Naithair takes Serena's hand reverently, bowing his head over it as if to kiss it, but his lips do not touch her skin. His gray locks cover his face for a moment.

He returns her hand with a twinkle in his eyes.  "M'Lady, Naithair enjoys life! Especially good food, drink, music, maybe a little mischief", his smile laughs as he says, "and apple pie! Did I mention Durnan knows the secret to good pies?". He winks at Serena as he sits back down.

Still smiling he digs into the steaming pie that the barmaid has set before him while she clears the aftermath of his previous apple carnage.

Flappy lowers his muzzle softly onto Serena's shoulder as they both observe Naithair eating. The little dragon's eyes ablaze with amazement.

As Naithair eats he hums, almost singing, a melody. How his large smile consumes the pie in gulps, gives Serena the impression of a baby bird eating. It actually reminds her a little bit of how Flappy eats treats she gives to him. 

The slender halfling finishes his pie and reaches for his tankard, beaming. After taking a few quenching gulps of beer, he sets down the mug closing his eyes in merry contentment. 

When he opens them again, he asks with a grin, "and what of you Lady Serena? What keeps you busy in the City of Splendors currently?"

Meanwhile ...

Banjo enjoys the chance to work with the weave at a more relaxed pace, focusing on those spells more often used outside of combat rather than in it.

Through his casting of Identify he learns that the odd swirly sandy potion is a Potion of Climbing

The scroll case, while not magical is of high quality and would likely fetch a decent price (~5gp)

The small figurine is intriguing. It is lovely, but mundane. However, in his castings of detect magic (as any self respecting wizard would do with such a haul), Banjo notices traces of dark weave - as if touched or tainted at some time by something fiendish.

With this surfeit of new knowledge, Banjo goes about learning the new spells from the scrolls and entering them into his spellbook.

As he sits down to do so, he opens his book to a new page. He hears a small cough - must be another library visitor.

Banjo summons his Wizardly Quill, and begins to transcribe the first spell. He begins with an illumination in the upper left corner of a spider web. As he puts the finishing touches on the illustration he pauses and appreciates his work. Holding the book away to get a good look at how the page looks with his drawing, he hears a voice - "creepy".

Banjo looks around, wondering if someone else might have noticed his work. No one else has come into the section he is working in. Hmmm - perhaps just a scrap of a conversation from another area.

With the aid of his quill, he completes the first spell, which glows for a moment in his book. The letters set into the page as the glow subsides, but they are changed. Not the words, but the script in which they are written... the letters themselves almost look as if they were strung together with spider silk - almost.

Odd.

A little wary, Banjo turns the page, the ink being set, and prepares to inscribe the second spell. He pauses a moment with the quill hovering over the blank parchment. Then he shakes his head - "You're just being silly Banjo, to be sure!", he says quietly but firmly to himself - emboldening him.

The quill sets down upon the parchment. He is not sure how he will illustrate this one, so he starts with the text rather than the illumination. This flows neatly and quickly along. Very nice. He has missed this time with his book and quill. He really must find more time to spend with them, he resolves. As the quill completes the last strokes, the words again glow softly and set to the page. Banjo starts for a moment at what he thinks is ink bleeding in the paper - the quill does not usually do that - what a shame. As he is just about to reach for a blotter, he notices that a similar effect is occurring across the page - in particular along the margins and the space he reserved for an illumination. The ink from the letters seems to flow out in twists and streams, lacing up and down the page. Banjo watches in amazement as in a few seconds an intricate lattice has been illustrated about the page with little figures - who all look quite like Banjo, are climbing all about - even at the top! The ink glows again and sets. "Been places with a lot of spiders?"

and elsewhere in the South Ward .....

Erna and Tresvar survey the front gate of Dankmire with its dual watch points. Erna whispers to Tresvar, "What do you think commander?"

"I might not be quite the apple pie enthusiast Nathair, but I believe we enjoy life pretty much the same way then." Serena says with a soft giggle, ordering an apple pie for Flappy to indulge in if he wants it. "I suppose I'm waiting for my next assignment for Volo's Adventurers' Guild, but in the meantime I spend my days with Maestro Juro Flynn to improve my fencing skills and the nights enjoying life to the fullest with wine, games, song, dance and good company." She explains, taking another sip of her wine. "So what brings you to Waterdeep then Nathair? Is it these exquisite pies, or is it mischief, or a little of both perhaps?" She asks with a curious smile, leaning a bit closer to the halfling.

