Hurrah insomnia posting.))
((Aduial's bluff roll (with circumstance bonus) is 8+4+2=14. Missed it by
that much.))
The marshal shakes his head slowly as if trying to regain his senses before speaking. "I'm sorry, m'lady, for my... actions before. But I can not go against the mayor on your hunch."
(Point to Baron Radhan, and the guards holding him.)
Aduial would point to the Baron but when she looks his way she only sees a guard clutching his nose with the man he was restraining no where to be seen. Apparently nobody even noticed the escape amid all the arguing and shoving. But her comments about taking this matter to the mayor strike a chord with the magistrate. He yells out to the guildsmen. "She's right! She's right! Let me go peacefully. What you need to do is take this matter to the mayor at once!"
The guildsmen calm down at these words and the magistrate is wrestled away from their weakly resisting hands. He is manhandled away from the guildsmen and towards a freshly arriving trio of men at arms lead by Sargent Redgar. These guardsmen are hefting maces and decked out in armor. They grab the magistrate by the arms and shoulders and wait for orders. Taddernes doesn't seem particularly relieved at the way the situation was defused. He clucks his tongue a couple times contemplatively then speaks in a tone that seems unconcerned.
"Well it looks like the fire is under control now so if you insist on taking this up with the mayor then I'll be glad to come with you. Lorsen and Redgar should be able to take care of the prisoners... the prisoner. Seems we have a fugitive on the lose. But I'm sure that can't possibly be more important then letting the noblewoman from Dmarra complain to the mayor."
Aduial sets out for the mayors house. With her are four guildsmen, including the mayors son and the master of the smiths, with whom he was fighting before. Sargent Valens of the men at arms, who was previously occupied with the fire fighting, is the only member of the guardsmen among the group.
Winston catches up with the lady on the walk, leading her horse behind him. The horse he himself rode is absent. Aduial diverts over to him and he whispers to her that he saw the baron was escaping and allowed him to take the other horse. He accepts her instructions to return to the stables with the lady's steed.
The group arrives at the mayors house and finds the garden empty. Taddernes strides up to the doorway and bangs on it until a voice cries out from inside. Taddernes opens it and ushers everyone inside.
They find the mayor in the hearthroom, reclining in a chair and staring at the empty fireplace. He stares skeptically at the people filing into the room "What do all of you want?" he demands. He doesn't seem to exhibit the confusion or absentmindedness of before. Aduial doesn't pick up on the signs of any enchantments affecting him but she could just be missing the signs.
The mayor's son speaks first. "Father, I told these men that you are perfectly alright but they insisted on seeing for themselves. Some people..." he glares at the master of the smiths. "have been jumping to conclusions while you were under the weather."
The master of the smiths returns the dirty look of the mayors son and steps in front of the mayor's chair. "Look, Dailgon. If you are so fine then we want answers. First you jerk us around with the payments now you go and order the arrest of Alexandrus. What explanation can you offer for this!"
"You come barging into my home and then speak to me in that tone? Bah, young people today." The venerable mayor stares bitterly at the guild master in front of him who is himself middle aged at the least. "I ordered the man arrested because he was on the take from Dmarra and he had a bunch of crooks on the take from him. The halfling Orsi Stoutfoot who was caught smuggling all those items of dark magic had two golden banners on him. Says he got them from Alexandrus. Is that what you barged in here for? Didn't Taddernes tell you all this?"
"Well I'm sure I would have, mayor, but there was nearly a riot and I didn't get a chance to explain things properly." Aduial doesn't have the least trouble seeing through the man's lies this time. He does a poor job hiding his smug satisfaction at having jerked everyone around by withholding information. The mayor just grunts in reply before casting an eye around the other people in the room.
"Anything else you lot need with me?" he demands of the smith, who seems too caught off guard to come up with much in the way of replies.