Act 3: The Ball - Crisis

"Weird question. I was just curious."

Minerva then flies by the group and stops next to Fluffle, smiling at them. She wears the costume of Corna Lole, Miggs' romantic interest in the play. "Hello, everyone! Is everything okay? We only have a few minutes left before we restart."

"We're good, just going over some details." - then he gives a slight apologetic nod - "I'm sorry Minerva, i wish we could stay for the second act. We need to get back out there and finish our preparations."

"Oh, don't you worry! We know you're busy doing important stuff! Just make sure to keep an eye out for Florolf though, okay? We've seen him run off into the crowd a while back."

"He hasn't been back since," Amber says. "Probably getting his groove on. How's Brünhilde?"

"She's safe, right?"

"She should be having a grand old time on our ship with the crew right now, singing songs and playing Lords of Firepool," answers the black mage, a bit jealous, "So don't you worry about her."

"And I'm sure Florolf will find us if he needs us. He has a keen danger sense."

Unfortunately for both Mihai and Smirk, still no response from Amber.

The blonde fairy smiles in relief and nods at Steve. "I'm glad to hear that."

"You should get out of here now," Amber says. "Me and Théo will head out your way once we're finished here."

"Will the guards let you?" Fluffle asks.

"They know we're with the troupe. They'll let us mingle even without a fancy dress."

"I enjoyed the first act of the play, Minerva. Bye, you two. Have a little fun while you can."

Steve gives them a big thumbs up and agrees with Konrad, "Yeah, you guys are killing it with that play. Good choice!" He waives goodbye.

"See you later," Amber replies while Minerva waves goodbye at the adventurers.

As the party returns to the other side of the curtains, Thirza links her arm with Mihai and whispers to him, "I'm curious to see where the king and duchess are at the moment."

The group leaves the Bow Room and make their way to the second floor, where most of the guests are at the moment. In the Green Drawing Room, they find several of them engaged in deep conversations about Archipelagean politics, economic reforms, and above all, the latest rumors concerning the other unknown creatures that have appeared across the isles. Amidst all of that however, the adventurers hear that the king is currently "holding court" in the Throne Room with several other nobles, and the duchess is doing the same in the Blue Drawing Room.

Fluffle discreetly reminds Steve that the Dining Room is right next to the Blue Drawing Room.

Konrad makes his way around the room, mingling and introducing himself when addressed to give a reason to be among them and listening in, feeling out their attitude towards the night to learn near whom it would be safer to stand when the violence starts. He doesn't circumnavigate the room, instead he drags his feet toward the throne room. Curious to see the king up close, of course. He grabs food from serving trays to fill up and washes it down with a small glass of whatever they have for drink.

Diplomacy 15
Konrad plays a charismatic new face in the court, having a listen and taking in his surrounds, and gently guiding any vanilla conversation towards Emeraldean politics of interest to the group.

Deception 23
Konrad tries to read the feelings of the nobles towards the king and the duchess, and whether any of them are in anticipation for something imminent to the evening.

Steve heads for the snack table to try out the food and look at the other guests for anyone that looks interesting or who might be hiding some magical gear on the down low.

Awareness 11
To find interesting people.

Spellcraft 30
To spot magic items on the guests within view.

Konrad finds out that having Femke at his side makes it a lot easier to insert himself into the conversations, and although he manages to not make a fool of himself, he quickly realizes that he's out of his depth. The people in the Throne Room are all knowledgeable in subjects he's not familiar with, and because he's not a noble, a politician or a merchant, it's hard for him to ingratiate himself with any of them; especially since they tend to keep their cards close to their chests. He can identify a few key players however: Duke Martinus Piscator of Devovel, a known loyalist to the crown, and Lord Julian Procyon, heir to the duchy of Cupia. They seem to be debating over the territorial claims of their respective duchies.

Flanked by his bodyguards, the king is standing near a window, conversing with several other nobles, his betrothed at his side.

Then someone taps Konrad on the shoulder. It's a young man with a dark complexion and long black hair tied in a ponytail. "Excuse me. Are you not Konrad Granger, one of Szef Zerva's champions?" he asks.

A few nearby nobles perk up at the title and await the red mage's answer.
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Since Mihai is preoccupied listening to Smirk, Thirza tasks him with finding them cups of wine while she talks with a few guests in the Green Drawing Room.
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In accordance with Fluffle's request, Steve leaves the rest of the party and heads to the Dining Room, where countless plates of food, appetizers and drinks have been laid out for everyone. It's easier to hear the music from here since they're closer to the Ball Room, and many people stream in and out of the room from that direction.

The most interesting person he finds there is Isidora Venator, who's having a lively conversation with two other people at the moment. She hasn't seem him yet.

When he reaches out with his sixth sense, he discovers that she and the guards standing in the room are the only ones carrying magical items of significant power.

"Steve! There are mini cheese cakes over there!" Fluffle exclaims.

"Hey, nice! They even have little toothpicks!" He forgets about the mission for now and pops one his mouth before passing one up to Fluffle. "This one is raspberry!"

He looks around for more things to try.

Konrad turns and smiles, wondering who the culprit could be. Only Brutus would brag about having been on his ship. Or perhaps did Van or the ambassadors send the nobleman this way? "The one and only. And you are...?"

Fluffle eagerly tries one of the cheese cakes Steve is pointing too, using his telekinesis to levitate some of the delicious cream to his mouth. "Hmm!"

Steve finds many types of cakes, cupcakes, pies, custards, pastries, candies, chocolates and gelatin on this section of the table, flanked by fruits on one side, and meats by the other. He only needs to take his pick.

"Hey," Fluffle whispers between two mouthfuls of raspberry. "Do you think it's safe for us here? The duchess is right there."

He points at the woman in question.
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The young man extends his hand towards Konrad. "Salaven Artius," he responds with an accent. "I was in the terraces when I saw you and your friends fight Szef Duma and Szef Makara. A very impressive fight. I never thought I'd see you here."

More people around the group start to listen in on Konrad's conversation.
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Mihai quickly spots the king near the window, while Konrad and Femke stand on the other side of the room. Before he can head further in however, his vision suddenly blurs, and for just an instant, he sees Kieran Hammerfist instead of King Felix Tibur.

Then everything goes back to normal.

"Oh, it's fine," answers Steve, not looking up from the table as he snags a cupcake,  "But if you don't want to attract her attention then it's best to not point at her."

He carefully pulls the moist cupcake apart and hands half up to Fluffle before popping the remaining half into his mouth. "Mmm, vanilla and strawberries with buttermilk frosting. Seriously, whoever made all this really went all out."

Konrad shake's Salaven's hand. Nadia Zerva - has it only been a few days? He looks over at Femke, and back to Salaven. "I love to travel, and I have no obligations tying me down. And she is First Nadzieja Zerva now, yes? But thank you for your kind words, my lord."