Noell recoils a bit at Harbin's reaction, and shakes her head at Vahorn slightly.  Though she can't bring herself to be quite as blunt as her friend, she fully agrees with him on this matter.  So irresponsible... he's drunk on the happiness of having his daughter back, and not thinking about the safety of this town at all, she ponders with a feeling of disappointment.  

"Maybe we should try to speak with Aleesa more, first.   Perhaps someone with a... erm... more gentle bedside manner than Vahorn or I have could give it at try."

Hayeth steeples her fingers in front of her face looking up at Noell "I'm sure Dumasz and I can handle that, but I believe she may need a little time"

She then turns to the undermayor trying to guage how deep water they just got plunged into "Please excuse Vahorns brashness Undermayor, it is only out of concern and worry for the town and surrounding areas which I believe we all share. We understand that your relief and happiness for the return of your daughter must be great, however, I must impress that the tidings of a cult this close to your very town are dire indeed and do warrant some attention" she pauses breifly "Please remember this cult managed to catch Old Joe of guard, who by your own account is a 'seasoned trapper' I imagine it is not often he is caught unawares"

Vahorn pushes himself back off of the table scowling, "Do as you wish. As you sit in your ivory tower, feasting on the fat of the land, the streets will run with the blood of your people." As he prepares for a tirade, he catches glances from Noell and Hayeth, staying his tongue.

Hayeth smiles at Vahorn but doesn't say anything to draw attention to it she just gestures to an empty chair and nods then looks to Dumasz and back to the Undermayor with confident eyes

Seeing that nobody else seems interested in it, Lia slides the potion across the table towards her and tucks it into her bag. "Aleesa could probably use some time to recover. Something like that can do a number on you, especially if you're young and untrained. For now, it might be useful to talk to the prisoners. Have Hayeth or Dumasz offer some semblance of mercy if they speak truthfully. If not, have one of the rest of us stand in the background menacingly and use us as a threat."

Still smarting at the invasion of her hometown, Noell nods at Lia firmly.  "Oh, for that job, I definitely volunteer," she says, crossing her arms with her stare hardening.

Dumasz considers all of what’s been said. “Thank you for hearing us today, undermayor. We are grateful for any generosity, and appreciate that you certainly understand its gravity... you would not have removed yourself from interviewing your daughter more closely if you did not. The people here should appreciate having an undermayor of your caliber.”

Hayeth takes a last drink of something then grabs a strip of meat and puts it in her mouth tearing a little off then speaks "I think we should talk to the cultists first and leave the undermayor with his daughter for a while, if you will excuse us Undermayor?" She stands from the table with a respectful bow gently picking up Fay from Noell

Assuming she's not stopped before leaving she checks on old Joe, if he's still out of it she let's Fay out into the room to find a perch and keep an eye on things then heads to her companions 

[[Hayeth: Insight on the Undermayor indicates he is being truthful and forthright. His change of demeanor (below) is genuine.]]

The undermayor's atitude changes towards you all. "Fine. Reject my hospitality and my gratitude. Vahorn, you've been an ally to this town, but maybe we've been a bit too tolerant of your arrogance. You all want this to be strict business and distrust. Maybe we should lock Joe and my daughter up too, maybe they are part of it. Maybe you all are too. I should have you confined and debriefed."

He stands. "Go to the barracks, get what you can from the prisoners. I'll bring Aleesa home, it's two buildings away from the barracks where my office is. Stop by my house after you deal with the prisoners and talk to her. In the meantime I will still send those guards out immediately. I also know someone who might be of help to Joe. I'll send for them."

Hayeth stands with the undermayor "We will happily celebrate with you Undermayor, however, I believe it may be best to question these prisoners before our mind's are to addled by the affects of the alcohol we would likely drink in doing so"

She pauses thinking a moment bowing to him "You hired us as professionals to look into this matter for you, we would be betraying the trust you've given if we didn't see this through, tying off loose ends as it were. Please don't misunderstand, our intention is not to shirk your hospitality nor your gratitude it is simply to allow ourselves to fully enjoy it"

Vahorn stands at the back of the group, arms crossed as he sighs and groans at his admonishment. When the Undermayor confirms he will be sending a force Vahorn mutters under his breath, “Good. All I asked.” Before heading out the door of the Inn. 

