There are some audible sounds behind the door -- some drawers hurriedly being shut, then a loud, dry voice bellowing "Give me a moment." After almost precisely sixty seconds, the door opens a sliver and you see an older human with a blotchy complexion and shock white hair that is worn shaggily to the man's collar. His eyes are bloodshot and even the limited amount the door is open, you can tell the man had been drinking a lot of wine.

Seeing the Goliath and the human, in their armor, the man's bloodshot eyes widen. "What d'ya want? I ain't got nothing of value." He cracks the door open a little bit wider to see the group as a whole. "You aren't from around here, is ya?" You come at a bad time, strangers."

“Aye, so his nibs has told us. But if all was gold and ale you wouldn’t be seeing the likes of us round here.”

He hooks a thumb back towards the road.

”Our wee wagon gave up the ghost and we’re hoping you might have a nice bit of wood we could use to mend it. A fire to dry ourselves off wouldn’t ruffle any feathers neither.”

“Why is it a bad time, is there anything..... wrong?”  Erbert tries to perceive is he is hiding something, or just drunk.

Perception : 14

The old man grunts and steps aside, letting you all into the main room of the farmhouse. There is a door that seems to lead into some sort of workshop, and that's it. Like the fields, the farmhouse itself has seen better days -- much of the furniture in the room is broken and caked in dirt, and you even notice a few windows have been boarded up.

In response to Erbert's question, the old man straightens up a bit and looks down at the gnome. "The town and all these farms are going to hell right in front of me. We're in the midst of a war, and someone is burning our fields. Everyone's suspect -- the villagers swear they've seen each other setting the fires, but they have alibis. I've lived in Felderwin my whole life and I've never seen anything like it. Feels like the end times." As he talks, he's not really focusing on you, just talking, and as he trails off, there is silence for a moment before the man snaps back to attention.

"Name's Dell Wesprem. You folks said you...needed some wood. I'll check the back, uh...workshop and see if I can find anything. " He starts to walk to the back room then turns. "What are y'all doing in the Tillage anyway? We don't get too many visitors here, even in the harvest season."

"We're here to deal specifically with the problems you have just listed." Valhik runs a finger along a dusty shelf and wrinkles his nose up at the general untidiness of the abode. "Of course that might be a little more difficult to do without our wagon managing to make it all the way to town."

Pulling his fellow gnome aside to a corner he says in a low voice "In your magical studies Mr. Jenkins have you accumulated any body of knowledge concerning illusions? Tales of the villagers seeing the criminals in the guise of each other leads me to initially believe our quarry might be employing magical disguises to cover their actions." Stroking his beard and tilting his head Valhik glances back at the old man before adding "Either that or shapeshifters although that seems less likely."

Erbert replies in a low voice to Valhik “Someone who is skilled in illusion magic, or someone who is very good at disguising themselves likely.  Our first clue.  I am familiar with illusion magic but I am not skilled enough yet to pull of such a feat.  But this gives us a starting point.”  

To the old man he said “Nice to meet you Dell, my name is Erbert Jenkins.  We are here to investigate these very same fires.  I wonder if these are being magically set?  Where is the closest area where one of these fires occurred and has anyone in town found out anything yet about the fires?  Is there anyone here who knows more about it who could help us?  Have you witnessed one of these fires yourself?”  As he asks these questions he starts pacing around the room, stroking his chin, and then waving his arms about, gesticulating.  He starts to follow him toward the back room as he speaks.

Wesprem nods. "Thought so. Y'all have the look of mercenaries about you. 'Cept her maybe." He nods at Noachi. He looks at Erbert following him, and grunts disapprovingly.Starosta Whisperthin is a good man doing an impossible job, especially with the Assembly sending your sort in here. The Baroness didn't send y'all, did she?" He sighs and shakes his head. "Not that it matters -- with these fires, the Assembly is going to be watching town mighty closely from now on."

"The most recent fire was at the Jaltrim place just down the road. Young fella, came here with his family about three months ago. Jittery sort. He was the prime suspect 'till his own place burnt. He stops at the door to the back room and scratches his beard. "Folks have seen a vagrant running around the last few days. Halfling lass, not seen her face around before. She showed up right before the fires, so now that Jaltrim's one of the unfortunates, people think she's involved. You might want to talk to Rhea Vallante, too. She used to be one of them Righteous Brand sorts until she retired. She's smart and I think she's been trying to figure out what's been going on with the fires. She's often at the tavern in town The Hearth and Plow if she ain't at her place."

