"Went straight into the woods. As for his getting ahead of me,  I stopped to rest the horses a little ways back. It would have been easy for him to beat me here on foot." Rinarv replies. "Have you run out of questions yet? You folks are mighty suspicious. "

"And your carefree ways be not half as helpful, nor friendly, as you think." Elber gets back on on the cart, ready to leave the dwarf.

Jack whispers through the cover to Elber, “Do we know what he is carrying? Maybe it’s loot from the bandit camp that he fences, or he supplies them somehow. I don’t trust him, he’s too friendly with the guy that just tried to kill us.”

Elber sits down on the cart and mutters loudly. "My gut say that be the way it be. No telling what one such as he fences."

“Maybe we should have him open it. I mean as far as we know, he is the Scorpion” whispers Jack. “I don’t mean to rob him, but if he is in league with them, letting him go would be a mistake.”

"We meet you under suspicious circumstances, so maybe we are a little more circumspect of your behaviour than we otherwise would be. What did this Ordan talk to you about? Before you offered to let him ride with you? It was awfully kind considering the road has been suffering banditry of late."

Rinarv begins to lose patience. "I've not seen Thithladroth in well over a decade. I heard that there were some bandits operating on this road, but rumors are common and rarely true. Are you going to help me with these coffers or no?"

Elber jumps off the cart and flexes his long arms as he turns towards the fallen coffers. "A strong grip coming right up. You prepare your tune sir, luckily I missed my shot."

Rinarv whips out his harp and begins to play a lively jig. (Elber, make a Strength check with advantage from Duncan, who I assume is helping you.)

Strength: 20 

"These be really heavy. Strange that bandits let you pass through their domain unmolested."
Elber rattles and shackes the coffers, possibly needlessly much as if trying to determine their contents, as he and Duncan begins lifting them up.
"Perhaps their ambush be meant for you instead of us. That would make me in the wrong for this...!"
Elber attempts to hack, rip or smash a suitable coffer open, whichever is handiest and seems most likely to be succesful under the circumstances.

Perception (for the determining of contents) 15
Strength (for the opening) 14 ((I feel slightly unfair re-using Duncan's help for this, so I'll roll a separate Strength check in case it is necessary.))

Quote from PolarBearSoup >>

"So you have been riding alone for the last hour? Strange that he got ahead of you after parting ways... Did he carry on down the road, or take to the woods?" Landrae motions to help the dwarf with his coffers, so that Duncan can recover his glaive.

 ((Well, I had offered...))

"Elber, what has gotten into you man!" Landrae jumps back as Elber makes an attempt to compromise the structural integrity of the coffers. "You have gone too far... Interrupting a performance! And making all this mess too." Quickly moving over to Rinarv and grabbing his hand, holding it up apologetically, but trying to stand directly inbeween the dwarf and the results of Elber's test. "Rinarv, I can't begin to apologise for my overly zealous companion. Please, he is not used to civilsed people..."

The dwarf stops playing immediately and glares at Elber threateningly as he pries open the coffer lid, revealing it's varied contents. There are hundreds of silver and gold coins, and even a few gold pieces, as well as items that can have nothing but personal value, such as rusted pots and chipped cups. 

"You go too far, laddie." Rinarv says, drawing a shortsword. "I've been in more battles than you've seen winters, and killed more orcs too, I'll warrant. I fought beside King Urul in the retaking of the Iron Halls, and fought again in the re-re-taking. And if that's not enough to earn the right to my privacy, by Moradin, I'll fight for it!"

((Are we rolling initiative here, or have we still got a chance to talk him down?))

Initiative: 23

"If you start a fight here Rinarv, no matter how many you have fought before, you enter your final battle. Put up your sword, pick up your harp, and let us return reason to this display of madness!"

Persuasion: 25 (not sure if you want a new roll or use the previous)

(Rinarv has not yet attacked.)

Rinarv's warrior spirit and common sense wage war in his mind, but eventually he sheathes his blade. "I'll be asking you to remove your grubby fingers from my possessions, laddie."

"Have you heard of a monster in these woods called a Scorpion, Dwarf?" Duncan will ask, purposely phrasing it as a monster and not a man to see his response.

INSIGHT: 7

"I've seen a few scorpions in my day, laddie," The dwarf replies. " And I wouldn't call them monsters. "

((He didn't actually answer the question. dude is suspicious af))

Considering the averted fight, Landrae chooses to hand out some information to try and win the dwarf back to a useful conversation. "We have been sent into these woods by a merchant of Thithladroth, to deal with some banditry by a man called the Scorpion. We encountered an ambush not a mile from here led by that Ordan chap. Mayhap he was waiting for you, knowing the valuables you carried, once he had gathered more men, maybe not and it is simply co-incidence." Landrae offers her most placating smile, "Did you pass a sign some way back down the road, and a path that leads to the right of the main 'road'?" 

((Elber has an Insight of 19 running... did he notice anything in the response to Duncan's question?))