Ceila watched the interplay, a bit confused by all the fuss over who was who's lover.  Her upbringing had left her with very unrestricted views of such things... and then, of course, there were her own feelings, but she still didn't understand why so many people made a fuss.

"I'm Ceila Greendoor," she said.  "I come from yet another... place.  But not one so different, I suppose, in most ways."

"That is what I was to guarantee," replies Minty, tapping her knuckles.

"Hello, Celia, pleased to meet you. We were from a place not so far from Waterdeep. A world away. Metaphorically and not."

"Well I never, who'd have thought it," she answers when the half dozen undead are obliquely cited. "I think we could work together, trying to get home. But there are things to talk about. Not here though. What do you think? All too sudden?"

“Not at all. We trust the innkeepers, but not everyone in the town.” Jia nodded. “We should talk privately.”

Chokahr laughed and laughed at the two scrawny Wachter boys, not bothering to get up, but making sure they knew they wouldn't be messing with anyone on his watch.

But then they offered to buy drinks. "Yes!" Chokahr burst out!

In reply about being bitten, "Vyktor and I were just healed by the priest of a curse of old age. I had been bitten just before the miracle, so I guess it took care of that too. Although I am not sure its as easy as being bit once and immediately turning. I think there's gotta be a ritual to it or something. I don't know, I'm not much of a scholar."

Elma leans toward the group once the two wander off, speaking softly so as not to alert the asshats to the exact content of her words, "Those two are important in the town, are they not? I think it's an excellent idea to go elsewhere to talk. There are many things that need saying ..." she looks over at the two men, her expression carefully blank "and many things that should not be said just yet."

"...if it was that simple, they would fight us by just biting and running away," Ceila said.  "But yes, Jun, we should talk in private.  There are too many ears in this room."

Minty just nods, ready to go private. She watches the noble lushes, ready to intercept any hands wandering where they shouldn't.

Vyktor greeted those introduced in what might be considered an ancient manner of chivalrous respect. "A pleasure, well met. Lady Greendoor and Lady Jia have been wonderful and capable companions, and Chokahr has saved my neck more than once. I too am a stranger to this wretched realm, an exile to be more precise..." It was then that they were interrupted.

The former knight looked as if he might take the opportunity to educate the drunkards and defend the honor of the fairer sex in his company, but the flair of his youth was still somewhat hampered by the lingering effects of having prematurely aged... and then having had it reversed. He simply nodded his assent to take the conversation elsewhere, though he eyed the two with a look that bespoke future lessons to be...  inflicted.

Elma nods at the table, then gestures for them to follow. "We can go to our room." She purposefully does not say which room it is, just in case someone in the hall could hear them. She stands and heads off toward room 3, trusting Minty to make sure no one follows them.

With a quick nod, Jun Jia stood and followed Elma. The suggestion was a wise one. She kept a low profile as she began exiting with the group. However, Jia also watched the louts, prepared to humble them should they put unwanted hands on her or her sisters-in-combat.

Catching Elma's eyes, Minty nods  and disappears into the shadows to rearguard the group..

(Then following when it's clear they're not being trailed.)

Ceila followed as well, but she was on guard, her eyes open for trouble.

In Elma and Misty's room, the bard leans against the bedframe, standing at an angle. She watches everyone enter and when Minty comes in last and closes the door she nods and smiles. "I am Elma Keensong, and this is my companion, Minty. Until recently, we were working our way up and down the Sword Coast. We were up in Neverwinter and there was some drama happening, then suddenly we were here." She stands up straight, crossing her ankles while she rests against the wall. "We haven't seen much of this place, but everywhere we've gone people have been - at the very least - miserable."

The half-elf glances over at Minty. "We have had conversations with several people here, each one giving vague details about how horrible it is here, but when we've asked for more specifics we don't get much more than that." She looks at the others in the room, each in turn. "We've heard there's something happening tomorrow that people call a festival, but from what I hear it's an exercise in the morose. I am planning to perform, with Minty in the crowd, you'd be surprised what you can learn from an audience, but it would be nice to have people to work with and more information about what we're going to encounter."

