Qivys feels a drunk man's hand in his coin purse. He turns to see a long-faced local smelling of alcohol half-hunched with his arm rapidly retreating from Qivys' things. "Spoon," he grunts, "Dropped my spoon. You take it?" 

 ---

"White face, human, bard. Name Kei. Nephew Elbin," repeats Grotten quietly. He begins to ask more questions – behaviors, friends, other family, hangouts, addictions – but when you get to the part about the pink hair and the cracked, white makeup on his doppelganger, his demeanor shifts slightly, and he stops asking questions.

"Okay. I'm pretty confident I can locate him. Give me until the morning. Meet me right here two hours before noon tomorrow. Don't speak of this with anyone else. I need that hundred gold up front, as discussed. There may be hazards involved."

Qivys turns to the man and flips his hands back and forth then back and uses Prestidigitation to produce a "spoon" and hands it to him.
"This what yer lookin' fer?" Qivys asks the man. 

Gerrard:

Looking sharply at the interloper, Gerrard tries to discern if he took anything…and he secures his own coin purse more tightly as well…

Perception:  11

The long-faced man reaches for the spoon, only to discover that it is an illusion. "Not funny," he says. "Where's my spoon?" 

Gerrard is confident that the man was unable to purloin anything from Qivys.

The establishment becomes even more crowded as patrons continue to arrive. No sign of Constable Jute yet, if you even knew what they looked like.

------

Grotten holds out her small hand to Peri. "100 gold. Might be a late night for me, but I'll have intelligence on your quarry by morning. Deal? Meanwhile, you two lay low, stay quiet."

Gerrard:

”Good catch, Master Qivys,” says Gerrard, “it seems we must be prepared for pickpockets in this establishment…not surprising.”

Qivys watches the man for a moment then says.
"I suggest ya go back an' practice a bit more 'fore ya go about putting yer hands in other folks' purses." 
Then Qivys says to the man telepathically:
"Ya might just latch on ta more than ya intended ta fish fer." 

Thwack 

Searching through his pack Thwack is unable to find any cards. He looks to Peri apologetically. "Me no have cards to do trick." At that exact moment 3 floating cards appear in front of the tiny kobold, hovering in mid-air. "I not do that" he exclaims as if he might be in trouble. Fascinated by the trick, he looks at the images on the floating cards. A man's face, a green patchwork robe and broken cittern. "Hey, that robe look like the one I was chasing. Why that show on your cards Kerry?" The cards continue to hang in the air as Grotten holds out her grimy hand.

Qivys: Make an Intimidation check with advantage.

---

Grotten raises one eyebrow as she examines the illusion before her. "Yup, yup," she then adds matter-of-factly, nodding. "One hundred gold up front. I will have results by morning. Meet here two hours before noon."

Peri:

Peri is surprised to see the tracker's very casual reaction to the card trick. He doesn't hesitate, but hands her 10 platinum pieces. "We'll be at The Steamin' Hog if you need us before then. Otherwise we'll be back tomorrow mornin."

Grotten palms the coins and makes them disappear into her jacket before you can blink. "See you then," she says, and departs.

"We're so very happy to provide you with the services you need," says the tall woman, approaching, stretching out her hand.

"Two seventy five," offers the hunchback, revealing the top of the blowgun again from behind his cluttered table.

(Unless you have further business at the hunchback's store, are Peri and Thwack headed to the Steaming Hog next?)

Gerrard:

Hand on his dagger, Gerrard watches the situation with Qivys, then goes back to eating the paltry supper and waiting for Constable Jute.

>Can Peri make an Insight check to figure out how much of a gratuity will make him seem appreciative without looking like a sucker?

        >>Make an Insight (to read this woman) or Intelligence check (to know the system).

>That's a 13 [Insight].

Peri senses this woman is a confident professional who genuinely wants to help, but also knows how to extract maximum gratuities from wealthy out-of-town marks by playing on their ignorance of the local economy and customs. But in the end, Peri is in fact ignorant of the local economy and customs, and can only guess what amount might be appropriate here...

Qivys glares at the man."
Intimidation: 22

Peri:

Peri hands the woman 2 platinum pieces, pretty sure he's overpaying by a lot. But he'd rather overpay and look like a soft touch, at least while they might still need her. "You've been very helpful. Where can we find you if we need more help?" he asks.

"Right here," responds the tall woman as she drops the coins in her satchel. "Ask Melody. He'll find us for you anytime." The hunchbacked man grunts in assent. "My name is Bede," she continues, "This is Ecgbert Senior. We are always at your service." She bows.

---

The long-faced man glares back at Qivys for a moment before standing and finding another place to sit.

---

(Unless you have further business, shall we assume that Peri and Thwack return to join Gerrard, Boko, and Qivys in the Steaming Hog, waiting for Constable Jute?)

The awkward evening continues at the Steaming Hog. Peri and Thwack join the rest of the party in the busy tavern or kitchen or whatever this dirty place is. Nobody else speaks with them, or offers them food or drink, which seems to be self-service. Sometimes newcomers buy tickets from the man in the cage; sometimes not.

As the evening grows late, another guard arrives, a woman dressed similarly to many of the other guards who frequent this establishment. She eyes you for a long moment, and then approaches you uncomfortably. "I'm Jute," she announces to Peri. "You looking for me?" 

Gerrard:

”Yes indeed, constable.  I am Gerrard Feldren, and I stopped by the garrison earlier. Is there somewhere we might speak more privately?” says Gerrard with a graceful nod of his head.  

"Outside?" She beckons you to follow her. She nods politely to an acquaintance across the room and heads out the front door. The narrow alley leading to this establishment is currently empty of traffic. To those who follow, she asks, "What do you want?"

Qivys follows along, keeping a hand on his purse as he moves through the crowd.

Gerrard:

Following the constable outside, Gerrard says once they have a modicum of privacy, "Constable Jute, thank you for coming to meet with us.  As I said, I am Gerrard Feldren, originally from Seaton and lately of Saltmarsh.  We have just today come to the Styes on urgent business.  Unfortunately, as we travelled, one of our friends was killed by a mysterious force.  Janore, a priestess of Procan from Firewatch island was her name.  We have also come to learn that others have died mysteriously--including from the so-called Lantern Murders."

Sensing her reaction, he pauses for a moment then continues if she seems to be listening.

(Insight:  4 )

"We have spoken with a few others knowledgeable about the situation--as well as doing some of our own research.  I have reason to believe there may be a pattern to these deaths, a darker power behind these murders, and I was hoping you would be able to help us understand what you learned from Jarme before he was executed for his part in this mess," he concludes.

Persuasion:  14