Bell whispers to Meredith, "Mere, did you bring us to a blind date? For your sake, I hope it wasn't that starving looking elf that was at the door when we arrived."
The staircase is long, and after descending a full minute, the walls begin to sweat. Trickles at first, but soon, complete panels are covered in shallow, gently falling water. The thrumming sound resolves into music which gets louder – much louder – as you go. By the time you reach the bottom of the stairway, which opens up into a huge subterranean chamber, you must raise your voices to be heard over it.
There are many dozens of interesting-looking persons here, a bar, and an open pool in the center of the kaleidomagically-lit chamber. About a score of mer-folk frolic in the water with drinks in hand, or sit on the edge of the pool, moving to the beat or engaged in shouted conversations. The scarecrow man is lost in the crowd.
Meredith spots Rivalen Blackhand. The white-haired man is wearing a bard’s multi-hued coat over a black shirt with the word “PLUNGE” printed largely upon it in glittering moon-white. He stands upon a raised dais with a number of beautifully-crafted wooden cubes surrounding him. The cubes are covered in arcane sigils – they seem to be Thaumaturgy-casters. It is from them that the music pounds. Moving to the music while manipulating levers in the thaumaturgy boxes, the old wizard notices Meredith and motions for her to come to him.
(Are any of the attendees obviously extra-planar, whether species that can be also found in Faerun like the Merfolk. Anything or anyone that is obviously not from the same material realm or plane?)
(I will roll some skills in the log for timeliness in case any are needed for the question).
Meredith heads over towards the wizard, her head a little spun by this not being the small parlour gathering she had erroneously been expecting.
" Hi....uh, Hello. Interesting place you have here."
The old wizard bounces spryly to the music about which Meredith notes two things as she approaches. First, he is creating it on the spot with his boxes, and second, her bardic instincts are underwhelmed by the quality of the music itself. Yes, it fills a purpose as background music, but… meh.
“Ah, young Meredith,” he shouts over the music. “Your timing is very good. If you are ready, I have warmed up the crowd. I think a tale told by an expert orator will be the perfect thing at this moment. And… as I said, there is one individual who ahem, we wish to impress. That’s what you’re here for.” His eyes fall upon a young woman of incredible beauty. Why incredible? Her features are not perfect after all, and she is petite and not curvaceous. But there is a glow about her. The suffused golden light of sunset emanates from her subtly. And her movements are so fine and graceful and enthralling that Meredith realizes that she has stopped breathing for a long moment, watching her. When Meredith looks back at Rivalen, she sees the same admiration reflected in his eyes, and more. Much more. Longing. He is a suitor, she realizes…
(Are any of the attendees obviously extra-planar, whether species that can be also found in Faerun like the Merfolk. Anything or anyone that is obviously not from the same material realm or plane?)
(I will roll some skills in the log for timeliness in case any are needed for the question).
Erudisia scans the crowd for extra-planar beings. Definitely no earth or fire elementals. But… could a djinn be hiding in the air? One can never know. And as for the large pool… a water elemental could be there, fully blended into the water. Or, it could just be water… But wait, the young woman there who Meredith and Rivalen are looking at. From the Feywild. An eladrin!
“Why, Erudisia Odewright!," a cheerful voice pierces the hubbub. "There are laws against stalking persons in this city, and I would know, after breaking up with that understudy of yours. Some people don’t take ‘no’ for an answer… Okay, I lied, there aren’t laws against it, hahahahaw! But that is to my advantage, because once again the very jewel of Moonshae stands before me. And this time, there’s no avoiding her!” Erudisia recognizes the speaker as the same young-ish elf noble called Rythil Ire who had approached her at the Casino, standing once again with a martini in hand. He gently takes Erudisia’s arm to guide her to the bar, smiling with his slightly unctuous, mercurial, beautiful smile.
BELL
Bell’s eyes also fall upon a familiar face across the room. A handsome man in his 20s, with a trimmed beard and satiny collar-length brown-bronze hair. As he stands at the edge of the crowd, not quite fitting in, Bell recognizes him as the gallant bystander who pulled her from the water at the casino when she staged her fall into its “River Styx.”
Bell will thread her way over to the young man, "My casino hero, we meet again. I hope there are not rivers in this place, all the same."
