Chapter Four: The Manifest of the Harikan Squall

As Zangua and Shamush watch the smiling man leave the building, one of the customers at the front desk begins to get loud and agitated, insisting that his invoice is not what was agreed upon and demanding to speak to Madam va Locra.

What's the equivalent of the Sense Motive skill in 5e?

That'd be an Insight check

Shamush is going to try and put two and two together and determine if these guys are part of a team. He has a rich history as a thug and gang member, who probably used similar tactics... and that's a whiff.

Shamush can't draw any connections between the smiling man and the angry customer. Zangua listens in. The customer is a wine-seller, and the nature of the dispute seems to be over whether some longstanding discount was to remain a fixed amount or be recalculated based on the fact that the Darcran vintner's guild raised their prices this year. The dispute ends with the clerk promising to go and fetch Madam va Locra and asking him to please have a seat.

Harrumphing, the wine merchant stomps over to the bench adjacent to the one Zangua and Shamush are sitting on. He gives the both of you a what-are-miscreants-like-you-doing-in-a-respectable-place-like-this look and sits down. The clerk heads upstairs.

There's a little distance between the stairs and the closest bench, but you have time to get up and intercept the clerk if you want.

Martjan spreads her hands. "Nothing ever truly stays hidden forever. I can only guess that Edvers hid it in the safest place he could, and I think I know where that place is. I agree that the fewer the people that know of it, the better -- but it also might not be best if I am the only one who knows of it."

~meanwhile, downstairs~

The clerk, already somewhat frazzled, gives Zangua a stricken look. "I don't know you," he says. "Excuse me." He continues toward the stairs.

"What's that about, then?" the wine-seller snaps. "Mind your own business, sellsword."

The wine-seller stands up. The other clerks are watching this scene now, and the other customers are starting to pay attention too. One of them makes a quick pivot and slips out the front door.

"P-perhaps I could get someone else to assist Master Firzal," the clerk suggests. "I-I won't disturb the meeting. If you'd kindly let me pass, please..."

Edit: When Shamush stands over the merchant and delivers his threat, one of the clerks remaining behind the desk backs up to the wall and starts fumbling for something near the shelves. The merchant just shrinks back from Shamush with a look of terror on his face.

~meanwhile, upstairs~

Martjan gives Mordred a tight smile. "I do. But I'm afraid Zee and I don't have much history of shared experiences that lend themselves to that sort of communication. However...this place I'm thinking of, I only know of it. I've never been there." She looks at Zora. "But you might have."

"I don't want to know yet," Zora says. "Dad died to keep that thing away from the people who wanted it. He had me risk my life to come here and tell you about it. Oh, and it comes with a prophecy about wiping out all life on Bload." She cocks her head. "You said the two of you studied the Sphere together back in the day? I think he thought you'd have had it figured out by now. I don't think we're safe doing anything until we know what in the Nine Hells this Sphere really is. You said that ship the elf was one might have stopped at Sood or wherever. If that's true, then there could be more copies of the manifest out there."

Martjan taps her fingernails on the table. "You know," she says softly, "you sound a lot like him when you talk."