind who I think may be of help in this investigation," the mayor say. She quickly skims her ledger again, and walks to the door, opening it. She addresses a guard who was standing by the door. "Becca, find me that halfling, the one who has been going around town preaching about freedom and that Osirian god. Tell him that the mayor needs his assistance and requests his presence. And bring him quickly."
The man stood proselytizing on one of the street corners near the old gallows in the middle of the city. His words echoing in the central square fairly unused in recent weeks. His words calling out the force of his god. There had been rumors but he was unwilling to believe that there was anything to worry about with them. Then a man appeared eyes focused on him, his words died down.
Del's eyes scanned the approaching man, his heart started to beat heavy as his hand slid into his vest a piece of paper being produced where his mind had expected something far more sinister. "Wh-what is this?"
Flipping the paper over he scans the words requesting his presence at the Town Hall. Staring at the words suspiciously he looks the man over. "W-would you mind escorting me there pl-please." He made the assumption that the man knew what the words of the note said.
(Assuming a clean travel)
As he was led to the Town Hall to the sneers of some of the locals he reached a hand out gripping the handle of the room that the rest of the individuals would be in scanning the interior of the room he would take stock of the individuals within. His robes dusty and obviously over worn and faded from his time in places like the square he had been in during this day. "Y-You requested my presence?" Del's eyes remained down and he seemed well accustomed to being prepared to flee at any moment.
The mayor straightens up as Del enters the room, a genuine, if concerned, smile coming to her face. "Be at ease, Master Halfling. I wish you no harm. My guards brought you to me through a crowded town in broad daylight, and offered you no violence. Your proselytizing for foreign gods has caused a quite a stir among the townspeople, but I have listened to you preach and believe you mean only good."
"I brought you here to humbly ask your help, and to offer you a chance to prove your good intentions to the townsfolk. As you may know, several of our town's apprentices have gone missing in the past couple of weeks. I would like you to assist this group of people in finding them." She quickly relates the details that she had told the group earlier, including the appearance of strange insects in town, and the need to not convince the townsfolk that the two are related without solid evidence.
Her voice becomes more serious as she continues, "I've heard whispers that the strange bugs in this town must the work of outsiders, like a certain halfling who preaches of a Beetle god. I've done my best to quash these rumors, but you've surely seen that the people in this town can be a little mistrustful of outsiders. Helping to find these apprentices and solve the mystery of these insects would lend you credibility in Saringallow, and might even help save the lives of some innocent apprentices. Of course, there is the monetary reward as well."
She gracefully lowers herself to the halfling's level. "You are under no compulsion to aid us, but I ask it for the sake of these children, and for the good of this town."
Laila briefly glances at the halfling before turning her attention back to the mayor Stutterer, fear of authority, or fear of giant snakes? Two of the three have the potential to be quite inconvenient although only the lattermost would be an immediate issue. Still, if it was it certainly wouldn’t be the first or the last time someone was frightened of this girl. Intimidation has its uses. Might as well see how it all turns out. Making sure that fox doesn’t tease her into trying to eat it might be the bigger problem. Rarely wise to irritate what appears to be a wizard
With that thought, Laila went back to pondering the question at hand. “A few more questions for you Madam Mayor if I may. Are the reports concentrated in any particular area of town? Are there any reasons you think the two issues are connected as you seem to outside of timing? If it is insects, why young apprentices in particular? That seems quite selective for such creatures. Do you have any competing theories for the disappearances? Any enemies of this group of masters or other potential causes?” With that said, Lalia lapses back into silence, ready to receive sufficient information to depart from this rapidly crowding room. After seemingly deciding the halfling is not a threat, Fyrra has returned to focusing her orange gaze on the fox in the tiefling’s lap.
Not deterred by the Mayor’s words, Earlls’ smile deepens. ”The Gentlewoman must not wish my attentions to be so publicly displayed. She displays both fire and ice, such an appealing combination. Very well, I may woe her anon. There is a task at hand.”