She will spend time idly chitchatting with Jersey Grantersonchick ( she feels that name was as bogus as the one she offered at the casino ). Still, he was polite and gallant and a 'familiar face' even if barely. "I was not certain you would recognize me without being drenched from head to toe."
Meredith recovers herself after a little time and greets the young woman, but is too nervous to ask her name.....similar to herself in some ways but greatly surpassing her in all others.
Her eyes moved between the young woman and the old wizard dubiously, she would recite the Saga but she did not want this man proposing anything to this woman.....
She nodded again and took the stage, as she did so she reached out with her craft and warmed the stone beneath the woman's feet and raised her hands, a small dappled facsimile of the Elven King floated in the air before her performing a series of deft manoeuvres as a rain of golden sparkles appeared in the air before her and fell to the ground before vanishing....
She began to sing, softly....she knew the first twelve verses well....but the last three were always tricky.....they did not sound quite right to her....likely because the original had been in Elvish....and she had only her clumsy Common....well, she had others but few here would know them..
As she began to sing of Tethirs losses she saw Bell in discussion with he young man that had pulled her from the river, he was smiling Bell was faced away from her at that moment, it seemed she pulled in close against the young man and Merediths eyes pulled away to meet those of the woman she was supposed to be singing to......her stomach aflutter she felt tears begin to well at the corners of her eyes.......pain.....beauty.....grief.....
She finished the saga slightly panting as the tiny illusion vanished and she stumbled back a little before catching herself, embarrassed she gathered herself and looked up across the crowd.....
The young man, at first plainly surprised and glad to see Bell, winces when Bell calls him by name. After a few moments of tension as he tries to maintain a facade, he holds up both hands in appeasement.
“Um… Milady… I’m… look, I’m sorry. Jersey… it’s not actually my name. The truth is, I wasn’t actually supposed to be there at the casino. Sort of? It’s a long story. Anyhow, I’m just glad you made it out all right. Things were dicey there for a minute.” He makes a hat tipping motion and turns away. But he doesn’t walk away, and after several breaths he turns back. “I’m a believer in second chances. Can I start over?” He extends a hand – not in a courtly manner as before, but in simple courtesy. “Hi. I’m Russet Luskan. Of the Chionthar Luskans at Marrow Hill farm.”
ALL
All eyes turn to Meredith as she begins. But at the outset, her voice is too small and doesn’t fill the room. “Louder!,” a crotchety old woman shouts from a corner. Rivalen holds up a finger for a moment and his Unseen Servant adjusts levers on several of the boxes. He glances meaningfully around the room and a soft, expectant silence fills the chamber as the psychedelic lighting effects fade to nothing, leaving only a soft beam of warm illumination which caresses and softens Meredith’s features.
(With a 20…) Meredith is able to create a rapport with the crowd, and more importantly, with the Eladrin woman whose Feywild magnetism is equalled by the bard’s performance. A kind of parity results…
Rivalen’s eyes, at first firm but also uncertain as he tries not to stare at the Eladrin, slowly widen with excitement and his lips part a hairsbreadth. It seems his gambit is working!
A few moments pass in complete silence when Meredith finishes. Then, gasps of awe-struck astonishment, Oh!’s and Encore!’s and a long round of applause. Admirers flood forward, gushing with compliments and inquiries.
Rivalen steps away from the dais to speak with the Eladrin woman.
A few minutes later, Rivalen thanks the crowd for its kindness to Meredith, and they step away, leaving room for Rivalen to make introductions.
“Prysqis Durcelle, meet Meredith Lystfuller. Meredith, your talents shone tonight. Please do stay as long as you wish. And, take this as thanks and payment for your services.” He hands Meredith a small jewelry box. He then turns to guide the Eladrin away, but Prysqis remains where she is. Her voice is like sweet liqueur when she addresses Meredith.
“Your talents are beguiling and your magic subtle and perfect. Where did you learn the Lay?”
Sensing the wizard’s impatience, she turns to him. “Rivalen, you must have other guests to attend to?” She smiles as her eyes tell him to excuse himself.
Merediths darker complexion could not totally hide a slight flush, and an involuntary smile lit her lips as she noted she had no reason to fear Rivalens intentions.....this lioness was certainly up to the task of keeping him at bay.
" Prysqis, I am most pleased to properly make your aquaintance.", she quickly tucked the box away hoping noone had seen her receive it.
