<strong>A Village in the Canopy - Exploration, hopefully of the cautious sort</strong><br/><br/>As a small token of thanks for her politeness, Kelcis bobbed in Aeryn's direction. It wasn't precisely a bow, but it was still recognizable as such with only a little squinting and interpretation. He did not, immediately, have any further words for her as he pushed himself to his feet, instead looking towards the pair of elves. "Remember my warnings," he said, simply. "I have no desire to stain my name with the, hhr, results? The results of your failure to do so."<br/><br/>He crossed to the door, allowing the trio a moment to converse among themselves. Turning away from them, however, didn't necessarily imply granting them any privacy. He listened in carefully, his movements intentionally slow and perhaps a bit too casual. As his straightforward manner may have implied, he wasn't actually that impressive of a sneak, in either words or manner, aside from his natural aptitude for stealth. More than anything, he was relying on the group being too<em>Immersed in Conversation</em>to pick up on his intrusion.<br/><br/>"Consider yourselves free to look around," he offered when he finally spoke up again. "I will have Visha -" He caught himself, realizing that the name meant little to them. "The youth who greeted you will lead you on your way when it is time to depart. My charges should not bother you overly. Deal with them as it pleases you, if they do." So saying, he herded them gradually from his home, exiting behind them.<br/><br/>A sizable crowd awaited the curious foreigners as they emerged back into the village's green courtyard. Far from the enemies they had found the night before, they had apparently been elevated to the status of dignitaries, or at least curios. A few harsh squawks and snaps from Kelcis dispersed most of the mob. Thinking his task done, he walked purposefully off to the left of the house, no doubt seeking the "Visha" of which he had spoken.<br/><br/>However, a good number of lizardfolk still trailed along behind Aeryn, Eshalu, and Reliyian, like tiny fish pursuing a swimmer. The analogy was apt, too, in that they retreated and dispersed from any show of direct attention that the group might grant them. Barring an exceptional act of charm, marvel, or inter-species diplomacy, communication (or, indeed, any useful interaction) would be difficult. Like Kelcis before them, their observation was at once easily noticeable and difficult to deal with: they mingled and disappeared into the general throng that milled about, conversed, fought, and otherwise idled away time in the center of the village.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">He's a tricky one, though not as much as he thinks</div><div class="spoiler_body">Kelcis's snooping is a Notice roll of Great/+4 quality At 2013-04-28 04:11:16, Kelcis (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-5 Result: 4 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=46036), but his attempt to conceal it is less awesome. It's a Deceit attempt that scores in at Fair/+2 At 2013-04-28 04:13:42, Kelcis (uid: 13420) rolls: 4d3a-6 Result: 2 (http://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=46037), with the fact that the trio is <em>Immersed in Conversation</em> aiding him (and awarding a Fate Point) to whoever defends against it.<br/><br/>I don't think it's appropriate to allow teamwork against the Notice roll (more speakers makes for more noise, not less, and he isn't fishing for anything beyond surface meaning). The free teamwork +2 on noticing his actions, however, should make it basically free. Notice would be defensible with Deceit or Rapport, most plausibly. Deceit, of course, gets detected by Empathy or dismantled by Rapport (though defending with the latter would entail actually calling him out).<br/><br/>Making anything but timid gawkers of the following crowd is probably a Good or Great challenge, depending on how someone approaches it. I apologize for the vagueness, but it's late and I'm honestly not that convinced of how hard I want it to be. Chasing them off will be similarly difficult. There are a good number of them, and even more saurians in total. Strength in numbers and all of that.</div></div>