Earll appraises others in the room. The Druid seems a prickly one. Her reptile would have to be considered in any pursuit upon her charms.
The Tiefling seems competent. Can’t be all bad considering how he takes care of his familiar.
The Fetchling? Now there is a question. Apparent disinterest but he did not seem to miss a thing. Larcenous, but who am I to call the kettle black.
”Well my new friends. An adventure awaits us. I would propose we go talk the Masters’ of these apprentices.” Earll essays. ”I care not where we start, but would heartily recommend ending at the Witch’s End Tavern.” Earll says with a grin. ”If nothing else we can end our tribulation with drinks and deliberate upon what we may learn”
Malochai moves his tail along the silver fur of the fox, who seems to have already fallen asleep. As the discussion moves around the room, his eyes briefly focuses on the pale man as he speaks, sparking a few more embers in his eyes.
His head tilts slightly to the side as the major answers his question, then he lightly smirks, seeming satisfied. Opportunity to learn more about the planes and giant insects and some gold, seems like a good deal to me he thinks.
As the dark skinned woman asks her questions his smirk deepens. Clearly younger the apprentice, the tastier for the insects he entertains himself. I really hope that snake knows that Tiki here is not a tasty snack though lightly petting the fox on his lap. He then turns his gaze towards the major, waiting for answers.
"Let me start with your questions, Mistress Silverstrom. The reports of giant insects have been more along the outskirts of town, towards the surrounding farmland," responds Mayor Trinelli.
"The appearance of these rumors of giant insects at the same time these six apprentices have gone missing could be coincidental. Indeed, I believe it to be a coincidence. Nevertheless, I feel it prudent to entertain the possibility that they are related events." A worried look crosses her face, "The townsfolk, though," she pauses briefly, seemingly collecting her thoughts, "well, they may jump to the conclusion that they are related and start taking action. We need to avoid that. We don't need a panic in the streets or worse."
"It is possible that these apprentices have simply run off, either alone or together. We do not even know that there is foul play involved at this point, and the masters of those apprentices are unconnected and share no common enemies that I know of."
"I also find it unlikely that the insects themselves, assuming they are real, had a direct role in the apprentices' disappearances, unless the apprentices went specifically hunting for the insects and discovered more than they could handle. As you suggest, specifically targeting apprentices would imply a level of intelligence and coordination I find unlikely in such creatures."
Glancing briefly at Earll, she dryly replies, "Yes, my dapper friend, the Mayor would prefer that you keep your attentions so private that the All-Seeing Eye himself would not know of them."
Collecting her papers, she sets them on an finely carved wooden desk, and turns to address the group. "If there are no more questions, I must ask that you make haste on this investigation, as time is slipping by as we speak. You can find me here at the town hall, if you need, later."
After fielding any additional questions you may have , Mayor Trinelli reaches into her drawer and hands you a folded up map of Saringallow
Pricknettle's Potions and Poultices (apothecary) - Gellion Vazarro
Temple of Erastil (Nolaria Wintren)
Gunty's Hearty Breads - Noemi Tauralio
Dependable Drummady's - Ruvarra Pavolus Laterna
Petrello's Haberdashery - Betrona Pindlion
Witch's End Tavern - Morvinarr Albusin
Saringallow's Sundries (General Store)
Old Gallows (town square) (useful for Gathering Information)
Being less than couth, Dra'Hir all but berates random citizens trying to glean any new info as he makes his way to the tavern.
Lalia checks the map before refolding it and handing it to the nearest person. "It may be most efficient to investigate the cluster of disappearances in the Southeast near the farmlands first. Three of the masters with missing apprentices are located upon the same street and it takes us near the location of the reports of the insects." she comments, largely to herself.
"Very well. We may as well begin. Madam Mayor, may we take your map with us? I am unfamiliar with the town and unsure if the others have knowledge of the area. With that, Lalia turns on her heel.