" As for the Lay......I first read it in a little shop in Calimport where I held employment. I found myself revisiting it quite a lot when things were quite and my studies escaped my mood."
" In truth I have only heard it sung once.....but I think I recalled enough for it to be passable."
" B-Beguiling? You are far too kind.", her eyes flickered around for Erudisia and Bell....especially Bell but she was still in conversation with Jersey....
Merediths jaw jutted slightly in mild annoyance as she exhaled and brought her eyes back to the.....beguiling...Prysqis.
From the bar Erudisia watches as Meredith gives the performance of a life time, trying her best to hear it as the Moonshae Lothario does his best to erase her memory of experienced faults through his own self-aggrandisement.
Erudisia watches an Eladrin speaks to her friend, though different in aspect to her own Lady mother, the similarity that defies hair or face or accent or shape somehow undeniable.
She bites an olive off a stick, and realises at some point her old acquaintance has stopped speaking, and is looking at her expectantly.
“What happened to you at the casino?” She asks — not even attempting to answer any question he might have asked, or boast he might have thought invited comment.
Rythil Ire seems to take no offense at the slight. A corner of his mouth quirks ironically and he levels bedroom eyes at Erudisia, raising a brow ever so slightly. But he answers, describing how he saved a young waitress’ life when the primates, in frustration and unable to find a safe exit from the casino, hunkered down in the kitchen and started throwing plates. Although his obvious goal of extending the bedroom part of bedroom eyes to the rest of his body and Erudisia’s too soon diminishes, he maintains good humor, and is indeed able to offer some reliable tidbits regarding persons and places on the Moonshae Isles. Nothing too concerning. Rythil shows an unusual curiosity about the doings of everyone he meets, apparently, and he ably catches Erudisia up on whatever she might have missed.
MEREDITH
“My sweet Rivalen,” Prysqis answers, “laid a trap for me, I’m afraid. Oh, it’s not so dramatic, perhaps. I have… noticed… changes in the Feywild… the shivering Aspen Wood forest whose whispering leaves tell us in the Fey realm of proceedings in what you call the Material Plane… there are tidings… enigmas… about which I will not speak, but whose song calls to me. And so when his invitation came, again – for it has been scant tendays since I was last here in his company – I was already of a mind to travel here and seek answers to my questions. No answers have I learned. Instead, I found Rivalen’s heart smoldering for my presence. But though he is masterful in the arcane arts, and does not lack… personality… he will find no reciprocation from me.” She says this without malice, but she catches herself nonetheless. “I have said more than I ought. Tell me, do you know many poems by heart?” It might be Meredith’s imagination, or the way some audience members can become attached to a performer even after the curtain falls, but the Eladrin seems… interested in her.
ALL
The music has begun to crescendo and soon reaches its prior thrumming energy. Drinks are poured, hors d'oeuvres are passed, and soon, someone opens their violin case, stands on the dais, and begins fiddling – amplified by the boxes – rounds and jigs to the thrumming beat. And many of the guests, even the ghostly scarecrow, join in a dance party of flashing lights and pounding rhythms. The mer-folk leap from the water, flipping and splashing back into the pool, adding to the symphony of movement and revelry.
Prysqis finds Meredith. “Dance with me!,” she cajoles, smiling and fresh.
Russet Luskan, when the music grows too loud to hear himself speak, rolls his eyes and shrugs with a chuckle and then, making a funny face, wordlessly extends an arm and a smile to Bell and tilts his head toward the dancers in invitation.
Rythil, with his fourth martini in hand, stands up, moving to the beat but carefully splashing not a drop, and with an “are you afraid?” look at Erudisia dares her to join him in the bouncing crowd.
(Kindly summarize or narrate the rest of the night for your character, whether dancing ‘til dawn or immediately retreating back to the inn or something in between.)
Picture a cavernous chamber, bathed in the pulsating glow of bio-luminescent fungi clinging to walls barely perceived in the dim recesses of the chamber. Glittering dust, perhaps shed from fae wings or crystallized magic, shimmers in the air, catching the light and swirling like a nebula in miniature. The air itself hums, a tangible vibration thrumming beneath your feet, resonating from the magic sound boxes on the dias.
