Before his companions return with their "guest," Kendes will say quietly to the old man, ”Where is your family? Are they being watched, or held hostage? It is probably best if you can take them to leave the city -- we have contacts outside of Waterdeep who know fully of the cult and can give you shelter."

”Let's cut to the chase,” the triton says to the newest arrival when the others arrive.  ”We know you're working for the cult of the dragon to spy on us. Is it because you want to,” he says, gesturing at the gnome, ”or because they have leverage on you somehow?”   He listens closely to the man's answer, watching his body language.

Insight: 17

Kosef is thinking like Kendes. He says to Severin, "How can you say you have nothing to do with them? You must know them. You were riding with them."

He also wants to understand what Severin is thinking: Insight 10

The old man says, "My family are not being watched. At least not that I know of. The cult was always confident that they could find them and kill them if they needed to. If you can give them shelter, I would be so grateful. Thank you."

Severin sighs, and says, "Okay, fine. I'm working with them, but I don't really know them. Ivor just spotted me hanging around and offered me some money to take care of you three. I have debts to pay off back in Baldur's Gate." He pauses for a moment and then adds, "If I don't pay my debts my parents will be murdered."

Ch: 2

Severin seems to be telling the truth initially, but his mention of his parents being murdered seems hastily tacked on, and the way he looked at the old man before saying it suggests some inspiration.

"Really? Your folks live in Baldur's Gate? Mine do too!" Kosef says. "I know it's a big town, but what are their names? Where do you all stay?"

He doubts Severin, but wants to see how well he knows the city. "By 'take care of,' Ivor meant assassinate, did he?"

"I think my friend here can get them in touch with his Order... and I doubt even the cult will want to take on warriors of that caliber just to get to your family," Kendes says to the old man, nudging Evendur.

"I don't doubt there's an element of truth to your lies," Kendes says blandly to Severin, "But you just proved that you'll sell yourself out to the next available opportunity you see.  What's to convince us the next available opportunity for you isn't the Cult of the Dragon again?"  He leans on his staff, staring.

Kenny smiles at Severin.  "I remember my first clumsy attempt at subterfuge.  Honestly though, I would have thought that after your failed attempt at mushroom poisoning back with the caravan that you would have learned a lesson and stopped coming after Kendes."

He looks at his three companions and calls them over.  "You boys sit tight, a'ight?" he insists toward their two prisoners.  Once the others are close, he makes a whispered proposal.  "The old one is being at least partially truthful.  He is scared for his family and feels the cult is a real threat.  I think his presence here is more due to fear of them than it is to evil intent.  Severin and... whoever or whatever that is..." he says, pointing at the unconscious gnome, "are lying as fast as they can breathe."

"What do you think of this?  Three prisoners are a lot to hang on to.  But perhaps the old man can help us even as he helps himself.  We could send him back to Waterdeep with a song to sing... he could tell Ivor that they caught up with us and launched an attack.  Kendes and... lets say Evendur... were slain.  Kosef fled and Severin and his gnomeboy rode off in pursuit but never came back, and eventually the old man could wait no longer and decided to return.  We could let him take back some token to prove his tale... Kendes, do you have anything you'd be willing to part with, a cloak or some other artifact that Ivor would recognize?  The old man could then remove himself and relocate his family.  As I'm the charitable sort, I would even give up a small sack of coin to him he could put toward his new life.  The Order of the Gauntlet would surely help him out, and would no doubt look on him more kindly if he aided our quest with such a subterfuge."

"If this works, Ivor will think us dead... or at least scattered and defeated.  And the old man can escape their clutches.  Of course, this requires a few leaps of faith, not the least of which is that the old man doesn't crack under the pressure and tell Ivor everything.  It also leaves us with the problem of what to do with the other two... though I suggest we bring them along for now and let them decide if they want to keep breathing, or die for a lost cause."

"Does this plan have merit?  What d'ya say?"

