[PF] Mal De Mar IC I

[fendrin]

Red

Mumbling something to herself, Red snaps the letter shut and hands it back over her shoulder to Tommy.
Doesn't he know how annoying that is? Whatever.

She take a sip of the honeyed milk, grimaces, and puts it down.
Too sweet.
I think it's delicious.
Do you, or are you just being contrary?
Heh. You decide.

With a sigh she turns her attention to contents of the letter and the various things that the mayor and the others had been saying.
"Wolf marks. Horrid lion. Window broken... but the story I heard said that the fight started before the glass broke, and that the shards were on the snow. That means the window was a means of escape, not intrusion. You don't shout about kings to animals - so there was probably someone else there.... but only one stranger was seen, and the other was inside before the glass broke. Either they entered with magic, or... did any locals go missing that night? What made you conclude it was a horrid lion? Size of the marks and strength needed to do that damage, or were there more specific clues, like fur or paw marks? Could it have been something else, like a werewolf or demon? Were there any tracks outside other than the stranger's?"

Slow down, give the man some time to answer.
With a wordless mental growl of annoyance towards the thing that lived in her head, she relents - her thoughts however, continued to whirl at the same frenzied pace, trying to make connections, to fit the puzzle pieces together. There is an answer, a single true account of what happened that night, and she wanted to know what it was.

Avala. Neatha. Old lord is the Old King? Who are 'those of the old times'? The phrase 'what I really am' - literal physically am, like a werewolf hiding in human form or a demon possessing a body, or more figurative, see him as a coward, a traitor, a thief, or something like that? Maybe it's connected to the corruption mentioned? Was the stranger writing this letter, or the recipient, trying to to find the sender? Or perhaps neither - a hunter sent to track down Avala? Maybe Avala was hiding here and was finally caught?

Too many unknowns. Focus on the knowns, avoid assumptions.

Spoiler: Mechanics

Show

Is the mayor hiding anything, or intentionally being misleading?
Sense Motive (1d20+5)[12]

Knowledge-fest! If anyone thinks of anything else I should roll about, let me know.

About the Old King and the people named in the letter - Avala, Neatha, the old lord, 'those of the old times':
History (1d20+9)[10]
Nobility (1d20+9)[28]

About the gods and the prayer - anything unusual or interesting?
Religion (1d20+9)[24]

About any locals that might have gone missing and Uma
Local (1d20+9)[17]

About horrid lions
Arcana (1d20+9)[24] edit: oops, I originally had horrid lions and demons together, this was supposed to go with the demons when I split them up.
Nature (1d20+9)[16]
History (1d20+9)[27]

About the Nemesis event and demons
Planes (1d20+9)[18]
History (1d20+9)[23]