Dancers, not just humans but elves with iridescent hair flowing like molten silver, dwarves with braided beards jingling with charms, and even a few winged sprites flitting amidst the crowd, spun and glided across a polished obsidian floor. The movements were a blend of familiar modern steps and something distinctly magical: an elf might spin so rapidly their limbs blurred into a streak of light, a dwarf could unleash a surprisingly nimble "hustle" with stomping feet that echoed the bass, and the sprites would weave intricate, weightless patterns in the air, leaving trails of faint starlight behind them.
Bell took Russet's offered arm and gets pulled into the whirling mass of bodies that were dancing (and more) to the raucous music that booms into her bones.
Bodies flash by and then press close. One moment Bell saw a pair of dancers, a towering minotaur and a lithe dryad, execute a surprisingly graceful "bump," their hips gently colliding with the rhythmic beat. The next, a lone figure, their attire a shimmering kaleidoscope of silk and woven moonlight, would unleash a series of complex spins and finger-pointing poses that would make John Travolta proud, only with an added shimmer of magic that made the air around them crackle with energy. The energy was contagious and nearly electric. The joy was palpable, a collective euphoria emanating from every corner of the enchanted dance floor, transforming the ancient cavern into a dazzling, pulsating heart of magical revelry.
It seemed like that energy lasted the night, though, it was more like an hour before Bell had to yell into Russet's ear that she need to catch her breath and drink some water AND to find her friends.
With some reluctance in regards to her choice of partner, Erudisia is led to dance.
She sees Bell and Meredith dancing also, she joins the merfolk when they are on the land, she joins the circle of pushing and jumping that has formed of dancers nearest the arcane music-cubes.
It is not long before she is able to lose the smarmy Rythil somewhere in the proximity of Meredith, Bell and the eye-catching Eladrin.
When Bell goes to step away from the dance floor Erudisia is already spinning past, a large smile on her face, her braid a tight coil of frenetic energy, as she leaps and turns in the air, landing and catching her friends hands and turning her back toward the center of the movement again.
Meredith surrenders herself to the dance, her innate shyness and wallflower nature completely obliterated by the force of Prysqis' personality and aura. When the music slows it allows her to catch her breath and they speak of various poems and sagas...though Meredith confesses that the majority of works she knows regard the nature of cats and their ilk.
Prysqis, perhaps unwisely, asks her further on cats and Meredith speaks on Malaka and how the sleek queen is currently terrorising the rodents of Candlekeep with her peers. When the music hastens once more Meredith finds herself relying fully on Prysqis to lead and guide her through the steps without stumbling. As the night goes on she becomes more and more focused and....happy?....certainly intrigued.....
As they come out of the dance she forces herself to take her eyes off of Prysqis and waves with a slight bounce as she sees Erudisia spin Bell back into the dance and she....no...she slides her hand down her side to a small tucked away box and bursts out laughing catching Prysqis off-guard,
" Sorry, sorry. Did you want to catch your breath and take a drink?", she said with the slightest edge of desperation.
It seemed like that energy lasted the night, though, it was more like an hour before Bell had to yell into Russet's ear that she need to catch her breath and drink some water AND to find her friends.
When Bell goes to step away from the dance floor Erudisia is already spinning past, a large smile on her face, her braid a tight coil of frenetic energy, as she leaps and turns in the air, landing and catching her friends hands and turning her back toward the center of the movement again.
After an hour, Bell finds a stool and a glass of water, but is instantly pulled back onto the dance floor by Erudisia. The handsome, martini-holding elf with whom Erudisia had been speaking remains at the bar next to Russet. The two seem to have nothing to say to one another. Russet continues to quietly sip an ale when Rhythil, after a calculating glance around the room, takes a cocktail from the bar, stands, and holding it in one hand and his drink in the other, steps to the pool and hands the cocktail to one of the mer-women. You see him say something to her and she laughs, delighted. A compliment, well taken. The conversation continues.
As they come out of the dance she forces herself to take her eyes off of Prysqis and waves with a slight bounce as she sees Erudisia spin Bell back into the dance and she....no...she slides her hand down her side to a small tucked away box and bursts out laughing catching Prysqis off-guard,
" Sorry, sorry. Did you want to catch your breath and take a drink?", she said with the slightest edge of desperation.
