Grom opened his mouth to speak but then the mercenaries made their move, interrupting his conversation with the stranger. With endless patience, he let them have their say. Hearing about the mind flayers, he frowned not at anyone in particular but just at the mention of those monsters.

"Though the realm is nominally at peace, darkness lurks just below the surface and just out of sight. The gods have made this clear to me, and sent me here, though I did not know about the nature of the current threat. These creatures are not to be taken lightly. Dealing with them will require..." He glanced at the newcomers briefly, continued. "... very experienced, capable people. I can handle myself and you seem quite capable also Luric. But we'll need to find others who are just as powerful. Do you know anyone?"

Quote from ikarbino >>

Grom opened his mouth to speak but then the mercenaries made their move, interrupting his conversation with the stranger. With endless patience, he let them have their say. Hearing about the mind flayers, he frowned not at anyone in particular but just at the mention of those monsters.

"Though the realm is nominally at peace, darkness lurks just below the surface and just out of sight. The gods have made this clear to me, and sent me here, though I did not know about the nature of the current threat. These creatures are not to be taken lightly. Dealing with them will require..." He glanced at the newcomers briefly, continued. "... very experienced, capable people. I can handle myself and you seem quite capable also Luric. But we'll need to find others who are just as powerful. Do you know anyone?"

 "How should I know anyone else? I've only been here for a couple of days."

"You must be a mage," Dusk sighed as the man in half-plate basically just dismissed them. "Mages tend towards arrogance. Even I sometimes succumb to the trait. I cannot say to the abilities of this elf, Maerwyn, and all I know of this dwarf, Magron, is their talent in machination." He gestures to the metal badger and Magron's armour. "As for myself, if binding elementals into long-time service," he now gestures to Wispy, the Large Air Elemental floating by his side, "is not impressive enough, I shall say I also can travel the realms, create things out of thin air and by use of the Wish spell, even bend reality to considerable extent. I am an Archmage of Conjuration. I should be able to provide at least some moderate assistance. Even by your standards."

"So," he continued now facing the blindfolded man, "Luric, was it? I would be happy to lend assistance with these Illithids, in exchange for coin. What say you, Magron and Maerwyn?"

Grom nodded. "I'm in the same position, myself. Well, I doubt we'd find such in this tavern, unless they were just passing through. Hmm... I was instructed to come here and wait, so I'd assumed I would find them here, but perhaps this is meant more as a starting point in the search..." He turned back to the other adventurers. "You are mercenaries, yes? I am named Grom. Do you know of any strong people here - masters of spell, blade or prayer? I'm talking about those at the pinnacle of their craft, such as might be called upon to deal with the greatest threats."

OOC I assume ikarbino did not see my post before submitting. Perhaps we'll say Dusk spoke after Grom did, to make it easier.

((yea I was typing up my post when you posted.))

Grom glanced at the air elemental. "Arrogance? I simply asked myself, why would someone of great power be looking for work in a tavern like this? It does not make sense. Here is where adventurers who are just starting out would gather to find a job killing goblins. So, based on that, I figured that you were if not per se new to adventuring, still are not at the level we need. No offense meant. If I was wrong, that only makes me more glad since then I don't have to waste precious time. I have a purpose, a job to do, and if you really can aid me, then all the better." He turned to face the mage fully. "But be aware, our lives will likely be on the line here, and if you only want to earn some money it may be in your best interest for you to take tasks much less likely to end in your death." 

"Starting adventurers, here; they couldn't even afford the water here; let alone come looking for new adventures. This tavern is mostly for retired adventurers; those that ventured most of their live and than came here to settle down; like me. Except for the fact that I've been restless the past weeks, so I'd gladly help finding these mind flayers. You, not being able to recognize mastercraftsmanship doesn't surprise me for a bit, but no problem, you'll see." 

"Enough!"- Maerwyn murmurs under her breath which is almost inaudible to the audience. But, she casts Shatter after a sharp intake of breath, causing the empty glass she's holding to be turned into glass shards, crimson liquids are seen dripping from her open wounds. An intense sound starts to brew from the shattered pieces of glass, that begins to transform into a bellowing tune finally reaching the pitch of thunderous blast. 

