The celebration is still early but a fine event, good food and drink, everyone in a good mood.  Marissa and Saliq, who were raised in such courts, find it comfortable, as does Folke, who by profession, adapts well to such parties.   Rath and Inas do their best to not be overly noticed, but it is better than being knee deep in gore.

When Rath introduces himself to the families, they are overly grateful, so much so, it is embarrassingly.

Still early on, the Loyd Mayor calls attention, and invites the young girls to the front, giving them each the title of Princess of the Court for the evening, and presenting them with a gold necklace with a single stone on it.  Likely worth more than their families earn in a year.  Everyone gives them a bow of honer and a cheer, much to their joy.

They stay a bit longer, but soon after, the girls and their families depart.  The party has just started.

Saliq can help but smile at the delight of the little princesses and graciously offers each a short formal dance. The illusionist couldn't help but feel this part would have pleased Ben the most.

After the children have departed Saliq tries to mingle a little, speaking with the great and good. If anyone seems particularly interested he is prepared to use his magic to recreate (in miniature) some of the monsters the party faced.

Saliq greets Brother Rothgar if he present and asks after his health after his frightful ordeal at the hands of the naga some time before. Should he be absent Saliq speaks to High Priest Harvan Lightbringer instead and asks him to pass on his best wishes. He also speaks to the other priests and priestesses in attendance.

For her part, Marissa settles into a quiet rapport with Rath and Inas, content to let the party flow, and her mother mingle rather than actively engage with the local nobility herself.

She is singularly delighted by the young princesses, and of course, she pays proper homage to the Lord Mayor, humbly submitting the exploits of her companions while downplaying her own involvement.

She sips at strong whiskey, but does not overindulge, content to let the warmth spread through her belly while keeping a sharp eye on the surrounds.

To Rath and Inas she asks, "What's next, I wonder? I have to admit to a certain thrill while crawling through dark places that I did not expect."

Normally Folke wouldn't hesitate with that sort of opening, but there was something in Marissa's response that drove him to caution and the higher ground.  He was still the outsider in a sense, not having been part of their quest until the very end.  There was a kinship between the others he had not yet penetrated, and understandably so.  He would not force his way between them.

"Well, if you need a partner later on please keep me in mind," he said with a gracious smile.  He wondered if she would insist on leading?  "Though I cannot believe that you will have much trouble, outside of our stoic friend here."

He politely excused himself from their conversation, feeling he had interrupted despite their kind words to the contrary.  Later on, as he kept tabs on the adventurers, he noted Marissa, Inas and Rath had collected together almost as a defence against the social onslaught.  Saliq seemed well-versed in these matters though and managed well on his own.  And as for himself, Folke traversed the room and reintroduced himself to Stormhaven society.  Patrons were always important for a skald, and the rich and powerful were usually the best patrons.  He had quite the tale for his introduction, and would be a curiosity in the city for some time.  A feather in the cap of any magnate that scooped him up as their own.

Inas shakes his head.  Ever the pessimist, he says: "I am not convinced we are done.  Evil like this does not go quietly or meekly."

"I believe you are correct, my stoic friend," Marissa replied to Saliq. "This evil may be done for the nonce, yet it, or another greater evil awaits, I think. The nature of perfidy is insidious. And it never sleeps. But, come, let's leave that worry for tomorrow, eh? Tonight is still one of celebration, even if wiser heads know to be cautious in our own optimism."

Setting aside her empty glass, she nodded at Saliq and Rath with a smile, and wandered a bit in search of Folke. Upon finding him, she asked, "Will you share that dance with me, Master Bard?"

The question is bold, yet there is about her a dignity that precludes wantonness. Instead, her eyes show genuine curiosity about the man.

"Evil like his does not go quietly?" Rath growls back to Inas, with a smirk of feigned anger. He takes a drink. "Is what we just did to Syrix your idea of going quietly?"

As he talks, he watches Saliq from a distance as the wizard works his way through the celebrants. Rath quickly falls into his old habit of surveying the scene for threats.

