Meanwhile, in the Westwoods...

"I am going to stay with my father a while." Raven tells the others.  "If we leave tomorrow, I want to spend a bit more time with him first."

"I'll certainly try my hand at the dancing," said Elwin with a smile. Straightening the collar of his fine clothes, he headed to the dance floor with determination; he'd find some young lass to dance with tonight, or die trying.

(( Persuasion Check to find a dance partner? 20 ))

(( While we're at it, here's the Performance Check for the actual dancing: 7 ... lol, do with it what you will, Elwin won't care ))

Quentin goes towards the dancing and begins to look for the Prince, hoping he'd be able to steal a dance with him, even if it's just one in secret. 

As the gentlemen of the party head for the dance hall, Raven joins her father in the parlor.  She finds him sitting and talking to an old friend of his, Sir Wengel, who recognizes you, smiles, and gives you his seat at once, going to chat with someone else.

Sir Amnarel smiles at Raven fondly. "Child, we have barely had time to talk, and you are away again in the morning. We have all been offered the hospitality of the castle, so I will be able to see you off in the morning, but tell me, while we have this night together, how have you been? And your mother, how is she?"

In the dance hall, Sir Elwin boldly approaches the ladies, and the dashing warrior has no trouble finding a partner. A charming young lady eagerly takes his hand and they go out on the dance floor.  Sadly, Elwin is out of practice dancing, stumbles awkwardly, and steps on the lady's feet. ( 6 ) Unfortunately, she is not as charming as she first seems, and is quite rude about your misstep.

Quentin keeps an eye out for the Prince, and sees him enter. The young noblewoman from the feast seems to have taken firm possession of his arm. You catch his eye, and he gives you a wry half-smile and a shrug, before joining the dance with the lady.

Del and Mindartis nervously hug the wall, hesitating to take action...  (8 , 19, 19 ) Both Mindartis and Quentin are approached and invited to dance by young women, but Del, shyly huddling by the punch bowl, seems to remain unnoticed in the crowd.

(Feel free to take any more actions. The night is young. Performance checks for dancing seem like a good plan. XD )

Performance: 13

Quentin takes the Lady by the arm and says, "Who am I to deny a young woman a dance?" a practice smile on his face as Quentin takes her to the dance floor but keeps his attention on the Prince the entire time. 

Performance: 14

Perception: 17

Insight: 12

Mindartis and Quentin dance well, and their partners seem pleased and impressed.After the first dance, Mindartis's partner asks questions about the Feywild, and his tattoos, and seems quite fascinated by him.

Quentin manages to keep an eye on the prince as he dances. Lintelér keeps his attention focused on his partner, but you notice that his face has the reserved, polite, formal expression he used to wear before you got to know him better and shared so many adventures with him. He smiles at the lady's remarks, but they are polite smiles. When the first dance ends, he seems to look for you--but it is rare for a foreign prince to visit the Fens, and he is quickly surrounded by others seeking his attention. For that matter, the fact that you have a title seems to have got around, and quite a few of the ladies are fluttering around you.

2, 19 ...

As people prepare to enter the second dance, a young lady with wildly mischievous eyes takes Elwin's hand and whispers, "Poor Malari Kensvell says her toes will never be the same. It could not have happened to a more deserving girl. Shall we see if I am quick enough to keep my feet from being trodden on?"

(Made a mistake on Del's roll, he didn't get his charisma bonus, so-- 20 )

Several young ladies notice the attractive bard hiding behind the punch bowl and approach...

Undaunted (and, truth be told, unfazed by the fact that he's dancing with nobles,) Elwin smiled and apologized to his dance partner, being sincere but also not hiding that he considered the whole dance a fun game more than something serious.

(( Guess we'll see what this particular lass thinks of that...

Next Performance Check: 20 ))

As the next song played, he coyly suggested, "Perhaps I should try something I'm more familiar with? It might be a bit less formal than you're used to... but I'm certain you'll like it."

(( I imagine some of the dancing from Slate City might be a bit more rustic... but at least he's better at that, apparently! ))

"Well," she says with a smile, "I won't know until I try it, but what do you have in mind?"

(( Elwin will follow a lot of the formal moves from the dancing everyone else is doing, but add a few moves from a jig and some hops and kicks that look like they came off Riverdance. Hopefully she'll enjoy it, even if she doesn't try to follow. ))

Quentin politely starts to refuse anyone who asks him for a dance or attempts to garner his attention. He instead looks to see if there is an open balcony nearby and will step out into the balcony but not before sending Lintelér a message to meet him out there. 

Del dances socially and has fun, but he's not after flirting or romance Performance 18 .  He can always pivot to humor, or talk religion if really desperate, but helping people have a good time is his job anyway. Happy to play interference if Lord Quentin needs a pick, or matchmaker for Lord Mindartis or Sir Elwin. Help put shy people at ease, tell entertaining tales of megamole, et cetera.

Elwin's partner laughs and follows his moves, and others in the ballroom stop to watch. The musicians pick up on the change of pace, and start playing something quicker and, surprisingly, a lot more upbeat.  The entire event takes on a slightly more raucous, party-like atmosphere.

Del, possibly a little tired of being the center of attention at musical events, takes the evening slowly and casually, dancing well enough, but not remarkably, and having pleasant chats between the dances.

