"Glad to know Maitland's keeping better company these days," Adhida says to Ophelia and Glyph with a slight bow back.  "No,  need for the formalities, " she adds quickly to Jada and Firebrand. "It's my work that defines me not..." she pauses as Maanai interrupts.

"Our family's title or shall I add colored past," Maanai teases Adhida who chuckles shaking her lustrous mane of black hair!

"Indeed, " Adhida replies grinning. "I am a seeker of truth," the wizard replies to Ophelia's question.  "I study a lot of things.  My discipline is not exactly anything. I seek to have skills it all things," they explain furthur serming proud but then their expression darkens as if remembering something. "I..., that is my uncle, received a message from Maitland they were ill. More so than before. Sounded very serious and now your here without them having been fetched by my cousin.  I hope they were clear, Maitland that is, about the task at hand," she asks with a lifted eyebrow looking over the party.

Quote from WilliamOThewisps >>

Glyph gives a very dramatic bow to the Lady Adhida, then stands up and strokes his chin. He raises an eyebrow slightly at the back-and-forth between the cousins, wondering why the family is experiencing trust problems within the House of Barakah-Set.

Because they’re a family, dimwit, he thinks to himself, remembering his own family background.

“Well, well! A pleasure to finally meet one of the scions of the Barakah-Set,” he chuckles. “I’m awestruck to be in the presence of such a beauteous spirit, one that puts these lush gardens and tendrils to shame! I’m speechless at the grace and elegance of this venerable great house! Allow me to introduce myself: I am Glyph Brookstone of Dwendalia, your Grace, though introductions may be redundant.”

The half-elf quickly waves a hand through the air, settling into his typical mode of self-aggrandizing performance. “Perhaps you’ve heard of my exploits, eh? The slayer of the Porcine Pugilist! The scourge of the wanton wasp warriors? The bane of the conference of gelatinous cubes? Flayer of the Mind-Flayer? Yes, yes, indeed! Then there was the case of the Gray Vampiress of Daggerbay! She'd clearly heard of my prowess with Beatrix here” He pauses, tapping the hilt of the saber, an almost magical gleam twinkles in his bright eyes and smile. “One look at my celestial smile and her grimy, undead heart exploded right in her chest! It's all in my upcoming work, A Thousand Flat Doughs: Food and Fellowship in Tal'Dorei. Oh yes, and voted seven times in the Rexxentrum Broadsheet as most eligible bachelor in the whole of Wildemount!”

Blech, he thinks to himself at that last statement, though his expression remains fixed. “Anyway, I forget the kingdom has been, hmm, a bit insular, so perhaps my tales have not yet breached these thriving walls!”

Performance roll from the game log (in case you need it! Might as well throw a psi-bolstered knack in there, too): 20 total!

Retroactively: Both Maanai and Adhida seem dazzled by Glyph if a not a little confused by his boasting about places, people, and things their wholly unfamiliar.  They seem very enthusiastic about Glyph's presence however and Adhida watches Glyph with curiosity. 

"Maitland spoke of retrieving a relic from a tomb. We need some directions and supplies before we leave. Do you have a map perhaps or any more information Adhida?" says Jada. Glyph is truly a gregarious creature. I don't know if any of these tales or exploits have any grain of truth to them. Well  we have a job to do so lets get on with it. 

"Why yes uh myself and Maanai are your guides," Adhida replies to Jada with a wide smile.  "Nai owes a debt on the way to Dendarah where our families estate was once located and the tombs of our ancestors are buried. Meneptah is the tomb you're looking for and I've got a rough idea of where we should look," she adds gleefully as she walks to the desk to retrieve something. 

As Adhida turns away Ameen reappears midair bobbing like a child's balloon their wings noiseless beating the air as of the creature levitate not flies! It's inscrutable expression like a stone wall as it inspects the party before resting in Maanai's arms.

"He'll grow to tolerate you or claw your eyes out," Maanai says stroking the creature as its purr comes out like a series of extended hoots! "Well, what all did Maitland say," the masked figure asks next moving towards an empty chair and sitting down. Ameen rests on Maanai lap and the masked figure continues to stroke him as Adhida makes frustrated sounds at her desk still distractedly searching. 