"We will be waiting outside" she says, addressing the group for the first time. "Fyrra, follow" . Lalia exits with the snake slithering alongside her and remains outside to await the rest of the group's decision on their direction.
Standing a bit inside the door way the mayor allays some of Del's fears, though it is obvious he is uncomfortable in this particular situation. At the mention of the insects his hand shift pressing into his robes just below his collar, "O-Oh I see, I would be h-happy to assist as you can imagine,"His eyes would scan the room and seeing no immediate threat from those within as he was accustomed. "I think it would be far more prudent to first investigate the apprentices. If I may say so their safety (and freedom) is m-more important to the town."
"I-f you don't mind Madam, could you please also tell me where the r-rumors of my own involvement b-began? I do understand that you quashed many of these rumors but it would be good for myself if I could find out why they were started."
As the others accepted that we should go to some tavern Del would shake his head, he guessed that would be as good a place as any to start searching., though just as he was about to leave he would pick up the suggestion by Laila on making our way instead to the south where a number of the apprentices went missing.
"W-wait, if you all didn't hear I think it would make far more sense to follow the Snake Lady's idea," He looked nervously towards her befire continuing, "S-sorry I uhm didn't get your name."
Continuing his train of thought, "If there are people to interview th-then I think we should go there rather than the T-Tavern, we need to free them and prove that it isn't necessarily the insects that are doing this." Reaching again he would touch that point near his collar.
Lalia acknowledges the halfling’s query to her on her way out. “Lalia Silverstrom, Druid, accompanied by Fyrra Silverstrom. I have no quarrel with being referred to as snake lady.”
"Please, do take the map with you," the mayor tells Lalia.
Looking down towards Del, she replies to him, "I don't think there's a good way to tell where those rumors started. The people in this town are distrustful of outsiders though, and can tend to blame them when things go wrong. It makes sense given the rather," she pauses briefly and continues as if she wanted to use another word, "distasteful history of the Sarinis in this town. But it's not a great trait, in my opinion. That's part of why I wanted to have this situation handled quickly and quietly. I don't want innocents getting hurt because the townsfolk rushed to a bad decision." The sincerity in her voice is apparent as she continues, "My guess is that someone's mind associated the new Beetle god with these giant bugs, and their general distrust of outsiders did the rest."
Hearing your discussion, she chimes in, "I should mention that one of the apprentices who was missing did work in the Tavern, and it is nearby to several of the other shops. Perhaps you could start there, though Alcie might be a little tough on you. She's pretty put out over the disappearance of her apprentice Morvinarr, or so I've heard."
As the discussion nears the end, Malochia flicks his tail near Tiki's ear. The silver fox jumps off the tiefling's lap as he stands.
"Well, we better get started then" he turns around to face the door "we have many townsfolk to make very uncomfortable" as he wiggles his tail in the air with a smirk.
He shifts his tail back into his robes and starts walking towards the exit "I'm Malochia and this is Tiki" he vaguely gestures towards the silver fox with his head.
You find the first shop relatively easily following the map that the mayor gave you. A battered and weathered sign nailed to the front door reads "Petrollo's Haberdashery." When you enter the shop, you see hats, shirts, jackets, and breeches displayed throughout the store.
Towards the back of the shop, you find one small table with a few shirts and hats that are obviously superior to those in the rest of the shop. The designs, quality of the cuts, and quality of the stitching all are improvements on anything in the rest of the shop. Despite this, their prices are significantly lower than the other pieces you've seen, with very well-made, if simple, pieces being sold for only 5-10 silver pieces.
A slightly balding middle aged man sits hunched over behind the counter, distractedly stitching a hat, which looks as hideous as most of the rest of the store's collection. Pieces of fabric and thread lay strewn about the counter in a seemingly chaotic pattern. You can tell from watching him sew that he is no expert, but would guess that he is likely the haberdasher. The man is unshaven, with graying stubble covering his jaw. His eyes appear bleary and he looks exhausted. If looks are to be believed, he may not have slept last night, and if your noses are to be believed, he may not have bathed in a few days either.
