[2.06] A Warm Reception
"Oh, come on! I thought you said that serious talk was your preferred mode of performance? I'm sure your stomach can handle just fine." Elena teased, almost managing to hide how uncomfortable the bard's words had made her feel. Somewhat more seriously, she leaned forwards and caught Grigori's gaze with her piercing blue eyes. Her musical voice held the air of a friendly challenge. "You have most of the leaders of Rivermarch in one room. This, right now, might be your one chance to make your case, and talk us out of this grave mistake we're making. And like you said, I wouldn't put the people of this colony at risk if I truly thought the danger outweighed the opportunities."
"So: convince me. What is it about these lands that you think makes it so much harder to live in than, say, Numeria or Pitax? After all, this is far from the only place that has trouble with trolls. You wouldn't come all this way, and go to all this risk unless you had something more than a few vague stories."
Maintaining the playful challenge of her eye contact, she moved to refill Grigori's wine glass. Like most things Elena did, the gambit was not particularly subtle. She wanted to keep him talking, both to gauge how serious the man was in his beliefs, and to get an idea of the arguments he would be subjecting the town's citizens to. At the same time, she hoped the challenge of talking one of the barony's leaders into giving up would be too much for a man like Grigori to resist. And for her part, she hadn't been lying. If the bard could present convincing proof that the expedition was doomed, Elena would do everything in her power to save the colonists as best as she could.
OOC: We don't have to roleplay the whole conversation, but Elena is hoping to get more of an idea as to what Grigori's deal is, especially concerning his real motivations and how likely he is to sway the citizens into leaving.