Ilena hefts her coin purse in one hand and frowns slightly as only a handful of coins report with a light jingle. She considers for a moment then nods, having decided.

"A refill of the house ale for the good Master Geddarm, and more of this flavored water for me. And whatever my new friends Masters LaRoux and Goodbody would like, er... if I can afford it." 

She shakes her meager coin purse more openly, smiling awkwardly.

Jorin, Drusk, and Jalester

At one point during their conversation, Drusk inadvertently (!) knocks his mug over, towards Jalester. The man sort of fumbles at it and manages to catch it, without getting too much on him. He says with a smile, in elvish, "Careful there, stout-elf!" and hands it back to Drusk.

Notes: Both Drusk and Jorin speak elvish, so no need to send a private message. "Stout-elf" is a humorous but loving reference to elf-adopted people of other, less slender races.

Hildi picks the glass up again and examines the residue of Pascal's concoction with interest and delight. "That was wonderful," he comments to no one in particular. Turning back to Volo, the halfling asks, "Out for a while? I wonder why I haven't seen it?" He places a finger to his chin. "Perhaps I haven't been asking the right questions. I have been a bit ... distracted the last few months." He gives Pascal a wide grin, remembering their recent adventure. When Ilena orders a round for the table, Hildigrim pulls out his own purse. "Let us, m'lady. We just found ourselves blessed with a little extra coin." He shoves a couple dragons in Bonnie's hand. "Whatever she ordered, and another of these for me," he says, holding up the empty glass.

"Well, " Jorin starts, "The most interesting part is the undying hand that I spoke of before, but there were also skeletons and jelly cubes.  One of those cubes swallowed me whole, but I burst out of its acidic grip!" As he says this, he leaps up from his chair, mimicking the maneuver he used to escape the gelatinous cube.  He eyes growing a little wild, and voice loud.

"I landed well away from the beast, but Jorin of the Bodt is no coward!" he says, thumping one first against his chest, "I dashed back towards it with my axes in hand," he says this while getting into a mock, runners stance, his right hand going to the pommel of a battleaxe. "I whirled and cut a huge, quivering slab of jelly from it's form as my friends dealt death in their own way!" with this, he deftly draws the axe and swings it up, and then down, into the table, a loud *chunk* ringing out.

Suddenly, the wild look evaporates from his eyes and a sheepish expression immediately washes over his face.  He pulls the axe blade free from the table and puts it back in the loop on his belt, saying quietly,  "Apologies, Bodt blood runs hot."

Jorin certainly attracts some attention with his axe swinging, and Jalester pushes back a little from the table to stay out of the way, but is smiling. Durnan, behind the bar, is giving your table the eye, but goes back to drying mugs.

"I was an adventurer, once," Jalester says. "Rising blood is sometimes all that keeps you alive to see the next morning."

Quote from Mingofaust >>

"Rising blood is sometimes all that keeps you alive to see the next morning."

 "Rising blood, or raising ale?"

Ilena tilts her glass in Hildigrim's direction, "Gratitude Master Goodbody, how generous!" 

Ilena pulls out her notebook again and was about to address Hildigrim, but seen that he is engrossed in conversation with Volo, she turns to Pascal, "I've been doing research of my own, of a sort. Might you have a tale of justice to share?" 

Hildi's distracted commentary brings a smile to Volo's face. "Oh, my publisher has been lax in getting the word out. As I was telling mistress Casquinha, there's no accounting for the vagaries of a printing house! I'm a supporter of the Guilds, never said I wasn't, but chroniclers and authors ought to have a Guild, too!"

Meanwhile, Bonnie takes the gold, but sniffs the mug, puzzled, as she returns to the bar.

Quote from abunny >>

Ilena tilts her glass in Hildigrim's direction, "Gratitude Master Goodbody, how generous!" 

Ilena pulls out her notebook again and was about to address Hildigrim, but seen that he is engrossed in conversation with Volo, she turns to Pascal, "I've been doing research of my own, of a sort. Might you have a tale of justice to share?" 

 Pascal cocks his head, “Justice, eh? Lemme think for a moment...” Pascal trails off for a moment, “Oh I think I got a tale. See, back where I come from, that’s a weird thought. Ain’t no one really concerned with justice. What they is concerned with, is livin’. Wait, no, survivin’. Yeah, that’s the better word. See, there just as likely to eat ya as they are to let ya pass on bye. Really depends on the mood. Ain’t nothin’ but pure, animal instinct. Course, I’m a different sort o’ folk, but that ain’t really important.”

Jorin takes his seat back, the moment of embarrassment having left, and take another draught of his drinks.  "How about you, friend, any stories of rising blood?  Or good hunts?"

Ilena draws a rough sketch of Pascal while he speaks then writes Pass-call LaRoo(X?) alligatorkin, culinarian, people don't believe in justice? eat other races? cannibals? ask again. She half closes her notebook around her thumb and takes a sip of her drink with her other hand. 

"No concern for justice?"

She chews her lip pensively and looks into Pascal's reptilian eyes.

"It's hard for me to imagine the state that your homeland must be in such that they do not concern themselves with justice."

She looks genuinely confused. 

Quote from abunny >>

Ilena draws a rough sketch of Pascal while he speaks then writes Pass-call LaRoo(X?) alligatorkin, culinarian, people don't believe in justice? eat other races? cannibals? ask again. She half closes her notebook around her thumb and takes a sip of her drink with her other hand. 