The haberdasher is initially distracted and does not notice your entry into his shop; however, when he does see you, he sits up with a start and sticks himself sharply with his sewing needle in the left index finger. He seems surprised to see any potential customers, and even more surprised to see the appearance of the group that walked in . He curses very prettily and quickly sucks at the blood welling out of his finger, muttering to himself,
Earll introduces himself to the gathered sleuths. ”I am Earll Fynn at your service.” bowing deeply ”A fair hand with a blade and fairer still with the fairer sex!” Earlls’ smile blazes with his words.
”I shall defer to the “Snake Lady” for our itinerary but, allow me some time to see what the town folk think and we may learn something useful.”
Earll takes the time to talk to the townsfolk. He feels in his element gregariously chatting up the people of the town. On his return to his compatriots he tells them what he has learned.
”To put it succinctly, General thoughts are that these apprentices likely put their trust into someone not trustworthy.” He continues ”They were all friends and this unknown someone only had to get the trust of the groups’ leader to gather them all up” and concludes ”The apothecary may just be our best source of information as she has a closer attachment to her apprentice than the other Masters”
In the Haberdashery, Earll thinks to himself ”This guy has some issues. I’m apparently the only “acceptable” person, in his eyes, to have walked in. Can’t let that interfere with getting any answers. Let’s see if I can get the Snake Lady to feed me questions to ask while I keep him distracted.”
”A hat you say? Tis the very thing!" Earll proceeds to look at and try on various hats, the more outrageous the better all the while prattling on about hats, styles, colors, occasions they could be used for while hoping to be fed tidbits to direct the odious man to revel what he knows, and creating more chaos in the shop than existed prior to his arrival.
Malochia spends several hours making many townsfolk uncomfortable with his tail wiggling. He somehow manages to find one person that seems to be not bothered by the tail.
"Oh, hi sir, would you kindly help me out with our little investigation?" wiggling his tail around in rythm with his question. The burly man with a large mustache looks very interested and answers Malochia's questions. After a very long, and seemingly uncomfortable conversation, Malochia starts waving his hands and tail and makes a hasty retreat away from the man.
The tiefling meets up with the group in haberdashery, looking shaken by the experience.
Malochia looks confused with the haberdashery, almost trying to understand why people even wear hats. He grabs a hat with his tail and puts it on Tiki, who proceeds to push it off of her head promptly.
Petrello, sensing a possible sale, brightens up slightly. "Hats, you say? A dashing fellow like yourself surely needs one or two! How about this one?" he asks, pointing to an ill-proportioned cavalier hat. "It's the fashion in both Andoran and Galt, and I'm sure would complement that your good looks. It's only 10 gold. Very good price if I do say so myself." While you're not sure about Andoran or Galt, you certainly know that you haven't seen anyone in Isger in a hat that looks like that.
Despite Earll's ill-fated attempts to bluff, the haberdasher seems oblivious to any attempts to pass a secret message.
Seeing Malochia put a hat on Tiki's head, a scowl comes to his face. He turns a bloodshot glare on the tiefling. "Hey!" he barks out, "You keep my clothing off that flea-bitten fox unless you're buying!"
Turning back to his prospective sale, he says, "Sorry 'bout that. Now what do you think about that hat?"
He approaches Earll realizing that he doesn't quite realize the poor quality of the "hats" he is having pushed upon him.
My dear Master Fynn, he interupts, I am merely an outsider on these matters, but even I can see that this hat does not properly frame your face. Perhaps something more subdued would allow your rugged looks to shine more brightly!
Lalia spends some time observing the townsfolk and her temporary companions questioning them. She finds their strategies to be...interesting. Malochia appears to be trying to fail and terrorize the townsfolk and nearly flees when he succeeds in getting someone to speak to him. Earll at least appears to be more successful at “charming” the townsfolk than he was with the mayor. Lalia shrugs and sits down with Fyrra to think and watch the sky.
