Aranor steps up beside Pax. "Why would you think we are here to kill your son?" he asks the woman. "Has your son done something?"

Lucky’s Stealth to slip inside the apartment (igl): 8 plus 4 = 12

Ugh. Maybe she’s distracted,

"You come bearing many weapons," the woman replies in observation. "I'm sorry. I'm just upset. What do you want? Why are you here?"

She looks down to see Lucky slipping into the room behind her, and frowns.

"And now there's a cat in here," she continues, wiping her face. "Is this your cat?"

"My apologies. My name is Pax, ambassador for peace from the Radiant Citadel. These are my companions, as is this cat. We are seeking the cause of a curse named Sereno that has claimed many lives. The clues have led us all the way from Milzapul here to this very vecindad. When I heard your sobbing, my programming required me to come and try to ease your pain. What has caused you to be upset and how may I help?" Pax asks gently. The woman had not answered his or Aranor's question, but he can tell that her emotions are high. His instincts tell him her son may have something to do with their quest, but coming right out and asking may put her on the defensive.

Tuuli, through Lucky, gets a quick look inside the woman's tiny apartment. It consists of a living room and a bedroom. A corner of the living room features an ofrenda with the portrait of a stern-looking man on top. The bedroom is split by a wooden screen with bedrolls on each side.

"I don't know of this 'Sereno', but this world is full of curses," replies the woman to Pax. "I'm just an old widow with a lifetime of reasons to weep. But I am okay. Thank you for your concern." She distractedly looks back at Lucky, prowling through her small abode.

"I am sorry, but your suffering requires me to make you a cup of tea and listen intently and non-judgementally to your concerns and offer non-committal advice and empathy." Pax tries to draw the woman's attention back to him, such that his companions could get a closer look at her apartment. "What is your name? Do you have any other family?"

Lucky sniffs, with Tuuli riding along, smelling for anything out of place. Perception (w/Adv for sniffing, in game log):  10  or 11

Oof.

"My friend here is a very good listener," says Aranor. "So am I. Please, if there is something wrong, we may be able to help. It's what we do."

Persuasion - 15

"My name is Doña Rosa. I apologize, please come in. I just had some bad news from my son, and I was upset. I'm afraid I have no tea." She steps inside her small apartment. There are only three chairs. "But I still don't understand. What is it you want? Who sent you?"  She looks at you nervously.

She addresses the ofrenda in the room. "My late husband, Evaristo." She begins to weep again, quietly.

Lucky sees that the walls on one side of the bedroom are lined with drawings. A locket hangs on the wall nearby. 

Does Tuuli, seeing through Lucky's eyes, think the drawings look of a similar style or artist to the drawing of the house?

Aranor steps inside the apartment. "My condolences for your loss, Doña Rosa," he says, as he follows her to the chairs. "My friends here were sent by someone to check on his mother. Unfortunately, she had already passed from this Sereno curse. That is what we are investigating."

The moon elf walks over to examine the ofrenda. "This is beautiful," he says. "May I ask how Evaristo passed?" 

Walt has been standing by and listening to the conversation thus far. He’s noticed some dancing around the issue regarding her son, but he figures the topic will come back around. Having identified Doña Rosa as the person depicted in the locket he contemplates what to do next. He wants to be respectful,  but thoughts of Paloma suffering from the Sereno comes to mind and he makes his move. 

Walt reaches in his pouch and find the locket, grasps it in his hand and waits for Doña Rosa to answer Aranor’s question regarding the passing or Evaristo. Once she answers, Walt will step forward reveal the locket to Doña Rosa. He steps forward just beyond her reach, unfurled the chained locket and dangles it in front of him and addresses her. ”Excuse me, Doña Rosa, my name is Walter. While investigating the Sereno, my friends and I found this locket with a sketch that appears to be a portrait of yourself. Can you tell us the story behind this locket? And why would we find it in an abandoned mine amongst the belongings of a cultist worshipping Pazuzu?”

Pax busies himself pulling out some tea leaves and a delicate pot and starting up the small stove. His actions hopefully put Mrs Rosa at ease. People who mean violence rarely make tea first. After Walt's question, he adds in a gentle voice. "Sheer coincidence, Doña Rosa. As I said, the clues led us to this house. It was your suffering which brought us to this apartment. We merely want to ease that suffering."

Tuuli, via Lucky, examines the drawings. Investigation: 9

"My Evaristo," responds Doña Rosa shakily to Aranor, "He died of a night chill, three months ago. It exhausted him, sapped him of all his strength. He died within two days. But now my son Serapio tells me it might have been something else. My Serapio is mixed up with some bad people, I think." 

Walt presents the locket, which she seems genuinely astonished to see. "You found it where? My first husband, Serapio's father, he was mixed up in a cult. Now I think Serapio is, too, and now he is sick with some new curse. But Serapio is a good boy, he's not a monster. But Orencio, his father - he was a sorcerer who consorted with demons. He was executed years ago after I exposed his deeds. I think Orencio or the cult he served is somehow responsible for this mess Serapio is in now. But I don't know - it's all so confusing. I just want my Serapio well again."

“I see. I thank you for your honesty. Where is Serapio at the moment? Maybe he can help us in our quest. Though I cannot make any promises, it is our hope that if we find and put an end to the source of this curse, perhaps those afflicted by it will recover. As my friends said, we are here to help.”

Walt watches Doña Rosa closely watching for any signs of deception. Insight check 15

"I don't know where he has gone. He’s in trouble. He confessed to me that he undergoes some kind of transformation, and then he fled home. He said some fiendish influence compels him to spread his curse and feed on the afflicted. He even said he was inadvertently responsible for the affliction that killed Evaristo."

The tears begin to flow again. "But he's terrified and doesn’t understand why he’s changing. When he’s overwhelmed by this influence, he’s ruled by the evil of his new form. Serapio is just a simple boy, a gentle soul. He never deserved this. Please spare Serapio and bring him to me. I promise to look after him until I can find him help. I thought Serapio was ill. I never told him about his father, Orencio, that he was a sorcerer who consorted with demons. After Orencio’s execution, we fled the city to escape his followers. I started a new life. I married Evaristo who helped raise Serapio. But soon after Evaristo died, Serapio showed signs of his own strange affliction. So I decided to return to San Citlán."

Walt finds no evidence that she is being dishonest or withholding. 

"Can you help us? Help find him? Spare his life?"

Outside, Tuuli ends her connection with Lucky and comes back to her senses. She stays where she is, though, pretending to pay attention to the shrine, laying a flower, but really making sure the group remains undisturbed by anyone coming along the street.

Inside, Lucky patters back to the group, curling around Walt's feet.

Aranor feels great compassion for this woman, who has suffered so much loss recently. He takes her hand and gently squeezes it. "We will do our best to help Serapio," the moon elf promises. "Does your son have a room here? May we look at it? We may be able to find some clues as to where he has gone."

Pax finishes making tea and hands a warm cup to Doña Rosa. "We will help you. We can make no promises on Serapio's life for this fiendish influence seems very strong. But we will certainly try. In addition to searching Serapio's belongings, we have other clues we may follow. Do the names Itzmin or Pazuzu mean anything to you?"

An elderly couple approaches the communal altar outside, where Tuuli stands. They pause to add some yellow marigolds to a small painting of a young woman and say a prayer. Seeing Tuuli, they ask, "Are you visiting? Do you need help setting an Ofrenda?"

Inside, Doña Rosa invites them to look in their shared bedroom – a tiny chamber split by a wooden screen with bedrolls on each side.

"Itzmin," she repeats to Pax. "That's Serapio’s employer. I don't trust him. His friendliness rings false to me."