*stifles a choke*

"Gah ... YESss!  I'd love to swap ... um,  ... stories with such a strong and, ah ... hairy soldier.  I'm sure your stories are as, um .... long as your beard?" I make an attempt to strut seductively forward.  It may appear more like I have a rock in my boot.

[Bluff 9+3 = 12]

Please, Khyber, just swallow me whole now.

The dwarf, despite his youth and credulousness, still appears somewhat dubious about this.  "I mean, if you're not sure, we shouldn't do anything, you know," he says, with the earnestness of his age.

The dwarf, despite his youth and credulousness, still appears somewhat dubious about this.  "I mean, if you're not sure, we shouldn't do anything, you know," he says, with the earnestness of his age.

Pull it together.  Fail this and that ghost's taunts will haunt me for the rest of my days.

"Oh.  I *want* to, Kellark," I purr as I slide up close to the dwarf.  I reach a hand around his beard and tug it *hard* so that his face is close to mine.

Normally when I'm this close to a person, I'm chewing out some private over his idiocy.

Focus.

"Tell me ... Kelly ... can I call you Kelly? ... do you have any friends?  Who do you see when you're on big, important, missions?"

[Bluff 16+3 = 19]

He smells of beard tonic and liniment oil.  His breath is tinged with ... is that cabbage? 

Is he ... is he starting to drool?

"Not around here," he says, honestly, and, "I don't go on important missions."  Then he grins at her.  "You now, I guess," and leans in to smooch her.

Gah! 

No!  Keep it together.  Focus.

Still gripping on to his beard tightly with one hand, I use the other to deftly intercede between his own puckering pie hole and my own Hells I hope I'm not grimacing mouth.

"Tsk. Tsk." I teasingly scold. I push my fingers against his lips to put some distance between us, and at the same time pull on his beard, hoping in coaxing him off the pony.

"Not here silly Kelly ... everyone will see.  Got some place ... private?  What about your outpost?  There aren't groups of well armed travelers coming and going from there, right?"

[Diplomacy 13+3 = 16]

His lips are moist.  Moist.

[Moist is a horrible word, no matter the language it's thought it.  It's a horribler feeling for poor Pepper.]

"Nope," he says, smiling goofily at her.  "Just me and a grumpy old corporal."

Ah. That'll do nicely.

"Soldier!" I bark. "Stand to attention! And explain just what the Hells you think you're doing sharing intelligence with a complete stranger. You realise you could just have told the enemy that the outpost is all but undefended?"

[Bluff: 19 + 15 = 34]

Ah. That'll do nicely.

"Soldier!" I bark. "Stand to attention! And explain just what the Hells you think you're doing sharing intelligence with a complete stranger. You realise you could just have told the enemy that the outpost is all but undefended?"

[Bluff: 19 + 15 = 34]

"Uh," the dwarf says, as his body snaps to attention, if not his mind.  "What?"

"That is 'uh, what?' Colonel," I retort, moving Fluffy a few paces closer. "I find out you've been trading military information for favours again, you'll be on skeleton polishing duty for the rest of your career. Understood? Good! Now, report, soldier! Any suspicious activity, any unusual groups of travellers, anything out of the ordinary you have witnessed during your excursions from the outpost in the last three months. At the double!"

I think that's how it's done. Maybe. Eh. Close enough.

[Bluff: 13 + 15 = 28]

"That is 'uh, what?' Colonel," I retort, moving Fluffy a few paces closer. "I find out you've been trading military information for favours again, you'll be on skeleton polishing duty for the rest of your career. Understood? Good! Now, report, soldier! Any suspicious activity, any unusual groups of travellers, anything out of the ordinary you have witnessed during your excursions from the outpost in the last three months. At the double!"

I think that's how it's done. Maybe. Eh. Close enough.

[Bluff: 13 + 15 = 28]

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" he barks, basic training coming back to him.  "Nothing out of the ordinary to report, ma'am!  Not even on the dates I was dispatched to deliver reports, ma'am!"

"Better," I reply. "And where were these reports delivered? By whose order? To whom?"

"Better," I reply. "And where were these reports delivered? By whose order? To whom?"

"Corporal Maerer, ma'am!  Today I was sent to Lookout Point Delta!  Three weeks ago I was sent to Lookout Point Beta!  Three weeks before that, Lookout Point Delta!  Three weeks before that, Lookout Point Gamma!"

[Insight: 3 + 14 = 17]

[Insight: 3 + 14 = 17]

You believe he is telling the truth, and while his dates might be a little approximated, he seems confident in what he's saying.

"Alright, then," I say. "You have any questions, Sergeant? Or are we done here?"

"Alright, then," I say. "You have any questions, Sergeant? Or are we done here?"

"No Sir!," I growl as I pull *hard* on the dwarf's beard and bring his nose to nearly touching mine, "I think we are done here, Sir!"

I let go of Kellark, my green eyes flashing darkly, and turn to recover my mount.

"Ready to go!"

"Good," I reply. "Soldier! We were never here. You have never spoken to us. You have never met us. You do not know of our existence. Is that clear?"

Whatever happened here, stays here, I rue.

"Good," I reply. "Soldier! We were never here. You have never spoken to us. You have never met us. You do not know of our existence. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!"  he says, snapping a credible salute.   But as you go, you barely hear him mutter under his breath, "I wish."

"That went pretty well, I thought," I say, once I'm confident the dwarf is well out of earshot. "Let's get back to the others, yeah?"

*glares*

"The mission was a success," I flatly reply.

"We must return with alacrity.  Otherwise the others may compromise themselves in order to extract us.''

"Hiyee!" I kick my boots into the raptor and it launches itself into a run.  I don't bother looking to see if the ghost is with me.

I shrug and follow.

Mari and Pepper make it back to the rest of their group without incident.

I wait half a moment and then ask.

"Well, what happened?"

"Reporting."

"We successfully intercepted the person of interest."

"He confirms earlier intelligence.  Every three weeks for the previous nine weeks he has been sent away from Look Out Point Alpha on errands.  He is unaware of us or any other group emerging from the tunnels.  He and the Corporal are the lone occupants of Alpha.  He himself is of little importance other than that he is a security risk."

I assume a parade rest stance.

Seeking security in routine.