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Satisfied with their gifts and purchases, Liseth and Pisca left the Sandpoint General Store in the mid-afternoon, ready to delve into the mystery of Katrine Vinder's location and the identity of her so-far-anonymous paramour.  As they enjoyed the soft sea breeze on the store's steps, they knew they only had a few hours before they were scheduled to be at The Rusty Dragon for the celebration of their successful hunt.

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This message was lightly edited by the GM at 02:34, Tue 29 Oct 2013.

"Ms Freemish, who do you think Ms Katrine's boyfriend is?  I wonder why she doesn't want anybody to know.  Or maybe he doesn't want her to tell anyone!"  Liseth thought for a moment, "Do you think that he is a bad man?"  She gasped and her hands shot to her mouth, "Oh!  Maybe he's already married!  That's so scandalous!"  The blonde teenager calmed down, "That would explain all of the secrecy though."

As the two continued to walk to the lumber mill, Liseth decided to bring up a question for Pisca, "So, Pisca...you seemed to recognize that Kerr was my boyfriend before I did.  And now Kellan is courting Ms Shayliss."  She finished innocently, "Did you have a special gnome boyfriend?  Or is that boy gnomefriend...?"

It was a pleasant day for a walk across town.  From the salt tang of the seaward side to the soft mummer of the Turandorok, on the banks of which lay the lumber mill.

"Or, Kathrine might be seeing a man so horribly disfigured that he dare not show his face in the light of day," replied the gnome, entering the game of what-if with all apparent gusto.  "His face is horrible to look at, but he has a kind and gentle soul.  Other parts of him are quite large as well.  He lives in secret, hiding in the upper lofts of the lumber mill where he often spies on the goings on in Sandpoint by posing as a gargoyle, and ...  No.  That wouldn't work."

"Maybe Katrine Vinder doesn't have a boyfriend at all," Pisca speculates.  "Maybe she's working part time at the lumber mill in secret.  Hewing boards to earn enough money for a special present for her father.  I don't know."  Marching along past the homes and buildings of Sandpoint, Pisca turned her head up to smile at the sun.  "But I want to.  To know, that is.  Don't you, Lys?"

"As to me and boyfriends ... I ... I don't think we pair up in the same way you humans do, Lysa.  I mean, to gnomes, humans seem ... obsessed with mating.  Maybe ... "  Pisca took the next few steps buried in thought, mulling the question, the answer and all the diverging pathways that questions and answers inevitably break into.  "Maybe it's from having such short lives," she said at last.  "You do a good job at it.  Look how many of you there are compared to, say, gnomes."

"To gnomes, having children just isn't that important.  First of all, once you have them you have to do something with them.  Some gnomes just aren't preoccupied with things that allow them to bring baby gnomes along with.  So you have to find someone to raise your child, and that's not always easy.  I think I was lucky to end up with Aunt Hattie," Pisca said, and simply left it at that.

"We have love, like you do.  And we have sex too, you know.  Mostly when we're babies.  Boy sex.  Girl sex.  Groups.  Other things.  Most gnomes grow out of it, though, after around thirty years.  It never seems to be the thing to stave off The Bleach."

"Here we are."  The gnome looked up into the cavernous hummie space of the lumber mill.  "Hullo!" she called out.  "Hullo!" the gnome called.  A year with the Sczarni teaches one how to talk with people.  So, when someone answered her call, Pisca went into her routine.

"Hi, I'm Pisca Neep Freemish and we're looking for Katrine Vinder.  I owe some money, you see.  We checked at the General Store and she wasn't there.  We've asked all over town, and someone said to check here.  Nice lumber mill, by the way.  How many people work here?"

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Bluff check, please.  And Sense Motive.

"I never imagined anything like that."  Mr Vinder would be so embarrassed if it turned out that Ms Katrine never really had a boyfriend after all!  But so many people in town seemed to think that she did, "Now I think that I do really want to know."

Liseth immediately regretted asking Pisca whether she has a boyfriend when the gnome started talking about her views on human mating...and having children.  She flushed red at the mention of humans being so obsessed with mating; her blush only deepening when Pisca went on to describe the promiscuity of young gnomes.

