Paying a visit to the Dancing Moon theater

"By that logic, you must not have any intelligence since you're still here despite being asked to leave if you can't respect us while in our house." Cadence replied with a smile. "Roderick, please see Ms. Anadra to the docks and see she safely boards the boat back to the Crossroads."

Hork watches

"Hork, please be ready to assist Roderick if she decides to make the job more difficult than it has to be."

Hork smiles

After listening to the conversations a while Karovir would comment on a few things:

"Maybe you should consider defining what exactly this theater means with "neutral". While miss Anadra is certainly one of the worst diplomats I could imagine she has some points and I can understand her confusion."

After Mara talked Karovir would look at her and also comment:

"There was a time when the Royal Oak had drow serving the drinks and all sorts of people were allowed to enter it. I think that is what the elf meant." He gestures to Anadra briefly before he continues talking to Mara. "About man power... the theater may have a greater man power than the Royal Oak during it's last days but do you actually have the slightest idea of how many drow lurk on the surface of these lands? This theater has no man power compared to this unfortunately."

"I do not go into the city of Myth Drannor and insult the way you and your conduct business." Cadence responds calmly.  "I would appreciate the same respect here, in my home.  As for our definition of neutrality, it's very clearly posted in our Mission Statement and policies, which can be found in the front entryway.  (( in this thread here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ))"

"As for the issue of drow, I assure you, we are taking steps to prevent them from causing trouble." She continues.  "First and foremost being, we are some distance from the Cormanthor forest, which is where most of them seem to gather.  (( This can be confirmed via this post: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] If you look at the Shadowdale map, we're on the heavy line just south of Krag, and to the East just a bit. )) Considering the Royal Oak was much closer and they didn't seem to have much in the way of trouble regarding them, I think we'll be reasonable alright.  But I do thank you for your concern.  Please, if you've any suggestions on how we might improve our security, beyond telling certain parties they are no longer welcome here or any that might violate our policies of course, do feel free to share."

Karovir rubs his beard: "First of all I commented on all this out of a neutral point of view. I must say I am not very convinced of that 'quite a distance to the Cormanthor forest'. In my opinion the drow can still get you. My suggestion would be rather simple though: Build a theater in a city where it's safe and actually can get many citizen as an audience. Right now only brave adventurers visit this place. Is that a lucrative business at all? I am no business man so I wonder."

\\could we please keep it IC since its an IC thread? Thanks.

"We've seen quite a bit of business." Cadence replies.  "And already we're expanding, as several have come to us asking permission to build their establishments on our land.  Myth Drannor did not start as a fully built city complete with a mythal for protection.  Shadowdale did not start as a fortified stronghold with enough farmland to feed its population.  They both started small, as a collection of like-minded individuals who chose to band together to create something bigger than themselves."

"It is my hope to see such a town spring up around us." She smiles gently.  "It won't be an easy road, that much is clear already given how much opposition we've seen, but I've faith that those who wish to join me have enough strength to hold out and help this place grow."

"It is far too early to compare this place to Myth Drannor or Shadowdale, miss. So you get your money from people who build their houses here? Can you offer them the protection they need? Else I think that not many will come. Only the strongest and bravest. But we will see."

"I disagree." Cadence replied.  "Did Myth Drannor start out with a vast army to defend itself with?  Did Shadowdale? Our security force is small at this moment, yes, but we've more than just armed guards protecting this place.  Strange, that no one bothers to ask about what sort of wards we have." She grins.  "Just as well, I wouldn't really answer anyway, that would just be silly."  She gives Karovir a sly wink.

// This place cannot have that strong of wards. Lets be honest.

Karovir gives her an awkward and skeptical look then states plainly: "Wards... like a mythal or what? You sure have your head in the clouds, miss. You have to keep in mind that tyrants and creatures considered as monsters walk in an out of this theater. Do you really think any simple people will come here and build their houses? Anyway it is your business. I pointed out some of the problems I see which might ruin your plans. There is probably much more but I am not your advisor nor do I think you would care much about it." He winks.

She scoffs, "As if the Mythal is the only kind of ward in existence." She shakes her head.  "You may be surprised to learn that there are many others out there.  Are they as strong as a mythal, of course not.  Will they serve to help protect this place, once all of them are activated, absolutely."

"Though, I will say I do wonder why you think I would not care about other problems you might point out." She cants her head to the side.  "I prefer to let myself be the judge of what I would and would not care about.  It makes things so much simpler."

(( First of all let's keep this all IC as it is an IC thread.  Second...no one knows what kind of wards or what kind of wizards are there except the staff. Now back to IC))

"hmm..." is the noice the older human makes as he scans the interior of the theater. "I am pretty sure I can take this building down with a few spells regardless of it being warded against direct spell effects or not. And if I think I can do it then what do you think hundreds of others can do? Smart wizards will remove the wards and you should not forget to refresh the wards constantly." 

He pauses a moment then looks at the distance as if he was speaking of old memories.

