Ask in what manner do they notarize their contracts. Is it a verbal agreement, or must something be signed?

Violet the Screeching Creature

Hold on. You don’t have nearly enough details to sign this contract, and surely there needs to be a notary or at least a third party witness. If this is a legal agreement, then legal procedure must be followed.

The beast’s tail whips from side to side. “Come now, mouse. You are an honest knight, are you not? And you know that I am an honest fox in an honest profession. We do not need to quibble over details or waste our time with solicitors. This is a gentlemen’s agreement! When we swear an oath, we do not break it.”

Ask for more information on the contract and say you need to check with your boss to make a deal.

Patrick

You scratch the back of your head and shuffle your feet. You would like to sign the contract, you say, but it’s not your deal to make. Blademaster Alex would be furious if you signed a contract on his behalf.

“Alex? Ah, your commanding officer. It’s true that our seniors can sometimes be stubborn to reason. But you are a convincing mouse. And I am sure that, once you give him this, he will be much more understanding.”

The vulpes reaches behind a nearby bush and tosses a gold-plumed, red hat at your feet. You pick it up gingerly. You feel a swirling mess of emotions, a bitter cocktail of relief and anger and helplessness.

You mutter a “thank you”.

Hurriedly agree with whatever the vulpes says so you can escape this encounter unscathed!

Cal

You reluctantly agree to the terms of the vulpes’s contract. You say that you will return home with the knights immediately. You add that you aren’t sure if this hat will be enough to appease Alex, but you’ll do your best to convince him.

“See that you do,” says the vulpes. “The contract has been sealed. You are free to go.”

You walk backwards slowly, refusing to break eye contact with the beast. Only once you’ve left the vulpes’s line of sight do you turn and run, scrambling through undergrowth and brushwood, over rocks and under hedges, until eventually you find yourself back in the clearing outside Solhill.

There’s nobody here. The group must have started their investigation without you.

The air hangs still and silent. You take the opportunity to dust off your clothes and wipe off your sweat. You take a deep breath. You ought to form a strategy before you venture into Solhill. Will you tell your comrades about the contract? Will you try to convince Alex to go home or to stay put?

What will you tell the group?