The Wildemount Irregulars (2020)

Silent, there is a human in his late forties wearing heavy armour sitting at one of the tables alone, and he is very interested in your arrival, though he is hiding it well.

Silent will attempt to surreptitiously and wordlessly point out the man to Magnum. He is then planning to purchase two drinks (one cheap and one expensive, if the prices or quality vary), and take them over to the armoured man's table. 

Magnum's perception is so poor, he doesn't realize at all what Silent is doing.  He does note the two drinks in Silent's hand, but assumes that this is just the first step in a long road to alcoholism.

Deduct one gold for the expensive drink and four coppers for the tankard of regular ale.  The man watches steadily as you approach his table. 

(OOC @StevenDM: LMAO) 

Silent will nod, sit down heavily and push the expensive mug across the table with a grin on his face. You got the look of a warrior, mate. Haven't seen many folk with armour like that in these parts, figured you've got some story to tell. But hey, he takes a swig of his drink. No pressure. 

Magnum whispers, Oh, the drink was for the other guy.  That's a bit of a relief.

I got stories, the man replies. But not to share.  He takes a swig from the mug, then screws up his face.  You looking for something?  

Silent puts down his mug. My friend and I (he gestures to Magnum) just rolled into town and heard some rumours about a wolf problem at a village a few days' travel from here. Been tryin' to gather some information, see if it's something we should check out. You seemed reasonably interested in the two of us so I figured I'd, uh, pick your brains. 

Silent, your passive Insight is high enough to say with some confidence that this man does not want to talk to you and is very unhappy that you've approached him.

There are always wolves.  Hunting's a fine profession.  He takes another drink and stares at you.

Silent nods after a moment's pause, then picks up his tankard and drains it. Guess we'll follow up on that lead, then. Nice to meet you, mate - maybe we'll see each other around.

He'll return to Magnum and say with a grimace, Saw the guy sizing us up when we walked in, figured I'd try to make the first move. Never been much good as mind-game-y stuff, he didn't say anything. 

I'm not very good at reading people, but he seemed rude. Besides, by not saying anything he spoke volumes. I think I can draw some conclusions from his behavior, but I would need your insight.

The guy wasn't happy I approached him, that's all I can say for certain. Seemed to be trying to avoid attention... if I was more paranoid I'd reckon he might be a spy or somethin', but maybe he was just curious about us weirdoes walking in. 

Then, given his demeanor and gear, I believe he was assessing us as a threat and was annoyed that you clocked him.

Silent goes for another swig of his mug out of habit before realizing it's empty. Let's hope he ain't so threatened that he'll start a fight. What d'you reckon we should do while we're here, think anyone will know about that halfling girl? 

Magnum recommends asking the barkeep about the little girl and her gran. 

Silent nods and will approach the barkeep again, this time recounting their encounter with the young halfling girl. He'll tell them about the girl's Gran and the request to kill some wolves, and ask about any villages that are a two-day walk from Alfield. 

Don't know, I'm afraid.  There's a load of little villages round these parts - I could name a dozen that I'd say were two days' walk from here.  It's good farming land, you know.  Lots of halflings too, especially up nearer to Felderwin.  As for wolves, well, sure, they're a problem from time to time.  It's not often it gets so bad that they'd hire strangers from in town; usually a few local lads with bows can take care of it.  

If bows are the usual way wolves are dealt with, she chose two people not carrying ranged weapons.

In a weak attempt at a nonchalant tone, Silent says You ain't never heard about no... hags in these parts, have you? 'Course, I don't believe in that kind of thing, just curious. 

Magnum examines the palm of his right gauntlet and mutters more to himself than anyone around.  Hmmm...I guess I AM currently in ranged attack mode.  But she wouldn't have known that.