"I am Kybele the Curator, called Gazette, lately recruiting for a dawn assault on the demons surrounding the malfunctioning wardstone to allow an attempt at repair!"

"Er, I don't recognize a Kybele, should we be letting her through?"

"Idiot, count Arendae will never forgive you if you make him miss out on meeting someone this interesting."

"Er, right, of course. Welcome, miss, please try not to start any fights with the guests."

"I will do my best. I commend you for your duty." In she saunters.

Inside, the party is in full swing. There are several musicians playing on a raised dais, and large tables covered in a sumptuous array of foods seat most of the guests. Though it's only early afternoon, they're already drinking wine merrily, and there are some scantily clad servers and dancers providing refills and entertainment - contrary to stereotypes, both men and women are represented in about equal numbers. At the head of the larger table sits an aasimar with stunning bronze hair; the people sitting around him are hanging on his every word as he regales them with some kind of story.

Ky has by now quite gotten the idea that people here are some completely different set of things than illustrati, but this guy still gives her pretty substantial illustrati vibes. She twirls past a knot of dancers to go prop her chin on her fist and her elbow on a furnishing in time to catch the rest of the story.

"-and that's when our dear Prelate came up to me, ranting about how I had no right to defile his workplace like that and he wouldn't stand for it, at which point I reminded him that the terms of our agreement were that I needed to present him with proof of my defeating the monster as swiftly as possible, and there's no denying that my putting it in his office qualified. There's no way I could have removed the cryohydra's genitals while it was still alive, after all. He was struck speechless, but the longer he went without thinking of a response the redder his face got, to the point that I was half convinced he would start steaming. Unfortunately, he had enough self control left to stomp away before he exploded, which wasn't quite as good as I'd hoped for, but all in all the whole scenario had been a smashing success."

He then notices Kybele and directs her a dazzling smile.

"Ah, a newcomer to our celebration. Have you come to sample the legendary Arendae wine cellar? I must warn you, the experience is a tad overhyped; I have to import most of the stuff these days."

"None for me, thanks, I'm teetotal. A cryohydra! Did I miss the blow-by-blow of its defeat?

"A shame, that. I find many of life's moments are at their best when you go into them at least mildly inebriated. It's certainly true of council meetings. No, I'm happy to inform you you arrived just in time for the payoff; while I do have some moderate skill with a crossbow, I'm no legendary warrior like my cousin, so I'm ashamed to admit I had no choice but to bring down the beast from ambush with assistance from some of my guards. Perhaps the tale is a tad over-reliant on the audience understanding our prelate, though; have you the poor fortune as to encounter him yet?"

"I have encountered him but came off no worse than singed by the experience, I've had worse mishaps scrambling eggs!"

"Count yourself fortunate, then - the man is allergic to the very idea of a good time. Why, one time he had the gall to try and push through a ban on parties after dark inside city limits because he somehow couldn't tell them apart from cultist meetings; it was expensive to have a sufficiently large barge rushed up to Kenabres in time, but it was worth every coin when he realized we were following his requests to the letter. Enough about me, though; surely you have some noteworthy stories of your own? By all means, regale us."

"Only yesterday I fell down a chasm struck across the curve of the city at least fifty feet deep! I tumbled down, miraculously unhurt, and with my brother and some similar unfortunates we fought our way through bugs that outweighed me by half again. Deeper in the passages we found curious natives, looking like collages of humans with all sorts of other creatures, no two alike - neathers, they call themselves, and they were looking for a hopeful omen in the aftermath of the quaking and chaos. I helped them dig up this very sword," she pats and draws the angel sword, "which glowed with radiant light as soon as I laid a hand on it, and then they gathered up all their neighbors, and as soon as it's safe aboveground they will be climbing up the ladder I myself used to settle among everyone else up here, lest their roofs otherwise collapse on them." She resheathes the sword and makes a replica paper ladder, which she presents to the Count with a flourish.

He claps, delightedly, and accepts it with a flourish.

"Now that's what I'm talking about. The story is interesting enough on its own, but the special effects really bring it to life for the listener; after being regaled with a tale like that, I hardly have a choice but to hang it upon my wall and be reminded of it every time I walk by. Are all your days so exciting?"

"That one certainly stands out among the events of the month. At least so far. I hope to top myself tomorrow!"

"Ohoh? Tell me more - what wonders should we expect to see from you next? I'm warning you now, if it's even half so exciting as that, I shall be dreadfully disappointed if I must miss out, but don't let that dissuade you; I would never forgive myself for preventing someone like you from achieving something extraordinary simply for my own ego. I assure you, it is fed more than enough as it is."

"Oh, do you want to join me on my romp of derring-do? I could find a use for you. Today I found - tied up in a library and about to be put to the torch by a cell of cultists, if you can believe that - a man called the Storyteller, who believes that I alone of all the people he's looked over can repair the failing wardstone. But I will need some help covering my approach, as it's not working nearly well enough to have prevented some demons from setting up in its environs."

"I would hardly be so foolish as to refuse such an invitation from a lady as lovely as yourself. A dashing young heroine, selected by an ancient elf to be the only one that can repair an artifact of the inheritor herself - the ballads practically write themselves, though of course I'll still have them commissioned. Where and when should I offer my attendance to this matinee?"

"Delightful! I'm expecting to collect Ramien, who recommended you, at his temple come dawn. Can I expect you, and perhaps a houseguest he may have recommended to you in the past?"

"I'm afraid I can't volunteer my guests on their behalf, but there's certainly no way I'll miss it - all the more so if I can expect musical accompaniment."

"Musical accompaniment! You wouldn't find it out of place in such a circumstance?"

"Not for a performer like the young lady of my and Ramien's mutual acquaintance. I assure you, her playing is simply magical."

"I will be so terribly excited to meet her."

When Daeran flags down a server, it's to make a completely unrelated request to bring out another bottle of kyonin berry wine, but at the next break in the song one of the performers will set down their instrument and head over.

"Hello there. I've been told you're looking for me?"

"Hello there! I'm Kybele the Curator, or Gazette if you like. In the morning I'm going to be meeting some folks at the temple of Desna and from there we're going in to the garrison so as to fix the wardstone, which I'm given to understand will solve many of our present difficulties."

"Oh, good, I was afraid nobody was going to deal with it and we would waste the warning. Of course I'll help you with that - what do you need?"