“Yes, certainly, Prysqis says. Oh,” she then frowns slightly, looking over Meredith's shoulder. Meredith turns to see a pair of pixies approaching cautiously, “excuse me,” the Eladrin says, and joins the pixies in a soft, concerned conversation in Sylvan a little ways off. The moment the pixies leave, Rivalen rematerializes, and with a confident smile, Meredith sees him gesture toward a quiet corner of the room. Prysqis follows him there, but her eyes settle on Meredith’s for a long moment before they are lost behind moving bodies.
The moment Prysqis leaves Meredith is back to her extremely unconfident self and pushes herself back against the wall holding her drink up in front of herself as her eyes flicker about for Erudisia and Bell........and Prysqis.......
From her spot in the corner Meredith watches the tet-a-tet unfold between Rivalen and Prysqis. Rivalen’s manner grinds from fervent hopefulness to stunned truculence. Prysqis’s gestires are at first gentle as a spring breeze but become firm and unyielding as desert sunlight. Rivalen turns away, looking a decade older than he had mere minutes ago. Prysqis stands for a moment watching him, then makes her way back to Meredith.
“I had better go,” she says. “Or I fear my presence will be the party’s demise.” She looks into Meredith’s eyes appraisingly. “I’m… staying not far from here. There’s a very nice view of the Sea Tower from my terrace. And I have a bottle of Elven wine…” Her lip curls playfully as she awaits an answer.
Bell whispers to Meredith, "Mere, did you bring us to a blind date? For your sake, I hope it wasn't that starving looking elf that was at the door when we arrived."
The staircase is long, and after descending a full minute, the walls begin to sweat. Trickles at first, but soon, complete panels are covered in shallow, gently falling water. The thrumming sound resolves into music which gets louder – much louder – as you go. By the time you reach the bottom of the stairway, which opens up into a huge subterranean chamber, you must raise your voices to be heard over it.
There are many dozens of interesting-looking persons here, a bar, and an open pool in the center of the kaleidomagically-lit chamber. About a score of mer-folk frolic in the water with drinks in hand, or sit on the edge of the pool, moving to the beat or engaged in shouted conversations. The scarecrow man is lost in the crowd.
Meredith spots Rivalen Blackhand. The white-haired man is wearing a bard’s multi-hued coat over a black shirt with the word “PLUNGE” printed largely upon it in glittering moon-white. He stands upon a raised dais with a number of beautifully-crafted wooden cubes surrounding him. The cubes are covered in arcane sigils – they seem to be Thaumaturgy-casters. It is from them that the music pounds. Moving to the music while manipulating levers in the thaumaturgy boxes, the old wizard notices Meredith and motions for her to come to him.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Erudisia looks around in amazement.
(Are any of the attendees obviously extra-planar, whether species that can be also found in Faerun like the Merfolk. Anything or anyone that is obviously not from the same material realm or plane?)
(I will roll some skills in the log for timeliness in case any are needed for the question).
Meredith heads over towards the wizard, her head a little spun by this not being the small parlour gathering she had erroneously been expecting.
" Hi....uh, Hello. Interesting place you have here."
The old wizard bounces spryly to the music about which Meredith notes two things as she approaches. First, he is creating it on the spot with his boxes, and second, her bardic instincts are underwhelmed by the quality of the music itself. Yes, it fills a purpose as background music, but… meh.
“Ah, young Meredith,” he shouts over the music. “Your timing is very good. If you are ready, I have warmed up the crowd. I think a tale told by an expert orator will be the perfect thing at this moment. And… as I said, there is one individual who ahem, we wish to impress. That’s what you’re here for.” His eyes fall upon a young woman of incredible beauty. Why incredible? Her features are not perfect after all, and she is petite and not curvaceous. But there is a glow about her. The suffused golden light of sunset emanates from her subtly. And her movements are so fine and graceful and enthralling that Meredith realizes that she has stopped breathing for a long moment, watching her. When Meredith looks back at Rivalen, she sees the same admiration reflected in his eyes, and more. Much more. Longing. He is a suitor, she realizes…
Erudisia scans the crowd for extra-planar beings. Definitely no earth or fire elementals. But… could a djinn be hiding in the air? One can never know. And as for the large pool… a water elemental could be there, fully blended into the water. Or, it could just be water… But wait, the young woman there who Meredith and Rivalen are looking at. From the Feywild. An eladrin!
