"A carriage with an explosive warning?" remarks Chipper with delight, "Sounds like a possible glyph of warding to me, though a check with detect magic could be interesting." He heads with the others to the inn. "Will also depend on how this Fiona is. If she's received as better than the baron, perhaps they'll have lighter feelings towards us."

You easily notice a well to your left and a staircase to your right. The outside is otherwise unremarkable.

Damp cloaks hang from pegs in the entrance portico. The tavern is packed with tables and chairs, with narrow paths meandering between them. A bar stretches along one wall, under a balcony that can be reached by a wooden staircase that hugs the north wall. Another balcony overhangs an entrance to the east. All the windows are fitted with thick shutters and crossbars. Lanterns hanging above the bar and resting on the tables bathe the room in dull orange light and cast shadows upon the walls, most of which are adorned with wolf heads mounted on wooden plaques. The inn isn't very crowded; only four people here at the moment. The barkeep seems to be making conversation with a man with pointy ears.

Kessintra stays quiet for the moment, studying the barkeep and patrons curiously as she tries to listen in on their conversation.

Perception: 5 -.-

I command Striker to move down into the well and bring anything back up he finds. “Let’s see what people have thrown down here”

Razz casts Prestidigitation on himself and the cloaks he sees hanging up before walking to a table a couple spots away from the talking group and placing his backpack under his seat. He says to the barkeep, "Sorry to interrupt your conversation, hope it wasn't anything important but, I wanted to let you know I went ahead and dried the cloaks hanging up.  I hope that brings some comfort to those that wear them as they leave.  Also, could we trouble you for some food?  Again, sorry to interrupt, but we just got done with a bit of travel and my lil wings are tired." He hopes they get the joke as he smiles at them.

(( Persuasion Check: 16 ))

Striker only finds water. 

Kess can't hear much, only picking up the word "absurd" being spoken by the pointy-eared man.

The barkeep responds, "Of course." He quickly plates a small steak and places it in front of you. "That will be 2 sp. Would you like some wine with that?" The man has tan clothes; he holds a book with many marked pages and a cane with steel embellishments on each end.

"Oh, yes please. And a round for your friends too, as an apology for the interruption.  Sorry for the late introduction but I'm Razz, just Razz, may I have your names?" Razz says trying to pull the man into the conversation too.

(( Persuasion Check: 11 ))

The barkeep starts pouring the wine as he replies, "My name is Urwin. Urwin Martikov." The man chuckles at Urwin's statement, and says in turn, "You may not have my name, but I will tell you that my name, which I own, is Rictavio."

Chipper smiles. Fancy cane. Pointy ears yet presumably not a dusk elf. And "Ric" in the name. "Pleasure to meet you, Rictavio." he says, extending a hand for handshake. "The name is Chipper." 

As he shakes he takes a glance at the man's ears, curious if,they show,signs of being fake.

Investigation 25

// 9 if diaadvantage from quick looj

After Striker finds nothing, Garrick enters and situates himself by Razz. “If you wouldn’t mind, food and drink for the rest of us as well”, indicating 4 people and sliding a gold across the bar. (-1gp)

Seeing the man reading a book, Garrick looks for the name of the book while also joining into the conversation. “Hi Rictavo, I’m Garrick. I see you are a reading enthusiast like myself, I happen to have quite a large collection of books that I’m looking to offload. Would you be interested, or know someone that would appreciate such a collection?”

Urwin serves you all steaks and wine.

Rictavio shakes Chipper's hand. The ears aren't fake. He appears to be a half elf. 

Rictavio thinks for a moment before replying, "I might be interested in certain tomes. I would suggest the baron's son, but he's missing. You could all the.... 'new leader'..." He almost rolls his eyes at the title, then smiles. "If you're gutsy enough, you could try Strahd himself, but I can't guarantee safety there."

"Oh really, how long has the Baron's son been missing?  Do you know where he was last seen or what he was doing?  And what do you mean by that about Strahd?  Sorry, a bit new here so trying to get more information so I don't make any rookie mistakes." Razz tries to play up his small stature when talking about being a rookie.

"He was last seen in the baron's mansion, before it was burned to the ground. I heard he was trying to learn wizardry. He might be interested in books. Strahd, I heard, has a massive library, so he might be looking to add to his collection."

Kessintra stays next to Ireena as they sit, doing her best to resist her instant suspicion of Rictavio just for having a cane, though she does try to subtly get a better look at it.

Investigation on cane to spot signs of a possible hidden weapon: 21

The mention of the Baron's son gets her attention. "We passed through here shortly before the fire, but never heard of the Baron having a son. What's his name? If we look around what's left of the mansion, we might be able to find his trail if he did survive."

Garrick ritual casts Purify Food and Drink on everyone’s food when it comes.

I let him pursue a list of book titles (will say I compiled a list in the carriage) to see if he is interested in any of them.

It looks possible that the cane has something inside, but you're not 100% sure. He starts looking through the list as he replies, "I believe his name was Victor...."

After a while, he states, "I'll take 'The biology of Vampires' for.... 70 gold."

Kess casts message on Garrick and the others in quick succession, pointing at them from under the table. Rictavio's interest in the book on vampires does little to quell her suspicions.

'Possible weapon in cane.'

"Victor. Alright, we'll be on the lookout for him."

Garrick withdraws the book and completes the transaction.

”Here you go, that will be an interesting read and could really help out in this parts”

The inn door swings open. Behind it stands an older woman with sharp features and a smirk. Her plain periwinkle dress is contrasted by all sorts of jewelry all around her: several bracelets, necklaces, and rings. She walks up to your table. "So, you all are back. With new arrivals, eh? Welcome. May I ask why you returned?"