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[h2][color=6ecff6][i][b]Hugh Caphazath[/b][/i][/color][/h2][i][b][color=6ecff6]Half-Elf, Monk (Way of Shadow), Level 3[/color][/b][/i]
[color=6ecff6][i][b]HP:[/b][/i][/color] 24/24	[color=6ecff6][i][b]Armor Class:[/b][/i][/color] 17	[color=6ecff6][i][b]Conditions:[/b][/i][/color] NA
[color=6ecff6][i][b]Location:[/b][/i][/color] Darenby, The Infamous Pear
[color=6ecff6][i][b]Action:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
[color=6ecff6][i][b]Bonus Action:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
[color=6ecff6][i][b]Reaction:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
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[right][img]https://i.imgur.com/4a0uP44.png[/img][/right]
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Hugh favored the young druid’s formal bidding of goodwill with a cordial nod.

He quite carefully, however, ignored responding to -or so much as outwardly acknowledging- the Pest’s greetings or the culinary abomination she was currently concocting. He had nothing productive to say to her, nor had he much intention of doing so unless it was in the course of addressing the rest of the group or necessarily in the heat of combat. He had her measure now, so without the pounding of the truth spell against his psyche to encourage irrationality, he wouldn’t be wasting his breath.

The general pleasantries being passed around were not contributed to by himself, but in all honesty, he was contributing just by opting to remain silent, as he indulged in the bounty of protein laid out before them while passing out what surprisingly few letters were requested.

Victoria’s suggestion to split up to cover more ground was solid common sense that he could only audibly hum in commisserant agreement with… and not only in the official capacity of saving precious time on their mission. Under normal circumstances, it might be a poor idea to leave any of their number to their own devices, what with a potential traitor being among them. But in this case, it would only make it easier for any egregious missteps to be tracked to the true perpetrator. It split the roles, divided the responsibilities, and being able to more clearly see who had either failed, been sabotaged or purposefully flubbed their results could only be a good thing. Additionally, considering the Pest’s begrudgingly competent and actually useful for once suggestion of brothels as information hubs… [color=6ecff6]“Indeed. With only a week’s time to get this done, it makes no sense to concentrate our efforts like a bunch of lemmings. Having only a single point of failure and throwing all too much effort into a single line of investigation could only ever waste our precious time. Much as I prefer exacting and careful solo work, I can’t deny that splitting into perhaps three pairs would be best? Between our specialities and the potential lurking saboteur, acting alone could even be deadly if there really is something dangerous to be found… and someone with an interest in concealing it.”[/color] He nodded reassuringly at Kathryn. [color=6ecff6]“Unfortunately, while there is certainly an admirable strength in numbers, if we want to conduct a proper investigation in only a week’s time, we’ll need to be in as many places at once as feasible. Perhaps we might take larger groups once we’ve narrowed down our leads.”[/color]

The Cleric’s seemingly similar train of thought to his own on the investigation front was both reassuring to see and burned him at the contradiction in her actions the day prior. Still, he absolutely hadn’t been lying when he said he could tolerate her actions this [i]once[/i] out of professionalism. He’d made a promise to a contract, and he wouldn’t compromise its integrity so easily. If she misstepped so badly again, it would be an entirely different matter, but until such a time came to pass, he would do little more than [i]keep her recklessness in check[/i]. And unlike her purporting of righteousness, however, he would neither forgive, nor forget. He’d meant what he said. Words were utterly worthless at the end of the day, and until her actions could truly bear out her claims, he wouldn’t afford her platitudes more worth than dirt.

 The news that one “Father Restoff” was a full [i]10 days away[/i] was… [color=6ecff6]“Discouraging and unfortunate.”[/color] But at her followup, he nodded, [color=6ecff6]“Indeed, I wasn’t referring to the [i]regional[/i] mail hub. Surely there must be a mere local establishment that sends letters to the hub? If there is to be a point of sabotage, it must be either there or in the Sheriff’s own facilities, and I can’t imagine us being granted access to the latter at this stage.”[/color]

He sighed at her mention of the lead, he reiterated, [color=6ecff6]“As I mentioned before and [i]did[/i], in fact, directly ask the Sheriff about, I’ve heard tell of news that outlying farmlands have been conspicuously silent for some time. I inquired if this might be related, but our client didn’t even seem to acknowledge the question, leaving the relevance of said information still in flux. As for looking into our client, I’ll admit, despite my normal inclination to take such a veteran for their word, he has been remarkably conservative with his words. The fact that he didn’t feel that it was worth telling us of potential sabotage from the start… The fact that he disappeared at a critical time in the investigation… The fact that he seems [i]remarkably[/i] unworried by the, no offense, frankly absurd risk in sending misled [i]adventurers[/i], of all people, to bull headfirst into any situation…?”[/color]

Hugh took a long pull from his tea. [color=6ecff6]“No, I agree, and I’m far from happy that I must. Once is an accident. Twice is coincidence. But three times and so close together? Something seems amiss. I refuse to believe that any man as venerable and experienced as our client wouldn’t know just how [i]volatile[/i] six similarly motivated adventurers could be to the peace of the region, regardless of their intentions. It is far from common, but a compromised or lying client… They happen. I really hope this is merely paranoia, but it is definitely a track of inquiry worth pursuing.”[/color]