“Why, Erudisia Odewright!," a cheerful voice pierces the hubbub. "There are laws against stalking persons in this city, and I would know, after breaking up with that understudy of yours. Some people don’t take ‘no’ for an answer… Okay, I lied, there aren’t laws against it, hahahahaw! But that is to my advantage, because once again the very jewel of Moonshae stands before me. And this time, there’s no avoiding her!” Erudisia recognizes the speaker as the same young-ish elf noble called Rythil Ire who had approached her at the Casino, standing once again with a martini in hand. He gently takes Erudisia’s arm to guide her to the bar, smiling with his slightly unctuous, mercurial, beautiful smile.
BELL
Bell’s eyes also fall upon a familiar face across the room. A handsome man in his 20s, with a trimmed beard and satiny collar-length brown-bronze hair. As he stands at the edge of the crowd, not quite fitting in, Bell recognizes him as the gallant bystander who pulled her from the water at the casino when she staged her fall into its “River Styx.”
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Bell will thread her way over to the young man, "My casino hero, we meet again. I hope there are not rivers in this place, all the same."
She will spend time idly chitchatting with Jersey Grantersonchick ( she feels that name was as bogus as the one she offered at the casino ). Still, he was polite and gallant and a 'familiar face' even if barely. "I was not certain you would recognize me without being drenched from head to toe."
Meredith recovers herself after a little time and greets the young woman, but is too nervous to ask her name.....similar to herself in some ways but greatly surpassing her in all others.
Her eyes moved between the young woman and the old wizard dubiously, she would recite the Saga but she did not want this man proposing anything to this woman.....
She nodded again and took the stage, as she did so she reached out with her craft and warmed the stone beneath the woman's feet and raised her hands, a small dappled facsimile of the Elven King floated in the air before her performing a series of deft manoeuvres as a rain of golden sparkles appeared in the air before her and fell to the ground before vanishing....
She began to sing, softly....she knew the first twelve verses well....but the last three were always tricky.....they did not sound quite right to her....likely because the original had been in Elvish....and she had only her clumsy Common....well, she had others but few here would know them..
As she began to sing of Tethirs losses she saw Bell in discussion with he young man that had pulled her from the river, he was smiling Bell was faced away from her at that moment, it seemed she pulled in close against the young man and Merediths eyes pulled away to meet those of the woman she was supposed to be singing to......her stomach aflutter she felt tears begin to well at the corners of her eyes.......pain.....beauty.....grief.....
She finished the saga slightly panting as the tiny illusion vanished and she stumbled back a little before catching herself, embarrassed she gathered herself and looked up across the crowd.....
Performance- 5
BA- Bardic Inspiration to the young woman.
(Please roll an advantage die. The result of your study and practice of the lay that afternoon.)
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
( Prays to anyone listening. 9 )
( Phew!)
BELL
The young man, at first plainly surprised and glad to see Bell, winces when Bell calls him by name. After a few moments of tension as he tries to maintain a facade, he holds up both hands in appeasement.
“Um… Milady… I’m… look, I’m sorry. Jersey… it’s not actually my name. The truth is, I wasn’t actually supposed to be there at the casino. Sort of? It’s a long story. Anyhow, I’m just glad you made it out all right. Things were dicey there for a minute.” He makes a hat tipping motion and turns away. But he doesn’t walk away, and after several breaths he turns back. “I’m a believer in second chances. Can I start over?” He extends a hand – not in a courtly manner as before, but in simple courtesy. “Hi. I’m Russet Luskan. Of the Chionthar Luskans at Marrow Hill farm.”
ALL
All eyes turn to Meredith as she begins. But at the outset, her voice is too small and doesn’t fill the room. “Louder!,” a crotchety old woman shouts from a corner. Rivalen holds up a finger for a moment and his Unseen Servant adjusts levers on several of the boxes. He glances meaningfully around the room and a soft, expectant silence fills the chamber as the psychedelic lighting effects fade to nothing, leaving only a soft beam of warm illumination which caresses and softens Meredith’s features.
(With a 20…) Meredith is able to create a rapport with the crowd, and more importantly, with the Eladrin woman whose Feywild magnetism is equalled by the bard’s performance. A kind of parity results…
Rivalen’s eyes, at first firm but also uncertain as he tries not to stare at the Eladrin, slowly widen with excitement and his lips part a hairsbreadth. It seems his gambit is working!