After binding and gagging Severin, Kendes sighs, then drapes a sack over his head as well, just so he can't even watch the proceedings.

As they huddle away from the other two, he beckons the old man to listen in on the conversation as soon as it begins to concern the relocation of his family.

"He really should have a say in this, as he knows the ins and the outs of those cultists better than we."  Kendes gives the man a firm nod.  "We're putting our trust in you, just as you are in us." 

Hearing out Kenny's idea, he puts in his two cents. "It's a fine plan," Kendes says, "Particularly because I've bought all manner of magical equipment just for the sole purpose of disguising myself.  Though I'm not sure if we should say that Evendur was slain.  He's proven himself a capable warrior in front of everyone's eyes with all of that sparring practice, and we need a good reason for both of them," and he tilts his head at the two recalcitrant cultists, "to 'disappear.'  Evendur and Kosef together are two pretty good reasons."

He waits for the others' input.

"That's fair.  My thinking was they might not believe the proud knight would flee combat, so death seemed the logical alternative.  But Ivor seems to want you dead most of all, so all long as that itch gets scratched, hopefully it will be enough to get them to relax."

"To be fair, we've all been pretty proactive at proving our abilities while traveling with Ivor and his goons.  So it might be overplaying our hand to fall too easily to his own undisciplined hirelings.  But to catch them off-guard with lesser numbers, and assuage Ivan's hatred of my family seems like an advantage we can grasp."  He sighs, then pulls out his laughing visage mask.  "I made this while traveling on this road with the rest of you.  And I wear it whenever I fight.  Naturally, Ivor will recognize it instantly, unless he has beans for eyes.  They know I'd never part with it willingly."

Grimacing, he strikes it, putting a deep crack in the upper right of the mask that travels down nearly to the chin.  Taking out a dagger, he slices his palm, then squeezes until the blood pools.  With a swift motion, he throws his hand at the inside of the mask, splattering his blood over the mouth and nose of the wood.

"This might be convincing enough," he adds, handing the mask over.

Evendur listens intently to the schemes of Kenny and Kendes, facing oné and then the other, the cogs churning in his head as he tries to grasp the intricacies of their plan.
"What was the middle part again?" He says as they both seem finished.

"I dig that," Kenny nods approvingly at Kendes' mask idea.  "So what'll it be, old man?  Will you carry our lie back to the cult in exchange for a fresh start and protection from the Order of the Gauntlet?  Or will you crack and spill the beans to the dragon-lovers?"  Kenny holds his finger to his temple again in a I'm reading your mind bluff.

Deception (for the bluff): 20

Insight (to gauge if he is still truthful): 19

Kosef has been nodding along. "This plan might work," he says. "I'll pitch in some coin too."

He looks toward the bound and gagged Severin and the unconscious gnome. "We've reduced the number of prisoners, but what do we want to do with those that remain? When I watched him bump into a magic user in town, the tall one had odd tattoos. She claimed he was from Thay, I think. Some place led by a lich. What's he doing with the dragon cult?"

Before he is gagged Severin tells Kosef, "Their names are ... Osric and ... Kethra. And they live in Eastway, not far from the Elfsong tavern." He looks concerned when Kendes calls him a liar, and says, "Okay, fine, some of what I said was false, but don't kill me. I'm not really with any cult. Ivor just offered to pay me this once and I already am getting paid to go after you guys. But I can change. And remember, Elif is still out there. He's going to avenge me if I die." He does not react well to being gagged and restrained and seems a little panicked.

Insight: 3

The old man nods at Kenny and looks a little relieved. "Thank you. I can do this, and I am ready to start over, and redeem myself for what I've done. I'll help you trick the cult." He seems truthful, and also seems nervous enough around Kenny to still believe his mind is being read. He also adds, "I don't really like that one," indicating Severin, "But please be kind to the little one. You can sense my thoughts, so please sense that he is not an unpleasant person. We all deserve opportunities to prove ourselves, and I used to do bad things for the cult in my youth even though I was human."