"Wait here." He says pointedly to Erbert before disappearing into the dark room and slamming the door.

Noachi only

Hurmfar watches the old man disappear into the back room and close the door.

"Anyone else think this old codger is a chancer running some con?"

Despite his size, he moves quickly around the room, checking some of the cupboards and other parts of the kitchen and listens at the door Wesprem went through.

(Perception: 16 )

Hurmfar, in addition to what Noachi has already pointed out to you, you also discover, in a drawer near where Wesprem was sitting, a small black valise that seems out of place with the rest of the farmhouse. It is newer than everything else in the room and looks fairly expensive. It is locked. The other thing out of place is a half-emptied bottle of Lionett Estates wine. Its a light, fruity vintage, but judging by the bottle, it also appears to be very expensive.

As you listen at the door of the backroom, you hear Wesprem grunting with exertion as he seems to be gathering the wood he had promised you all. After a few moments, there are a few, slow footprints that seem to be heading back towards the door.

Hurmfar quickly withdraws from the door, convinced more than ever now that Wesprem is not what he appears to be. He makes sure not to turn his back to the door and is ready, just in case Wesprem comes back with more than just some wood.

Erbert keeps walking around the room, gesticulating and talking partly to himself and partly to the old man beyond the door, oblivious to the findings.”Yes, yes illusion magic could be used in this way combined with evocation to set fires and then disappear, very disturbing. I understand why everyone is so out of sorts and alarmed, this is terrible!  What to do, what to do....”

Going up to the wizard one more time, Valhik places a hand on Erbert's shoulder, halting his circular progress around the room. "No doubt we will have time to further explore the topic later my friend. The more pressing matter is all of the present dangers our friends have noticed."  The small warrior then moves around the room so as to be placed behind the door as the old man returns. Loosening his rapier in its scabbard and wiggling the fingers of his opposite hand, Valhik prepares for anything that might be about to happen.

After a few more seconds, Wesprem swings the door open. He's carrying a pile of lumber in various sizes and cuts. He looks about at all of you, seemingly aware of the tension in the room. Surprisingly, he simply sighs. "You figured it out, didn't you? I knew this day was coming, I just hoped I could have saved my own skin and found the arsonist first."

He puts down the wood and cracks his knuckles. "Which of you is it to be then?" He chuckles a bit and looks around. "I haven't been in a proper scrap since before I was Starosta. If I die this way, at least the Assembly won't be able to say Theanor Whisperin died on his knees."

"He's the leader of this here wee hamlet," Hurmfar says. "The one that's done such a crap job of it. Though that don't explain the pricey grape juice, the blood, or this shabby shack you're hiding out in, now does it?"

The man you knew as Dell Wesprem looks at you all confused. "If you didn't come to kill me? I'm sorry, but I've been alive far too long to know that's not how the Assembly does business." He sighs and looks at each of you. "You figured it out, so I suppose you're smarter than the usual rock-headed mercenaries the Assembly usually hires. Good. Maybe you can figure out this mess. I am Starosta Theanor Whisperthin. I am the leader of this town, and yeah, 'crap job' about sums it up."

He goes over to the wine and takes a big long swig. "You may not know it to look at me, but I'm a goddamned hero. Long-serving member of the Righteous Brand, honorably discharged by King Dwendel himself. The King offered me any position in the kingdom I wanted. I took the top job here. I grew up here. It's a nice place. The land is good, and farming is honest work. Providing sustenance to the Empire's soldiers is a noble duty. The people here take pride in it."

He looks at you all. "A few years ago, I get a new boss. Baroness Jenna Irensor." He says the name with disgust. "I don't know where she came from, but she don't understand this place or its people. Always pushing me to raise taxes, or increase production. She's been itching to replace me. Now she has her chance."

He looks at the bloodstains on the floor. "This really is the Wesprem homestead. Dell was a friend of mine. I was hoping he might actually succeed me someday. Whole family was wiped out in a Kryn Dynasty attack on the town five years back. House has laid empty ever since. No one had the heart to do much with the land. I thought it may be a good place to hide from...well, from you lot."

He looks at you all expectantly. "What now. If we're going to fight, I want to be a lot drunker, first."