"You know 25 years ago I would have come to this place with the sole purpose to infiltrate it, get a position within the staff, then undermine any other authority here and finally take it over in the name of the tyrant god. I think I am not the only one who would have thought this way. Keep in mind that drow are not the only ones well known for backstabbing. We could talk about those things endlessly so I suggest we just stop this conversation here. You will have to make your own experiences."

"Empires rise and fall, people die, things happen." She muses.  "It's a fact of life that one can either accept and face bravely, or run from and hide in fear.  I know this, and still I make the choice to band with others who think as I do to stand my ground, here, for as long as we can hold it.  Maybe it will end badly.  Maybe someone will come along, slaughter us all, and burn this place to cinders. And... maybe it won't.  No one can tell the future, but nothing at all will happen if you don't at least try!"

"Truly, what annoys me the most isn't so much that there are those who think this place is a terrible idea or that it may likely come to ruin." She taps her finger along her chin.  "It's that they seem to feel the need to come here and tell me what an awfully horrid person I must be for holding to a neutral stance.  Gods forbid I go against the standard and march to a different beat!"

"People are of course free to think and feel as they wish, after all, it is those very thoughts and feelings that define who we are." She continues, "Expressing those thoughts and feelings, however, is supposed to be governed by a set of common courtesies that it truly is beginning to feel as though a great deal of people have chosen to forget.  If one does not like the way I conduct my business, there is nothing anywhere that states one must come here.  There are plenty of other places one might voice their negative opinions that are not as disrespectful as coming into the very place they hold such negative opinions about to do it!"

"Oh, and please don't think I speak directly about you." She sighs softly.  "You at least had the good grace to try and have a dialog with me regarding this place, for which I do thank you.  It's more than some have bothered with."

"Ah, and now I do believe I'm rambling." She smiles sheepishly.  "Do forgive me."

Dannyl Still, who has recently been spending a great deal of time tucked away in a corner of the bar, keeps a keen ear on the flow of conversation around him. As the debate unfolds he cannot help but let a wry smile slip across his face, but he remains silent - as per usual, when it comes to such matters.

Eventually, his attention drifts back to the dark nooks and crannies of the room; almost as if he's looking for something.

// Sorry, been at work all day and didn't have a chance to respond in here today.  Long post incoming, and I'll remove this post once it's in.

Karovir smirks and nods after Cadence has finished: "I get what you mean but please let me give you some last advice. First you compared this place to a big city like Myth Drannor and now to empires? Keep your focus on the present, please and think in much much smaller scales."

"You know during my years in these lands I found that the term "neutral" can be bend to eternity and will always cause problems. You call it neutral but others will not and I think both will have very good arguments. The question is can you really be completely neutral? I seriously doubt that."

"If you run this establishment as you do now just to 'swim against the main stream' then you probably should reconsider your reasons and motivations. There are other ways to be special and a unique individual. To be honest I don't see anything or anyone unique here. Why? Because everyone trying to be special and unique simply turns out into everyone being the same. The unique persons in these lands in my opinion are the ones who don't ask for attention, who think twice about who they choose to trust or even flirt with, are humble, not selfish and know when to stay back. Of course this only counts for all the adventurers and people I meet on the roads not for the general citizen of any city."

"Don't worry I didn't take anything you said offensive so far. Be sure I didn't come here to talk the place down. Why should I talk against a place while being in the same place where I most likely won't be heard and only frowned upon for doing so. I only commented because I really got annoyed of some of the talk and wanted to offer a few more perspectives."

Tonan, having listened to the conversation for some time after helping Roderick and Hork show Anadra to the docks, steps out from leaning against the wall.  He gives a short bow of his head in respect to Karovir, and takes a breath.

"Sir.  You have raised many points, as did the woman... who was here earlier.  Cadence has addressed those, and I know some of her points may have sounded naive."  He smiles faintly.  "Let's be honest.  They are.  However, I like most of them, naive or not.  Striving for a goal one holds deep in their heart is something I think we can all respect, no?"  He goes to the bar and pours himself a whisky, nodding to the barkeep and turning back to Karovir.

"Firstly, as to the matter of the woman earlier.  I don't speak to you, sir, as you've been quite polite in stating your opinions and concerns.  But this elven woman, who is so terribly concerned about the evils of the Zhentarim, humanoids, and most likely Drow, as you mentioned... was here.  She wasn't out looking after the safety of Myth Drannor, which according to my sources has had much trouble of late with raids by drow.  No... she was here.  She also wasn't out forwarding the war effort that some in the region belong to, with the Zhentarim.  No... she was here.  Nor was she out hunting down humanoids, those that may at this very moment be ravaging some home somewhere.  No.  She was here, an elf of all things, trying to hound 'relatively defenseless' operators of a -theater-.  I find this disturbing.  I guess though, that it's easier to do that than go out and fight.  I had it instilled in me from a young age that the elves are a very freedom loving race, and I thought, perhaps, they may respect the choices of others, if they are doing no harm.  Which..."  He spreads his arms to encompass the bar with a raised eyebrow, "we aren't.  Unless of course you drink too much and get sick.  Can't help that, really."  he grins, having a sip from his glass.  "Of course, that's what I've come to expect from a certain portion of the elven population in this region.  If one doesn't do precisely what they expect of you, you're threatened, your buisiness is harrassed, and the paperwork is far more than I care to deal with.  I will say it's a -small- portion, thus far consisting of two or three in my own experience, but so be it.  As Cadence said, they are free to say what they will."  His face hardens.  "Unless they seek to kill my boys.  I'll have more than a little to say about that, and it won't be with words."  He smiles slightly again.  "Though that is them, and not you, Sir Karovir.  I'm more interested in talking to you, a man who can show politeness and respect for folks who may not agree totally with you on a few things."

