The young blonde half-elf smiles pleasantly at the horse-breeding patriar and his his horse-breeding associate, but as the waterdhavian sorceress is introduced she simply goes blank for a brief moment. It had certainly been interesting to meet with the famous Volo but sitting at the same table as Laraelra Harsard makes Tylaerys quite star-struck for lack of a better word, having heard about her quite a bit back in the City of Wonders. "It's an honour." She says softly, looking mostly at the sorceress. "And no, no drinks for me either." She says with a polite smile to their host. "I would very much like to tell you all about our adventures so far but it would be unfortunate if the wrong people listened in on our conversation." She continues, looking around discreetly but demonstratively as if she didn't quite trust there wasn't eavesdroppers around.

Perception: 12

While Tylaerys eyes the room for potential spies, everyone notices a new figure come down the stairs.  She is a handsome Human woman of middle age in an elaborate pirate outfit, complete with a tricorne hat.  Some sort of crustacean - a crab or a small lobster - is perched upon her shoulder. She pauses to speak with one of the bouncers, then goes to the bar where she lingers, talking to the Kenku serving drinks.

Tylaerys:

 Isaac draws forth a handful of coins and hands them to Jorunn, sending him to the bar to fetch another round of drinks.  Meanwhile, Laraelra smiles and offers greeting back to Tylaerys and the others.  

"Volo errs, as ever, on the side of the dramatic.  I serve as an advisor and guardian of sorts to the arcane community in Waterdeep.  Some" - she looks at Volo - "like to harp upon my status as the heir to a certain esteemed position, but I assure you, titles are merely formalities.  I prefer to be seen as a humble servant of the Weave, dedicated to aiding those who seek wisdom and protection in these uncertain times."

Volo bows at the comment.  "Ah, Laraelra, always so modest!  Don't let her quiet grace fool you, my friends.  You stand in the presence of one of the great powers in Waterdhavian politics.  She carries our hearts with her as she goes, indeed, though she holds that responsibility as lightly as a feather.  Truly, she is a beacon of wisdom and power in the City of Splendors, though she'll never be the one to boast of it.  Perhaps that is why she graces me with her company!"

The sorceress smiles kindly, looking upon the older man as a patient sitter might look upon an overly enthusiastic child.

"Well..." says Isaac Belt, as Jorunn returns with an armful of drinks, "if our new friends are too mysterious to talk about their adventures, and Lady Harsard is too modest to share any juicy political gossip from Waterdeep, then what shall we talk about?  I'd be happy to offer discourse about the horse market, though I suspect I would have you ladies bawling with boredom afore too long."

Haha! You're not wrong there! Yeshil blurts, laughing a little too loud at Isaac's 'joke' as she helps herself to one of the fresh round of drinks. Economics! So droll! And horse economics.... would that be equin-omics? Haha! <sip> Hey blondie, why don't you tell them about how a building blew up in our faces! It was so mental! And Jirel just like threw this apple cart off this guy, and Jararaka just runs into the flames... <sip> and there were these two dead bodies but we couldn't tell if one was a Red Wizard, and then we had to like get out of there before the Flaming Fist caught us... The girl beams at her captive audience, proud of the spectacular narrative she just enthralled everyone with, and how impressed they all are. <sip>

((Incidentally, that scene with the exploding building was exactly one year ago in game time.))

     Finn is about to whisper to Yeshil a reminder to SIP the drink but it seems he was too late, the kid was already shooting off her mouth.  Finn laughs loudly and grabs Yeshil's should, giving her a good pinch as he does so.  "Ha ha, yes, yes.  We've had a little bit of drama but nothing all that remarkable, really.  Just bystanders to a tragic event...  We were just glad the Flaming Fist showed up to handle everything...  Now, if you'll excuse us, I do believe I promised young Yeshil here how to play cards..."  Finn then starts to push Yeshil gently, but firmly, away from the grown up table and deeper into the bar.

(Not doing a grapple or anything, if Yeshil resists Finn certainly isn't going to force her away from the table...)

