The Flayed Man part 15

When you emerge from the inn room, the two guards are exactly where you left them, standing watch. They don't mind letting you look, after all, given your reputations. They're talking to each other about someone's card game they're hoping to get to.

When Seldan emerges from the room, he looks between the guards talking, his entire bearing confident, schooled, pleasant - and just a little impassive. "A moment of your time, guardsmen," he begins. "Perhaps you could tell me who was on guard when the fire was discovered, or when you were first called."

Iskandar steps out of the inn and a few paces into the street to where he can peer up at the window of the Paymaster's room. While Seldan asks the questions Iskandar does his best to seem engrossed in looking at other buildings, making that much less of an audience and hopefully leaving the guards neither distracted from - nor unduly pressured by - their answer.

Malik follows behind Seldan, the archer mostly keeping quiet as he lets the paladin do the talking. For his part, he simply watches the reactions of the guards, trying to gauge if there is any strangeness in their responses.

GAME: Iskandar rolls diplomacy: (3)+9: 12

GAME: Seldan rolls diplomacy+5+2: (9)+17+5+2: 33

"Yeah, sure," replies one of the guards. Their attention is now on the lot of you and they seem curious enough and disarmed by your presence, even if they don't quite have stars in their eyes.

"Who was it?" Seldan asks the pair of them, calmly. "Is it possible that we might speak to them? Someone has ransacked the room ere we arrived."

Iskandar's ears are sharp enough to follow most of the conversation. When Seldan mentions the room, Iskandar takes a step closer and looks at him as if hearing it for the first time. Then he tilts his head back to look at the window again, thoughtfully.

Malik just moves behind the paladin. While Seldan might be the shining example of purity and light and all things heroic, Malik is -- decidedly not that. The shadowy figure keeps to the darker parts, moving as if stalking prey, eyes keenly affixed to the guards in question.

"What?" says the first guard. He scratches his head, eyes bow on the lot of you more intently. "There were a bunch of us. Are you looking for someone specific or something?" He seems confused at the moment, glancing towards his companion guard, who shrugs and adds, "What's this about?" he asks, curious. They seem willing to help, earnestly.

"This death was no accident." Seldan looks back and forth between the two, ignoring his companions now, keeping his own demeanor friendly and non-accusatory. "We had sought a favor of the man slain in this."

"..wait, do you have proof of this? We were all set to write this up as an accident," says the first guard. The second is nodding.

They both look upset, like they're realizing their night has just been complicated by that most dread antagonist of all: paperwork.

Iskandar nods in understanding. And somehow a certain hint of casualness. "Really all we want is whatever was taken from the room, whatever the resident intended for us to have." He shrugs as if to say, the rest is up to them.

Malik steps up beside Seldan, interjecting. "Do you have any idea who this man is?!" he asks, looking at both of the guards incredulously. "This is -Seldan Padaryn-, of the Silver Guard. The most famous paladin in all of Alexandria. Beloved of Eluna. Slayer of a Hundred Vampires! I mean --" He reaches into his bag, and pulls out -- a doll. A plush, stuffed, big-eyed doll bearing an extremely close and downright -adorable- resemblance to the paladin standing by his side. "The citizens adore him for his bravery, his honesty, his integrity, and his -skill-. This man is a hero to children, a legend to the common man. And you're -questioning- his honesty and his ability to determine that an act most heinous and foul has occurred on these premises?!" Malik shakes his head, turning away as if he cannot believe the affront to this man's honor that has just occurred.

GAME: Malik rolls Bluff: (1)+16: 17 (EPIC FAIL)

GAME: Malik rolls Bluff: (10)+16: 26

"Perhaps you would show them what you found?" Seldan looks over at Malik and Iskandar, mildly. "For myself may I say this --" He trails off as Malik opens his mouth. His mouth hangs open in frank shock, a blushing forming at his neck and working his way up. His mouth hangs open. He tries to find something to say. Closes it. "Malik, -what- are you..." It's no good. All the paladin can do is hang his head, every line of his frame screaming abject embarrassment.

The guards, both of them, just stare with slack-jawed shock for a moment before they add, "Well, he must be a hero if he's got a doll made of him."

"Next up, the Crimson Pen writing about his love life under a thin veil," adds the other.

Finally, they both shrug and the second continues with his thought, "The name rings a bell, aye. LOok, we got here only a little while ago, there were awhole bunch of us then. We were the relief. There's only been a couple guardsmen in and out since then and our relief will get her in a few hours." Of course, the key there is 'a couple guardsmen in and out'.

"A 'couple'...?" Iskandar repeats softly, with a look of infinite patience. No doubt they now going on another chase of the guards who are on duty, -their- paymaster perhaps, all so they can glean the first clue of who from the Frostmantles was in that blighted village at the time of that murder? Iskandar's brows begin to draw together. It's almost as if people don't want this murder solved.

Malik turns on his heel once more, looking at Seldan, and then at the guards. "Alright," he says. "And of those, how many were regulars? Did you see any new faces? Anyone that you didn't recognize?"

Seldan does not return the look, keeping his very pink face and his gaze firmly focused on the guards. "Who is responsible for deciding who is and is not permitted inside?" As he speaks, his entire demeanor takes on a thoroughly impassive and reserved air.

Now the guards are frowning.

"They both had signed orders, guys, permitting them entry. Stamped off by the watchmen sergeant. That's all we needed to see. You got in because yoiu're Guildsmen and had a good reason and so on. We're just doing our jobs here. I didn't know either of them, but there's a lot of us. I don't know every guard on the rolls just like I imagine you don't know everyone who works for the guild of explorers." He reaches into his coat pocket, producing a pair of papers. "Here. These are the signed watch orders." He holds them out.

GAME: Malik rolls Perception: (4)+20: 24

Malik takes the papers, looking them over very carefully, the wizard's sharp eyes scanning the pages as he compares them. A frown starts to form there, and he holds it over for Iskandar and Seldan to see. "Which man gave you this?" he asks, holding one of the papers out and looking at the guard that produced it. "Can you describe him?"

Iskandar peers at the papers without taking them, trying to read any names he can. Reading them at this angle and this distance is more likely to make him dizzy than to gain him any useful information but he's doing his best not to interrupt the proceedings.

Still discomfited from the earlier remark, Seldan steps back, letting Malik do all the talking her.

"Uh."

The guards glance back and forth at each other again.

"He was in uniform? I mean, look, his papers were in order so I didn't pay too much attention. I didn't know him though. Are you suggesting that his papers weren't in order?"

He's frowning.

The paperwork. The dread that's filling their eyes over the paperwork.

They could cry.

Malik looks down at the paper, then back up at them, sighing. "It's a very good forgery," he admits. "Anyone could miss it if they didn't suspect something was wrong. Especially with all the chaos. You can't possibly be blamed." Which, of course, isn't true. But the wizard has at least tried to lay the groundwork of excuses for them, relieving them of some of the burden.

Turning to the others, he says, "It seems that we've got our work cut out for us. And it's going to be a long day."