Having remained largely silent until this time, fixated on the strange oddities in this shop, a spindly woman with pale, nearly translucent hair and faintly purple skin speaks up. Her voice matches her appearance, with a reedy but expressive tone. She turns to face this assembly of people before her, having been listening in despite appearing oblivious. “Seems only appropriate that I introduce myself as well. I am Onika. I don’t know your own specific intentions for answering this Blinksy’s summons, but I believe our goals may align.”

Once she has spoken you notice that her eyes draw attention away from even the rest of her odd visage. They are almost entirely black with glimmering flecks throughout.

She creeps out of her corner and into the center of the room, each step making slight noises because of the various adornments and collectibles surrounding her leather armor and robes. She extends her dainty hand to shake whomever’s hand is first offered.

Chara smiles warmly at the newcomer and takes the hand offered.

"Hello!" the she-devil says, hoping to make this strange woman feel welcome. "I don't know how much you heard, but my name is Chara."

Then she turns her attention to the host of this meeting.

"If you're plotting against Strahd, count me in," Chara says solemnly. "There aren't many people I hate... but I can never forgive Strahd for what he did to my father."

Though Chara has been nothing but friendly up until this moment, you all suddenly see a different side of her as she says the name of Strahd. You can tell at that moment that a hellish fire does indeed burn within her... a flame fueled by pain and rage. But it's gone again as quickly as it appeared; though there is still a trace of pain in the devil's eyes after making her declaration of war on Strahd, and her smile is just a little smaller than it was before.

Eithne looks at Onika also, while putting her weapon back nonchalantly, now that the host has come.

'No male. No elf. Maybe she is no danger. Plus, she is usually silent... why the voices inside my head don't learn from her!?'

Slowly the savage stranger approaches for the handshake: "I'm Eithne. And may our goals indeed align".

She then turns her azure eyes on Blinsky: "I know just something about death. And about possibly worse fates also. What I still do not know, it is someone or something that is worse than the devil Stradh. So, let's just do it" and she seems ready to follow the toymaker already.

Nikolai laughs.  "Well, this is quite the motley crew.  I'm afraid we don't have the makings of a secret cabal.  Most of you stick out in a crowd like a rosebush in a swamp.  Everywhere we go will be immediately reported back to von Zarovich.  If all of you are committed to the overthrow of the Prince of Ravenloft as I am, we will not be able to rely on subtlety if we journey together."

"Hi," Lucian says as the strange newcomer approaches. He is very surprised to meet such a...colorful group of individuals. That said, he finds himself nodding in agreement when Nikolai states that it will be difficult to keep themselves a secret. Oh well, if these folks shared his desire to destroy Strahd, then he was willing to risk traveling with them. After all...their strange appearances might be the least dangerous thing they would have to worry about. 

He turns to Blinsky, "Yeah, down with the devil. I've got nothing left to lose, so I'm willing to risk it all. Count me in."

After he's spoken, he shrinks back a little as if unsure whether or not he should have said that so soon. After all, this could be a trap... but when Eithne seems ready to rally behind this guy, he regains some of his confidence. This might be a strange group, but he already feels like he belongs with them. 

Chara winces reflexively at Nikolai's comment about how much this crew will stand out, especially when she sees Lucian nodding in agreement... it stings a bit to be reminded of her unusual appearance.

"Well, we might not be the best at avoiding attention," Chara muses. "But I'm sure we all have other skills to make up for that. And we can probably come up with a plausible cover story to explain our oddities away with minimal questions, at least for a while... if nothing else, we could say we're a traveling sideshow or something."

The she-devil pauses. No sooner have the words left her mouth than she realizes that she basically just volunteered to be gawked at in a freak show. The thought of crowds jeering at her makes her feel nauseated.

Eithne tries not to show her discomfort, while the voices of her newly-known adventure companions mingle with the older voices that dwell in her mind.

Among both kind of voices, there are those who are more skeptical and those who are more confident about what the toy manufacturer intends to propose. But perhaps, at this point, it would be appropriate to let him tell in more detail what he has in mind!

"Let's follow Blinsky and hear what plan he has" advises the savage stranger. "After all, maybe it will involve subtlety, maybe not, but it sure will... involve fun" and, as she struggles to smile wryly, she points with her finger at one of the hanging placards bearing the slogan 'Is No Fun, Is No Blinsky!'

'Maybe joking was not very appropriate' thinks to herself the last of the dusk elf maidens. 'But I've got my best chance to go against the devil Stradh. With the help of a motley crew. Under the supervision of a toymaker. It's fate that is joking, not me'.

Onika smiles at Blinsky's words, showing teeth that look far too white for how disheveled the rest of her garb is. "I'll take up a fight with Strahd any day, darling. I'm all ears." She places her arms atop the counter and perches her chin in her hands, waiting for whatever else Blinsky has to say. She's enthralled by how eventful he and his surroundings are. It was a wonder that in all her time here she had never stopped by his shop, what a shame.

Nikolai brings his palms together in front of him, and bows his head.  "I apologize, I meant no disrespect to anyone present.  Allies against the Dark One are few and far between, and I will humbly march alongside anyone who fights his oppression, regardless of outward appearance.  Please, forgive my insensitive remark.  I'm a bit of an ass sometimes."

He will follow Blinsky into the next room to hear more of this "great organization".

