Baptiste keeps the Yawning Mastiff with the discipline of a lighthouse and the grace of a patient cook. He speaks less than people expect and notices more than they wish. His hands remember names long after ears are busy; he can set a mug down in front of a man whose coin has not yet remembered him and make it feel like a favor rather than a ledger mistake. He lets music shoulder the first hour of any evening. Only when strings and drum have lifted the room past its own weariness does he ask the questions that matter. He does not collect secrets like trophies; he stacks them like firewood, careful of splinters and distance between logs so the air can move and the burn will be clean.
When Pierre held court by the hearth, Baptiste polished a glass in the same place he always polishes a glass when deciding whether a man is trouble or merely noisy. He answered the hunter's questions with the small truths anyone could have gathered from walking the square twice. When pressed for more, he raised one eyebrow in the universal language of we will see. About the disappearance he offers only a ledger of particulars: the door that did not complain at its latch, the bow that leaned in a posture that admitted nothing, the line of ash where boots had been warming. He refuses to dress those facts in costumes. The facts are already doing enough work.
Baptiste is trusted because he remembers where people put down their burdens when they feel safe. He sets chairs near that spot the next time. He knows which songs buy ten minutes of peace for a marriage and which dish convinces a widow to eat. He will not be the first to speak a stranger's name in a meeting, but if he says listen, Gascar listens. Rowan intends to earn what the village has given freely to almost no one: the innkeeper's unguarded opinion.
The Mastiff is not a place of answers so much as a place where answers admit they are ready to be found. Baptiste keeps it that way by not pretending to be a priest or a captain. He is the steward of the room where courage rehearses. That, as it turns out, is a form of leadership well-suited to a fog that makes other kinds go brittle.
New information obtained during session 2
Baptiste was mentioned by Hugo as the day-to-day innkeeper of the Yawning Mastiff. Though Rowan did not meet him directly this session, Hugo clarified his role and partnership with Hugo, harmonising local understanding.
New information obtained during session 3
Baptiste permitted continued inspection of Pierre's room on condition the space be left orderly. When Rowan disclosed removing the journal and the charcoal rubbing, Baptiste granted conditional trust-stressing that Gascar can abide hard truths but grows hostile to secrecy. He did not personally check the room after Pierre took the key, nor did he witness a visitor, though he conceded someone could have gone upstairs quietly.
Continuity Card (Baptiste-relevant flag): . trust = conditional (share findings; avoid secrecy).
Continuity Change Log excerpts affecting Baptiste:
[S3-00:15] Baptiste: trust neutral?conditional_trust (share findings, avoid secrecy) | common room discussion