It all begins in the trade city of Bustle. A medium sized city known far and wide as a place were merchant's meet and deals are made. A very business like city that caters to merchants needs and demands.

The party starts in the Wheel a high end inn that's specializes in exotic food.

Leomorne sits at a table, drinking a tankard of Meade, if available, or their best Ale. He gives the occasional prod of his fork to whatever it is they served him. Exotic foods...right...."Last time I take recommendations from the bar maid..." he said under his breath, giving the food another solid jab for good measure. "Never was a problem of good food in Durulur...AND people were on-time!" Leomorne slammed a meaty fist into the table, sure to startle the other patrons around him. He didn't care though. He was lost in  his own thoughts and talking to himself, as was often the case.

The propieter a especially rotund and jolly haifling named Chauncy saunters up to the table. "Well south sea squid is an acquired taste I recommend some of our Lanshear wild boar very sucullent with Heartwood apple sauce."

      With a large variety of dishes before him, Lenthium nibbles a bit at each plate, sampling slowly and savouring every individual bite in turn. Half a dozen sauces sit in small bowls on the table, arranged neatly, and each dish gets lightly dipped and tried in various ways. A small smile on his gold-hued lips reveal his enjoyment of the array and uniqueness of each, and he makes pleased noises as he works his way through the sampling. Breaking for a moment at the solid *thud* from the dwarf's fist, he looks over at the angry form, shrugging as he says loudly over the bustle of the room "It's all a matter of having an open palate, sir. One must be disposed towards the unusual and the exotic, before one can truly appreciate the wonders of culinary delights."

      He then goes back to eating, taking his time with his meal.

The Dwarf listens to Lenthium, but pushes his plate away nonetheless. He looks to the Halfling. "I'll take the Boar, then. Extra Applesauce!" Leormorne then settles back in and finishes his drink. "Exotic and Food don't go together, lad" He grimaces as the Aasimar happily eats his way through a buffet of food. 

Pausing in his delicate devouring, he dabs his lips with a napkin, then leans back.

     "Oh, I have to disagree with that, sir! Beyond the risk of a disturbed belly now and then, the exotic foods make a meal so much more...entertaining! Sometimes, when I've been in truly unusual places, the food is still squirming on the plate. And the sensation as it wriggles it's way down my gullet, exquisite!"

     "Perhaps before I was called to Lathander, I may have agreed with you, but this new form my God has granted me also comes with a much higher sensual nature, bringing what was once a mundane act of consumption to a new level of enjoyment for me."

     Taking a long, slow drink from the wine he purchased, Lenthium relaxes, letting his meal settle. The plates, still more than half full of the bevy of flavours, scattered like multi-coloured flowers across the field of the table, sit cooling in the air of the inn. 

The sound of a heavy impact cut through the background chatter and laughter of the room, causing Roland to turn with a start. A few long seconds of silence passed before the other patrons returned to their drinks and conversations. He chuckled quietly as he saw that the source of the commotion was now engaged in a culinary dispute with a inn’s owner and another well dressed gentleman who’s voice seemed oddly familiar. Flashing the barmaid one last smile, Roland crossed the common room of the inn and returned to his seat opposite the dour dwarf.

“Try to lighten up old friend.” Roland said as he set a fresh stein of ale in front of Leomorne before settling back and taking a deep drink from his own. “In a place like this your bound to find something that suits your tastes. Besides how many of the mountainfolk can claim to have tried south sea squid?”

“I’ll take the Boar then. Extra Applesauce!” Leomorne shouted over to the Halfling he had been talking to. Roland simply smiled and added “Make that Two.”

The haifling personally delivers your meals. "Enjoy your meals good sirs. Sadly this is probably the last batch of boar we will have in a while our shipments have been being harassed by bandits.Shame it's one of our popular meals... .."

Ishtayu sits at one of the inn's table with his own feast of various dishes and drinks in front of him. Unlike the more elegant and orderly individual debating over the cuisine with the much louder dwarf fellow some tables away, Ishtayu's own table is more of a disorganized mess as he eagerly tastes each of the different foods before him, switching from plate to plate. He pauses upon hearing the halfling's words regarding the boar.

Double checking that his serpentine scales are hidden properly by his clothing before he brings any attention to himself, Ishtayu speaks up, "What bandits dare to impede the delivery of food as delicious as this?! Fools such as they deserve a swift retribution if they would deny the people of this region such meals!" He speaks with a fiery passion for the inn's wondrous cuisine.

The handling beams at the praise. "You need to talk to Darien Dubois. A human fellow kind of a little shady but his prices are always great. It's his caravans that have been getting ambushed he's a regular himself he should be in eventually.... And don't mind his ways his business has been doing great the last couple of years and it's swelled his head a bit."

Leomorne frowns at his friend "I estimate that number to be zero. That includes myself. Roland, how could you advocate for something so rubbery...gelatinous...and so many arms!" He shakes his head. "A travesty! " The Dwarf wags a fat finger to Lenthium. "Now pork, ah. There's a meat. Roasted, grilled, boiled, salted and cured! You can't go wrong!" Leomorne gave a hearty laugh that was almost immediately cut short by news of the bandit raids. His usual scowl returned, but he ate his meal anyway. "Darien Dubois?" The Dwarf nodded and stood. "I'll speak to him and get to the bottom of this. Roland, are you with me?"