Chara mumbles something to the effect of 'it's fine,' in response to Nikolai's apology... but she's not great at hiding her emotions. It's obvious that he touched a nerve. The she-devil doesn't look angry, she looks more sad than anything else.

She is also going to follow Blinsky to the next room.

Lucian glances at Chara, realizing she seemed upset about Nikolai’s remark on their groups appearance. He hopes he didn’t upset her further by nodding. Hesitantly, he follows her as everyone moves into the next room, “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with looking different. I think you look pretty cool!” He smiles, then ducks his head in embarrassment. 
Once they are inside the room, the young elf finds a corner and does his best not to look as nervous as he feels. 

'Yes, fate is joking indeed' Eithne finds herself thinking, seeing for herself how much Chara is not great at hiding her emotions. 'That poor sweat-hearted she-devil has her mind trapped in a body she wouldn't want... While I have my body which has many minds trapped in it that I wouldn't want!'

Before she even realizes it, the savage stranger has already approached her, has gently placed a hand on her shoulder, naturally, not at all disturbed by the demonic appearance of the other... and now she returns her the kind words that she just received from her shortly before: "You aren't alone anymore".

The azure eyes of the last of the dusk elf maidens, however, are fixed on Blinsky, waiting for him to begin to explain.

Chara looks from one elf to the other, first the young man and then the woman putting a reassuring hand on Chara's shoulder.

"Thank you  both," she whispers, giving them both a sad smile and fighting the urge to wrap her arms (and wings) around Eithne in a big hug. "I guess we should probably deal with all this feely-stuff later... let's see what our host has to say."

Blinsky reaches into his shirt and pulls out a piece of parchment. You can see what appears to be a long list on it. He sets it on the counter and sets an inkwell and a quill beside it. "Before I take you into next room, You must sign this paper. It puts curse on someone who reveals vhat they learn there. Of course, Vee do not doubt your desire to defeat the devil Strahd (spit) but he is adept at drawing information out of the most determined opponent. Vee have all taken this step; you vill see my name at the top. Then I can bring you into our group."

"Wait... what kind of curse?" Chara asks.

This statement distracts Chara from her unhappy mood... a curse? The reasoning that Blinsky gave is sound. It would make sense if perhaps this curse would be used to instantly kill anyone who dared to leak information to Strahd (and perhaps a merciful thing to do for anyone in the vampire's clutches), but it could just as easily be a trap. Maybe Strahd set this up to get a list of all his enemies. Or perhaps it really is a cursed parchment... one that will prevent those who sign it from harming Strahd.

I'm going to roll Insight to determine if our host is being sincere.

Insight: 4

Lucian eyes the paper from across the room, he isn't to keen on curses...not with everything else that he's already coping with. Hearing Chara ask about the curse, he nods and says hesitantly, "Yeah...what kind of curse?" 

Not trusting his own judgement, he waits to see what the other, older members of their group decide to do. 

'I don't like all of this!' Eithne does not trust the man 'Yet, at least he warned us... he didn't try to cheat us. She could have tried to tell us it was a common contract; instead she is telling us openly that it is a curse'.

'You have to sign, Eithne!' the voices of her in her head try to convince her.
'You have a chance to fight the devil Stradh!'
'You can't hesitate now!'
'Impaled! He impaled me, even though I was pregnant...' (she almost seems to feel the pain in her gut as the horrible image of her torture invades her mind...)

"Man, it was you who sought us, not the other way around" the azure eyes stare hard at Blinsky. "And all of a sudden you decide not to trust us? Maybe I like your toys... but I sure don't like your games. Tell us what this curse does. Quickly. And if I or any of these future companions of mine suspect that you are lying to us, we will leave you alone to plot against Stradh. And recent history shows well how successful you and your organization have been until now in bringing the Devil on the verge of his destruction".

Blinsky shrugs. “I dunno. I’m sure is standard vithering disease and stealing of voice, yes. I just know if you break seal of trust, bad things come. Also, if you no sign, you cannot join us. Sorry. Is non-negotiable.”

He appears to be completely sincere.

Eithne stares at the man for a while with her azure eyes... But she does not detect any clues that he is lying.

The voices in her head also seem convinced:

'It's your chance to effectively go against the devil Stradh!'

'He did not try to bluff you! He told you everything...'

'What are you waiting for? Sign Eithne! Sign!'

'Avenge us! Give us peace!'

The savage stranger asks her companions, but as they also do not percepire deception, she walks ahead.

Her lips curl into a slight smile as she is signing: 'Loss of voice... Who knows if this extends to all the voices one has? I could almost be tempted to break the deal on purpose...'

She then crosses her arms on her chest: "And now come on. Tell us what you have in mind".

Chara hesitates for a moment, considering Blinsky, but it's clear that he's telling the truth. It's still possible that he could be a pawn in some other game, but she takes note of his name on the top of the piece of parchment. If the parchment is some kind of trap, it doesn't appear to be one that will spring on them right away.

"Very well," she says, taking the pen after Eithne to write her name on the parchment.

To anyone else who is hesitant, Chara has a few words.

"I believe that our host is being honest with us," she says. "I don't like this much... but I think that it's a smart precaution. It might even be a sort of kindness to silence anyone unlucky enough to fall into Strahd's clutches."