The girl was quiet for a moment, unsure how to respond, "Th-...thank you for sharing all of that with me, Pisca.  I...um...I don't think that I'm obsessed with mating..."  Of course Liseth had spent time imagining herself getting married some day and having lots of children; hasn't every girl?  But she hadn't really done any thinking about the physical act of actually making a baby.  And here was Pisca, talking about it as though it was the same as playing games with friends...

Lost in her embarrassment, Liseth didn't notice that they had arrived at their destination until Pisca started shouting for someone's attention.  She looked up at the lumber mill, then at the person that responded to the gnome.  Then down at Pisca in surprise when she mentioned owing money to Ms Katrine.  Liseth didn't know that Pisca owed money to Ms Katrine...couldn't she have just left it with her father?

She nodded along with Pisca anyway, then curtsied her introduction, "I'm Liseth Thoradin.  I thought that Ms Katrine Vinder would be at her family's store, but it looks like she wasn't there today.  Do you know if she is here at the lumber mill?"

OOC:  I don't know if that would call for a skill check of my own, or be an unwitting Aid Other to Pisca's Bluff.  Not that I would ever intentionally try to mislead somebody!

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The lumber mill was a well-built wooden structure with very thick-looking walls, a wood-shingle roof, and simple pine doors.  Timber was delivered via a small pier that jutted out into the Turandarok River.  From all appearances, this was a thriving business.

The mill's operations were well underway; things looked and sounded pretty busy.  Liseth and Pisca could hear the incredibly-loud sound of the mill's logsplitter as it strove to keep up with Magnimar's increasing demand for lumber.  The use of the logsplitter was something of a controversy around town; nearby people complained that the mill used the device well into the evening, keeping them up.  The mill, however, was owned by the Scarnettis, one of Sandpoint's five founding families, and rumor had it that their influence kept anything from being done about the noise.

A rough-looking, ill-favored man came out onto the porch of the lumber mill and gave the two women a look clearly indicating that he did not have time for them.  His mouth twisted.

"Whaddya need?"  He snarled.  "Vinder?  VEN's daughter?"  He looked slightly put out.  "No, I haven't seen her."  He glanced around.  "Why would you look here?  This ain't no place for a lady.  Check with Ven."

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This message was last edited by the GM at 18:31, Tue 29 Oct 2013.

Whaddya mean, ain't no place for a lady?

Or so the gnome nearly growled back in a passable facsimile of the man's own voice.  Instead, however, she said, "Yes.  I know what you mean.  I can't see why Katrine would be here either.  But we've talked to seven people so far who've asked why we don't check down to the mill, and when we ask why and remark upon what an odd place that would be for a lady, they gave this very odd sort of smile."

"Didn't you think that was a very odd sort of smile, Lysa?" the gnome asked her human companion.

"Do you know Katrine Vinder?  Have you ever seen her around here?  Do you know of anyone here who knows her?"  Pisca took off the big Cinderlander hat and fluffed her strawberry blond curls in the light of the afternoon sun.  "I'm so sorry to bother you when you seem as busy as you do.  But I just find the whole thing so entirely odd and confusing and you seem to know things.  I mean, you seem to have things so well in hand here.  You must be the boss.  The one who runs the mill.  Right?"

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Diplomacy check, please.
Also Knowledge Local check as to who works at the mill.

In all honesty, Liseth was quite ready to leave the lumber mill the instant that the man answered them with a snarl.  She likely would have too, had Pisca not been with her.  Liseth was just about to stammer out an apology for bothering the lumber man when the gnome replied.

Once again, the young acolyte was baffled by Pisca's words.  They talked to seven people?  She tried to figure out who Pisca was talking about.  There was Mr Vinder of course...but who else?  Maybe Pisca was talking to people around town without her as part of her investigation?  But when did she have a chance to do all of that?

Liseth ended her contemplation when she noticed that Pisca had asked her something about odd smiles.  She took a confused moment before responding, "Um...yes?"

"We are very sorry to bother you, Sir."  Liseth was quick to add her own apology when Pisca gave one.  Then she let the gnome finish before continuing, "I just want to make sure that Ms Katrine is still okay.  Her wound should be better by now, but it has been a few days since the goblins attacked and I wanted to be certain that she is doing good mentally too."  Liseth began to fidget with her hands, "See, Ms Katrine was almost killed, and lots of people don't handle that kind of thing well.  So I thought that maybe she needed somebody to talk to."  And now she started to become flustered, "But we checked at her house and she wasn't there and we were told that maybe she was here and now I don't know how we can find her!"