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>

The party continues to flow into the evening.  Saliq and Folke mingle with the crowds, Rath, and Inas, and to some extent Marissa tend to stay to themselves as much as possible.    Saliq meets briefly with the Envoy to Stormhaven, Prince El-azat.
It is a short meeting and leaves a slightly bad taste in Saliq’s mouth.  The man is dumpy, dressed in Stormhaven’s finest tailored suits, wearing expensive jewelry, and eating and drinking to excess.  Clearly the empire doesn’t think much of Stormhaven to have sent such a representative. Though, on the other hand,  the man is exceedingly polite and asks Saliq to come visit him anytime as his estate.  The invitation is so well voiced and sincere, Saliq wonders if what he is seeing is truly what the man is.
 Folke meets a great many people, none who seem to recognize him, but a few seem to remember his name.  More than a few are quite interested to hear him perform.   His looks gather the attention of several of the young ladies in the hall, and neither he, nor Marissa are ever short of a dance partner if they so desire.
At some point, not late, each of the heroes of Stormhaven are requested to join the Lord Mayor for a private audience.
He greets you in a small antechamber just off the main hall, where glasses of fine wine have been poured.
He raises a toast to you,  “Time and again, this core group, and now with new members, has come to the aid of the city of Stormhaven.  Several times on your own, and several times from my asking.  You have ended a great threat to our city, one that was ancient, and began long before any of us was born, and I thank you.  Your bravery and skill are among the greatest in our city.   Please accept this token of my appreciation, it is the highest medal of honor a Lord Mayor has at his disposal”.
And he gives to each of you a golden pin in the shape of a small sheild, carved into it is a tree, and seven diamonds.
“I grow older my friends, and though I am not there yet, I can see the day when I will pass this office onto a younger man.  And when this man is older, who will he call on for help as I have to you?   It is my duty to the city to plan for that too.  Do not answer me now, but think on it.  I would ask if you would be willing to advise some young men and women, some with potential, I’ve had my eye on a few?  Just think on it.  Before you we go back in,  the others gathered here have been told you are receiving these medals, this night, so I’m sorry, there might be applause. Again, thank you for risking life and limb to free the spirit, and destroy Syrix once and for ever.”
With that, he leads you back in, and indeed, to a great round of cheers.  After that, there is no getting away, everyone wants to hear your stories, see your medals,  tell you about their part in the fight, and on it goes late into the night.



ooc: please feel free to post at the "ball" as long as you wish to interact here, I'm really enjoying the writing and interaction.  When it tails off, I'll post a summary.
So, when Storm retired from the game,  he mentioned that higher levels become harder to coordinate, complex, etc. on rpol.   I can see it and I think you felt it as well, that adventure was long and heavy.   Your characters are very powerful, it takes a lot to challenge them.  I still love this group and plan to continue onward as long as everyone is still enjoying going forward.  However, I also can see that a low level game could move quicker, adventures maybe not taking a year to complete, etc.  The offer for you each to take a young adventurer on as a mentor is real.  I would create a new game, and you could each begin a new character at 1st level.  They would also be created in this game under your control and from time time, they could meet with their real mentors here.  The idea being, each of you would mentor someone elses character so the interactions would be between two of you.  I probably would not be able to get this together till well after the 1st of the new year.  Something to muse on.

Saliq exchanged crisply polite words with Prince Ahziz El-Arat, though he remained studiously noncommittal on when he could visit the imperial estate. It was the first time the two princes had met each other though Saliq supposed they where distant cousins. Did not the blood of Qasim El-Barid, the legendary Qasim the Wise flow in both their veins?

Perhaps he had been away from the Empire too long.

The audience with the Lord Mayor drew Saliq's thoughts on from this and graciously accepted the medal, and the man's advice: "Thank you sir, I am honoured and most grateful... it is strange you should mention such an idea as I had just spoken with Master Azuth of the Wizard's Guild about teaching students, or at least an apprentice." He stroked his trim beard thoughtfully.

Back to the party he whiles away his time mingling with the great and good, and offering to dance should he find a partner and Folke not monopolize all the young ladies...

Rath accepts the medal of honor, with a bare word of thanks to the Lord Mayor, and does remarkably well not laughing out loud at the thought of anyone with sense asking Rath to mentor anyone at all. He carefully affixes the pin to his new suit, in what might or might not be the appropriate spot.

At the celebration, Rath does not dance, content to watch, and he does not approach others outside his small circle to converse. But, when approached himself and prompted, he's happy enough to relate tales of derring: Inas' decaptitation of the lizard-king in the swamp pyramid; the battle with the horrible dracolisk in the duergar citadel; the confrontation with Ulvuzgraf One-horn; Ben Scristos' decapitation of the naga Sir-Kiss-Lips, not omitting the part when the ensorcelled Inas shot Rath in the back  with that damn unerring bow of his; striking down the Army of Scale and Fang, and it's captain, Tethi; the more recent, nearly deadly fight with the undead dragon on Skeleton Isle; and so many others).

While Rath had a "bare word of thanks," Inas had even less: he accepts the token with a meeting of the mayor's eyes and a short nod.



As for the well-wishers, Inas adopts a strategy of sticking near his compatriots: he is confident that any of them (including Rath) will respond to the throngs, thereby making it unnecessary for him to do so and possible for him to fade into the background despite being present.

Marissa affixes her shield slightly above the impressive lines of campaign ribbons set over her heart. She nods thanks to the Lord Mayor, listens to his request and begins to give it serious consideration.

When folk gather about her, she talks mostly of the sea: the voyage to the Isle and home, and other voyages which have earned her acclaim.

Of the delve, she mentions the strange creature who offered succor when it was needed most. She does not offer a name to the listening guests, however, suspecting that Gwynestri of the hidden mere would not appreciate the attention such a lack of discretion might bring.

She sips a second whiskey as time permits, accepts a dance from a young and handsome nobleman, then makes her way to her mother who is holding court of her own, surrounded by many merchant barons and the like who listen closely to what the old matron has to say.

Standing on the edge of the group she listens and waits for her mother to finish.

