Baern listens to Dormark and heads over the the man that was watching them enter.  “Greetings sir, might you tell me about this town?”

Ioben follows the others into the inn, but instead of heading toward the innkeeper, he surveys the room looking for others who might be frequenting the establishment. It was surprising what you kind find when people had a few drinks in them.

If there are others around, Ioben looks for the group that is most likely to welcome a guest, possibly those sharing stories or playing a game of some kind, and will go to introduce himself.

Insight: 20

((Above - Idea of the interior of the tavern))

As the party approach the various different patrons within the tavern they sense an air of awkwardness.

((Above - Portrait of the Barkeep))

Alder - the barkeep's expression remains unchanged as you put the money on the counter, looking at you blankly.  When he speaks it is with a monotonous voice, void of emotion, "1 Ale coming right up, sir", his reply almost sounds rehearsed as though he is reading lines off a script.   "This is not a town, sir.  You are currently in the 'Village of Barovia'".

((Above - Portrait of the man by the hearth))

Baern - The gentleman you approach is surprisingly jovial, "Well met.  Certainly - what would you like to know about 'Barovia', my home?".  There is warmness to his demeanour and voice that seems misplaced for your experiences of this land so far.

Ioben - As you pan around the bar, attempting to subtly assess who may be welcoming, you get a sense of the following;

• the group of brightly garbed ladies are actively ignoring you - that is to say that they are turning away from the group as though they have not noticed you come in.
• the Barkeep currently talking to Alder seems, at best, disinterested in the group
• the gentleman Baern has just started talking to seems welcoming and genuinely curious about the group

Alder grunts in reply and waits quietly for a moment for his drink until the barkeep returns.

"Quiet sort of place, isn't it? Except for that crying woman. What's that story?"

The Barkeep stares blankly at Alder as though he did not hear, or understand, the question.  He serves the pint of ale before returning his attention to cleaning glasses.

The young dwarf smiles and says "thank you, I'm Baern."  "Well, we're new here and you're the first person I've spoken to, aside from this group I met on the road, that is.  Ah, well, so, is it always so foggy?  We noticed not a single person was around in town.  Any idea why that might be?"

"Nice to meet you Baern, my name is Ismark.  In truth, you will find many around here are afraid of outsiders". Ismark leans closer into Baern and quickly whispers.

Baern hears:

Ismark gives a sideways glance towards the brightly garbed ladies and lets out boisterous laugh, mirth in his voice "Can't blame folk for being weary of outsiders can we?!  They'll warm to you, you'll see!"

Baern smiles back at the show Ismark puts on but returns a whisper.  "The devil?!  Can Strahd Von Zarovich help?  He welcomed us here...sort of."  Baern pauses for a second, thinking of the letter in his pack.  "Wait, did you say your name is Ismark?"  Baern takes off his pack, sits, but then hesitates at reaching for his letter since this Ismark is a stranger.

Ismark's face visibly pales when you speak Strahd's name, he stares at the brightly dressed women, before hissing,

"Maybe, the Count is a MOST generous host."

Baern passive Insight:

Ismark continues, his face downcast, "Aye, my name is Ismark Kol­yanovich.  Son of the 'former' Burgomaster of Barovia".  He sighs heavily.  "... but where are my manners? Arik get our guests a round of drinks on me!"

Baern swallows hard, pauses, and then says aloud "excellent, we look forward to meeting the...ah...Count."  Baern tries to pull his letter out without being seen and slip it to Ismark under the table.  "Might we speak again soon?" he whispers, obviously implying a more private meeting.

The dwarf also thinks to ask "do you think I might find some armor at the Mercantile?  The road seems a bit dangerous around here."

Arik, the barkeep, looks blankly at each of the party in turn, "Drinks?  What drinks do sirs and madam require?".  Once more this is delivered in a dull and monotonous tone.

Upon reading the letter Ismark curls his fist in anger, repressing his rage he simply states, "Ahh I see the Count has extended his invitation to you... and how NICE of him to mention my dear sister."  The last part of the sentence he venomously spits out, before letting his expression ease.

Under his breath he whispers:

"Armour you say?  I'm afraid Barovia is not well stocked.  If anyone would have any it'd be old Bildrath - make sure to tell him Ismark sent you.  He might burn a hole in your coin purse, but at least he won't try and take the shirt off your back if you drop my name."  Ismark smiles kindly.