A few moments pass in complete silence when Meredith finishes. Then, gasps of awe-struck astonishment, Oh!’s and Encore!’s and a long round of applause. Admirers flood forward, gushing with compliments and inquiries.
Rivalen steps away from the dais to speak with the Eladrin woman.
A few minutes later, Rivalen thanks the crowd for its kindness to Meredith, and they step away, leaving room for Rivalen to make introductions.
“Prysqis Durcelle, meet Meredith Lystfuller. Meredith, your talents shone tonight. Please do stay as long as you wish. And, take this as thanks and payment for your services.” He hands Meredith a small jewelry box. He then turns to guide the Eladrin away, but Prysqis remains where she is. Her voice is like sweet liqueur when she addresses Meredith.
“Your talents are beguiling and your magic subtle and perfect. Where did you learn the Lay?”
Sensing the wizard’s impatience, she turns to him. “Rivalen, you must have other guests to attend to?” She smiles as her eyes tell him to excuse himself.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Merediths darker complexion could not totally hide a slight flush, and an involuntary smile lit her lips as she noted she had no reason to fear Rivalens intentions.....this lioness was certainly up to the task of keeping him at bay.
" Prysqis, I am most pleased to properly make your aquaintance.", she quickly tucked the box away hoping noone had seen her receive it.
" As for the Lay......I first read it in a little shop in Calimport where I held employment. I found myself revisiting it quite a lot when things were quite and my studies escaped my mood."
" In truth I have only heard it sung once.....but I think I recalled enough for it to be passable."
" B-Beguiling? You are far too kind.", her eyes flickered around for Erudisia and Bell....especially Bell but she was still in conversation with Jersey....
Merediths jaw jutted slightly in mild annoyance as she exhaled and brought her eyes back to the.....beguiling...Prysqis.
" And yourself? What brings you to this place?"
From the bar Erudisia watches as Meredith gives the performance of a life time, trying her best to hear it as the Moonshae Lothario does his best to erase her memory of experienced faults through his own self-aggrandisement.
Erudisia watches an Eladrin speaks to her friend, though different in aspect to her own Lady mother, the similarity that defies hair or face or accent or shape somehow undeniable.
She bites an olive off a stick, and realises at some point her old acquaintance has stopped speaking, and is looking at her expectantly.
“What happened to you at the casino?” She asks — not even attempting to answer any question he might have asked, or boast he might have thought invited comment.
ERUDISIA
Rythil Ire seems to take no offense at the slight. A corner of his mouth quirks ironically and he levels bedroom eyes at Erudisia, raising a brow ever so slightly. But he answers, describing how he saved a young waitress’ life when the primates, in frustration and unable to find a safe exit from the casino, hunkered down in the kitchen and started throwing plates. Although his obvious goal of extending the bedroom part of bedroom eyes to the rest of his body and Erudisia’s too soon diminishes, he maintains good humor, and is indeed able to offer some reliable tidbits regarding persons and places on the Moonshae Isles. Nothing too concerning. Rythil shows an unusual curiosity about the doings of everyone he meets, apparently, and he ably catches Erudisia up on whatever she might have missed.
MEREDITH
“My sweet Rivalen,” Prysqis answers, “laid a trap for me, I’m afraid. Oh, it’s not so dramatic, perhaps. I have… noticed… changes in the Feywild… the shivering Aspen Wood forest whose whispering leaves tell us in the Fey realm of proceedings in what you call the Material Plane… there are tidings… enigmas… about which I will not speak, but whose song calls to me. And so when his invitation came, again – for it has been scant tendays since I was last here in his company – I was already of a mind to travel here and seek answers to my questions. No answers have I learned. Instead, I found Rivalen’s heart smoldering for my presence. But though he is masterful in the arcane arts, and does not lack… personality… he will find no reciprocation from me.” She says this without malice, but she catches herself nonetheless. “I have said more than I ought. Tell me, do you know many poems by heart?” It might be Meredith’s imagination, or the way some audience members can become attached to a performer even after the curtain falls, but the Eladrin seems… interested in her.
ALL
The music has begun to crescendo and soon reaches its prior thrumming energy. Drinks are poured, hors d'oeuvres are passed, and soon, someone opens their violin case, stands on the dais, and begins fiddling – amplified by the boxes – rounds and jigs to the thrumming beat. And many of the guests, even the ghostly scarecrow, join in a dance party of flashing lights and pounding rhythms. The mer-folk leap from the water, flipping and splashing back into the pool, adding to the symphony of movement and revelry.