What would a royal ball be without some balconies?  Prince Lintelér responds to Quentin's message with Will join you when I can get away!  After a couple more dances, he manages to make his way out to join you. "Sorry to have taken so long, Quentin. The ladies are vary attentive here," he says.

"Oh mom is mom, you know her, she always finds a way to be happy and doing what she loves."  Raven says with a grin.  she tells her dad about how her goblin friend fell from the rafters and landed on their table that day in her mother's tavern. She has already filled him in on the rest of their adventures to date. 

"Please have a word with your son for me." She requests after they have chatted for a bit.  "He is threatening to tell my companions about things we agreed would be left unsaid."  She sighs.  "He has been good up till now, since he knows it would hurt his reputation nearly as much as yours and mine, but I fear he is going to do something foolish anyway."

Amnarel laughs at the story of Eggric, and the other goings-on at the Lark and Swallow.

When you mention your brother, he frowns. "Thami has been becoming very ambitious lately, and has been trying very hard to find a way to distinguish himself before Lady Resarra.  I can't say I like the company he is keeping, either.  I will try to talk to him, but he is headstrong, and at an age where he believes his father has nothing left to teach him. I've tried to tell him that the best way to gain a name for himself would be to join the Wardens of the Fens, or to go south to the border and fight the Gnoll armies, but he thinks he would be lost in the crowd that way, and wants some more individual way to make a name for himself. It's a pity he has little interest in going outside the fens adventuring, either. If you should happen to hear of some quest that he might find interesting, you might do the entire family some good." He sighs. "I'm afraid that to catch his attention, it would have to be something involving great riches or renown. Word has been spreading of your adventures, and frankly, I think he is bitterly jealous of you at the moment."

Mindartis smiles at the woman's questions, "The Feywild is a wondrous place. The easiest way to describe it is an..." he searches for the word in common, "echo of this plane. There are not exact replicas of say, Castle Whisper or the royalty there, but the geography is similar. The biggest difference I've been able to determine during my travels in this Plane, magic flows differently. More... freely I believe would be the correct word. From the smallest bloom of a flower to the mightiest tree of a forest, everything from the beauty of everything around you to the feel and smell of the air feels... different. It's hard to explain in words, because it's different for everyone who goes there. And this," Mindartis gestures to his tattoos, "is a tale that my sister does much more justice than I do, but I will tell it as best I can. When my sister Althaea and I were children, we were as different as the sun and the moon. Eladrin, just like the Feywild, change with the seasons. With the season change come different... emotions, feelings would be the right words. Except me I suppose... I always felt... trapped. Something about summer's fury sunk it's claws into me while I was still a child and never really let go. I felt... broken for a very long time..." Mindartis pauses for a few moments. "Though my sister never saw it that way. She was always telling me that sometimes Eladrin find one season they love and stay in it. So I learned, not to love the fury that came with summer, but the warmth and power it gave me to protect the people that I love. It wasn't long after that my sister and I woke up with these bizarre tattoos. Her's depicts the moon and stars, and mine well," he gestures to the sun starting at his shoulder and the sunrays falling down his arm. "We've yet to discover the meaning behind them yet, so we decided to split up and cover more ground. She stayed in the Feywild and I came here to see if any of your mages had heard anything about something like this. I have a theory about it now, but I've yet to be able to contact my sister to tell her about it."

"Now, that's enough about me," He smiles warmly. "Why don't you tell me about yourself."

Mindartis and the lady sit out the next dance as they chat. Her name is Arania Vollis, and she is fascinated with your stories of the Feywild.

"My father was a knight who fell in battle with the gnolls many years ago.  My mother is frail and has been bedridden for some time.  I don't usually make it to gatherings like this, but she said she felt very well tonight, and I could leave her with the maid.  Normally, I look after her myself.  My grandfather was an herbalist, and taught me a great deal, and I continue learning and gathering herbs in the fens, both to treat my mother and to sell in the market.  We still have my father's land grant, but after paying farmhands and laborers, it doesn't really provide much income," she confesses. "I have been considering joining one of the local druid circles, but I worry about the time it would take away from my mother and my work."

"It must be lovely to have a sister," she adds wistfully. "It sounds like the two of you are very close."

"I have found, through experience," Mindartis says, "that asking is always a good idea. You never know what might come of it. I don't know much about druids," he admits, "but they might be able to help you. And asking your mother she might be able to give you some advice. You've done a noble thing in taking care of her, but even now she might have some answers to the worries you're having currently."

"We're twins, my sister and I," Mindartis laughs, "even still, Eladrin, and even Elven children are few and far between. We live for so long that it rarely occurs, so when it does happen and you have someone remotely close to your age you tend to stick together. We used to get into a lot of trouble when we were still children."

She thanks you for the advice, and asks for stories of what sort of mischief you and your sister used to get into.

Quentin smiles at the Prince and says, “I’ve noticed.” His face goes a little bit red as he says, “I Umm.....may have been a little bit jealous...but...I’m happy I could steal you away, at least for hopefully ten minutes or so.” He then takes a deep breath and looks Lintelér in the eyes and says, “I want a chance to try and woo the Prince with some dancing.”