Curse
"I'm sorry; we don't know much about the mountains," she said rather in a rushed tone, obviously a lie. "Mother?"
"Ah, yes… sorry," Fiona also said, the two of them preparing to head back inside. "We're still quite busy. Excuse us--"
"We can pay you for the information," Atlas interrupted, the two women stopping in their tracks. "Whatever the price, we can," he added, Celine looking at her mother when she sensed that she was about to bite on the offer.
"Mother… don't," Celine warned in a hushed tone, as if warning her. "We can pay off our expenses. We can--"
"No matter the price," Atlas interrupted, taking this opportunity to further lure Fiona into telling them what they know.
He knew that he had to probe her further. If she hesitated and thought about his offer, then it meant that they are indeed in need of money for whatever reason. No matter what it is, Atlas is close to getting important clues and he's not going to let that go.