"Ugh, we don't have all day," Sally tries sliding through the crowd and towards the nearest guard to present the slip as fast as she can, "Lovely day, isn't it? We are here on business, requested by Lord Teratt."

Charisma: 16

"Stop right there." A human Crownsguard looks unimpressed by Sally's behaviour, Sally's appearance, and Sally's whole general thing. "Get to the back of the queue, we'll see you when we're good and ready." He looks bored, and possibly looking to pick an argument.

Sally pouts in disappointment, "Awh, that's unfortunate. Don't think Lord Teratt will appreciate us being held up at the gate, but oh well..." she slowly turns around and starts walking to the back of the queue, giving the guard some time to change his mind.

Sally, make a Deception check. I think deception rather than persuasion because Lord Teratt doesn't know who you are and probably won't be concerned if you have to wait to see him.

Makes sense! 

Deception: 14

The guard looks unimpressed, but one of his fellows, a halfling, calls you over to the front of the queue. There's a little murmuring from the rest of those waiting, but not too much - queue-jumping is seemingly quite common.

"Lord Teratt, is it? Doesn't get many visitors, that one. You have an invitation or something like that?" the halfing asks.

"You could say we are quite Irregular," Sally hands over the note, making an effort to not turn back and see if her silly wordplay was appreciated.

The guard takes the note, looks it over, and hands it back. "Head on in then. And good luck to you. You'll need it." He nods for you to go past and into the Tri-Spires, and then directs a look at the first guard, meaning unclear. The first guard scowls at him, then scowls at each of you, then just scowls generally and gets back to guarding.

The way into the Tri-Spires is clear. Do you head in?

Sally mockingly scowls at the first guard, offering the halfling a polite smile right after. She follows the direction of the note to get to the estate, "So, what's our plan? Do we just go in and hear him out?"

"Not bad talking your way around that guy, Sally!" Celica says with a thumbs up. "Let's go and chat with our patron first - we can always explore afterward!"

"Thanks! You got any more of that gum?"

"Oh, sure! They're spearmint flavor, hope that's okay," Celica replies as she sticks her hand down her gambeson and chain mail to produce a wrapped up baggie of multi-colored gumballs. "Alton, Balasaar, you guys feel free to have some too!"

"Not at all, could use something sharp to wake me up," Sally quickly unwraps one and places the ball at the tip of her tongue, tipping the whole thing in her mouth and starts to chew the flavor out of it, as the group walks on.

Alton gives Balassar a quick side glance and takes one of the gumballs, looking it over. "Thanks Celica. I haven't had gum before. Back on the farm we just chewed plant stalks." He pops the gumball into his mouth and starts chewing. He then gives Sally a pat on the back, "Not bad back there Sally, not bad. Now, lets see to our patron about this job." 

Balassar is just walks behind them "No thanks, appreciate the offer though." he says as they just walk "I agree with the plan, see the patron and then go out on the town."

The small mansion of the Teratt Family lies on the outskirts of the Tri-Spires district, backing onto the city wall. The building looks old, one of the older buildings in the city, certainly pre-dating the Empire. It looks well maintained, but quiet, and on a relatively quiet street. There's a guard at the gate who inspects your Writ and calls a servant, a human in his thirties, to accompany you into the house.

The interior of the house looks like it might have been luxurious once, but now it seems stuck in the past - clean, well-kept, but faded and without much life or joy - lots of faded greens and yellow that must have made the place feel light and warm in the past. The house is utterly silent within, and you notice that the servant, whose name you have not been given, walks softly and seems to encourage you to do the same. You are shown into a waiting room where you remain for about ten minutes before being led into a sitting room where a man in his fifties, wearing good but not lavish clothing with no care for fashion, stands waiting to greet you.

He looks your group over, and nods. "You are going to Feltyr, on my behalf. I imagine you have questions. Ask, please." His manner and voice seem as though he is suffering from something like depression. The servant disappears and returns only a minute later with cups of tea, and Lord Teratt invites you to sit on one of the several chairs in the room.

The whole house felt very melancholic to Salithee. It was almost like the interior was its own little dimension, so quiet and stale. 

"First of all, we offer our sincerest condolences," Sally sits down only after saying that, picking up the tea cup and taking a reserved sip. 

"Is there any preliminary information you can provide on the suspect? What were the details of the murder?"

"A human, in his forties. Late forties. He can change his appearance at will, including his clothes, so it will be very difficult to find him unless one of you has some magical ability. But in his true form, once his magic is stripped away, he has a scar, a mark on his face, a wheel with nine spokes, here on his cheek." Lord Teratt points to his left cheek.

"I don't think the details of the murder will do you much good. Suffice to say that I upset some people, and in retaliation this man murdered my son in front of me. He showed me his true face and told me I could search my whole life and never find him. He changed his appearance again and again after he had restrained me, to show me the truth of it. And then he left. You might ask how I could be so certain that this scarred face was the true one. I can only answer that his arrogance was such that I believed him."

"I have spread the word quietly wherever I have travelled, asking for any news of a man with such a marking. Most listen politely and accept a coin for their trouble, but I doubt very many intend to watch, or even remember the conversation a week later. That is fine. I need only one. And a week ago I received a letter from the innkeeper of the Blue Rider in Feltyr; one of her staff walked in on a guest unexpectedly, and saw a man with this mark in the room. That is all I know."

Celica nods. “I’m sorry about your son, Lord Teratt. So, we’re dealing with a shapechanger, huh? That… sounds like it’s going to be tricky. But we got this, right guys? In fact, I think I have just the trick for revealing their true form… we just need to find them first! Then we can let my magic do the rest of the work. IF it works.” 

"Tricky, yes. Though, if we somehow manage to learn their patterns of behavior, or maybe speech, the shift in appearance wouldn't help as much. You prefer him delivered alive, correct?" Sally mulls over the mission in her mind.