Paprika looks around again for another member of the party.
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Obident to her own word, she returns shortly after, but this time… her skirt that was over her pants is missing (This is where Paprika had made her signature mark on).
She doesn’t return to an open spot for conversation, however, as she quickly ‘hides’ by running to where rest of the group is.
It’s not that she expects not to be seen, but rather that any statements made to her would also be infront of the group, had Paprika approached.
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(BTW, since you are looking carefully at Paprika, you notice several things about her. She’s wearing a fashionable dress that wouldn’t look out of place in a noble’s court, but much more ordinary shoes and jewelry; it is also slightly dirty, evident because of its pale pink and white color. She has a rather large, boxy cross-body bag decorated to match her dress. She doesn’t have her backpack with her, though she did when you first met her.)
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Drakor resumed leaning against the wall, noticeably away from the others.
He is watching you.
(Im here if you want to chat)
Paprika watches Canary as she reenters the tavern: her skirt is missing, essentially a confession. She smirks to herself and says nothing more.
As she looks around toward the other members of the party, she accidentally catches Drakor’s eye and jumps a little.
Trying to look unbothered, she greets him. “Good evening! I never did catch your name…”
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A simple brown mask covered the lower half of his face, while the hood of an ordinary traveler’s cloak covered his head. What little of his skin showed was greenish, but the most striking thing about Drakor’s face was his eyes, golden irises almost catlike as he examined you.
“You did not.” Drakor said. “You may call me Drakor.”
Paprika nods politely. “Pleased to meet you, Drakor. I was hoping to kearn more about what exactly I’m getting myself into. Is there anything you could share?”
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“Anything I could share? No.” Drakor said. “But I can offer you a trade. I’ll answer one of your questions if you answer one of mine.”
“I’m happy to do so. You may go first,” Paprika says with a smile.
Asking a question itself provides information: best to know Drakor’s interests before I determine mine.
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“How long have you lived here?” Drakor asked.
(If you want to lie for any of these lmk and we can roll bluff v sense motive)
(Otherwise im going to assume truth and you can do the same)
“For the entirety of my life. Why do you ask?”
The question seemed much more like small talk than Paprika was expecting.
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Drakor tilted his head. “Considering you wanted to join us, I thought getting to know more about you would be relevant.”
*He chuckled briefly. “What drives you?”
“That’s a second question.” Paprika scrunched up her face a little in indignation. “I’ll answer. I’m just curious.”
“Now it’s my turn. Why did the magistrate sentence Camilla to a penitentiary instead of death after such a short trial, even though her crime was so severe? Was there foul play involved?”
Paprika glanced at Drakor’s face, but failed to get much out of the mask.
“If you don’t know, or you don’t want to answer, you can instead tell me more about that nervous girl’s role in your group.”
“And you asked yours,” Drakor noted. “I suppose it hardly seems sporting, but I did tell you the terms of our exchange.”
He looked contemplative. “And now for your question. There is someone backing our investigation, as you may well have already gathered. We were offered our choice of payment.”
His eyes flicked to the rest of the group, then back to Rika. “One of my companions - a far kinder one than I - asked for mercy.”
“It is up to you whether consider that foul play.” He shrugged languidly, seeming far more at ease here than he had been outside.
“You mentioned a deep curiosity. Is that paired with the desire to share what you have learned?”
Paprika was not owned. She wore an appropriate facial expression for somebody who was not owned.
“It depends. Sometimes I do. Sometimes it’s not worth it. I’m not much of a gossip for its own sake. The only people who deserve answers are those who work for them, after all.”
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Drakor nodded, apparently satisfied. A hidden test? “Your turn.”
What? More questions?
“I repeat my earlier question regarding the girl who travels with you.”
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“We are still figuring out the different roles each of us has to play,” Drakor said candidly. “But she is quite capable in many things - tracking, for instance - and her variety of talents helped us greatly during the murder investigation.”
He yawned. “What is your preferred weapon?”
He seems fairly forthcoming. I don’t think I’ll get much more out of him on the girl.
Paprika paused for a moment and flicked her eyes back and forth as if weighing two options.
“I keep a sickle for self-defense.”
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