There are other sets of footprints going into the house, or out of it, including some that seem basically identical to the footprints you just tracked back to the house. But with the exception of the footprints you followed, all the footprints you see are either fresher than the ones you tracked, or more faded. (One of the fresher pairs is among the sets that are more-or-less identical to the footprints you just tracked, but it only leaves the house, and doesn’t return to it.)
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Drakor glanced at Arius. “Be ready.”
He knocked on the door.
Arius nods, and equips his pre-loaded crossbow.
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“Really? That’s all?” He looks at you assessing. “How about I offer you a deal. I give you a truthful explanation, I gift each of you ten crowns from my personal funds, and you all leave Hazel Ford and never return. Everyone gets what they want, and everyone is happy.”
(Even for an experienced Watchman, this is quite a surprising amount of money to have just… available for bribes.)
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You’re greeted by a well-dressed middle-aged human woman. She’s wearing a dress of warp-printed silk and a jeweled hairpin with a design that resembles a cat tucked into a long braid extending down her back, and currently holding a piece of paper. She answers the door with a smile. “Hello, are you h—”
As she processes your weapons, her expression rapidly changes to one of fear, and the paper slips out of her hand. For a moment, she stands there frozen, looking at you with open-mouthed terror.
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Paprika makes a face. “I have shopping to do here. I suppose I could send my valet.”
Despite her stated — and mostly believed — preferences, Paprika feels unsatisfied with this proposal. That’s giving him what he wants. That’s losing to him. He’ll just give us a biased account that we can’t guarantee to be true.
What good is the truth if you don’t get to humiliate anyone with it?
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(Ooh, trendy, I’m told)
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(Rika’s gonna steal that hairpin)
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Wanderer tenses.
Time for Rika to show her colors.
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He seems a bit surprised by that remark; it doesn’t seem like he’d realized you had a valet.
“I can escort you for that shopping, if it’s so important to you, as long as you uphold your end of the deal afterwards. The location of your feet is hardly what’s important here.”
Drakor frowned. “Hmm. Not what I expected.”
He tucked his warhammer and the dueling dagger in his belt. “Arius, I don’t think the crossbow will be necessary.”
He turned to the woman. “Sorry about the intrusion, ma’am, but have you heard anything about the cult of Flauros?”
(Studied target → terrified civilian)
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((Hm… I should have casted Detect Magic beforehand. Oh well. That’s a lesson for next time.))
((For now though… Yeah, no. I ain’t explaining the investigation. This is Squirrel’s time to shine.))
((*pushes Drakor into the spotlight*))
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(Put your weapon away before she gets too scared to answer anything!!)
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Arius looks at Drakor with one eyebrow raised. “Well, if you say so.” Complying, he unequips his crossbow, and begins to cast Detect Magic.
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“Fl — Flauros?” She spends a long moment thinking. “I heard the Watch found a symbol of Flauros down at an abandoned building.” She pauses. “You aren’t with them, are you?”
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Apart from the obvious and expected auras on your companion, there’s a faint aura coming from a drawer within the house. (You may make a K(Arcana) check to identify the school, and/or a Spellcraft check to identify the specific properties of whatever it is.)
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“We’re independent investigators working with a Pularan priest,” Drakor said. “He’s staunchly opposed to demonic activity and requested to aid the Watch in eliminating the threat.”
He lowered his hood. “Are you or anyone in the household familiar with the old pewter shop?”
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Paprika keeps her expression frozen with a head tilt and furrowed eyebrows. “It’d be such a pain to have an escort the whole way. I wouldn’t want to have to bother you every time I stop by the bookshop, the jeweler’s, even the fabric stores. I’d never get to stay at Amélie’s again, either, and she’s such a delightful host.”
“I — I know where it is…? But I haven’t been there since it shut down. I think my husband might have visited as part of the investigation?"
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Drakor blinked. “Are you Valtyr’s wife?”
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