Firebrand gives Glyph a nod of respect. Even if his companion is a bit bombastic, the Paladin can't help but admire the rogue's skill as a storyteller.

"I'm honestly not sure if Maitland gave us too much information, or not enough," Firebrand says with a chuckle. "He told us a lot of stories about the riches we could find in the Kingdom of Anjara, more than I could realistically hope to commit to memory, and I have no way of separating the facts he gave us from conjecture and theory. Admittedly, I'm sure that my more academically gifted companions would be better suited to the task of analyzing his words."

The dragonborn pauses, then his tone shifts to a much more somber one.

"But I don't think that's our primary concern right now. Our good benefactor has taken quite ill during the final stage of the journey here, and is currently in no fit state for... well... much of anything besides laying in bed, unfortunately."

Rubbing his fingernails on his glimmering gold cloak, Glyph watches the conversation unfold, his gleaming, toothy smile fading into a pleasant grin. The githzerai and dragonborn have asked the questions and made the points he feels are necessary, and decides, for once, to let his braggadocio hang in the room without further comment. Instead, he uses the opportunity to truly take in his surroundings. The overwhelming presence of leafy, green plants--whether dangerous or not--appears to be an exception to the rule for many of the areas he'd walked through. He also wonders if the display of water is at odds with most of the households in this desert kingdom, he's sure it is. With a few "mmhmms" and "of courses" to keep pace with the conversation, he holds back a yawn.

(Glyph wonders if he can hazard a guess at the wealth/station of the family based on the architecture, artifacts, and decorations on display in the areas he's seen. Having spent much time in households of the rich and famous, he hopes his experience with the wealthy can give him some measure of this family's wealth. Investigation, perhaps? Bleh 6 in the game log.)

"Maitland sent me a message personally just days ago explaining their...illness had progressed," Maanai replies to Firebrand with a nod of their head. "I...I cannot express my regret they are unable to join us," they add their voice, for once, sounding somber. "They were our teacher you see," Maanai then explains as Adhida perks up from her search of her desk.

"Brilliant teacher, " Adhida exclaims.  "Only tutor that ever allowed us to get our hands metaphorically and literally dirty," she adds with her expression soften into a smile as if remembering something pleasant.  "They of course didn't linger long in our household when the late king Seqenenre Ta'a opened the country to the East. Not any scholar worth their salt would have," she adds her earnest smile returning. "Here I haven't s clue if uncle has taken my map but we'll look it his office when we speak to him.  Can I offer refreshments or places of rest? You must all be so tired by the journey, " she asks looking over the party. 

Glyph notices the obvious trappings of wealth but has no gauge in Anjaran society what they'd consider rich.

"Well some water would be nice as you can really feel the sun in this land." says Jada. He relaxes a bit and decides to take a seat while still holding onto his halberd. He sits at the edge of hit seat in case he needs to spring into action.

Firebrand will gratefully accept something to eat and a place to spend the night.

Glyph yawns, looking around the room. He's not realized how much the travel and day have taken out of him. With a somewhat wimpier, but still glinting smile, he looks to the group's new host, his eyes lingering longer on Adhida. "A light meal and some rest would be greatly appreciated, ma'am. A bite to eat, perhaps a drink or two, a tale or three, and some sleep will have us right as rain."

Adhida nods and within minutes a tall and slender light blue skinned firblog appears in off white robs. She conveys the orders for a light meal to be brought to her study. The lanky firblog nods then disappears.

"Is there any questions about your task ahead," Maanai asks the party curiously as Adhida leads the party into yet another room that has a large oval table surrounded by plush high backed chairs. 

"Yes," Adhida agrees woth Maanai taking a seat at Maanai's right as Maanai seats themselves at the head of the table.

The cousins seem equal in all things together but Adhida has no problem giving Maanai deference. Ameen then suddenly appears walking across the table towards Adhida. The beautiful scholar chuckles reaching for the fey creature that lazily joins her in her seat on her lap. 

The food, wine, and honeyed mead arrives on a large silver platters levitating behind the firblog. 

"Please enjoy yourselves," Adhida says gesturing to the platters that settle onto the table.

"If it's no trouble," Ophelia replied with a gracious turn of her hand. "It has been a rather exhausting trip, we would be grateful for any measure of hospitality." She examines the shelves nearby. "I'm sorry for what has become of Professor Maitland. I hadn't realized you knew them. Hopefully they find respite from their illness soon."

