Gerrard:

Taking care to keep his distance from the grabby kids as best he can, Gerrard sniffs and says, “Hands off!  One does not grope visitors in such a way!  If you want to have the opportunity to guide our group, stand off at a respectful distance and state your business—one at a time!”

A stern Persuasion check:  10

Keeping his valuables secure and parrying any grasping hands as best he can, the noble agrees with Peri, “Indeed, there seems to be little of use to us here.”

The hairs start stick up on the back of Qivy's neck.
"I agree," he says cautiously. "If'n they find out there is a noble visitin' they'll more than likely ta hold ya fer ransom than aid ya in any endeavor. We should turn, get back on a boat, an' get out of here." 

Boko’s mood drops as they approach the town and drops further when the dock and she moves through the decay. She stays quiet, nodding oddly when she is referred to as a godly person.

As they begin to move uphill, she keeps her eyes peeled for anyone watching them with anything more than routine interest in newcomers (as prey, as potential contacts), and as she walks she looks around for the tallest tower in town, per their instructions.

Perception: 27 (rolled in game log)

There is a lot to take in. 

Through the brown haze, Boko can just make out a cluster of taller buildings to the southeast, across some sort of inner harbor, crowded with rafts and garbage.

A trail of blood leads eastward, where somebody recently seems to have had a misfortune. 

In an alley to the northwest, a group of older children chase and torment an elderly human. The victim feebly brandishes a holy symbol of good at them, but the children and onlookers alike simply taunt him. They then turn to pelting the old man with stones as they accuse him of being a "friend to murderers".

One of the apathetic onlookers, a pink-haired man with heavy, cracked, white makeup, locks eyes with Boko for a moment, then, with a look of anxiety, vanishes into the dark alley network. It takes Boko a moment to realize that he was wearing Kei's jacket. Indeed, he looked a lot like Kei.

The younger children continue to beg you for coins and work, but back off slightly at Gerrard's schoolmastery. "Guide, mister! Five silver!" shouts one. Another one laughs.

Gerrard:

Pulling out a few silver from the pouch inside his vest, Gerrard says, “First bring that man over who is accused of murder…I would like to speak with him,” to the one who spoke up about being a guide, tossing the two coins to him.

“If you do that well, we can talk about you guiding us.  If not, I may have to take action myself,” he adds, pulling out one of his sharp throwing knives and making a show of cleaning his fingernails with it.

"Havin' them lead us will more likely get us in tha middle of some ambush," Qivys remarks. "Best turn around and have done with this place." 

Boko blurts out, "Kei?" and points to the man in the makeup. She looks at Thwack, and then the others. Is it possible to follow him?

Gerrard:

Cocking an eyebrow at Boko’s outburst, the young noble steps over to the dwarf.  Commenting quietly to Qivys, Gerrard says, “Very likely.  I’m just trying to set our gangs against each other—two birds with one stone and all—and maybe talk with that holy man being attacked by the children.  Getting to the bottom of these accusations of murder may be a good distraction to allow others to blend into the crowd and find our missing friend…”

Thwack 

With no clue who or what he is looking for, Thwack falls in step with the group. When Boko vocalises her confusion his ears prick up. "Is Master Kei?" Without thinking he darts into the crowd in the direction of the made up man. His small form allows him to move with relative ease with his chosen profession adding to his ability to slip from sight. 

Stealth 28

"Blasted Kobold," Qivys exclaims and he chases after Thwack. 

Thwack vanishes into the crowd in the direction the white-faced man in Kei's jacket fled. Qivys tries to follow, but quickly loses Thwack in the dim, crowded alley. Boko looks around uncertainly.

The children also look uncertain for a moment, but fueled by two silver pieces, they soon spring into action. "Stop! Stop!" cries one of the Gerrard's new hires, dramatically leaping into the fray to protect the old man long enough to escort him back to Gerrard. The older children initially look annoyed and surprised, but then become wary when they see Gerrard and his blade. The stone-throwing children retreat, and the younger kids direct the old man over, as the other onlookers rapidly lose interest.

"These your kids?" the man asks Gerrard. "Thank you for saving me from a... humiliating fate. They think I'm protecting the Lantern Ghost or something. You heard they hung Jarme Loveage yesterday? Only that ain't the killer. They think it was the killer, but you heard there was another murder? It wasn't Jarme." He brushes himself off. "Any chance you can escort me back to my home?"

"More coins mister?" asks the children, again huddling around Gerrard.