"To get to those points, first, about the patrons of the theater, and it's placement.  We built the theater here and not in a city for a variety of reasons.  Firstly, let's talk about Myth Drannor."  He chuckles dryly.  "While Cadence is an elf... I find myself lacking in ears of the pointy variety.  I spent some time there though, before we moved operations out here.  While much of the citizenry was kind and generous, we felt that given the opinions," he pauses a moment, "of some about how our time should be spent were not conducive to running a business.  In fact, a few of them had problems with someone simply speaking their mind and stating their own opinion.  Something we're pretty good about allowing people to do, I'd note.  I may not like what you have to say, but I'll not threaten you for saying it.  I suppose I respect your... freedom too much."  He takes another sip.  "Then there was Shadowdale.  Too many paperwork issues, probably too many palms to grease, and let's be frank.  I'm not fond of their way of doing business.  We wanted to give the folks in Shadowdale, the citizenry, a chance to have some entertainment.  Their safety is reasonably assured, given most of them can use the caravans that crisscross this area, or simply take the river, which runs from here to the Ashaba in Shadowdale.  A bit more dangerous than a walk through the streets of Myth Drannor, I'll admit, though I'd say no more dangerous than walking the roads of Shadowdale."

"And lastly, about the defenses of the place, or the possibility of infiltration.  It's a danger of course.  To be frank again, it would be a danger no matter where we located the place.  Provided someone's greedy enough, or wants a -tiny- spot of land with a building, and a couple dozen or so minstrels, bartenders, waitresses, and cooks.  I look over every person we hire, and get as much background on them as I can.  I'll be honest.  I'm a paranoid bastard, and I trust very few people."

"And the gods know this region isn't truly safe for man nor beast at times.  I dare say even Myth Drannor has had it's share of dangers in recent times, from my reading while I was there.  We don't have enough troops to hold off a batallion of drow, who may make the journey from the Cormanthyr and their endless raids on their kin to come trouble us for a few slaves or a bit of gold.  And no, if the Zhentarim decided they wanted to overrun the place, we'd have little recourse but to let them.  As to the wards we have, well... I'm not telling.  I doubt the wizards we have here will tell you either, nor will the priestess we've asked to aid in their tasks."  he nods to Mara, if she's still there.  "Again, I guess I'm paranoid.  But, neither she, nor I, are any strangers to war.  Hells... our very religions -are- ones of war and strife.  With respect due to one of your experience and years, you may find it a bit harder to knock this place down than you think."  Tonan grins to take the bite out of his next words, "particularly if you have a sword in your stomach.  That tends to be distracting, as I know from experience.  And our wizards may have a thing or two to distract an attacker with as well.  Dodging fireballs and disintegration spells, just to name a few, tends to disturb me a bit, though perhaps you are fine with that.  I've little doubt a strong force could take this place if they really wanted to.  Given the amount of adventurers among our patrons and staff, I dare say they may have a hard time of it without several companies of crack troops.  I know it's not a perfect defense. If it were up to me, I'd have built walls and hired several companies of mercenaries to guard the place.  Then again, like I said, I'm paranoid.  And, it would no doubt serve to disturb our 'neighbors' quite a bit.  Which, in my mind, would lead us to an immediate conflict and a large amount of bloodshed.  Now, given all of that, if you'd like to discuss these matters in private, where security concerns should be discussed, I await your pleasure.  Until then, I'm leaving it at that."  

With another bow, he turns to go back to his duties, shifting the falchion that hangs across his back slightly for comfort.  He halts, then, and turns to look back at Karovir, grinning.  "Put a few on my tab, if you like.  I recommend the Moonshaean whisky, myself.  These locals and their bourbons..."  Shaking his head, he heads out the door.

Karovir listens to the man and then watches him leave shaking his head:
"Youngsters... come here feeling invincible in their youth, give me a speech so sure of it all being entirely right and nothing but the truth that they don't even let me answer but head out with their whisky. Be lucky I have a healthy ego else I would have a reason to take down this place only to prove a point..." He smirks and then makes his way out to patrol the roads again as always.

As patrons blab their prejudice , suspicions and hatred about alliances, Races and what not, a bleached haired woman stands quietly trying to ignore them, as she wipes clean the mugs and glasses , then stacking them on shelves behind the bar.
   Finally , Sen'Thia has had enough and makes a general comment out to any who was in ear shot.
   " If only the sign could say 'Leave All Weapons and Stupidity at the Door" ... But alas , there would only be two patrons in all the Dales that could enter... One would be ME... And I dont see any others." 
    She goes back to her cleaning, humming softly to herself.