She settles in at the table for dinner. Over dinner she asks a few questions about the journey. "How far is it to our destination? Are there records or legends of the tomb? Perhaps plans for its construction, or journals from previous expeditions?"

Firebrand doesn't say much, but he listens to Ophelia's question, and waits for their host's response as he munches on the meal he has been offered.

"May I?" Ophelia casts Mage Hand and extends a scrap of meat to Ameen. "What a handsome lad. He reminds me of my mother's cat."

"Oh, how kind," Adhida replies to Ophelia as the winged fey creature climbs atop the table from Adhida's lap towardsthe floating hand.  "Ameen doesn't eat here but in the Fey where I summoned him from," she explains.  "He loves to play," she adds as the fey creature, curious about the floating magic hand with meat, bats at the offering aloft with it's paw but doesn't seem to want to eat it. "As for traveling Dendarah is deep in the desert outside the protection of the City of Mages," the young woman begins again. "I...have never been but my cousin did visit once before," she gestures at Maanai who's twirling a wine glass by the stem but not drinking it. Maanai nods agreeing with Adhida. Curiously Maanai doesn't speak. "A half weeks journey by sand ship if the winds are with us," she adds. "But to answer your other questions for records.  No, not personally. It was a time of great upheaval for our family due to the stancewe took against the lich king. Sol Ray Ta'a had ruled well beyond the lifespan of a man. His Cult of the Dead were very strong and their agents a cancer on the kingdom. Every city from Sol to the South to the fishing village we are now sat in but raised up from the desert now Me'at Halwa," she says with a frown. "In my investigations I do have a journal from a former ambassador named Martek. They were a consort of Sol-Ray Ta'a and a contemporaryof our ancestors," she explains gesturing at Maanai again. "Oh," Adhida then says as if realizing something else. "Do...any of you speak Anjaran," she then asks the party with a raised dark eyebrow,  "or Dragconic," she adds curiously. "There are some notes in both but majority of the journal is in Old Anjaran," she answers Ophelia.

"I am completely new to these lands. I do not know the Anjaran language, but I do know draconic" says Jada. I am curious about this sand ship she speaks of. It would save us may hours trudging through the desert.

"I'm sure it will come as no surprise to you that I am also well versed in the draconic tongue," Firebrand says with a half-smile. Then, a though occurs to him. "So, I feel it is prudent for me to ask one thing. What kinds of beings are likely to greet us during our mission? Your talk of a 'cult of the dead' leads me to suspect that we may be dealing with creatures of the, shall we say 'not quite living' variety, but if you have any more specific information regarding these threats then I for one would appreciate it greatly if you would be willing to share it with us."

Glyph settles himself in and gets right to it with the food, he even partakes in a bit of wine after examining it a bit. The half-elf seems to be all ears at this informal meeting. No fluff, no stories this evening. His ears, in fact, perk up a bit at the mention of Anjaran and Draconic. With the tiniest bit of pomp—well perhaps enough pomp for a normal person, but tiny for Glyph—he says, “All my language instructors gave me up as a bad job, unfortunately.”

He listens to Jada’s, Firebrand’s, and Ophelia’s concerns. “Yes, I’m also concerned about what challenges we’ll face as we move along this dim path. Along with beasts, however, I’m sure we can expect to encounter traps and tricks. I may recall reading something about traps in Maitland’s journal? To keep the roguish types away?” Glyph quickly makes a dramatic scowl. “Can’t blame them, of course, thieves solely focused on ill-gotten profit. The scallywags.”

Glyph purses his lips for a moment. “I’m sure there will be loads of fascinating artifacts and things held in vile clutches, no? Better to be in careful collections than in the fingers of evil, certainly.”

"I have only a passing familiarity with Old Anjaran, but I spent much time in my studies on linguistics. Given a bit of time to prepare, I should be able to translate the document for our benefit, if I have your blessing to do so." As she speaks she playfully moves the mage hand up and down, teasing the tressym with the dainty morsel. 

OOC I have Comprehend Languages prepared

"You see what I mean?" Glyph says. "We've got a cracking team! I often wonder how I ended up with such talented folk." He smiles and winks.