Sally chuckles out and nods to herself, "A bit? You could barely speak! It was adorable, in all honesty," She shifts her attention to the original Irregulars, "Long story short, we had to see about the source of disappearance of these berry crops in farms south of here. Turns out, a druid in the woods that took care of a pair of younger owlbears fell sick and couldn't feed them for a while. Mr Fuzzypaws and Ploppy loved this drunk mess, but for some reason kept mean mugging me. They were a pair of cuties though."

"Bless their furry and feathery little hearts. The druid, if I recall correctly, did offer to move along to another part of the Marrow Valley if we didn't harm them or the cubs, so at the end of the day it all worked out without any need for violence... I should add I don't make it a habit of getting drunk on the job! It just happened to be my birthday."

"Mhm, fun fact about Celica, she has a good few birthdays a year," Sally leans over the table, her head resting on her palm

"I've exercised some restraint and cut it down to just two this year, but I won't go any lower than four next year!"

Alton nods, “It’s good to hear you were able to help out the farmers and the owlbears.” He looks to Celica, “How do you have so many birthdays, I only get one a year.” 

"Oh, it's easy, you just tell whatever barkeep or waiter you're dealing with at a tavern or restaurant that it's your birthday, and they'll usually give you some complimentary treat! What are they gonna do, make you bust out a birth certificate and prove it? Charming guy like you, I bet you could convince folks no problem!"

Alton blushes a little, "I-I couldn't do that. That would be dishonest." 

"Oh, what's a little white lie now and then? It's not like you're stealing their life savings. It's just a scoop of ice cream or a free radler. Your good conscience is admirable, though!"

"Lying is very helpful sometimes, but lying about birthdays is just too far, leave that to Celica," Sally's voice drips with sarcasm, "What about you two? I still need to hear about Noodlearms."

Balassar just takes a sip of ale "Leave the lying to you two then got it, though how can we trust you won't just nab the reward from this job out from under us now? As for that story, Alton's the story teller." he says just taking a bite of his steak.

"For some context around Noodlearms. Balassar, Silent, and I were tasked with investigating the disappearance of some teens in one of the border towns. As we asked around we found out that another group was there for the same reason that went under the name Red Company. We found out which way the kids went and managed to track them down, but the other group got to them first. There was some back and forth arguing, mostly by Balassar, and eventually a duel was issued and accepted." Alton takes a drink from his glass and starts tapping a beat on the table with his fingers as he starts, "So, you wish to hear the tale of Sir Noodlearms, of the man who can not land a hit? Well, sit right there and stay a spell, this one you cannot miss. We tracked some missing teens down that were captured by some fools, and good ol' Balassar challenged their leader to a duel. Despite all the pompous that Sir Noodlearms could muster, my friend Balassar did not falter. Standing like a champion Balassar got ready, for a fight that would decide the fate of those in captivity. Both men charged in and their weapons clashed, and Sir Noodlearms was thrashed. The duel went on for several rounds, but Sir Noodlearms couldn't even dent the ground. His strikes were weak and flaccid, much like noodles soaked in acid. When the duel was done Balassar stood, and his opponent was beaten black and blue. The teens were freed and seen back home safely, to the delight of the town who thanked us greatly." As Alton told the tale, he got a bit carried away and voiced it louder than necessary for just the table to hear. Once done he leaned back in his chair and took another drink. "That's pretty much it. Turned out the teens were just playing a game in the woods and got a bit too carried away."

((OOC: If you need or want a Performance check: 13) ))

Alton, you hear laughter from the next table; it seems you got so into your storytelling that you didn't realise some of the other tables had started to listen. They seem curious, and enjoying the unexpected entertainment; after you finish, one raises a glass to you, but then they return to their own conversation.

"Oh, don't be silly, Balassar, I could never lie to you! Besides, if I tried to take the reward myself, I bet you'd find me and rip my arms off or something, and that is something I really do not want to trouble either of us with. And even if I escaped that fate, Sally would tell my mother, and then I'd really be screwed!"

Celica listens to Alton's entertaining display with a smile on her face. As he finishes, she gives him a brief round of applause. "Wow! That was a great story! You've really got a knack for this sort of thing. I'm impressed! Is all of that true? Noodlearms really couldn't hit you at all? How embarrassing!" She laughs. 

Balassar just takes another bite of his food “Does sound made up don’t it. Though yeah, he couldn’t lay a blow on me. He was just some kid over taken by stories and trying to play mercenary. As for ripping your arms off if you crossed us, I wouldn’t do that.”

"Her mother wouldn't rip just her arms off, she'd go for the legs as well. Vicious woman, her," Sally smiles and moves her head a long with Alton's tapping, joining Celica in the applause, "I, for some reason, imagined a story about a creature with literally noodle arms, but this was much better," she laughs.

Alton raises his glass up, "Thank you, thank you." He takes a drink and settles back into his chair, "Ripping off limbs just sounds cruel; I'll make a note not to cross her. Now, what should we do next; maybe get supplies and transport to where we are going. Though, I don't mind staying and chatting either."

"I'm ready to go whenever you all are, there is a murderer to catch after all. As much as I would love to stay and drink radlers and hear your stories all day!"

"Good to go here, we can always talk on the road."

Balassar chugs the rest of his drink “I’m good.”

Alton finishes his drink as well and drops 6 platinum on the table, "I'm ready when you are, and I've got this meal."