We Are the Folk Song Army...

SUMMARY: Rona inducts Amaya into the Slavers Inquisition at the Friendly Grill. Later, Ga'Elian joins them, and he and Amaya perform some folk songs for the pub's entertainment.

Not too far from the Northern Gate is The Friendly Grill, a bar-and-grill establishment that caters to new arrivals to Alexandria. Nobody who actually lives here eats there terribly often... it's not bad, but it's kitchy as hell. Still, this is where Rona has invited Amaya for an afternoon drink, mostly to ensure they won't be overheard. At least not much.

"Damn Tarien, it's the tourist's place..." Is what Amaya is whispering about when she arrives at the Friendly Grill, used to these kind of places most likely from all the travels she has made. She sighs but steps in, looking around to find Rona and walks over once she finds her. "Hey.." she greets.

Yelrona looks up and smiles. "A Joker, a Luckbringer, and a Ruffian walk into a bar. Bartender looks up and says 'What is this, a joke?' Thanks for coming... have a seat!"

Amaya quirks her lips up in a wicked grin and settles down, moving her mandolin to the side as it hangs from her side. She settles in that loose posture of hers, elbow on the table. "Greetin's, what's up? You asked me to meet here." she says, tapping on the side of the table to catch the bartender's attention. "Ale, yea?"

Yelrona nods. "I did. I wanted to continue our conversation from the other night, with fewer ears to hear." She orders a refill along with Amaya's ale.

"So... as I recall, you were curious about by investigation into the Veyshanti slave trade and the Syndicate, yes?"

Amaya lifts one hand up and offers a thumbs up at Yelrona. "And here I am all ears, even if few ears." she grins faintly, taking a drink off her ale, "About the slaves?"

Yelrona smiles. "So, let me tell you a story about slavers from Charneth, and some adventurers who struck back at them, and what happened then..."

Amaya wipes her mouth on a sleeve once she takes one heavy swig off her ale, leaning forward on both elbows as she gets ready to listen about the slaver investigation, eyes intent on the other woman.

Yelrona relates the story of the Charn slave ship, and the adventurers who brought it down, and the Charnith agents who are hunting them, and how the Adventurers Guild was proven to be complicit.

"So, these Charnith agents have been attacking us, or someone here, due to an attack on a ship that was made a while back? By this guy named Chay?" Amaya asks as if to confirm, frowning faintly while she listens to the tale. "Look, as I said I am interested in taking these guys down, they give sailors a bad name and ..., to be honest, I am looking to make a name for myself."

Yelrona grins. "I was hoping you'd say that. We're finally in a position to take overt action, and can use all the hands we can get."

Amaya nods her head in return. "What would you have me do? Have you done any scouting at the place already?"

"Not precisely," Rona replies, "not yet. We only found the building a couple of days ago, and we've been surveiling it ever sense. More eyes are good. When we make an overt move things will probably happen _fast_. As for what we'd have you do... well, what are you good at?"

"I have lived part of my life on a ship, and another part travelling, so I picked up a lot of skills related to sailing and what you can see aboard a ship. And of course that I am a smooth talker if you need one." Amaya smirking faintly before she pats her side where a scimitar rests, "And I still need to find someone that can beat in a fight." well, she certainly doesn't like confidence.

Yelrona grins. "Sounds good to me. Welcome aboard, then!" She extends a hand in greeting. "So... tell me about your travels! Where have you been?"

Amaya extends her own hand to shake Rona's and leans back on her chair, opening her arms around as if she was encompassing the world. "We'd be here all night if I was to speak about all my travels." the wicked grin remaining on her features. "But I have been travelling the seas since I remember, or was. I took travels all the way around the jade kingdoms and around the Vast and the desolation." she explains as she gestures. "And let me tell you, it's when you spend weeks on a row traversing a desert that you remember how much of a blessing the sea can be."

Ga'Elian has arrived.

Ga'Elian strides into the pub and straight toward the keeper, but looks around as he crosses through the place. He nods a greeting at Yelrona and Amaya, then turns to the keeper and talks with him, setting a small wooden box down. The keeper opens it, then reaches under the counter and sets a small coinbag in front of the ranger. Elian grabs it up and puts it into his shoulderbag, then turns and approaches the Tarienites.

Yelrona raises an amused eyebrow at Elian's approach. "Afternoon!" She invites the ranger to join them. "I see you're contributing to the bartender's box collection!"

Amaya looks up as well from her detailing of her trips to Yelrona, tipping one hand up in a casual salute. "Hey." she greets, leaning back on her seat again, "Box collection? Did I just miss a good deal with the bartender here?"

