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[h2][color=FF6C5C][i][b]Marita Bärbel[/b][/i][/color][/h2][i][b][color=FF6C5C]Human, Cleric, Level 3[/color][/b][/i]
[color=FF6C5C][i][b]HP:[/b][/i][/color] 18/18	[color=FF6C5C][i][b]Armor Class:[/b][/i][/color] 12	[color=FF6C5C][i][b]Conditions:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
[color=FF6C5C][i][b]Location:[/b][/i][/color] The Infamous Pear
[color=FF6C5C][i][b]Action:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
[color=FF6C5C][i][b]Bonus Action:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
[color=FF6C5C][i][b]Reaction:[/b][/i][/color] N/A 
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Marita was both kind of happy that Victoria had noticed her make-up and rather annoyed at the way she complimented her. She couldn't help but feel she was getting a sarcastic jab in at her even when the words were spoken with what sounded like utmost sincerity. There was just something about how she carried herself that made Marita question how much of what she said she actually meant. At least she didn't have to worry about that with Kosara. She wondered if the tiefling was even capable of sarcasm. In response to their compliments she tried to smile politely, her mouth filled with food as it was but mostly failed.

Botched attempts at pleasantries aside, the cleric couldn't help but notice the... creation Kosara was assembling. She had become reaccustomed to the ways commoners ate, removed from the etiquette expected of fine dining, but this was beyond that. This sort of stunt was something that an unruly child would concoct before discovering after a correction from mother and a nasty stomach ache hours later that there was indeed a reason people ate things the way they did. Marita shook her head and tried not to look that way again.

So she glanced over towards Hugh. He sat as far from her as possible, which was understandable if a bit petty. Still, he wouldn't be able to do this forever and she was a bit curious how long he would manage to keep it up before some circumstance forced him to not avoid her. It would be very easy to play the same game back at him, but when she said she would forgive him, she meant it Zone of Truth or no. And while she had no desire to befriend him, she did want to make him see the error of his words. She would prove that her calls for group unity were not hollow in the slightest and make him acknowledge her, even if he'd never admit it. Ah, speaking of which.

[color=FF6C5C]"Quite, interrogating every random passerby is about the least productive manner by which we could conduct this inqu- investigation."[/color] Marita corrected her slip of tongue. It was common practice in the temple to refer to any sort of investigation as an inquisition and that bit of slang hadn't left her. She shifted her body position and began to speak more officially, addressing the entire party. [color=FF6C5C]"Knowing what little we know now the best lead would be to talk to the friends and family of the known disappearances. If we had more time we could have tried to look into the letters, but I believe the closest traceable messengers is Father Restoff who is 10 days away. Everyone else is either of unknown location or identity.  If you really want to get to the bottom of the letters, then trying to dig up something quick while we're still in town would be the best time, but I think that at worst we'd be wasting precious time better spent elsewhere. There's also that potential lead that Hugh discovered before the meeting day. I don't recall if he ever said outright what it was, but seeing as how he hasn't brought it up now, it's probably irrelevant. Finally,"

"Finally, we could look into the client ourselves. I don't want to doubt the man who hired us in the first place, but he has acted rather suspiciously up to this point. That said, I'm still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I'm not ruling out the possibility that that is a potential road we might have to go down."[/color]

When the lavatory door flung open Marita looked over to spot Alastor? They made eye contact for a fraction of a second before he ran out. If she wasn't so confused about the entire situation, she perhaps would have tried chasing him down, but she lacked the presence of mind to even think about such things. The appearance of the stout guardswoman only served to bring her back from that odd experience and begin focusing again. Based on the pins she wore, she likely worshipped Lathander and Chauntea, two locally respected gods with whom she bore no issue. The greeting further confirmed her suspicions. Regardless of who she worshipped, it was nice to see someone pious who wasn't explicitly part of a church's internal hierarchy. Before her exile, Marita hadn't truly known the extent to which service to the gods was merely lip service paid when in a temple or when they were in need of something.

Marita accepted the paper and took a look inside. Aha, at least he had remembered to give her the form she had requested. After confirming it was what she had expected, she folded the slip again and returned her attention to the guard. She could read it over in detail later. She listened to the stated instructions and was not sure how to feel about it. She was fairly sure that this wagon had not been brought up before, nor if they actually had need of it. And mules were rather odorous. But it could be helpful. That aside, she couldn't think of a question she would give this subordinate rather than Gregory himself, but maybe someone else did, so she remained silent for the time being and waited to see if anyone else spoke up.