Elma takes a deep breath and concludes her little speech, "My mother always told me to leave each room better than when I entered it. I want to help these people, and I want to get back to our own lands, and I'm pretty sure the two are going to happen together. From what I've seen, you all may be able to work with us on progressing towards those goals."

Minty stands in shadow a few feet away from the door. Other than nodding when her name is mentioned she remains as quiet and motionless as the grave.

“My name is Jun Jia. If it is easier, call me ‘Jia’,” she said with a slight smile and nod. “I am from one of the nations of Kara-Tur. Like you, I was pulled from my travels in the West by the same Mists.”

Jun Jia stood with her back to the wall. She chose a spot where she could look at Elma and also watch the door. “When the Mists settled, I found myself beside a campfire. There, I met Ceila, Vyktor, and a few others no longer with us. They met terrible ends when we explored a haunted house. There, we met Chokhar, and from there, stopped a sect of Fallen Druids, and vanquished Baba Lysaga.”

Her eyebrows rose as Jia remembered one of the most crucial details. “Oh! We met the Lord of this terrible land. A vampire named Strahd. He…commissioned us for a job to find the reincarnation of his lost love, and persuade her to accept his proposal. They are trapped in a curse that forces them to repeat a tragic courtship that ends in her suicide. Might I also add that Lysaga and her Druids were minions of Strahd. I suspect that the vampires we slew and at least one of the nobility here are also loyal to him.”

Elma strokes her neck, thinking. "We talked with a man called Rictavio, he said that Strahd killed his son, but then he said that it was people who were trying to follow him and gain favor and it sounded like Strahd didn't even know about it until after it happened. Rictavio wanted us to release a crazed and wild tiger into their camp." Elma shrugs, "We asked for more details and he lost his composure, screaming insults at us as he stomped away."

She smiles at Jia, "Thank you for being willing to have an actual conversation. Do you have any thoughts or plans for tomorrow?"

Elma’s tale sparked recognition that showed in Jia’s face. “Ah! It seems that I encountered that very same tiger when I pursued a vampire.” “Rictavio” was a not a name that she immediately recognized, but they had met many people since their arrival. “I do not know any Rictavio, but I will say that I trust Danika and her family. The innkeepers are our proven allies.”

She looked at Ceila and Vyktor when Elma questioned their plans for the Festival. “What do you think? I agree with Elma’s plan to perform—and, more importantly—keep an eye on events. Were we trying to meet the Lord of this town?”

Minty's eyes follow the conversation keenly.

"Uhhhhh...we definitely do not want to meet the Lord of this town. Baron Vargas is -for lack of a better word- fuckin' insane. Unfortunately, Vyktor and I got roped into being the guests of honor when we told him the news about Baba Lysaga...well..actually we never got around to that part, he stopped us when we said we had good news, and said to save it for a speech in the morning."

He then lets the bomb drop, completely unaware that it was supposed to be kept secret, "You should probably know Danika and Urvin are the leaders of the wereravens. They're pretty cool, but not as powerful as the werewolves." He said it twice boastful, first because he knew a secret, but then secondly boastful that werewolves were better.

Minty holds up a hand, "Chokahr, would you expand on that a little? About 'Weres'."

When Chokhar biurted out the Wereravens’ secret, Jun Jia glared at him. With the weariest of sighs, she said, “As always, Chokhar spoke out of turn and shared secrets that weren’t his to reveal.”

"Nonetheless, who are werewolves then? And are there other types? Werebadgers?"

"Badgers! hahahhaa!!!" He laughs obnoxiously, he did have more than an entire bottle of wine, but with tears streaming down his cheeks he further explains, "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if there were badgers after all. You've got your standard raven, rat, wolf and then it gets really crazy with bears and tigers and I've heard of fish varieties though I can neither confirm nor deny."

With a nod and a grim smile Minty persists, "But there are werewolves around here. Who are they? You folks?"

“No, we are not werewolves. Chokhar has a history with werewolves.”