“Zelsh can confirm everything she said.” Zelsh told the dwarf.
The dwarf takes out a pair of handcuffs. “If what you told us is true, you’ll be free to go. But I have to ask you to surrender your weapons and accompany us to the Temple of Abadar. They’ll be able to check whether you lied to us. Rafau, you’ll be coming with us too.”
The woman with him nods, taking out her own matching pair of handcuffs.
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“Sounds fair to Zelsh.” Zelsh replied with a nod as he handed over his sword and shield willingly before holding his arms out so that the hsndcuffs could be placed on his wrists.
“How many pairs of handcuffs do you have on you?” Paprika’s voice became more childish with that line. “Will it be enough? I’m happy to come to the Temple of Abadar with you, of course. There would be no greater joy.”
That last line wasn’t sarcastic!
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“Two. Three if Captain Ilyan has a pair.”
Rafau produces a set of handcuffs. “Always.”
The dwarf looks over your group, ultimately cuffing Zelsh, Rika, and Wanderer but leaving Lionel free. The two of them take up positions to either side of Rafau and Lionel (imagine sort of a diamond shape), with the rest of you marching ahead of them.
(does anyone try to resist, run away, otherwise do things the guards would disapprove of, etc.?)
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“I doubt talking with the Watch will do us any favors, and I doubt going back to the alley (I assume you meant the place where the cultist symbol was supposed to be) will yield any new insights.”
As a side note, Arius explains that there was a Potion of Cure Light Wounds inside the house of Ilyin.
“Personally, I think we should investigate another town or village.”
“Or perhaps the abandoned hospital, if we’re ready to die,” he jested.
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Wanderer does not resist.
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(Nope.)
Paprika parades along with a smile and elevated steps like a cat who’s caught a mouse. She does not resist.
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Drakor frowned. “You think that the other towns have information about the cult activity?”
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This [Rika] produces some odd looks, but no explicit remarks.
The two Watch members who apprehended you spend the trip commenting on all the unpleasant things that will happen to you if you turn out to be lying.
That didn’t bother Zelsh one bit since he knew that he was telling the truth.
Wanderer wisely holds his tongue on the way over. He’d love to ask Rafau if he’s at peace with his situation…but that’d complicate things to talk about.
Arius pauses his steps. “…I may be out of the loop, but do we have any concrete evidence that the cult activities are related to Baron Dalin in any way?”
“While the cult activities in Hazel Ford are most certainly concerning, was it not our mission to investigate regarding his frequent disappearance?”
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“Those bribes were so pitiful. Ten gold pieces is two and a half mystery novels, without even the fancy binding, and at least three-in-five mysteries you’ll buy are second-rate.” Paprika shakes her hair again: she can’t adjust the braid in handcuffs. “I’d only have gotten one good mystery story out of it. This is worth at least two.”
Never asked but…could be intuited.
Silver spoon. Makes sense.
Drakor stopped on the path. “I had initially thought that the Baron was involved in the cult, but that theory is starting to look less and less likely.”
He frowned. “Were there any locations you had in mind?”
(If it was somewhere far more north, then perhaps. Here though…?)
Arius shakes his head. “Unfortunately, I do not have any connections in these parts of the land.”
“The only thing I can think of at the moment is to venture deeper into the baron’s territory, and ask the citizens there for intel.”
He looks around a little bit. “There are surely many sinister cults and ruffians around, but we do not have the luxury of time to look into all of them. Investigation is not my specialization, which is why my best recommendation is to tackle the problem straight at the heart.”
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This particular Temple of Abadar is, additionally, a bank and a post office. The Watch officers guarding you debate whether to pay extra to jump the queue, since it’s all coming out of the Watch’s budget anyway, but ultimately decide their superiors would be more annoyed about the extra expense than about the reduced fraction of their patrol time spent actually patrolling. The people ahead of you mostly seem to be here for ordinary business — depositing money, withdrawing money, sending letters, exchanging money for letters of credit, and so on — but one person does take up quite a bit of a junior banker’s time complaining about how they won’t pay out on an insurance policy just because he took it out after the event he was trying to insure against.
Eventually, though, you reach the front. The priest handling your case is one of the junior bankers; like most of the other people employed here, she’s wearing a necklace with a golden key, but unlike the other people here, she has gold-feathered ears, and her hair seems to glitter as it catches the light. From the price sheet next to her, it seems that the primary spell she offers is Abadar’s Truthtelling, though she also offers Continual Flame castings at a bizarrely low (though still quite expensive in absolute terms) price.
“Here to resolve a criminal case?”
The dwarf nods. “Good to see you back in town.”
“Not good news, I’m afraid. The shipping venture that hired me on went under.”
“Well, better luck next time.” The dwarf clears his throat. “The Truthtellings? You can draw from the Watch’s account.”
“Of course. How many will you be purchasing, and who will be testifying?”
Rafau steps forward. “Just one should be adequate. I can testify.”
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