Hugh pursed his lips at Victoria’s interjection, humming along lightly till she’d finished. [color=6ecff6]“While it is true that the trap of the Letters, themselves, may have already be sprung and over with, there’s no sense throwing away even a single potential lead, no matter how thin, at this juncture, especially with nearly nonexistent options besides.”[/color] Sighing, he continued, wetting his throat with another gulp of strong tea, and nodding at the Bard and Kathryn’s commentary on assassination. [color=6ecff6]“While I encourage the rest of you to freely make your own deductions, my going conclusion is that both Marita and Kathryn’s letters are the real deal… with mine coming in as a vaguely possible third. If I had to put money on a single letter I’d almost guarantee is meant to be here, I’d say Marita’s. That and prior testimonies in mind, I believe Victoria and Naivara’s to be some of the deliberately “planted” ones. And lastly, given that both our remaining tiefling and I obtained ours by fickle chance, I am inclined to consider that we are the [i]wildcards[/i], the genuine [i]accidents[/i], assuming this was planned.”[/color]

Rolling his neck, Hugh leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms lightly, relieving some of the anticipatory ache in them from having foregone his normal routines. [color=6ecff6]“That in mind, no competent assassin would ever want to touch a mission involving “wildcards” with a hundred foot pole. While any assassin might have prepped for the eventuality of four of us, the fact that she was not even slightly in the cards and that I am as much of an exact opposite as possible to the original recipient of my letter would send any of them into fits. An additional spellcaster is always an utterly unpredictable force multiplier, and instead of a hulking brute that would have been vulnerable when they doffed their armor for the night, they instead got me, someone far more practiced at fighting in any place or condition, regardless of readiness or armament.”[/color] Sipping his tea again, he nodded. [color=6ecff6]“While nerves were high last night, I hadn’t originally considered the idea that an assassin would be far more inclined to make revised preparations, rather than capitalizing on the existing discord and vulnerability.”[/color]

He chose to tactfully forgo commenting on the subject of attempting to raise their cooked food into undead. It was better for his peace of mind.

The sudden and frightful departure of the [i]lavender[/i] tiefling, their former would-be comrade was exchanged for the approach of a serious ginger in brown, her cloak pinned by a symbol he couldn’t recall being indicative of the local guard. Marita’s own perking up and the woman’s greeting, however, were indicative of the truth of the matter.

[color=6ecff6][i]Ugh, another holy woman.[/i][/color]

Said woman turned out to be the Sheriff’s representative for the interim, and she handed a note to the Cleric. Hugh found his brow rising somewhat at that before recalling the inquiries she had made the night prior for specific information. Assuming they weren’t being fed false leads, it looked like [i]something[/i] had finally gone right.

He nodded at the introduction of the mule and wagon, neither of which were particularly welcome unfortunately. Both would require care, limited their options during travel and made stealthful approach and retreat difficult, to say the least. Additionally, a group of six adventurers was conspicuous enough without adding a mule and ride into the mix. Without using his particular Ki techniques, the party would be the nearest thing to utterly [i]trivial[/i] to track by any that wished it. The only possible advantages to having the wagon were the nightly shelter and the additional carrying capacity, but he could imagine precious few scenarios where they would actually [i]need[/i] said capacity, especially given the wagon and mule were a mere loan.

At the representative’s prompt for outstanding issues to be brought forward, Hugh cleared his throat and spoke up. [color=6ecff6]“The Sheriff spoke of additional potential rewards alongside the standard gold compensation. Given that he seems a busy man, there was no time for proper negotiations the night prior. That said, having managed to grasp the limits of reasonability, if possible, please convey that I would like to get my hands on some scribing material and the tools of an herbalist. A blank book, quill and some ink is sufficient for the former.”[/color] Sipping his tea, Hugh hummed before making a small ‘oh’ of realisation. [color=6ecff6]“Naivara, if you have come to conclude your own request’s revision by now, this is the best time to make it. It’s unlikely that anything that ‘belongs to the forest’ is in their possession, but additional gold can never never quite go amiss, especially if it’s the hands of frugal sorts with few daily expenditures. If not that…”[/color] He shrugged. [color=6ecff6]“Perhaps some spell components that you can’t easily obtain otherwise? I hear that’s often an issue for mage sorts.”[/color]

Having said his piece, Hugh quieted and leaned back in his chair. Without knowing much beyond the obvious that could be gleaned on a surface level, he had no clue what to recommend her, so he could only hope that his suggestions bore fruit. It would be a shame for her to get cheated out of due compensation.

The general conversation seemed to have turned to how to handle the new burden of, well, a beast of burden now being on their hands. The Cleric seemed a strange mixture between nonplussed and begrudgingly accepting. Victoria seemed just as lost as he was on the absurdity of such a thing even being needed. The Pest was unhelpful. And Kathryn’s own suggestion that they might be better off with [i]her[/i] pulling the wagon nearly got an audible snort from him.

A local map of the region wouldn’t go amiss however, despite already possessing one himself. If they could get an extra, wonderful; if not, he’d merely reveal his own.

Personally, Hugh could handle animals just fine… and might end up relegated to such if he wasn’t careful. While he had a general awareness of the proper mannerisms to use and techniques to employ, it was all things he’d picked up from sheer osmosis, not proper training. He had no real skill in the art, just common sense and instinct.

Luckily, it seemed like Naivara would be taking point here. While she claimed to have no real skill with animals, the ability to speak them, most likely through magic, could only help things considerably. And she was a [i]Druid[/i] for Hades sake. The very concept that she wouldn’t be better with animals than the rest of them combined was laughable in the extreme.

Almost as laughable as her heavily emphasized “attempts” at subtlety. Hugh managed to merely squeeze his eyes shut and lightly pinch the bridge of his nose, rather than cringing outright.

[color=6ecff6][i]We’ll work on that.[/i][/color] He deadpanned at the guilelessly proud look on her face. [color=6ecff6]Definitely [i]be working on that.[/i][/color]