"Thank you kindly Mr. Ismark.  I hope to see you around town."

Baern tells the others "I'm going to go to the mercantile if anyone would like to join me."  He soon sets out across the square.

Dormark manages to hear some of the conversation of Ismark and Baern  when they spoke aloud. Hearing this man once was the town official he nods to Baern and says, "I'll be out in a minute I need to take care of... our friend first," Walking towards Ismark he says, :So the village doesn't have a smithy? Is there a toll shortage for the farmers than?" Afterward he whispers, "While traveling here we found one of villagers dead, a messenger of some sorts, is there a place I can take him for a proper burial?"

Sandu rubbed his hands. The fire was pleasantly nice but somehow he still felt chilled to his bones. From his spot near the hearth, Sandu let his gaze wander throughout the inn. It seemed drinks were had, plans were made and new acquintances were met. He did not trust any of it. 

He walked away from the fire just as the stranger chatting with Baern ordered a round for everyone. Sandu politely thanked him but passed on the drink. He headed back to the entrance of the tavern, towards the one companion who also seemed keen on not participating.

'Against better judgment,' Sandu said to Valerie, 'you wanted to check out that wailing?' 

Quote from Hexblade37 >>

"I'm going to go to the mercantile if anyone would like to join me."  

 Alder looks quizzicaly at the barkeep for a moment before throwing back his drink, draining the mug as if it were a shot. He places the empty container onto the bartop and turns away with a last confused shake of his head.

"Hold on, I'll go with you Baern."

He quickly catches up to the dwarf with his lengthy stride before falling into pace with the shorter man. His voice is low as he speaks. 

"These people are strange. I don't know what to make of them." 

Standing at the doorway, Valerie stares blankly into the tavern. Her mind is drifting off the place. She begins to recall the night before this; however, her memory becomes foggier and foggier. She cannot remember what happened besides she was in the celebration. Even then, her mind still lingers on the wailing sound. 

Quote from Furujiru >>

 

'Against better judgment,' Sandu said to Valerie, 'you wanted to check out that wailing?' 

Valerie snaps back from her through. "Oh!" She is startled a bit. "Sorry, I was thinking of something. Yes... Erm... I can't ignore the fact that someone might need help." She turns and looks to the tavern. "But let's find out what happens in this town first."

Ismark gawps as Dormark speaks to him, "Wha... what are you?".  He moves back in his chair uneasily as he stares at Dormark without blinking.  "I thought it odd that you did not remove your helm upon entering, but now I see that it is part of... you?".

After a pause, Ismark looks abashed, "Sorry friend, that was disrespectful of me.  I was just... never mind".  He continues on awkwardly, "Unfortunately there is no smithy my friend, most of our tools are brought in, or repaired, by the Vistani - like our friends over there", Ismark nods over towards the ladies - they take little notice of him.  "They have a camp to the West of the village and occasionally make visits."

Ismark thinks for a moment after Dormark mentions finding the corpse of one of the villagers, "A dead villager you say?  Pray tell - it was not a young woman was it, early twenties?".  Genuine concern enters his voice, "That is the only report of a missing villager I have heard recently, I did not want to think the worse..." his voice trails off, "poor Mary".  The news seems to have shaken Ismark, "Of course a funeral shall be organised.  She has family in this village.  A mother - Mary.  She'll need to know.  You might have heard her crying outside.  She has been in a state since Gertruda went missing.".  He shakes his head, "how will she react to the news.  Gods!"

((He seems to have missed the fact that Dormark referred to a him and jumped to conclusions))

Just for clarification it looks as though the party might briefly split;

• Baern and Alder - Are set to head off to Bildrath's Mercantile
• Sandu and Valerie - would like to check out the wailing.  They would have heard Ismark mention that this was coming from Mary and are more than welcome to question him further
• Ioben and Dormark - are you both happy to stay in the tavern for now?  Or looking to move on?

Valerie approaches Ismark as soon as she hears he talks about crying woman. "Excuse me for interrupting, but I heard you said the woman crying outside, her daughter has gone missing?" Her concern grows stronger as now she knows what happens to the woman. "Can you tell me where is she right now? I heard the crying but not sure where to find her. Also, can you tell me anything about her missing daughter?"

“Your reaction isn’t the first I had, and quite frankly you took it a lot better than most. But no the one we found was a man, looked like he was attack by wild animals,” he motions Valerie over. “Pass the letter we found with the body,” he says quietly.