What? It was a good story! Yeshil doesn't resist the nudge, and allows Finn to back her away from the table. But she does protest just a bit, and doesn't seem too bothered about keeping her voice down. You never said anything about cards. I thought we were here to talk to Volo about the Cult of the Dragon...

     At hearing "Cult" Finn immediately tries to gag the girl!  He does this with the classic hand over her mouth, of course, but also uses thaumaturgy to create the loudest, longest, smelliest burp coming out of the girl that anyone ever did hear!

Finn's demeaning actions humiliate Yeshil, and are damaging to the girl's current self-image of 'grown-up and sophisticated'. She attempts to squirm out of his grasp, sloshing her beverage everywhere in the process. Not cool, Finn! she yells. You made me spill my drink.

If this action isn't contested:
Then in an attempt to regain her pride and composure, she smiles at the various patrons (especially the handsome guy on the couch at the stern) and saunters (or rather stumbles) over to the bar, where she remains standing silently for the time being, trying to look cool.

Jirel, none of the people at the table tonight, nor anyone else in the bar, resemble any of the faces from your treebark vision.

Tylaerys:

 As this minor commotion dies down, the bard who had been tuning his instrument speaks up.  "I remember my first drink, too.  Say, Captain Thundreth, when did you start running a daycare?"  There is the sound of a drum rimshot, though no band is in sight, and there a few raspy laughs from somewhere in the back.  "Welcome friends, and please remember to tip your entertainer.  It is I, Luycotas the Handsome, here for your listening pleasure.  My fame spreads like a red wine stain on a white poet shirt, but tonight you have me all to yourselves."  With that, he launches into a quick, jaunty instrumental number on his lute.  The music is quite loud, and voices need be raised a bit to be heard over it.

Jararaka growls at the stranger's taunting of Yeshil, but takes no other action.

"That is... quite the tale.  I think I heard about the blast you describe.  Some magic shop on the east side?" asks Isaac.

Volo looks a bit sheepish. "That's right...  I was going to look into the Cult of the Dragon for you, wasn't I?"  Then he beams.  "How fortunate, then, that so erudite a scholar as Laraelra is here with us tonight!  If you won't boast of your own glory, perhaps you can educate us on the latest dastardly doings of old Sammaster's pigeon-toed disciples?"

The sorceress takes a new, longer look at Tylaerys, Jirel and Jararaka (and Finn if they are still nearby).  "You seek the Cult of the Dragon?  May I ask why?"

The young blonde half-elf keeps a silvery eye on the two dice players, then going briefly trense as the greens-skinned girl mentions the blast and the red wizards, and then again as she even mentions the cult of the dragon. She gives Yeshil a concerned look as Finn helps her away from the table. She would have to talk to the girl later, to comfort and reassure her, it was not fair to her to set her up with alcohol in this sensetive situation. It might not matter much though. Although she was convinced that the persons at the next table were indeed listening in,  they could be here for any of the other people at their table, or even working for one of them, and if they were indeed cultists they probably knew that the team was trying to track them down. She gives the bard a glare at his comment about daycare and felt she needed to put the man in his place before she left. But first she had a question to answer. "Well, we're grabbing at straws really but there was mention of a cult at the attack on Greenest some tendays ago and lets just say we are curious about if it could be the old cult of the dragon reemerging." She says fairly plainly, but at the same time her silvery eyes indicates that the people at the next table might have an interest in what they are saying.

Deception if needed to get the message discreetly across to the sorceress: 15

     Finn allows Yeshil to storm off without trying to stop her.  Struggling would only make things worse, he had no doubt.  Finn watches as she heads over to the bar and adopts the coolest pose she knows how.  Finn pauses and waits for a minute, letting her cool off as well as remembering what it was like to be young again...  He surely was way worse back then.

     After the minute is over, Finn takes one more moment to look himself over and make himself look as presentable as possible.  He then approaches Yeshil again with a smirk on his face, a gleam in his eye and an over-exaggerated sense of barroom smarm about himself.