Once the others are done, they make their way to the haberdashery. Lalia picks up a hat and observes it. She shrugs and puts it back down. She’s certainly no expert on hats. Fyrra pokes at the hat as well before deciding it is uninteresting.
The haberdasher yells at Malochia for placing a hat on the fox. Flea bitten? That fox is clearly clean and well taken care of. Apparently this man’s prejudices make him blind as well as irritable. .
Then, Lalia notices Earll trying to pass her a message. Sneak into the back? Well I suppose this man is clearly uninterested in speaking to me regardless as he’s sworn about all of us and ignored us all except Earll. I suppose I’ll attempt it. Fyrra is far sneakier than I am and can scent better, but I’m reasonably certain that this merchant is concerned enough about her presence that he’d notice her suddenly missing. Best to take her outside probably.
Lalia steps outside with Fyrra following. Fyrra, stay she says quietly to the snake while gesturing.
Fyrra curls up to sit quietly outside for now. Lalia re-enters the shop and tries to quietly move to the back.
Lalia does her best to move quietly and hopes the chaos of the shop and Earll’s attempts to engage the haberdasher are enough to keep the man’s attention.
Malochia seems annoyed at the shopkeepers comments about Tiki but grabs the hat and puts it back "As if an actual humanoid would wear this" he thinks to himself "I guess it's time to get some information, at this rate instead of learning more about these insects we'll end up buying this shop".
He then turns around and approaches the shopkeeper who is trying to sell Earll some weird looking hat still "While this is very entertaining, unfortunately we are here to ask about your missing apprentice, Betrona Pindlion" he waves his tail side-to-side solemnly "We are appointed by the mayor to conduct an investigation to figure out what has happened" he adds while curling his tail up to make his point.
He tilts his head lightly towards the halfling "Can you please show him the letter?"
The scraggly little man grimaces when Dra'hir intervenes in his attempted sale. Seeing his potential gold evaporating in front of his eyes, he interjects, "Maybe you could try one of these then (those of you who passed your appraise checks realize these are the better made, cheaper hats); they're apprentice made, so I can't charge full price for them, but they're still a good value. 5 silver pieces for that one!" he says, showing you a dashing broad-brimmed black hat with a red ribbon tied around it.
With Petrello focused on landing potential business, Lalia is able to briefly leave the store with Fyrra and sneak back in unnoticed.
Malochia interrupts the continued haggling, and Petrello's face hardens. "Let me see that," he says, as Del holds out the letter. "Well this looks genuine enough," he says, "but I still don't trust you." He eyes up the group, looking distastefully at Malochia's over-active tail, "If you were honest folk, you'd have come straight out and asked about my Betrona at the beginning."
You see him looking over each member of the group, and a suspicious glint comes into his eyes. "Wait a minute, weren't there five of you? Where'd the Snake Lady go?" he asks, looking around the shop.
Lalia searches for anything of potential interest, trying not to attract attention. I was not at all expecting to sneak around shopkeepers this morning. I suppose if he catches me I’ll have to pretend I thought I saw a particularly fabulous hat and that I also took Fyrra outside for his comfort.
Outside of some more clothing, Lalia does not spot anything of particular interest towards the back of the store. As she heads towards the counter that Petrello had been sitting behind, her foot catches on of a table leg, which drags with a that sounds like a nail going down a chalkboard. Petrello's head whips around, and he rounds on Lalia, "What are you doing, sneaking around back there?" he shouts angrily.
Lalia gives him a look that suggests she might enjoy feeding this odious little man to Fyrra, but responds smoothly enough, "I'm not sneaking around. I just saw this particularly fabulous hat, and wanted to try it on," she says, as she holds up a hat that looks almost like a boot. "Having looked more closely at it though, I don't think it suits me."