Once outside, Vahorn nods to Hayeth, clearing his throat before grumbling “Thanks.” Taking a glance around the town, he sighs,  “The years have been too easy on this town. They’ve been softened, reaping the benefits of this land without having to lift a finger, leaving them weak and unprepared. To think, these people are descendants of the conquerors of my ancestors.” He shakes his head, grimacing. “I’ve long suffered these fool’s incompetence, wishing they could leave this place to someone who understands that there’s life out there holding just as much importance as their own. Yet still, I lobby for he safety of my oppressors, and I’m surprised when they tear me down for it.” He chuckles a little to himself, snorting angrily.

 “Let’s find out what these prisoners know then, you got any tricks to make them talk?” Though Vahorn seems to be talking about getting back to business, he seems distracted.

Hayeths jaw drops breifly at the thanks from Vahorn "N-no problem" she looks around the town with Vahorn shaking off the surprise "Well we have to consider that our ancestors don't define us, take me for example" She points to her ears and then her eyes "The people who once were conquerers are not any more, but being foolish doesn't make any worth any less"

She considers his words about incompetence carefully and for some time "Perhaps, they simply need a guiding hand? Perhaps guiding them along the correct path would give them both safety and the understanding you wish they had?"

"I have a trick, which I can try twice today and more tomorrow" She looks down "Similar to what the Yuan-Ti do, but gentler and less to do with being a snake"

“Sounds like a nice trick. Better to be a snake than a greedy pig anyway,” he glances back at the tavern, “No, that’s unfair to pigs, they really are quite lovely creatures.” 

Vahorn considers Hayeth’s suggestion on the walk to the barracks, ”I’m sure these people are easily led, I just don’t have the patience to deal with them. Besides, leave them alone for a second and they’ll go back to their nature, just like those snakes left us alone when their masters fell. The difference is, a snakes nature is to survive, feed on rodents, keeping them from infesting the land, one day becoming prey to some passing bird; whereas human nature is to dominate, bend the will of the land to their own desires and ultimately destroy.”

You encounter Manciple Tobias leaving the barracks. "Hail and well met!" he says. "I'm so happy you have returned safely. Any sign at all of my dear colleague Derrek? I took the liberty of trying to convert these poor lost souls to the light of the hearth. Two seem open to the idea, the others a wavering in their commitment to their serpent lords, you should really lean on them to get what information you can."

Hayeth raises an eyebrow seemingly thinking something to herself as she sees the Manciple "Greetings Manciple, you're quite quick on the draw, the prisoners haven't been long in town"

Then she says quite loudly turning to Dumasz (assuming he's followed) and winking out of view of of the Manciple "Say Dumasz, you wouldn't happen to have any magical means of forcing the truth out of someone would you?"

“No sign of him yet, hopefully they won’t be spilling his blood tonight.” Vahorn states plainly. “Did you find anything out from your converts? All we could get out of most of them was a strange snake language.”

Noell follows the others to the barracks.  "Lean on who?  The cooperative ones?  That might undo all your hard work.  The less cooperative ones haven't even bothered to talk with us.  Though... it would be helpful if someone here could understand what the heck they were saying," she mutters dejectedly.

“Magical? No. But I’ve been known to make a person feel the dragon’s eye on their heart without it. I recommend starting with less aggressive means first, however. A threat cannot be taken back and must be followed through. It darkens both ends.”

Lia scampers forward to catch up with the others. "I mean, I know a few of my elders who can communicate with foreigners no matter which language they speak," she comments as they walk. "But that would be a long ways to bring the prisoners, and I don't know if the information they have is worth spending all that time. Plus, who knows what could happen to Derrick while we were gone."

"I think they can probably speak common friends and just choose not to" Hayeth says giggling a little "Odds are they didn't always follow the snakes, and if they speak it and my magic works I think we'll have the information we need, and if it doesn't I'll just need to rest a little and I can try again today"