Gerrard:

"Let it not be said that the nobility of Keoland don't recognize a man of quality," replies Gerrard.  He nods to the leader who dramatically leapt into the fray and rescued the old man, motioning him to approach.  "Your name, good sir," he asks.

When it is given, Gerrard pulls out a gold piece and puts it in the young man's hand.  "Taking risks to protect the vulnerable and innocent among us is quite the honorable endeavor.  Take this and get yourself and these young ones some nourishment, with my thanks," he finishes.

To the older man, he says, "Greetings, I am Lord Gerrard Feldren, come to the Styes to speak to the local authorities on a rather urgent matter...though it seems you have problems of your own.  I know nothing about murders or hangings, as we have just arrived mere minutes ago."

Looking around, Gerrard sees no trace of Thwack or Qivys, and looks at the remaining companions.  Addressing the old man's question, he says, "Let me consult with my allies.  We need to either return to our ship or continue on to what passes for the finest inn in these parts.  In either case, you are welcome to join us."

Turning to Janore, Peri, and Boko, Gerrard asks, "What do you think we should do next?"

Boko, barely looking at Gerard, eyes on where Thwack went, says, “tower, after finding them…” and she steps a bit forward to keep Thwack and Qivys in view.

Thwack 

"This one good" he mumbles out loud as he tries to keep up with the Kei robe wearer. Unfamiliar with the city he takes turn after turn as he attempts to catch his prey. At times he loses all sense of which way to go however his feet keep moving and through luck or some other cosmic chance he always manages to regain sight of the man.

Thwack finds that the man in the robe is long gone, vanished into the dark, jumbled maze of shanty tenements and rickety, stacked buildings.

The boy looks bug-eyed at the gold piece before snatching and hiding it. "Beebee," he answers. He dutifully runs off upon dismissal.

"There's a killer on the loose. Still," clarifies the older man in an excited gasp, waving his arms excitedly. He introduces himself as "Master Refrum". "I'm a priest here. The patrol caught a suspect, and hung him this morning, but I'm convinced he was wrongfully executed, framed by some sinister conspiracy. His good name deserves clearing."

Having lost Thwack in the crowd, Qivys would make his way back to the rest of the group.

Boko turns to Gerard. "Sir. We do not have time or capacity for this we need to regather and continue."

She looks up toward the tower.

Gerrard:

”Agreed,” says Gerrard simply.  

Turning to the holy man, Gerrard says, “Master Refrum, we are on urgent business and must go see the leadership of this port.  I will keep your situation in mind and bring it up with your leaders, or you are welcome to join us and plead your case before the authorities, but we are on a tight schedule and must continue on our way.”

Gesturing to Boko to lead the way to the tower she seems to have spotted, Gerrard prepares to move off and follow her.

To the rest of his comrades, he says, “If this goes sideways, stay together as best you can and head back to the ship.”

If Qivys makes it back to the group and hears Boko's response he will sigh and ask the old man.
"Alright priest, tell me your tale," he says with not a lot of enthusiasm. 

Even though it's barely mid-afternoon, between the smoky, polluted air, the claustrophobic architecture, the crowds, and the filth, it looks and feels like it's already well into the evening in these tight streets. It's also hot and humid, and the stench is overpowering at times.

Boko's not sure which of the tall, hazy buildings to the southeast is her destination, if any. The sizable inner harbor means they will have to travel quite a ways east through the city to circumnavigate it, or find some sort of boat to cross it. 

Master Refrum is happy to repeat his tale to an unenthusiastic Qivys, although he asks that they escort him to his workshop to get the full story. He can point to the general location of his home on the edge of the harbor to the east; to get to the buildings Boko sighted on foot, they will likely be passing not far from it. The kids have all vanished, and Kei's doppelganger has not reappeared, but other shifty derelicts and tragic-looking locals have arrived to take their place. 

Refrum talks excitedly to Qivys about “the Lantern Ghost" who has been murdering people for half a year. Seven days ago, a fisherman named Jarme Loveage, a friend of Refrum's, was captured by a nighttime patrol with a bloody knife in his hands, and was executed yesterday, even as he proclaimed his innocence. Refrum insists that his friend was a kind and honest man and that "I believe the Lantern Ghost is still killing." Rumors already spreading through the Styes talk of a young fisher named Raif turning up dead this morning. Refrum now fears that the authorities are watching him, and his notoriety as a thorn in the side of the Council means that many people are afraid to talk to him.