Equinox Ball - Grand Ballroom A

Talathel simply nodded at the speech. Undead pirates? He would have to practice his ki. 

He looked around for Darvin and soon found him. His date's ghastly purple dress stood out in the crowd. He wandered over to them.

"Darvin, friend. I hate to pry you away from your lovely date, but I require a private word with you." 

They stepped away from the crowd for a bit.

"I did as you asked, but Nym was already very drunk. Something is bothering her, but Evalaen took her out of Jere so she could revel and not draw so much attention to herself. I believe as of now, we are all set for your presentation."

"And you?" Darvin motioned to Talathel's mug. Once again, Talathel felt the sting of his past.

"Thanks for the reminder. I am out of milk." He gave a laugh and looked for someone new to talk to.

I posted the above so as not to cause any confusion as to where Darvin's post was starting. We may think of doing from now on. On another note here is what Shandri looks like and Darvin's outfit for the evening. Unlike the mannequin, Darvin is wearing a shirt.

Darvin nodded to Talathel as he left. He took Shandri's arm and led her into the grand ballroom. It certainly lived up to the name. It had high vaulted ceilings with ornate chandeliers hanging down. It was undoubtedly just as impressive from the outside with the floor to ceiling windows lit up.

 He looked around the room until he found Shandri's father, Orlando, standing next to the punch bowl. He was finishing up a conversation and getting dangerously low on punch.

Darvin looked to Shandri, "My dear, if you'll excuse me, I have to go talk to your father."

"Darvin, you aren't going to talk to him without me. You're going to need me if you want him to pay off your lien," she replied with an amused smirk on her face.

"How did you know about that?" Darvin asked dumbfounded.

"Darvin, sweetie, everyone in town knows about the lien. Also, everyone in town knows what you have been doing on that ship for the last three years. And if they didn't earlier they know now after that half-elf's outburst."

Darvin stared at her. He didn't know what to say. He thought she had no idea of any of it. Finally, he managed to stammer, "And yet you are helping me?"

"Well, it was once a nice ship. It deserves to be again. Plus, you're no good to me drunk and depressed."

Once again Darvin didn't know what to say. He had hardly spent any time with this woman. Yet she was trying to help him even though she was fully aware of his sordid past. "We only spent the one night together. Why are you going to all this trouble?"

She laughed at him and said, "Two reasons. One, I needed a date to the ball. You were obviously available. And two, there is a lot of good in you Darvin Amblecrown. I could see it that night. I can see it now. My father would call it untapped potential."

Darvin nodded, "Thank you for the kind words, they have been few and far between lately. And tha..."

"Don't thank me for that yet. We have yet to speak with him. My father loves nothing more than his only daughter, but his own money is a close second and getting him to part with it won't be easy."

He nodded to her. This woman had him absolutely spellbound. He was not overcome with lust, as would have been the case over the last three years. Granted, Shandri was a beauty, more than a few heads had turned as they walked in. Instead, Darvin looked at her with feelings of respect and gratitude.

He led her over to the punch bowl where he got his date and himself a glass, while also grabbing an extra one. Then he approached her father. Shandri held back but was close enough to hear the conversation and interject if need be.

"Lord Greycastle, it appears you are low on punch. Hopefully this helps," Darvin said as he offered the glass to Orlando.

"Thank you, but I doubt you came over here just to quench my thirst."

"Yes sir, I was hoping we could continue our conversation from earlier." Darvin replied.

Diplomacy
Roll(1d20)+8:
20,+8
Total:28

Holy balls! I'm doomed when we actually start fighting things.

Equinox Ball - Grand Ballroom B

Talathel watched as Johan made his way up to the balcony. He was not surprised to see that he had gone for a more secluded place. He figured the party scene was not Johan's place.

What was Talathel's place? After traveling throughout Faerun, usually by himself, he had found his transition back into Baldur's Gate to be awkward. He seemed to be a step behind everyone else, unsure of what to do.

The first ballroom seemed to be a little stuff. He didn't want to be trapped talking politics with the council. So, that ruled out Ballroom A. The revelry outside at the commoner's dance would have called to him in his past, but no more. He decided that Ballroom B would be a happy medium. He entered through the double doors and looked around.

There was a lot of merriment before him. Talathel circled the outside of the dancing. Creatures of seemingly every race were here. Talathel figured at least one half elf would be made tonight, the poor thing.

More than once he was tempted to switch to wine, but he did not. He found an open chair that had been left unattended. He sat down and watched the festivities unfold. His eyes scanned the room. He enjoyed the music. He took it all in. He had missed being around people.

Though not looking for anyone in particular, his eyes kept focusing on a human. She wore a red dress, with a material that seemed to glow. Talathel felt an urging that he had not felt in many moons.  In spite of himself, he found himself rising to and approaching her. The human seemed to be part of a group, but not attached to anyone in particular.

"Happy Equinox to you, fair maiden! I am Talathel. I could not help but notice you from across the room. May I have a dance?"

Charisma
Roll(1d20)+5:
19,+5

Total:24

Equinox Ball - Upstairs Overlook

Johan ascends the stairs to the overlook, passing a few partygoers up the sweeping staircase. The music is more muted and echoing up from the grand ballroom floor, and from the large open balcony behind the distant music and cheering from the commoner's parties filters up.

He takes a glass from a passing butler, not bothering to drink it as he wanders around, his eyes scanning the much sparser crowd up here to see if anything catches his eye.

Not sure if Insight or Perception is more relevant for noticing people of interest in the overlook/balcony:
Insight(+6): Rolled a 9, so 15.
Perception(+11): Rolled a 1, so 12.