     "I seem to be wearing your drink," he says with his practiced charm and grace as he leans in close besides her, using the crowded bar as an excuse to be a lot closer than he should be.  "Least I can do is buy you a new one, right?"  Without waiting for a reply he raises a hand to the bartender to get their attention and then uses Minor Illusion to whisper into the ear of the bartender to bring the girl something that looks fancy but is non-alcoholic. 

     "I know, I know... I acted the total overbearing dad or some such, didn't i?  Sorry, sorry...  It's just sometimes the drinking can make us say and do things that we regret later," Zeds explains.  "That is why I hang out in bars so often, I love taking advantage of such people."

     "But c'mon, Yesh... You know this.  You know we want to keep some things quiet.  Hell, there's plenty you are keeping quiet from even us, I bet.  Right?  Right??  I'm not asking you to spill the beans now or anything...  Just saying, it's doubly important to be discreet when we've been drinking..."

The sorceress looks carefully at Tylaerys as she speaks.  It seems as if she picks up that Tylaerys is trying to communicate something without saying it out loud, but she can't be sure.  Then she slowly nods.  "Evil never sleeps, it is said.  'Tis true, another incarnation of the Cult of the Dragon is afoot in the Realms, a new mask on an old face."

"For the moment, however, there is no need to fear.  There is no danger here... at least none you need worry about tonight."

Back at the bar, the Kenku gives Finn a big thumbs up.  Then it rolls its eyes and scoops Yeshil another cup out of the Bilge Juice bucket, passing it along the bar to her.

At the table, the woman dressed as a pirate captain approaches.  "Ah," she says, "And how are my most honored guests enjoying themselves?  Have you had a chance to visit the gaming tables, Volo?"

He smiles back in return.  "As a matter of fact, I have not.  We have only just settled in to catch up."

"Well, in that case, I won't interrupt, other than to share these."  She pulls a stack of 25 clay tokens from her pocket and sets them on the table.  "They are as good as gold pieces at the tables upstairs.  Enjoy them, on the house."  She nods politely but intently at Laraelra and then heads upstairs.

The young blonde half-elf gives the clay tokens a curious look, pondering if they are the same kind they found earlier. She then glances over at Finn at the bar, assuming he wouldn't mind enjoying them upstairs once he had taken care of Yeshil. "Well, we are curently here on behalf of an alliance between some powerful groups that has decided this new incarnation of the cult could pose a threat to the Sword Coast, perhaps you and the Blackstaff are already aware of this? We would of course be very grateful for anything you might share about the current version of the cult. Have you for instance heard of a place called Naerytar?" Tylaerys turns and asks Laraelra once the pirate captain hostess leaves, glancing over at Jirel to see if she felt like showing the bark depictions.

Jirel was still keeping careful watch. While the others may have varying opinions of how the Little One was enjoying herself, the giantess for once was okay with whether they drew attention or not. If anything she was surprised it wasn't Finn who did it first. A part of her was even a little disappointed that there was no mention of her wyvern taming. Perhaps for another crowd at another time. Regardless, whether the eavesdroppers and those who heard Yeshil believed her words or not, it got reactions.

With Finn going after the Little One, Jirel would have to focus on what was going on at their table. And with Tylaerys engaging the conversation, it made it easier for the giantess to keep a close eye on those she's speaking with. While Jirel may not be the best at it, she'd still try to read what body language and suggestions beyond words. Of course there was something intriguing about Laraelra, more so her choice of words. Specifically, the assuredness of there 'not being any danger here, at least not tonight'. Then, a pirate captain approaches their table and deposits some clay coinage. Did they just exchange a look?

Insight: 2, maybe adv with them being engaged by Tylaerys and/or distracted by YF?: 9
Investigation: 15

If Yeshil is listening to Finn then she doesn't seem to be paying much attention, she leans against the bar chugging her newest drink like an adult would, trying to look like a cool adult would look, and even laughs out loud at random as if sharing a funny adult joke with Finn, and glancing around casually to see who else is watching. Maybe once Finn gets bored and leaves she might even saunter over and introduce herself to those nice people with the devil creature - they look interesting and sophisticated...

