19
Drakor tried to slip away without too many people noticing him. “One moment,” he said to Lionel, then padded towards the back of the shop.
Canary is keeping herself, and her clothing from the floor with only her hands in what must be a distinctly uncomfortable position. She doesn’t turn to face you.
(replyfail to squirrel)
“I believe you have not been honest with me,” Drakor said to Canary as he approached.
He knelt. “I am not good with emotions. But even to me it is evident that you are not fine.”
Canary sighs.
“…”
“…”
She… says nothing.
“You accusing my daughter?” says Sten angrily. He grips his hammer tightly. “She’s a good lass, and I’m telling you, she wouldn’t kill anyone!”
Kamilla gives you a somewhat pained smile, stepping back a few feet. “It must be a coincidence,” she agrees. “Maybe someone else had an outfit made from the same material?”
(…Your character’s impressions here are… strange. Kamilla seems totally genuine — upset to be accused, and nervous about your sword, but neither of those is exactly surprising. It’s not like innocent people like to be accused of murder!
On the other hand, Sten absolutely has the bluster of someone who’s defending someone else against accusations they strongly suspect are true. Maybe he’s just worried over nothing… or maybe Kamilla’s a very good liar.)
(‘She wouldn’t kill anyone’… so she could do it?)
Arius tries to calm down Sten’s anger. “Now, now. I am not accusing her of being the murderer. If I was, then I wouldn’t have come here and explained you the situation.”
He then replies to Kamilla. “You are correct. It is not as if you were the sole buyer of that cloth, but I simply visited here to hear your side of the story.”
As Arius says that, he checks whether the outfit Kamilla is wearing is the dress made of the cloth Drakor and Canary found at the granite hill.
(It isn’t — not the same pattern, and not the same fabric.)
“I’d never even seen the man who died until yesterday,” says Kamilla, sounding rather annoyed with you.
(where is the granitehill hill in respect to the rest of the town)
Arius is taken aback. “…so you did see the ex-magistrate prior to his death?”
east-ish and north-ish (but it’s possible that at some point I accidentally contradicted myself about directions, I didn’t realize it would be a good idea to have a map of the full area until later)
(Why is she getting annoyed? I am not even accusing her of being the murderer.)
“Only from a distance when he arrived, same as half the village.”
Sten nods emphatically. “See? I told you it wasn’t her. Now, why don’t you run along now?”
“I see… One final thing, Kamilla. You will be asked for this by the others anyway, but could you show me the dress you bought from the general store?”
Arius then attempts to describe the pattern of the cloth found at the hill.
“It’s in my trunk at home, but I can show you once we’re done in the forge for the day.”
“You are in distress.” This was a statement, not a question. He knelt there in the silence, then sighed and sat down next to her. “You should have told me it was this bad. I would have asked her to come outside to speak with you.”
He looked out into the distance. “There is no shame in being afraid of tight spaces. I myself have many fears. It is healthy.”
6
19