Head turning as the newcomer steps up and speaks he startles,eyes wide “Roland? Roland Vakarian? Hah! It IS you! I’m Lenthium! I’d wonder why you dont recognize  me, but Lathader has put his mark on me strikingly.” He stands up, scraping the chair back, and smiles wide “It’s been ages ! “ upon hearing about the bandits, he inserts his comments “I’d be quite happy to aid in any way I can against such ruffians. My arms and Armor are available to deal with them. “

Roland watched his friend's eyes light up as Chauncy returned with two plates piled high with seared boar flanks and a generous helping of sweet-smelling applesauce. "Ahh, now that's more like it lad."  

The dwarf's good humour was short lived however as the Halfling explained the misfortunes of his supplier. Roland’s own mood soured as the conversation continued, several of the other nearby patrons also voicing their concerns. He had encountered such men before; bandits, highwaymen and deserters, cowards to the last. He looked up from his mug to meet Leomorne’s gaze, leaned across the wooden table and clasped the dwarf on the shoulder. “Of Course I’m with you, we will see justice done.” With that, the pair returned to their meals.

“Roland! Roland Vakarian?” There was that familiar voice again. Glancing around the room to see who had called him, Roland’s eyed locked on the well-dressed gentleman he had heard Leomorne in discussion with earlier. “It’s me Lenthium.” The half chewed boar nearly fell from Roland’s open mouth as he stood and looked astounded at the man. The same as he remembered but also so very different.

“Lenthium!” he exclaimed, crossing the room and embracing his childhood friend. “I thought you dead? The last I heard, your family had exhausted all options to rid you of the fever, but here you are looking more hale than ever. What happened to you, my friend?”

Roland listened intently as Lenthium regaled him of Lathandar's choosing and his miraculous recovery, and the encounters that had brought him to Bustle. After discussing the recently revealed bandit problem and accepting Lenthium's offer of aid, Roland offered his hand. “It would be my honour to travel with you, just as when we were boys.” He laughed heartily. “Now come, I have to properly introduce you to Leomorne, he is far nicer once you get to know him.”

Lenthium laughs long and heartily as he catches up with Roland, recalling the pranks and adventure they used to get in trouble for. “These bandits won’t know what hit them, and might end up purple, stripped and with wings, like that guy who insulted your sister! It’ll be fabulous! Let’s all swarm over to Trader Dubois and save his shipments!”

"Darien Dubois..." Ishtayu mumbles the name to himself, committing it to memory. Overhearing the other three individuals grouping up and discussing this bandit problem themselves, Ishtayu savors one last bite of his food before standing up and approaching the three of them.

"Gentlemen!" He announces enthusiastically. "Traveling musician and entertainer Ishtayu at your service, I couldn't help but hear you also have interest in seeking out these bandits, and I thought to suggest I join you in doing so!"

Chauncey turns slightly red and uncharacteristically seems out of sorts in a very low voice where other patrons can't hear him" You might find Dubois ..um.. seeking the comfort of the fairer sex..its toward the outskirts of town..rundown place knock on the door and say the weather's fair."

Smirking a bit at the self-professed minstrel who has offered to join, he says “I’m sure every pair of hands will help, but do you think your ability to provide musical accompaniment to our battles will help us or the bandits more? I’d recommend you bring something sharp, as well. Perhaps your wit, if it qualifies?”

”let’s gather up all our gear and meet at this brothel in say 10 minutes? He shouldn’t be done too soon, unless he has....issues. “

OOC: forgive the brevity , I’m out of the house all weekend and a phone is a poor substitute for  a full system. 

Leomorne downed the rest of his meal and drink. "Roland, you know this glowy connoisseur?" He eyes Lenthium for a moment before turning back to Roland. "Well...no accounting for taste, but if you trust him then I'm willing to have him along. As for you..." He now turns his attention to Ishtayu. " I'm always glad to have a fellow craftsman in the ranks! I just hope you can also hold your own" The Dwarf nods , satisfied with himself. 

"A brothel you say, Chauncy?" He says a bit louder than the Halfling would probably like. At the same time, he gives a flick of his wrist, causing the staff sitting in the corner to float over into his grasp. " I'm sure we can find this House of Ill Repute. I'm ready to go now. Let's make haste!"

The group stepped out into the cool night air of Bustle. The day traders had already cleared the market square and the towns taverns and inns had begun to fill. Music and laughter echoed from the tap houses as the party made their way towards the shadier, poorer part of town, near the outskirts.

Roland made note of the children playing in the narrow streets, the mother’s swapping stories as they returned to their squat and ram-shacked homes and the hunched figures that drank from dirty, paper wrapped bottles. He glanced around at his new companions, Lenthium he had known since childhood; a prankster in his time but a good sort. Ishtayu seemed earnest enough but Roland had seen firsthand what such bards were capable of and a sobering thought crossed his mind.

“When I served with the Dragoons, we got into a tough scrap with some ogres who thought to make a meal of a farmer’s flock.” Roland said slowly, turning to the new arrival. “We lost good soldiers against the beasts and it looked like we would all soon follow, until Garret our Bannerman unleashed a melody of devastation and lightning that burned the ogres from the inside out.” Roland level his gaze at Ishtayu. “I know the power that skilled bards can wield. With any luck we will simply be running a few brigands out of the area, can I trust that you will remain .... discreet? People tend to fear what they do not understand, we don’t want to cause a panic among the locals.”

The Dwarf grumbles as Roland tells his tale. "I'm capable of greater magics than some haughty puffed up minstrel..." Leomorne continues to just mutter to himself the entire way, his heavy Dwarven footfalls stomping around in the dusk of the town.