CHILCHUCK — "Make it quick, yeah?" The half-foot is several drinks deep, an adventurer's preferred state. "I don't make a habit of talking to Canaries."
ELECTROCHEMISTRY — I'll have what he's having.
CHILCHUCK — He waits like a pin for your first raking pass.
- - "What do you know about necromancy?"
- - "I've heard you're organizing adventurers. You can't do that, it tarnishes the divine authority of Her Ethereal Majesty's glorious Elven nation!"
- - "I've heard you're organizing adventurers. Do you not trust market forces to set a fair price for sneakthievery?"
- - "I've heard you're organizing adventurers. It's a good start, but when do you behead the governor and let the streets run with the blood of shopkeeps and other petty-bourgeois pigs?"
- - "I need to gather my party." [Leave.]
YOU — "What do you know about necromancy?"
CHILCHUCK — "Necromancy? You mean the forbidden arts? Dark magic? Officer, why in the hell would I know *anything* about that?"
DRAMA [Challenging: Success] — My liege. 'Tis not just spirits on his breath. Smell it: the savory scent of a *lie.*
EMPATHY [Legendary: Success] — There's a sorrow he's trying to hide.
- - "Seems like a useful skill to pick up."
- - "She's gone, isn't she?"
- - "Let's talk about something else."
YOU — "She's gone, isn't she?"
CHILCHUCK — "What are you...?" His eyes widen - it's just a flicker. He shakes it away. "What are you saying, officer?"
EMPATHY — It's there. Deep in there.
- - Wait, how do I know this?
- - "I said she's *gone,* isn't she?"
- - "Nothing. Never mind."
YOU — Wait, how do I know this?
INLAND EMPIRE — You ask from the bottom of a hole. You already know this.
EMPATHY — A pain you've borne for an age of men, alone. It's there, fresh, in the tiny mirrors of his eyes. He feels it, too.
- - "I said she's *gone,* isn't she?"
- - "She's gone... and she took the kids."
- - "Nothing. Never mind."
YOU — "She's gone... and she took the kids."
CHILCHUCK — He scowls. "You know what? Officer, this interview is over. Any further questions will have to go through a guild representative."
PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Medium: Success] — His hands shake around the stein. A liability for a locksmith.
AUTHORITY — Bingo.
New task: Call her.