"Well if you're not buying, come up front where I can see you. Got five people tramping around my store, and I don't particularly trust any of you."
Lalia inclines her head to the man and comes back to stand in front of him. “Of course Mr. Pindlion. My apologies for the disturbance.”
“Perhaps you’d be more comfortable if some of us stepped outside? We do need to ask you some questions but I’m sure it’s not necessary for all of us to be present. Lalia does her best to soothe the man despite her annoyance. “Your apprentice was perhaps a relation of yours? So I’m sure you want the best for her wellbeing.” Lalia glances at Earll and Del, hoping one of them will assist her attempts to talk the haberdasher down.
Perhaps I can distract him further and make him less irritated with our escapades.
"Master Petrello, I believe you have sold yourself a hat….. If you are willing to sell for 4?" Earll thinks 5 silver if worth the price of taking this man time. He just can’t pass up the chance to tweak his nose by haggling. Plus, the hat is not that bad. He may even keep it.
"A kindly offer, but there's no need for a few of you to step out, miss," the man says to Lalia. He turns to Earll, "The hat's five silver," he says flatly, "And I've got nothing more to say to a bunch of outsiders about my daughter, Mayor's letter or not. I'll kindly ask you all to be on your way," he says, walking to the door and opening it to show you out.
“Very well sir. We will be on our way.” Lalia turns and leaves the shop. Once out the door, she stands next to Fryrra and sighs. If the others join her in exiting, she addresses them. “That went poorly.” Lalia rubs her temples briefly. “I propose we try the apothecary next. According to Mr. Flynn’s information, she may be more inclined to assist us than the others. And this time, let’s get down to business immediately please. At least we can be ejected more efficiently that way. Since Mr. Flynn seems to be the most acceptable in this town, if you would lead the conversation please? I ask Fyrra to remain outside the shop as well.”
Sighing deeply, Earll concedes. "Very well Master Pindlion, I shall pay 5 silver." "We will continue to look for your daughter and hopefully return her to you."
"Aye Misstress Lalia, it went poorly." Earll says looking down. "I blame myself, I did not handle the Gentlemen as well as I hoped and I failed in my unobtrusive communication to you" Looking up again with a glint in his eye. "I must say you were quite bold in your clandestine foray to the back of the shop."
"Perhaps our Inquisitor Del may be better suited to for talking to the apothecary. They being more of a size. She being a gnome and all." Earll Ventured.
Lalia shrugs. “Fyrra and I are children of the jungle. Boldness is often in our nature.”
“Perhaps Del would be suitable choice Lalia responds. “But I do fear that at least some may have conceived a prejudice against him during his time here spreading the word of his god. We can try to gauge her reaction when we enter. What precisely were you intending to communicate in the shop though?
"I am at times too bold and direct for subtle questioning. I had hoped to convey for you to posit our questions while I kept the Merchant occupied." Grinning ruefully, "Therein lay my failing." Earll conceded. "Perhaps we will have better communication in our next interview?"
Malochia winces for a moment when the shopkeeper asked the party to leave.
"Fair enough Mr. hatter, we will leave. We are going to be gathering information about the rest of the apprentices around town and we all want their safety, as I'm sure you do want the safety of your daughter. If you change your mind about telling us any information that might be useful in our investigation please find us, we will likely end up with the mayor or in the tavern eventually" this time with his tail tucked into his robes and directly turns around and walks towards the door without listening for any potential response from the shopkeeper, Tiki follows him outside.
After listening to the back and forth between snake lady and hat man "Are you guys absolutely sure you don't want me to handle the conversation here?" he asks, with a few embers sparking in his black pupils and wiggling his tail furiously, smirking.
"Let's get some information as soon as possible, I'm getting impatient, there are many giant insects to study" even more embers spark in his eyes "Maybe next time I'll just summon a couple more convincing friends to help us" almost grinning, he curls his tail mimmicking a fist, as he seems to do to end a lot of his sentences.