"No concern for justice?"

She chews her lip pensively and looks into Pascal's reptilian eyes.

"It's hard for me to imagine the state that your homeland must be in such that they do not concern themselves with justice."

She looks genuinely confused. 

 Pascal blankly looks at her, obviously of her concern, “Nah, it ain’t. They just think different. They don’t care much ‘bout justice, but they care ‘bout other things. Food, shelter, next o’ kin. They want someone to protect them and strength rules out. They don’t much get ‘soft skin logic.’ They still feel, but they feel differently compared to you.”

"Master Geddarm, I must admit that I have more than a few questions for you. If we had a tenday together, I might ask a percentage of them." He chuckles to himself over the joke in his own mind. "My brother would say, 'Hildi,'" he says, his voice growing deeper and a little exasperated, "'find the seed and pluck it.'" The halfling opens his pack and rummages around in it, pulling out the dark leather-bound book which once belonged to Mrs. Brinarei. Rummaging even deeper, he pulls out the smaller red-leather bound diary. Putting his arm on top of the dark volume and turning back to Volo and offering the wizard the diary, he explains, "I found this in a shop here in Waterdeep. I've puzzled over the entries for what seems like ages, but I can't make anything out of it. I showed a friend and she suggested I visit Candlekeep. But to get into Candlekeep, I would need an offering. My first two queries are: can you make anything of the diary, and can you suggest where I might find a book I could use to gain entrance to the great fortress library?"

Quote from JcAndD >>

 Pascal blankly looks at her, obviously of her concern, “Nah, it ain’t. They just think different. They don’t care much ‘bout justice, but they care ‘bout other things. Food, shelter, next o’ kin. They want someone to protect them and strength rules out. They don’t much get ‘soft skin logic.’ They still feel, but they feel differently compared to you.” 

Ilena opens her journal again and writes under her entry about Pascal strength > justice and seems satisfied. 

"I think I can understand from an academic perspective. If I have the opportunity I should like to visit this homeland of yours. Quite frankly, this is my first trip outside of the monastery, and it has already been incredibly enlightening. What other lessons can you share with me from your life of travel and adventure? Do you have any good recipes for fish?" 

Her eyes go wide as she asks the last question, as if it is particularly important.

Pascal taps his chin, “Well, I’ve learned a lot. Mostly about life. See, there’s a reason that food’s so important to me. Now, when I was young, I was just like the rest of my people. Didn’t care much about anything other than where my next meal was coming from. Wasn’t till I got my hands some real food that I realized something. See, for my people, food equals life, but that day, I realized that ya gotta have good food to really live. So, it was ‘round then that packed my bags and set off. Oh, and to answer your question, I got fish that’s so good it’ll make you slap your momma.”

Ilena's cheeks flush and her face turns serious for a brief moment, "I haven't... I wouldn't... oh you're using an idiom haha. Well I like your theory, Master LaRoux, and I would be honored if you would share with me your recipe sometime." She downs the rest of her watered down mull and her cheeks turn bright red and feel very warm. She starts looking for the barmaid, "Speaking of, I could use a spot of bread to keep this mull from going to my head. Have any of you eaten here before, do you have any recommendations?"

Jorin, Drusk, and Jalester

Jalester listens to your stories, and when asked, begins to tell his own. "Oh, I did adventure once, part of the Steel Shadows, out of Cormyr. We had encounters much like what you describe, but with good friends at your side, you can overcome much." He stares into the middle distance for a moment at this, but recovers quickly. "But we relocated to Waterdeep at the invitation of an old friend, and I've been here since then. If you're..."

And he is interrupted by a shout...

Pascal, Ilena, Hildi, and Volo

Pascal and Ilena engage in their cultural exchange, as Hildi overwhelms Volo with his questions. The not-really-a-wizard whistles low beneath his mustache. "Candlekeep? Yes, well, ahem. Of course I've been there, it is really very impressive, but they aren't the end all of knowledge in the Realms. Here, let me look that over," and he takes Hildi's small diary.

He has just begun to look through it, when a shout causes him to look up...

Fistfight!

“Ya pig! Like killin’ me mates, does ya?” You all look up to see the arm-wrestling half orc standing up (she's about seven feet tall!) just as a wiry bald guy with eye tattoos all over his head lays into her with a punch. She takes it, grins, and cracks her knuckles before leaping at him. Then a crowd gathers round, and you are hard pressed to see exactly what is going on.

A quick glance Durnan's way shows him shaking his head, watching, but not yet intervening. The Yawning Portal employees are keeping their distance.

Map

Drusk moves closer to the fight. As long as they are having fun brawling, he does not interfere. (Part of that is self preservation. The half-orc woman is almost 2 feet taller than Drusk.)

He does watch the nearby crowd. If either the woman or the guy has pals nearby, they might get in the way of a fair 1-on-1 fight. If that happens, Drusk will (politely) wrestle down the extras, so this doesn't escalate into a full bar brawl.

Jorin laughs heartily, "Five dragons on the tattooed one!" he says to no one in particular, "Everyone sees the big ones coming, its the small ones you must watch for." He says to Jalester with a wink.

Quote from Guiltysparc >>

Jorin laughs heartily, "Five dragons on the tattooed one!" he says to no one in particular.

"I'll bet five on the half-orc, unless you were kidding to get into the spirit of things."