Sef glances at the others in the party then nods his head. He adds softly, "It sounds good to me."  He then steps a bit away from the back wall towards the man's desk as he waits to hear this induction. 

Ruz nods and stands at attention.

"No objections here." Noticing the clerk's impatience and Malcom's (understandable) discomfort, she adds, "Let's get this over with and we'll be out of your hair." She hopes to both appease the man and subtly reassure Malcom that they'll be out of there soon.

"These tokens will get you equip and grant you passage for your task," the weasel like human drones at the party holding up a medallion with the eye of Ellyria on them. "In signing this document know you agree to be bound by the laws of Ellyria. You are hence forth charged to service and protect the Empire up holding the laws and tenants of loyalty," he says putting the medallion down then holds out a scroll that hovers in the air before you. Looking at it, it says what he recited. He then conjures a quill from a pocket dimension with a purple feather and black nib. "Please make your mark," he adds gesturing at the scroll and quill.

Sef watches with interest as first the scroll floats in the air then  the pen appears out of nowhere. "Just sign it? Here in the air?" He sounds a little surprised.  And though he takes a step closer to the desk,  he still holds back,  more than willing to let someone else take the pen first.

Gale raises her eyebrows, surprised by the sudden appearance of the scroll and quill. Nevertheless, she steps forward, quickly reads the document to make sure there's no fine print, and signs her name. "Is this some sort of magically binding thing? Not every day you see a floating contract," she comments, making sure her tone is one of curiosity and not suspicion.

"I'm an Ellyrian official," the weasel man says puffing out his chest proudly as he smooths his robes. "This bit of conjuring is a mere trifle," he adds chuckling at the contract.

Passive perception Gale doesn't notice fine print but in signing her name it flashes.

OOC: Did Gale sign her real name?

((OOC: Gale put her real first name but not her last name))

(OOC: Yep! Sim is definitely trying to avoid signing the document as a spellcaster. He has no idea what will happen if he does; maybe Gale will offer a glimpse at the consequences 🤷‍♂️)

The flash is blue but doesn't seem to do anything else. The man seems to look at the others in the party with a glare.

"And think you came to me seeking out employment," he adds frowning. "Will you sign please? I haven't got all day for this needless deliberation," he adds curtly. "10 gold pieces per bounty is a lot of money. We can't just dole out this kind of wealth to just anyone," he adds his tone huffy.

Malcom uneasily steps forward and picks up the pen. He signs his name: Malcom Donborough before stepping back again awkwardly.

As he does this, Malcom will scrutinize the pen and parchement set up in order to see if he can deduce anything about it. What type of magic, what it might do, etc.

(OOC: I would guess that is arcana, but will roll something else if need be)

Arcana: 18

Taking a deep breath, Sef steps forward to take the pen as well.  He signs simply Sef, although he does try to give it an unnecessarily extravagant look.  "Well, looks like just you left, Ruz."  He lets go of the pen and steps back again. 

(OOC: Sef has Calligraphy proficiency. He's not really trying to do anything, other than make the name seem fancy and maybe more "official".) 

Ruz takes his time reading the contract, out loud in an attempt to be slightly annoying to the weasel.

Anything suspect in this contract? Is our loyalty going to involve slavery in whole/part? Have we signed stuff like this before?

OOC: Nschrock how would you divine any of those questions from the contract with a roll? Are you asking for an insight check on the man? You can't roll insight on a piece of magical paper. The words are clearly written and there seems to be no invisible script that you can detect by a passive glance alone.

"It seems your companion doesn't share your interest in your quests for the Empire," the weasel man says with a sigh as he begins to collect the scroll again with a flick of his wrist the contract is there but for a fraction of a moment more, allowing Ruz to sign or not, before rolling up and puffing into a pocket dimension which it came. "I have a business to be getting too and this isn't a hard task to accomplish but if you don't get on then we'll never know will we," he adds looking at Ruz.

OOC: Sign or don't man, you won't get paid nor will your action be lawful in the Empire's eyes if you don't have the medallion.

Sef softly laughs, then nudges Ruz. "I know you hate having to write.  Just scribble something on there. I mean, who would pass on an opportunity to serve the Empre?"

Quote from RiderofRohan86 >>

OOC: Nschrock how would you divine any of those questions from the contract with a roll? Are you asking for an insight check on the man? You can't roll insight on a piece of magical paper. The words are clearly written and there seems to be no invisible script that you can detect by a passive glance alone.

"It seems your companion doesn't share your interest in your quests for the Empire," the weasel man says with a sigh as he begins to collect the scroll again with a flick of his wrist the contract is there but for a fraction of a moment more, allowing Ruz to sign or not, before rolling up and puffing into a pocket dimension which it came. "I have a business to be getting too and this isn't a hard task to accomplish but if you don't get on then we'll never know will we," he adds looking at Ruz.

OOC: Sign or don't man, you won't get paid nor will your action be lawful in the Empire's eyes if you don't have the medallion.

 

I think I was more just trying to get a bead on whether this was normal stuff for us, but okay.

Ruz signs the sketchy paper.

"Thank you," Gale mutters to Ruz when he finally gives in and signs the contract. She was worried for a moment that he wasn't going to, which would make things much more difficult. Looking back up to the man, she asks, "Could we have those tokens now? I'd like to get going as soon as we can."

OOC: You can make rolls about things but it's DnD! It's ALL about chances and saying yes and then right?

"Certainly," the Ellyrian official says the contract disappearing and handing over to the party a medallion each. "As I said present these at the smithy by the barracks at the west end of town and they'll supply you with the basics for apprehending these bandits. Good luck everyone, and if or when you return I well require those back," he instructs nodding at the medallions.

The party is then ushered from the law master master's court and into the street. It's still fairly early morning but business about town seems to have picked up. Various shops are open and shopper as well as sellers go about their business of the day.

Ruz barely waits til the door is shut before telling the others: “I’m not sure he’s doing anything wrong, but he sure is a weasel-faced, impatient turd in the soul.” 
He begins walking towards the smith

Gale chuckles. "You're not wrong. I wouldn't say it to his face, though. He might take away our handy little passes." She flips the token up like a coin, catches it, and slips it into her pocket. As they walk, she can't help but smile at the bustle of civilization. It's a welcome change of pace from camping for the past few days, though it seems like it might be a short-lived one. "Does anyone have any shopping to do, or should we head straight to the smith?"