"Oh ho ho!" chortles the cheerful halfling, "Mischief, of course, Lady Serena, but not my own. I am happy to find you rested. Oh ho ho! That is getting ahead of ourselves. Soon, but not yet." He winks a cheerful grin, his light blue locks thrown back above his brow. "Have you tried the honey roasted nuts?" He asks pointing to a bowl across the bar on the other side of Serena.

Serena, despite herself, turns to find the indicated nuts "They are excellent," states Naithair. Turning back to him Serena begins to ask a question, but the halfling is gone.

[Banjo remains silent for a long while... worlds upon worlds turning in his mind.  Either he has completely lost his marbles... or he has ascended to some new, higher plane of thinking; of arcane mastery unheard of in the modern age....  Yeah... that's gotta be it.]

"Erm. Well, no not exactly.  As it happens, thus far our adventures have been mercifully light on arachnids."

"Who exactly am I speaking with at this moment?  Are you alive?  Are you me?  Am we us?"

Banjo sits in silence a moment, then from behind him he hears a cough.

He turns to see Tyrus with a large bundle of scrolls leaning in with an embarrassed look on his face, "Uh, Master Banjo, were you talking to me?"

"Oh, Tyrus," Banjo says, more than a little embarrassed himself.  "Didn't see you there.  And please... call me Banjo.  Or Master Jebeddo.  With 'Master Banjo', you're mixing the formal with the informal and it just sounds... no.  After all, improper application of titles and nomenclature is the first brick to fall before society collapses."

He takes one last sideways glance at his spellbook, before closing the cover and standing up from the desk.  Eager to clear his head, he offers to assist Tyrus in what looks like some mundane filing.  It should give him some time to digest his experience.  Once they are finished, he will ask if Tyrus knows where Sneeze can be found.

Serena quickly looks around to see where cheerful halfling went but as she can't see him she giggles and shrugs. "That was a most peculiar little halfling, wouldn't you say Flappy?" She says to the tiny green dragon, petting him on the head while he devours an apple pie of his own.

Unless there are more interesting events that evening at the Yawning Portal, Serena would eventually return to her quarters, sleep well, dreaming of the mischievous Nathair. The next morning she is ready for a new day of fencing instructions and practice.

Flappy looks at Serena and makes a grimace, almost like he was trying to imitate the halfling. He then proceeds to merrily attack his own pie.

When Serena offers to settle up before leaving for the guild, the barmaid informs her that all her libations had been covered by "that funny little halfling who enjoyed pies. Must have a tapeworm... don't know where he put it all."  

Then, rummaging her purse she says, "Left this for you maam." 

The barmaid holds out a gold coin which Serena takes. It is very shiny, but also old. It is not the typical dragon that passes in Waterdeep. It is hard to discern which side should be 'heads' or 'tails'. One side of this coin has a diamond with a star pattern entwined inside it. Around the diamond are floral designs in delicate patterns. The other side has only an enormous, yet familiar, grin across it.

Serena has become accustomed to walking her way back to the guild in good weather. As such, she does so tonight.

Her head still swimming with the curious evening, she does not notice the men following her until three more step out from the shadows in front of her.

In the middle of the group is Kurt. As his companions circle about Serena she thinks that they may smell worse than he did... how did she not notice?

All the men hold weapons of some kind or another. Kurt has a sword in one hand. The other hand he holds out, palm up as he approaches.

"I think I be taking back the money you stole from me."

Serena, roll initiative!

Tyrus stammers, clearly befuddled and more than a little nervous now, "Oh... Oh! Yes. Of course. Banjo. Quite."

He accepts Banjo's offer, but it may be more out of flustered discomfort than out of actual need. The filing goes rather quickly with Tyrus doing most of it himself.

At Banjo's inquiry about Sneeze he seems all too helpful in getting the curious gnome off to another part of the guild - and out of the library for now.

"Sneeze? Have you looked in the guild's 'Hall of Illusion and Enchantment'? Wizards of his specialty often practice there."