As the party continues on and it begins to get late, not late for a party such as this, but later in the evening. one of those serving food and drinks, walks up to Rath and hands him a glass of amber whiskey, he has a little smirk on his face but is gone as quick as he leaves it off.

Rath lingers an hour longer, finishing that last glass of amber. During that time, he makes the rounds, connecting one by one with Inas, Saliq, Folke, and Marissa, to let them know he was excusing himself from the premises. (He also finds a minor aide to the Lord Mayor, requesting that she convey Rath's thanks to Thyrandas.) On his way out the door, he loosens his collar and takes a breath of "fresh" air -- having forgotten the unfortunate smell of the city. Rath now understands, in part, what drives Marissa Ehridol to the sea.

Saliq is happy to tell stories of their adventures, though are aspects of which he cannot bring himself to speak: of ghouls and the mind flayer mostly... the memories there are not ones he enjoys relieving.

Of course he need not rely on words alone to display old escapades. Through his magic Saliq conjures up the eerie liquid Water Weird Serpent from the ziggarut of the lizardmen, the towering Tethi (who has to stoop to properlty 'fit' in the ballroom) and the bizarre Necrophidus Blockus.

His next tricks though are personally taking the form others. With a few arcane words the princely illusionist vanishes and King Greenscales stands hissing in his place. A few words more and the lizard king is gone, replaced by the ugly visage of Ga, himself to be replaced by the far more pleasing shape of the Mistress. Then she too is gone and Saliq is back, a little worn from his efforts but smiling and happy to continue speaking.

When Marissa approached and suggested he make good on his offer of a dance, Folke was more than happy to agree.  Setting aside his harp for the moment, but in plain view where none could steal away with it unnoticed, he extended an arm to Marissa and then escorted her across the parquet dance floor to an open area.  There he inclined his head slightly, a somewhat curious gesture considering she was slightly taller than he, and then joined with her in time with the music.

As they traversed the floor he made some small remarks about other guests, the court musicians, and the pomp and circumstance of it all.  "But it has afforded me a dance with you, so it was all more than worth it."  He grinned, but there seemed no jibe in his expression.  "It is something to find anyone of substance at these events."

~~~~~~~~

When the mayor called them aside for the presentation of medals, the skald eagerly took his place and proudly allowed his shield to be pinned to his chest.  Recognition was key to any performer, and this would again increase his value to Stormhaven society.  An important consideration if one was to stay busy and ply one's trade as a public entertainer or renown.

When they re-entered the party he smiled broadly at the response of the revellers and welcomed the myriad of questions and requests.  When any skaled heard "tell me a story" well, you can just imagine how Folke's eyes lit up and his tongue began to wag.  The bits that Rath, Saliq, Marissa or Inas may have overheard probably bore only passing resemblance to their actual memories, for in Folke's version the colours were brighter, the enemies fouler, the stakes higher, the setbacks more bitter but the victories all the sweeter.

Rath's approach to bid his farewell drew Folke from his little fairy tales and back to the present.  He gave the warrior a clap upon the back and thanked Rath once again for his part in saving Folke from his timeless prison.  "Do not stray far, my friend.  A quiet dinner and celebration of deeds done and friends lost must be held.  I will arrange it."  And then he let Rath go, and returned to the clamouring guests.

Rath returns the manly clap on the back with a smirk. "Dinner? I won't be hard to find." He looks over the bard with a rare, thoughtful expression. Folke seems to have adapted well to his new circumstances, but ... Rath has to wonder.  "Take care, Vanirhalvt."

And he leaves.

Marissa enjoyed the dance with Folke, wondered to herself whether the rolling gait and hop of her dancing caught him off guard - a sailor never truly got used to the 'stillness' of land.

Finally, as the hour grew late (and another whiskey was emptied), she touched her mother's shoulder and said in a tone that brooked no argument, "Come mother, it is time."

She waved at those companions still present, then took her leave of the Lord Mayor's Court.

As Rath, and Marissa, and several others take their leave, the party rolls on.  Saliq's images and Folke's tales and music, draw gasps, screams, and cheers.  It is the event of many years since such talent has been on display.

Rath's departure is significant; as it is the first for their party, it signals to Inas that leaving now would be "acceptable" to those who judge such things.  Inas is almost on Rath's heels, but he stops with a puzzled look on his face and heads in a different direction.

As Inas approaches from a casual route, he can see the young woman is likely only about 20, maybe younger as she has a youngish face.  She is dressed in a simple but nice plain light green dress, with a cloak that seems a bit too warm for an indoor event, but it too is simple but nice.  Certainly she is not dressed quite up to the par of most of the guests, but well enough.   She too is pretty in a simple, plain way, with dark hair and hazel eyes.   He notes her eyes drift to him several times but given his route, quickly looks away, but as he grows closer, she clearly locks sight on him.

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Saliq, seeing the evening winding down finished his drink and headed for the door. As a final trick he appeared to vanish a puff of smoke that parted to real a dove that circled the ballroom twice before flying out the window.

Meanwhile Saliq really departed on foot under an invisibility spell.

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