     Finn, after a couple of minutes trying to reason with Yeshil, grows frustrated and annoyed.  He is not a babysitter and he doesn't play kids birthday parties so he has no skills with dealing with kids.  "Fine, you want to be a brat then so be it.  Just know, brat won't be cool for another two thousand years or so... But cool will always be cool.  You can be it but acting it never is..."  And with his frustrated, and surely more harmful than helpful admonition, he walks back to the table with a half shrug and a roll of his eyes to indicate his lack of success to any curious.

Jirel, there was definitely a look between the hostess and Laraelra.  Its hard to say what it was about, though.  Of the two, the hostess seemed far more concerned, with Laraelra hardly reacting to it at all.   The others, the noble, the commoner, and the Volo, don't seem to have picked up on the look at all.  Volo and the noble look to be just having a good time drinking, while the commoner looks terrified and completely out of his element.

Laraelra considers Tylaerys' question.  "The Cult of the Dragon, in its newest form, may be more dangerous than ever.  There has been a shift in leadership, and under its new masters they have shed some of their old beliefs.  In the past, they cultivated relationships with dracoliches, believing undead dragons were the key to worldwide dominion.  Now, and strangely, the Cult appears to have wholeheartedly thrown in with worshippers of the dragon goddess Tiamat, becoming something of a doomsday cult.  Despite - or perhaps because of - their apocalyptic teachings, their ranks are growing."

She leans in slightly, lowering her voice but not out of fear, more to emphasize the importance of what she’s about to say. "You may have already encountered their symbol—a five-headed dragon, representing Tiamat, often worn subtly on pendants or rings, or etched into their flesh through ink or branding.  But their members also use specific passphrases to identify one another.  One phrase I’ve heard whispered is: 'The queen in all her glory shall rise,' to which the response is, 'And all will bow before her might.'  I have heard of the Harpers having some success fast-talking low level cultists just by giving them that password."

Laraelra continues, "As for their leadership, it’s far more hierarchical now. They have regional leaders, called Wearers of Purple, who command absolute authority within their zones of influence.  Below them are the lieutenants Dragonwings and Dragonclaws—loyal cultists, but nowhere near the power of their superiors."

Pausing for a moment, she adds, "While I don’t know of this 'Naerytar,' it's possible it's one of their hidden strongholds.  They are believed to have several, though few are well-known, as they have grown adept at keeping their operations shadowed.  If you find any more information on it, I'd be more than willing to help you connect the dots."

Her gaze meets Tylaerys', offering a calm smile. "I'm afraid I haven't been focused on the Cult of the Dragon recently, and this is all I can say with confidence.  Unfortunately, they are only one of many threats to the Realms, though it is good to hear that courageous folk seem to be rising up to challenge them before they get out of hand."

"Damn.  This is going to be a fun night," says Isaac.  "You never disappoint, Volo.  I love this spy-thriller stuff."

As Yeshil approaches the table at the stern, where a wealthy-looking man sits flanked by his spined devil, she is able to recognize a negotiation is taking place.  The elven couple seated across from the man appear weary but determined as they discuss financial terms.  The man's expression is cool, calculating, with a thin smile.

“…Of course, a loan of this size doesn’t come without some assurances,” the man says, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.  “I’d hate to see you struggle under the weight of repayment, but we can structure something… favorable for both parties.”

The elves exchange uncertain glances.  The male elf speaks cautiously, “We only need enough to secure the adoption. We can pay it back—”

“Over time,” the man interjects, “Yes, yes, of course. But let's not kid ourselves—debts have a way of lingering.  And I’m sure you want the best for your new family.”

Suddenly, Yeshil saunters over, her movement a bit too casual, her drink sloshing slightly as she clutches it in one hand. 

The elven couple stares at her in bewilderment, their conversation halted mid-sentence. The female elf’s mouth gapes slightly in confusion, clearly unsure how to react to the teenager’s sudden appearance.

The man's smile falters for just a second before he leans back in his chair, amused by the intrusion.  His spined devil shifts slightly at his side, its beady eyes fixed on Yeshil, wings twitching as if assessing whether she poses a threat.  The small creature makes a stab-stab motion with its little poleaxe and then looks to the man for approval.  He shakes his head.