Serena gives the barmaid a slightly confused look and picks up the golden coin, studying it briefly before pocketing it with a smile and a shrug. Maybe it would bring luck or something, and she now had the feeling this was anything but an ordinary halfling, maybe even a visitor from the feywild.
Insight to determine if the halfling would in fact be a fey: 15

The feyblooded girl finishes her wine while the tiny green dragon on the bar counter beside her finishes his pie, then giving Durnan and the barmaids a wave before heading out and homewards through the Waterdeep night. She smirks as Kurt and his clumsy friends step out of the shadows. "Well, by all means, come and get it then." She says with a mock bow with a flourish.

Serena initiative: 13

(How many are they? How are they armed as far as she can tell?)

In addition to Kurt (Thug) there are 6 more (Bandit). 

Kurt wields a sword. Two wield scimitar and four have crude maces - two of these are also wielding slings.

Initiative:

Bandits: 16

Serena: 12

Kurt: 11

Bandit A - Sling Attack: 20 4

Bandit B - Sling Attack: 12 2

Then the others rush in:

Bandit C - Scimitar Attack: 4 6

Bandit D - Scimitar Attack: 18 3

Bandit E - Mace Attack: 20 2

Bandit F - Mace Attack: 19 5

Quote from CyberusFaustus >>

Bandit A - Sling Attack: 18 3

Bandit B - Sling Attack: 7 2

Then the others rush in:

Bandit C - Scimitar Attack: 18 2

Bandit D - Scimitar Attack: 14 5

Bandit E - Mace Attack: 14 6

Bandit F - Mace Attack: 10 6

 Serena's footwork exercises with Master Flynn kick in and she avoids much of the initial onslaught, ((taking 5pts of damage)) 

Encounter here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/combat-tracker/c4d97dbb-954a-4b82-ad58-9acb7265e44a

The wine making her reactions slow, Serena is swarmed by Kurt's thugs, first hitting her in the back of her head with a glancing shot from a sling stone and then drawing blood with a shallow cut from a blade. "You will regret this mortals." She snarls and without hesitation she creates an interposing image of herself flaming up like a she-devil with flaring eyes. She then disappears and reappears on a roof above, quickly moving back out of sight from the street below, giggling quietly to herself.

(Using the Misty Visions invocation for the image and then the Misty Step to get on the roof.)

Deception if needed to make the thugs believe the flaming she-devil Serena is still standing among them: 24
(Also using inspiration if needed because I would like this to work. ;-)

((Sorry for delay - baking duty all day yesterday!))

The eyes on the members grow large as many stagger back from this terrifying entity.

Of those attacking in melee, only Kurt, whose judgement seems dulled by wrath and drink, proceeds, lunging at the form of Serena in a froth.

He stabs his sword with force into the image (attack 22 damage 7 if there were anything there). The blade sinks into the image with no resistance. "Whaaa" babbles Kurt.

The two attackers with slings launch another volley at the demoness Serena while they back away. 

They do not see the projectiles pass through Serena only to hit Kurt on the other side... They only hear his voice proclaim "Ughh!"

What they don't see is that there are two "squishes" hitting Kurt square in the face. A squishy red/black ooze with seeds covers and drips down his face as if the stones had turned into rotten tomatoes.

The two of the closer thugs have disengaged and start to back away. The other two begin to attack, but find that instead of clubs they are now holding parchment wands covered in purple and green spun sugar!

((Serena's Turn))

The fiery demonic Serena begins laughing maniacally at Kurt and his thugs. "You can not touch me you fools." 
(Cast Minor Illusion to create the sound. Another deception if needed: 8 )
The true Serena on the rooftop above then starts to giggle at the mischief caused below to Kurt and his gang, convinced her new friend Nathair is behind it all.
Perception to notice Nathair: 18

Crest-fallen after looking about but not catching sight of Naithair, Serena turns back to the hoodlums and considers what next to do to them.

It is then that she hears a distinct giggle next to her. Appearing from no-where she sees a rather disconcerting, disembodied grin. The smiling mouth chortles quietly next to her in Naithair's recognizable voice, "Oh, well done! How droll! They really are excellent clowns. Perhaps we should invite them to court? Do you mind if I have a go?"

Not waiting for a reply, "Do you think you can have your avatar play a few dolorous notes?", the smile asks Serena.

Meanwhile, Tresvar's  troops await her command ... should they assault the gates or attempt to find another way into the compound?