"The more time we waste here at futile attempts to prove each other's worth, the less time we will get to face the reality instead of cowering inside the little rabbit hole."

Each creature in a 10-foot-radius sphere centered on the point of casting makes a DC 15 constitution saving throw, 3d8 thunder damage is taken on a failed save, when a successful one reduces a half portion of the full impact. A creature made of inorganic material such as stone, crystal, or metal has disadvantage as well as nonmagical object that isn't being worn or carried also takes the damage if it's situated inside the range.

Counterspell

"I agree with Maerwyn," Dusk says, not noticing that Grom countered a spell Maerwyn was going to cast, "Luric, can you provide details about this possible mission?"

OOC: Please ignore my dagger rolls in game log, was testing the dice roller for a response to another thread and forgot about them showing in campaign log. My apologies. 

Quote from Cyb3rM1nd >>

"I agree with Maerwyn," Dusk says, not noticing that Grom countered a spell Maerwyn was going to cast, "Luric, can you provide details about this possible mission?"

OOC: Please ignore my dagger rolls in game log, was testing the dice roller for a response to another thread and forgot about them showing in campaign log. My apologies. 

 *It's okay.*

Grom glared at the woman for recklessly casting destructive magic where it might kill - or at least severely hurt - innocent people. The waitress passing by the table, for one. Did she have so little self-control? Or did she just not care about other people? The spell she'd chosen would do him absolutely no harm, of course, but he wasn't about to allow her to endanger others. 

"So Luric, would you say we four would be enough, or should we see if there is another experienced adventurer around?"

The sound of thunderous blast is mitigated to a bellowing blow of wind, then settling down to a faint murmuring tune and completely demured to silence. Maerwyn watches a glaring pair of eyes, she decides to dismiss it with a smirk after getting the sign of discontent from the new companion.

"Don't forget about mentioning their possible location or the time of potential encounter of the Mindflayers"- she tries to supplement the comment from Dusk. Lifting her wounded hand before her eyes, she casts Prestidigitation to bandage the wound, wispy strings of weblike bandage appear restraining her forearms then covering the damaged part.

(@DM is this going any further or is this going to Die out?:( )

Quote from Secretfool >>

(@DM is this going any further or is this going to Die out?:( )

 *It could go either way.*

Quote from InkedBee >>

The sound of thunderous blast is mitigated to a bellowing blow of wind, then settling down to a faint murmuring tune and completely demured to silence. Maerwyn watches a glaring pair of eyes, she decides to dismiss it with a smirk after getting the sign of discontent from the new companion.

"Don't forget about mentioning their possible location or the time of potential encounter of the Mindflayers"- she tries to supplement the comment from Dusk. Lifting her wounded hand before her eyes, she casts Prestidigitation to bandage the wound, wispy strings of weblike bandage appear restraining her forearms then covering the damaged part.

 "I don't know the exact location. Probably in a dark alley. As for the time, illithids are dangerous creatures. The sooner they are dealt with, the better."

Quote from Orange20>>

 "Tracking them down should not be an issue at all. As a Blood Hunter, I will stop at nothing to track down a creature of aberration blood. But, I still don't know what my companions think about it or what's their plan to deal with it"- Maerwyn confesses her intuition with a brief introduction of her true self. Infact, she sends quick glances towards other adventurers with an inquisitive look in her eyes as if she were asking for their approval.

Teamwork needs the formation of mutual trust among colleagues. Unfortunately, she's slow to trust anyone out of her social circle, and it's bound to become more complicated if they don't show any indication of building faithful relationships, not to fret about the careless actions of her previous collaborative partners.

"Ah a blood hunter you say, always useful when fighting evil." Magron says seeing Maerwyn's look. "I don't know about the rest of course, but I am good to go; better get rid of the mind flayers before they do anyone in my village any harm."

Destroy evil with evil. The comment from Magron reminds her of the lore that has been considered as a stereotype for Blood Hunters. With an eerily haunting look on her face she gives it a thought, then dismissing it to better concentrate on others' decisions. "That's perfect! What do you say, Grom? Dusk?"