Borealis will get up and quietly walk down towards the kitchen. Is it Marie or her father?
Sounds like Marie.
Borealis makes his way round and tries to catch Marie.
"Marie", he says gently, "may I see your doll?"
The girl looks up when Borealis enters the kitchen. "You shouldn't be here! Papa will be angry is he catches you. I'll come to the common room as soon as I'm done here."
She smiles, "I'll get Suzanna before I join you!"
She does just that a few minutes later.
When she returns, Borealis says "Now I've been to see a cloud. The cloud says he can't move, as he's being held here."
"Oh, Suzanna is pretty! Does she have another doll inside her?" Borealis asks.
"Isn't she?" says Marie brightly. "She does! How did you know?"
Not waiting for Borealis' answer, she explains, opening the shell doll and showing you. "You see, Suzanna is a mamma doll. She has her daughter with her always," she prattles on. "Her daughter is also named Suzanna and she is a mamma too, with a little girl. The Suzannas always keep their family close, that way they are never lonely and the little girl knows she is loved always."
Borealis smiles warmly. "I'm sure you are loved every bit as much as the Suzannas. What does the innermost doll look like?"
"Just like her mamma and grandmamma, just smaller and prettier."
"May I see her?" he asks. Borealis keeps calm, wanting the girl to show him what he needs to see.
"Of course, she will be happy to see you too," says Marie. She twists the doll, seperating the top and bottom halves. That reveals a second, smaller doll, not as damaged as the outer one but still showing many years of use. It looks just like the outer doll, and separates just the same way. The third, smaller doll, is again showing less wear and tear than the first two, but is otherwise an identical smaller copy.
"Oh, isn't she pretty!" exclaims Bonisagus. He reaches in to retrieve the smallest doll, smiles, and gives her an experimental rattle. Does it sound like there are any more inside?
Nothing rattles inside. It is a little heavier than he expected, however.
Examining the little doll, he looks for any sign it might be magical.
"I know Marie, I can try some Latin words! Have you heard any Latin?"
(Using Bold Words and normal gestures he attempts to cast an InVi spell to tell if he's touching something magical. Unlikely to work, but worth a try.
In 4 + Vi 0 + Sta 1 + die roll 5 minus any aura penalty - unlikely to yield a result.
Does my Int of 3 and a Magic Lore of 1 yield any facts?)
Marie steps back when Borealis starts yelling in Latin and gesticulating wildly, a bit scared.
As Borealis' spell goes off, he detects just a slight impression of magic.
Closer inpection of the doll reveals a very thin line of silver at the seam where it should seperate.
Borealis holds up the doll and says "Look, Marie, I think the little one opens again!"
He then puts his fingernails into the seam and tries to open it.
The silver resists Boraelis' efforts to open the doll. Perhaps it was used as some sort of join to seal the doll closed? He just can't get his fingernail in to pry it apart... perhaps a sharp knife would give him proper leverage to break the seal. Or a minor spell.
Borealis considers a spell, but realises his master taught him Auram rather than Terram so any petty spell he tries will fail in the town's aura. He tries his eating knife, to see if that will make a good lever to open the doll with.
When she sees Borealis take out his knife to work on her doll, Marie moves forward, trying to take it back. "No! You'll damage it! Please don't kill Suzanna!"
She starts crying as she grapples (not very effectively) for her doll.
"I'm not hurting Suzanna! I'm helping Suzanna's insides!"
Borealis begins to wonder if he should have left the whole business to a more Gently Gifted individual, or told a wise woman what was happening and left them to it. Still, he had to try or the town might be in trouble.
He puts the knife into the silvery metal and tries to prize the doll apart.
With Marie trying to grapple Borealis for possession of the doll, he tries to pry it open with his knife...
(OOC: Make an attack roll against the doll. Because of Marie's interference, the Ease Factor to pry the doll open is 9 and you have 2 extra Botch dice. If you fail this round, you can try again next round, or you may decide to subdue Marie before you do.)