The Klabauterman is barely a watering hole; it's an Innsmouth dive, a castoff from the old brewery, the kind of place where the terminaly lonely and the subtly alcoholic can keep out of sight until the wee hours of the morning.
Muntz loved this place, when he was still among the quick. Day in and day out, he'd slip in for a drink, with or without some floozy hanging off his arm. Word on the street was, that's where Muntz kept his stash, all the junk and the Jacksons he'd skimmed off the Marshes over the years.
The door hinges creak like a pair of aching bastards, but the slobs that are arranged across the bar or splayed over their drinks don't even bother to look up. A low, droning monotone trickles out of the jukebox speakers, runs together with the TV talkshow jumble.
"I'm looking for Arlo Carlyle," I call out to the hunched man stuck behind the counter, struggling with a kegger. He's got a garrish rainbow-pattern shirt on, a tangle of brown hair hanging halfway down to his ass. Something that looks vaguely injun jangles against his chest.
"You're looking at him," Arlo says and I take him in all at once: the too-large eyes, the wide mouth, the nose that seems to flatten even as it nearly merges with his upper lip.
God have mercy, it's a bonafide Innsmouth Flower Child.
1. [[*flash Badge* I'm here about Fred Muntz (agressive) -> Fred Muntz (aggressive)]]
2. [[I'm looking for Freddie Muntz, you know him? (casual) -> Fred Muntz (casual)]]
3. [[What's on tap, hoss? (indifferent) -> Shooting the shit (1)]]
4. [[Nevermind -> Conversation ends, 0 points]]--1 point-
(Arlo looks at your badge, then gives you the once over. He scowls for a second, but manages a smile in the end)
"Freddie ain't been around for a while. Matter of fact, the skuz still hasn't settled his tab. And he's rung up a hell of a tab, you dig?"
1.[[Let's cut the bullshit, why don't we? Freddie was a regular (agressive) -> Fred Muntz (aggressive 2)]]
2.[[Freddie stiffed you too, huh? (casual) -> Fred Muntz (casual)]]
3.[[Well, you can't blame me for trying. What's on tap, hoss? -> Shooting the shit (1)]]
4.[[You wait right here. I'll be back -> Conversation ends, 0 points]] Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.--2 to 5 points---1 point-
(Arlo stops, halfway through wiping at his barstool, suddenly looking worried. He's trying to put up a tough act, but he's not doing such a great job of it.)
"Man, only reason Freddie kept showin' in this dive was that he'd stiffed every other joint in town. Ain't no man behind a counter would serve his creepy ass without seeing some dough, 'cept for yours truly."
(Arlo pauses briefly, combs back his hair with his fingers and composes himself.)
"What kind of shit has he got me into now, huh? It's gotta be serious, for me to have fuzz come rapping knuckles on my bar..."
1. [[Fred's dead. I'm just running through my list of suspects (aggressive) -> Fred Muntz (aggressive 3)]]
2. [[They found Freddie face down in Fall Street with two bullets in the back of his head (lie, aggressive) ->Fred Muntz (aggressive l1)]]
2. [[I can't tell a lie, Arlo. It's not looking too good (casual) -> Fred Muntz (casual 2)]]
3. [[Sit tight. I'll be back -> Conversation ends, 0 points]] -+1 point-
(Arlo looks up at you, shocked, then his eyes dart somewhere else. He's starting to get red in the face, getting jittery. From across the bar stool, a shaggy old drunkard looks up from his drink at the scene)
"Man, you wiggin' out. What the hell do I gotta do with it? All I did was serve the skuz , act all impressed when he'd drag in some floozie, then cut off his fire water when he'd start running his mouth around the wrong people."
"Swear to God, man, I'm not your guy, honest..."
1.[[You get a lot of the wrong people round here, Arlo? (aggressive, push) -> Fred Muntz (aggressive 4)]]
2.[[ Pretend to write something down and let him run his mouth (indifferent) -> Fred Muntz (aggressive l2) ]]
3.[[You look like you could use a drink, Arlo -> Fred Muntz (casual 2)]]
4.[[Wait here. I'll get back to you -> Conversation ends, Failure]] Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.