"My name is Carin. We are grateful to have been invited inside and would be honored to perform for you. I am especially excited, since I have recently learned the bardic arts and am looking forward to my first performance."

Daewen/Dawn bows deeply at the lord, after Strife introduces her.

Perception check (is there anything off about this guy?): 12

The Lord Commander appears authentic. And no, Dae, you are not detecting anything within a mile since casting your spell.

As Savra was leading the group up through the spire, Daewen was paying extra special attention of her surroundings (rangerish habit, you know), working out a map of the the various floors/doors/stairwells in her head.

Perception: 10

Insight: 17

Mercy walked slowly behind the others, a cold sweat forming on her brow. The longer they were inside the tower, the louder her heart sounded in her ears. She saw movement, eldritch shapes in the shadows that disappeared when she moved her eyes to focus. By the time they reached the top of the tower, her breath came in short, quiet gasps from her dry mouth. Part of her knew she and her friends were in a precarious situation, that she needed to pay attention to the people around her. Yet her fevered mind was beginning to twist what she saw into something nigh unrecognizable as reality. She heard, as though she were submerged beneath water, introductions being made, and opened her mouth to speak. "Mercy..." Her name sounded of a small, startled cry; breathy and frightened.

“Mercy indeed, what a view, huh?”

Strife sends a Message to Carrhae, “Something seems a bit wrong with Mercy.”

As they made their way through the spire, Zephyr had been scrutinizing each and every inch of this place. "My tower is better." She would huff in a hushed tone, crossing her arms with a slight playful pout. Her stance wouldn't change upon Thrul's introduction, even if he looked like a total daddy. "My name is Zomerphire."

Zomerphire had given a worried glance over to Mercy but stayed where they were. Maybe she's sick? Poor thing...

"Yes. I'll go find out what's ailing her." 

Carrhae drops back to where Mercy is and whispers in the rogue's ear. "Mercy, you don't seem like yourself. What's wrong?"

Mercy turned to the paladin, her eyes dull in appearance, even as they were widened in terror. She hissed at her friend. "Do you not see them? The creatures in the shadows?" She lifted a shaking hand to brush away a bead of sweat that tickled her brow. Despite the sweat, her skin was strangely pale and again, her right glove strained at its seams over her hand.

The Lord Commander looks you all over, a confused look on his face, as if something of inconvenience has interrupted his conversation and hospitality.

Strife tactfully ignores his concern.

"We would all like to offer our congratulations upon this tenth anniversary! We would be very pleased to join in your celebration later this evening. I feel confident speaking for our group that we can present a most engrossing artistic performance to mark the occasion. Is the Feathergale Society the name for the order of knights who dwell here, or are those two different things?"

"Indeed, it is one and the same." The Lord Commander says, proudly, "The Feathergale Society is an elite group of aerial-mount enthusiasts who hail from Waterdeep!" Thurl’s face darkens. “Great evil lurks among these hills,” he says. “Depraved cultists led by wretched monsters. But, let us speak of such matters after the feast has warmed our blood. You may stay in the tower as my guests until the feast begins this evening.”

"There are no creatures lurking about in the shadows, Daewen would've sensed them if there were." As the words leave her mouth in a whisper, Carrhae sees that Mercy's sweat-covered skin has lost some of its color and that one of her gloves was tighter than the other. "Why did you not tell us of this? When did this happen? If I knew beforehand that you were ill, I would have healed you before it took a toll on your mind like it has now." 

There's a mixture of concern and sadness in Carrhae's voice as she whispers to Mercy, but nevertheless, she takes the Tieflings swollen hand and gives it a quick squeeze as she pumps five points of Lay on Hands into Mercy and cures her affliction.

Mercy flinched when Carrhae squeezed her hand, and a foul, malodorous liquid seeped through the seams of the glove. She jerked her hand back, embarrassment replacing her terror as the fevered haze left her mind. "I didn't think it was that bad, honestly. I've had infections before, and none of them..." She shook her head and looked at the Lord Commander. "Guests, you say? I hate to impose, but I cut my hand rather badly a few nights ago and acquired an infection. Would it be possible to have someone show me a place where I could wash the remainder of the foul ichor, which my friend here just purged from my blood, away?"

When Carrhae sees the ichor coming out of Mercy's glove, she pulls her hand back like she it touched a hot pan and she lets out a high pitched "Eeeeeek!" that's unusual for a brave Paladin to make. "I'm sorry. I'm just a bit of a neat freak." She says sheepishly, feeling the attention of the entire room.

"Are you all ok?" The Lord Commander asks. "Ah, your hand. GhuChcC.. Yes, our doctor will take a look at you."

"Oh yes, just a small accident which befell my friend on our journeys. You are most gracious and generous, Lord Commander Merosska. The design and architecture of this structure are remarkable, and the majestic views from this tower are astounding. Would it be possible to persuade you, or perhaps someone with fewer burdens of responsibility, to give me a small tour? I am something of an academic and given to bouts of esoteric curiosity."

Persuasion (+10): 26

"No." he says plainly, as if that was the stupidest idea he's heard of all day. 

"Do you have guest lodgings for us to stay at until the feast? Climbing up here was tiring, and I'd like a chance to rest my feet and prepare myself for dinner."

Daewen will snuggle up to Mercy (whether she likes it or not....more than likey not) and lead her away to meet up with the group doctor. That will give her a chance to get away from the watchful eye of the commander.