She didn't like to admit it, but Liseth was upset that finding Ms Katrine was becoming so difficult.

OOC:  Skill checks...Diplomacy seems to fit; if one is called for.

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The man’s scowl only deepened as Pisca talked.  “Look, I don’t know who you been talking to, but they’re wrong; this ain’t the place to find her.  It’s a fucking lumber mill!  And yes I’m busy, and no I’m not the boss, and no I don’t know nothin’.  But the boss won’t be happy if he finds me wasting time on a coupla bints who can’t stop running their mouths with silly questions.”

He began to turn away, but stopped when Liseth started speaking.  His face softened slightly as he heard her out.  “You that healing woman what’s been hanging with Kerr Mollin?  I’ve heard about you.  Heard you saved quite a few people.  And Kerr helped my ma when she was down with the Red Fever.  He's good people.”

He coughed and looked slightly abashed.  “Look.  I dunno where Katrine is right now.  But it ain’t here.  You could try up at the cathedral if you think she’s hurt; lotsa people go there if they need a shoulder to cry on.  And it's market today in the north square.  She might be there sellin’.”  He spit something dark on the ground.  “But that’s all the help I got.  I gotta get back to work.”

And with that, the rough-looking man re-entered the mill with nary a backwards look, leaving Pisca and Liseth standing outside.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 06:54, Wed 30 Oct 2013.

"Well ... "  Arms akimbo, the gnome stood staring at the empty door to the lumber mill.  "He was certainly quite rude, wasn't he?  And I'm not sure that you noticed, Lys, but there was something he wasn't telling us."

"I'm not sure that one will be any more help to us at all," Pisca added, with what can only be described as a tremendous understatement.  "Looks as though we'll have to help ourselves."

At that, the gnome followed the man into the mill with the casual air of someone who very simply belonged.  With a cheery undaunted hum on her lips, she poked her nose into every room, looking curiously about.  To every new person she met, Pisca introduced herself, asked the person's name, engaged in everyday conversation -including the subject of that lovely Katrine Vinder person- and then counted yet another of the many individuals who work at one of the biggest employers in Sandpoint.

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Perception check, please.  And ...
Diplomacy for Gathering Information.

Liseth shrank from the mill worker's continued vulgarity and offensive language, her face turning red as she dipped her head to look at the ground.  She had never met anyone that was this rude before, and the girl would really rather be anywhere else than listening to his insults.

But he did finally respond well to her final, perturbed words.  Less rudely anyway.  Liseth didn't think that she would find Mr Vinder's daughter at the market; he would have known if she was there working at a stall today.  Would Ms Katrine be at the Cathedral?  What if she was already there looking for her!?  Liseth hoped that wasn't the case.

And even this rude man from the mill knew about Kerr and her.  At this point Liseth figured that there wasn't a person within fifty miles of Sandpoint that didn't know about them.  She wasn't sure what to think about that...but it did make her feel self-conscious.

"He must have been one of the rudest people in Sandpoint.  Everyone else that I've met was always so nice...or at least not so mean."  Liseth showed no small amount of relief when the mill worker left, going back into the loud building.  She looked down at Pisca with some surprise, "He wasn't telling us something?  What could that be?  He already said that Ms Katrine might be at the Cathedral..."

"Wait!"  Liseth followed after the gnome as she went inside the mill, "Pisca, we can't go in there..."  Liseth looked around and rubbed her hands nervously when she noticed that she had already followed Pisca inside; the noise from the mill machinery was almost overpowering now that they were inside the building.  "They'll be angry at us, and mills are dangerous!"

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As Pisca and Liseth follow the rude man through the door, they can see that the mill is clearly in full operation.  Everyone present is busily working at some task that is seemingly crucial to its workings.  The incredibly-loud logsplitter makes casual conversation a nigh-impossibility.

Almost as soon as they entered the mill, a young, handsome, if narrow-faced man of medium height swooped down upon them with a look of consternation, blocking their further movement into the mill and yelling over the sound of the logsplitter.  "What are you doing in here?!?  You can't be in here!  This is private property, and it's dangerous!  Please leave immediately!!!"

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This message was last edited by the GM at 05:28, Thu 31 Oct 2013.