“And who do we have here?” the man asks with curiosity, his voice smooth and silky. “You seem to be enjoying yourself quite a bit, aren’t you, my dear?”

Yeshil hears the conversation, but in her current state she doesn't immediately grasp the gravity and privacy of the subject matter, focused as she is on herself and making a good impression. Encouraged by the apparent welcoming greeting by the 'handsome man' (maybe he's a bit older than she first suspected, but maybe a bit more handsome too) she extends one hand and responds:

Good evening. I'm Yeshil. This is my first time here. <sip> Or in any bar, actually. She looks back and forth between the three (plus one) patrons and asks innocently. What about you?

As Yeshil introduces herself, the man studies her for a moment, entertained by her obliviousness.  He lets out a soft chuckle, leaning back even farther in his chair as he steeples his fingers.  The man is indeed older... perhaps in his 30's, though he dresses and wears his hair as a man 10 years younger might.  His spined devil continues watching Yeshil closely, twirling its little poleaxe in anticipation of a command that never comes.

The man responds charmingly, "Ah, a first-timer!  Well, welcome to the Low Lantern, Yeshil. I'm sure it's quite the experience for someone so... new to the scene.  As for myself, this isn't my first time here.  In fact, I find this place to be quite useful for all sorts of... discussions."  He gestures broadly at the room.  "My name is Amrik Vanthampur, of the banking family.  I'm so pleased to make your acquaintance.  My friends here, and I, were just discussing a little bit of business."

The elven couple look decidedly uncomfortable. The female elf glances nervously at her partner, and leans in toward him, whispering.  The male elf, torn between wanting to avoid making a scene and needing to finish their business, fidgets with a small coin pouch.  "Perhaps it's best if we conclude this discussion quickly..." he murmurs to Amrik.

Amrik’s smile widens slightly.  "Now, now, no need to rush.  We’re all friends here, after all!" he says with a wave of his hand, dismissing the couple’s concerns while keeping his gaze locked on Yeshil.  He’s clearly intrigued by the interruption and has no intention of letting her slip away just yet.

The spined devil, growing bored with the situation,  glances at Yeshil, tilts its head curiously, and then yawns, showing off rows of jagged teeth.  Amrik, catching this, shoots the creature a brief, unhappy look, silently commanding it to behave.  It mutters something in infernal and then shifts, one foot at a time, until it has turned around on the back of the chair and resumes its vigil, watching the stairs down from the deck above.

"Why don’t you pull up a chair, Yeshil?" Amrik suggests, gesturing to an empty seat nearby.  "I'm sure someone as bright and adventurous as you could find our conversation... enlightening."  He casts a sideways glance at the elven couple, who remain stiff and uncertain, clearly eager to finish their deal and be done with the awkward situation.

     Finn returns back to the bulk of the group just in time to hear Laraelra mention something of a call and response for the cultists and he makes note of it, such things could indeed come in handy if he tried to pass off as one of them.  The tattoos and branding were old information, however, but the info on Purple Wearers was good to have confirmed.

     Finn listens to the table and tries to catch up on what he missed while unsuccessfully reigning in Yeshil but cannot help but glance back in the kids direction nor and again to make sure she is alright.  (Perception?  8)  Alas, one glance she seems fine and then the next he's lost sight of her entirely.  He considers finding her again but he's probably the last person she wants to listen to right now.  Besides, what's the worst that could happen?

Tylaerys leans in closer to Laraelra, listening attentively to what she has to share about the cult and it's new incarnation, blushing slightly at the end as the sorceress mentions courageous folk rising up to challenge it. "Thank you, while we have only just recently found ourselves on a path to challenge the cult we hope to do what we can to contribute to it's downfall. Now I would have to momentarily excuse myself as one of our companions might need some assistance in navigating this place." The young half-elven blonde says with a polite smile, gracefully getting up to move over to Yeshil, coming up at the green-skinned girl's side.

"Who are your new friends?" She asks with a pleasant smile, giving the host in particular a discreet scrutinizing look.

Persuasion to give a plesasant first impression: 18
Insight to determine intentions of those at the table: 15