Prysqis finds Meredith. “Dance with me!,” she cajoles, smiling and fresh.
Russet Luskan, when the music grows too loud to hear himself speak, rolls his eyes and shrugs with a chuckle and then, making a funny face, wordlessly extends an arm and a smile to Bell and tilts his head toward the dancers in invitation.
Rythil, with his fourth martini in hand, stands up, moving to the beat but carefully splashing not a drop, and with an “are you afraid?” look at Erudisia dares her to join him in the bouncing crowd.
(Kindly summarize or narrate the rest of the night for your character, whether dancing ‘til dawn or immediately retreating back to the inn or something in between.)
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
With some reluctance in regards to her choice of partner, Erudisia is led to dance.
She sees Bell and Meredith dancing also, she joins the merfolk when they are on the land, she joins the circle of pushing and jumping that has formed of dancers nearest the arcane music-cubes.
It is not long before she is able to lose the smarmy Rythil somewhere in the proximity of Meredith, Bell and the eye-catching Eladrin.
When Bell goes to step away from the dance floor Erudisia is already spinning past, a large smile on her face, her braid a tight coil of frenetic energy, as she leaps and turns in the air, landing and catching her friends hands and turning her back toward the center of the movement again.
Meredith surrenders herself to the dance, her innate shyness and wallflower nature completely obliterated by the force of Prysqis' personality and aura. When the music slows it allows her to catch her breath and they speak of various poems and sagas...though Meredith confesses that the majority of works she knows regard the nature of cats and their ilk.
Prysqis, perhaps unwisely, asks her further on cats and Meredith speaks on Malaka and how the sleek queen is currently terrorising the rodents of Candlekeep with her peers. When the music hastens once more Meredith finds herself relying fully on Prysqis to lead and guide her through the steps without stumbling. As the night goes on she becomes more and more focused and....happy?....certainly intrigued.....
As they come out of the dance she forces herself to take her eyes off of Prysqis and waves with a slight bounce as she sees Erudisia spin Bell back into the dance and she....no...she slides her hand down her side to a small tucked away box and bursts out laughing catching Prysqis off-guard,
" Sorry, sorry. Did you want to catch your breath and take a drink?", she said with the slightest edge of desperation.
After an hour, Bell finds a stool and a glass of water, but is instantly pulled back onto the dance floor by Erudisia. The handsome, martini-holding elf with whom Erudisia had been speaking remains at the bar next to Russet. The two seem to have nothing to say to one another. Russet continues to quietly sip an ale when Rhythil, after a calculating glance around the room, takes a cocktail from the bar, stands, and holding it in one hand and his drink in the other, steps to the pool and hands the cocktail to one of the mer-women. You see him say something to her and she laughs, delighted. A compliment, well taken. The conversation continues.
“Yes, certainly, Prysqis says. Oh,” she then frowns slightly, looking over Meredith's shoulder. Meredith turns to see a pair of pixies approaching cautiously, “excuse me,” the Eladrin says, and joins the pixies in a soft, concerned conversation in Sylvan a little ways off. The moment the pixies leave, Rivalen rematerializes, and with a confident smile, Meredith sees him gesture toward a quiet corner of the room. Prysqis follows him there, but her eyes settle on Meredith’s for a long moment before they are lost behind moving bodies.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
The moment Prysqis leaves Meredith is back to her extremely unconfident self and pushes herself back against the wall holding her drink up in front of herself as her eyes flicker about for Erudisia and Bell........and Prysqis.......
From her spot in the corner Meredith watches the tet-a-tet unfold between Rivalen and Prysqis. Rivalen’s manner grinds from fervent hopefulness to stunned truculence. Prysqis’s gestires are at first gentle as a spring breeze but become firm and unyielding as desert sunlight. Rivalen turns away, looking a decade older than he had mere minutes ago. Prysqis stands for a moment watching him, then makes her way back to Meredith.
“I had better go,” she says. “Or I fear my presence will be the party’s demise.” She looks into Meredith’s eyes appraisingly. “I’m… staying not far from here. There’s a very nice view of the Sea Tower from my terrace. And I have a bottle of Elven wine…” Her lip curls playfully as she awaits an answer.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer