Considering all you’ve got on your plate, you have to imagine the town guard is even busier. Which means Arlene probably wouldn’t be able to hand her over quickly, leaving you even shorter on help than you already are.
In fact, it would be good if you could get this thief to help you. But it’s not as if you have any reason to trust her.
So maybe you can try and work that out.
“Got a quick one for now. Were you planning on going to the festival?”
The thief just stares at you.
“What festival?”
That’s not a response you were expecting, and you don’t think it’s a bluff. Everyone else seems surprised as well.
But you can recover pretty quickly.
“The big one for Nual. Lots of people are here for it. You haven’t heard about it?”
She definitely seems thrown off. You’ve got a guess as to why.
“Maybe you haven’t been here long,” you suggest. “Only arrived tonight, perhaps. So you haven’t noticed all the fuss about the festival.”
“Maybe,” she says noncommitally. “So what?”
“Then I wonder why you said the name of a local hero, if one whose reputation is in question,” you continue. “Or was it a coincidence? Maybe you were just hungry.”
She doesn’t say anything.
“I wonder if the note mentions Captain Custard,” you muse.
She’s still not saying anything, but her expression is speaking volumes on her behalf. Whoever hired her must have been desperate for a thief – professionals would be much better at bluffing.
You need to think carefully about where to lead the conversation from here.
Suggestions:
She’s got to be pretty desperate herself to have taken a job like this (or any job breaking into government buildings) in a place that’s foreign to her, with no obvious experience bluffing her way out of tight situations. Odds are good that she’s looking for any lucky break she can get. And maybe you can give it to her.
“We can help you deliver this note to its intended recipient. And keep you out of trouble with the town guards to boot, if you need an alibi. But you’ll have to help us first. The name’s Crow.”