Ga'Elian grins at Yelrona as he takes a seat beside her. He answers both, "'Twas his box before and is again, but he was likewise contributing to my coin collection." *smirk* He goes on, "Actually, he hired me to acquire some herbs and so forth for the kitchen." Then to Amaya he asks, "Are you here to do a minstrel act?" He unclasps his Lincoln Green cloak and drapes it over the back of his chair.

Yelrona looks back and forth between them. "If she plays, will you sing?" she asks Elian. Then, turning back to Amaya "if he sings, will you play?"

"You say that as if it's the first time we have made a duet." Amaya says, waggling a finger and then letting out a loud chuckle. "And sure, I can be -convinced- to play."

Ga'Elian raises an eyebrow and says to Rona, "For you? Certainly." Then to Amaya he asks, "You ready?". He stands back up and hops atop a nearby unoccupied table.

"Is that the kind of convincing that clinks," Rona asks Amaya, "or the kind of convincing that pleads? Or both? I'm better at the pleading kind, but can manage a creditable display either way."

"Is there a better type of convincin' than the one that clinks." Amaya retorts with a lifted brow, perhaps even in a dare to find one that is better but she does fish out her mandolin, hopping up to sit on the table instead of at it, plucking on a few chords as she loosens her fingertips. "Alright, I will follow your lead." she says to Ga'Elian.

Ga'Elian picks an old familiar Sildanyari folk song, one that's about as well known among elves as "Home on the Range" or "My Darlin' Clementine" (well, maybe not so much among mul'niessa), and one that has been done by many artists in a wide variety of styles. In fact, it is so commonly known that the lyrics have been translated into Tradespeak.

Elian's rendition of it is some in Tradespeak, and some in Sildanyari, and is upbeat and catchy, like a good drinking song, but the lyrics tell of a host of pixies caught up by the frenzy of Gilead's Hunt to roam the countryside at high speed under Eluna's full moon, and resulting in exhibitions of manic hysteria by both farm and wild animals. Indeed, Elian immitates a goodly number of these animal calis, and prances around on the tabletop to demonstrate the frenzied pace of the miniature Hunt.

GAME: Ga'Elian rolls Perform/Sing: (16)+19: 35

GAME: Ga'Elian rolls Perform/Dance: (16)+19: 35

GAME: Ga'Elian rolls Acrobatics: (12)+22: 34

GAME: Amaya rolls perform/string: (8)+7: 15

Amaya starts to strum the chords along with the man's singing, but it's hard(ish) to accompany someone when they don't actually know the language so it's not a perfect duet, certainly not as the first one was, but she manages to not look too bad at least, one foot brushing back and forth against the side of the table while she plays along.

Yelrona watches and listens to the performance in admiration, clapping -- on the beat, even! -- and chiming in on the Sildanyari choruses. The pub's denizens seem a bit taken aback by the foreign singing, but the musical accompaniment carries them along, and the Tradespeak sections catch their interest further. When the first song completes, Rona puts out a container and tosses a few coins into it, then attempts to encourage the other patrons to join her...

GAME: Yelrona rolls diplomacy: (5)+5: 10

...mostly unsuccessfully.

Ga'Elian finishes the song with a backflip off the table and sticks a perfect landing. He looks at the coinbox and says, "Well, Amaya, you might make out better if you strike out solo." He sits again.

Amaya lets out a chuckle at that, shaking her head, "Not sure about that..." fingertips still drumming over the mandolin. "I think I need more practice, but then again this ain't what I am -really- good at. I have better plans than playing all my life." she eventually comes to an end of her playing and nods to the other two.

Yelrona raises a curious eyebrow. "Well, now I have to ask. What are you _really_ good at?"

Ga'Elian looks at Amaya with piqued curiosity.

"Well, with my scimitar, of course." Amaya says, tapping her side where the sheathed scimitar lies. "I have not lost a duel to this day." she then lifting her nose up a little, raising a brow. Clearly quite confident in her abilities.

Yelrona grins. "Well, me neither, come to that. Of course, I've never _fought_ a duel, either," she admits.

"Ah! The best way to keep an immaculate sheet, never to duel. But then you can't brag about your win streak. I could do that, but then we'd need to spend the whoooole night here talking about my accomplishments and I think we all have better things to do." Amaya seeming amused as she says that, draining the rest of her ale.

Ga'Elian says, "Recounting long histories of battle exploits is a whole category of storytellng, I think. If done well, it can even become legend." Yelrona smirks. "Sometimes, bards even put such tales to music. Or so I hear, anyway."