Kendes sighs, but gives a slow nod to the man.  "We'll do what we can," he says.  "And, I wasn't lying about the money."  He places 10 gold coins into the old man's hands.  "This should help you get started.  Please, tell us your name, and the names and appearance of your family members, we could get something arranged.  Now hold on a moment while I speak with my friend," he adds, moving off to the side to corral Evendur and carefully explain the plan to him step by step, in very small words, emphasizing the part about allowing the old man's family seeking shelter with the Order.  "You'll probably have to write a letter with a seal or the like for them," he adds.  "Unless you have a verbal password he could use."

Kosef will donate 10gp toward the old man's silence.

He tries to recall everything he can about Osric, Kethra, Eastway, and Elif. Perhaps personal History? 12

(I thought he had pen and ink and will contribute those toward Evendur's letter writing, if necessary.)

Evendur listens to Kendes' careful explanation, simplified to the extent that even Evendur can follow. "Not sure I have any pasword (Does he?) but I can certainly write a letter, provided we have something I can use to do that." He says, scratching his short beard. He will also contribute 10 gp to get the old man a new life of law and goodness.

Looking at the 30gp provided for the old man, he will go into his saddle bags and pull out gold to match - another 30gp from his own purse.  "I'm trusting you to do the right thing here... not for us but for yourself."  The next part he says to the old man, but loud enough for Severin to hear.  "The cult... I know they are dangerous and seem to be everywhere, but you have to understand - their days are numbered.  When the cult sent you to dispatch us for them, you were never even able to draw your swords, and we had time to slaughter a war band of bullywugs in the meantime.  And believe me... we are just the beginning.  The cult has gone too far, and now the eyes of all the powers of the Sword Coast have turned upon them.  Once we and the other advance scouts report back on the cult's activities and bases, the hammer is going to fall, and fall hard.   This is a very opportune time to distance yourself from them, lest you be swept up in the purge when it comes."

(I don't think this would be deception... Kenny assumes that the groups that have sent the four of us out here plan to do something with the information we obtain.  He may not know for a fact that a martial campaign against the cult of the dragon is being planned, but he guesses that it must be.)

Kosef knows that Eastway is a district in Baldur's Gate, and the tavern Severin mentioned is a fairly well-known one. The district is a large one known for housing the harbormaster's office. Kosef also might remember that Elif mentioned having worked for the Flaming Fist at one point. He has possibly heard of Kethras in Baldur's Gate as it is not an unusual name, but he has no way of knowing if they were related to Severin. Osric is probably not a name he heard much. (No need for the history roll, I imagine Kosef knows his home city.)

The old man takes the coins gratefully, and says, "I'm called Jandar Iltazyara. My oldest daughter, Imzel, watches over the other children, Geth and Sivarra. They all have thick black hair, just like I used to have, and they're all a little short. The children are about twelve and ten, and Imzel is around twenty. They live in the Field Ward." (If Kendes has visited Waterdeep before, the lower-income Field Ward is possibly where he went.)

Evendur does not have a password, but his name is known to the knight of Tyr he met in the city.

Severin does not look pleased. The gnome remains unconscious.

Evendur nods at Kenny's powerful statement. "Yes, the prospector speaks the truth, the Order of the Gauntlet will soon stamp out the last remains of this despicable cult. When you get back to Waterdeep seek out Sir Marius Greenwell and the Order of the Gauntlet in the hall dedicated to Tyr in Castle Ward. Tell him what has transpired here and that Sir Evendur Archebolde and his brave companions sent you." Evendur says, still mounted on Bayard.

Kosef will record Evendur's words on a blank page in the journal he uses to record combat strategies. He'll cut that page from the journal, hand it to Evendur for his signature, and then hand it to Jandar. 

"We still haven't solved the problem of the tall wizard and the unconscious gnome," he says. "If you don't work for the cult exclusively, Severin, who do you work for? Your lich king?"