Arius crosses his arms. “Surely I’m not the only one who noticed that one of the three footprints we found belongs to him?”
“The little lass inside covered for him, but… I don’t know. I have a strong first impression on this ‘Wanderer’, and it isn’t exactly a good impression.”
She frowns slightly. “I’ve never had trouble with any of them. Ard’s daughter is head of the militia — he’s not technically involved with it himself, but sometimes he helps out unofficially. As long as I’ve known him, he’s been a reliable man.”
Those of you who live in the town also know that he’s a dwarf — there aren’t a lot of dwarves in town, so it’s not hard to recognize him.
“Kamilla is Sten’s oldest child, ever since… well, he doesn’t like to talk about it, but he has a son who was killed a decade or so back putting down some minor rebellion, and more who were taken by the plague. If you ask me , I say there’s not much sense in conscripting blacksmiths — everyone needs their tools repaired — but what’s done is done. He tried to train his younger son in his stead, but… I think at this point he’s given up on that, and he’s hoping Kamilla will manage to pick it up. She’s got the wits for it, at least.”
(You do get the sense that she’s leaving something out of that description of Kamilla, but mostly in the sense that she’s trying to be polite.)
“Yana is married to Kornel, on the west of town, and they seem to be happy together so far. They’ve got one son so far — born a little early, but he’s healthy so far. You know how it is with firstborns.”
…For some reason, Agneta Allet isn’t at the temple?
“She’s over at the tavern,” her husband tells you. “She didn’t explain why.”
I take another step back. I try to cover the uncomfortable look on my face.
Lionel is realistically overhearing this
“I mean, we could just ask when they could’ve left those prints? If their story doesn’t match up… then we can harbor suspicions.”
“But as far as I remember, they were here investigating earlier, so…”
Wanderer ponders for a moment.
“This will be a lot, so prepare yourself.”
Wanderer explains that the purpose of the discussion is because the group found a piece of clothing that they believe belongs to either the murderer of Messire Kaver or someone directly associated with the act.
He recounts the physical characteristics that the investigation has surmised (I assume team is sharing with Wanderer but I can like recount specifics if you need)
“Please feel free to take a minute to collect yourself. I believe you are in a unique position to help us identify who we should be looking into. Your help would be greatly appreciated.” There’s a calming, matter of fact tone to his voice.
([RP Interest Check / OOC THREAD] Play by Post Pathfinder - #1396 by Zone_Q11 as a reference)
“I don’t know this Wanderer’s character, but supposing he is the culprit: Wouldn’t it make more sense that he would cover up his own tracks by claiming to aid the investigation?”
She looks at Canary. “Is this true?”
“In theory, yes, that would be the intent here. But then, we just get the conclusion that they’re irrelevant since they’d exist regardless of guilt.”
“And besides, there’s multiple other sets of prints. If this Wanderer is the culprit, why are they there?”
Drakor frowned. “I was under the impression that he had met with the Messire, yes? And he’s new to town - I don’t see the motive for Canary to cover for him if they just met.”
She nods. And looks to the floor.
Wanderer gives a certain expression to Canary. It’s trying to remain neutral as his face is trying to express anything else.
Serian bites her lower lip. “From the sound of it, it could be either Kamilla or Yana — without being able to compare their shoes to the print, I couldn’t tell you which. But I don’t know why either of them would want to kill anyone, especially a stranger.”
With poise, he takes a short bow. “Thank you for your cooperation. I know that it is a lot to ask someone to point the finger, and for that I do apologize.”
“…”
((ESL here: Wdym?))
“The one that is neither big nor small might be of the victim, and the smaller footprint could belong to an accomplice.”
Arius doesn’t even bother trying to compare the footprints of Canary and the smaller footprint. In his mind, Canary could be a second accomplice / third culprit whose sole role is to give Wanderer an alibi.
“New to town doesn’t mean new to the ex-magister. Though… you do bring up a good point. Why would the miller’s daughter cover him up…? I wonder if she might be bribed…”
((…ah sh*t. Arius is a conspiracy theorist.))
Wanderer leaves with haste.
To the people outside, he asks if they know where Kamilla and or Yana lives.
“Oh, uh, did I miss something?” He acts unknowing, but anyone who knows his tells would know that he caught that last line.
(in short I’m saying that under arius’s logic the conclusion is more that the presence of the prints doesn’t indicate guilt or innocence)
(he has a +13 to bluff so ymmv)