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[h2][color=darkorchid][i][b]Victoria Belmont[/b][/i][/color][/h2][i][b][color=9932cc]Half-Elf, Bard, Level 3[/color][/b][/i]
[color=9932cc][i][b]HP:[/b][/i][/color] 23 / 23	[color=9932cc][i][b]Armor Class:[/b][/i][/color] 15	[color=9932cc][i][b]Conditions:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
[color=9932cc][i][b]Location:[/b][/i][/color] The Infamous Pear 
[color=9932cc][i][b]Action:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
[color=9932cc][i][b]Bonus Action:[/b][/i][/color] N/A
[color=9932cc][i][b]Reaction:[/b][/i][/color] N/A 
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[right][img]https://i.ibb.co/k4Cr7pZ/Victoria-Flames.gif[/img][/right]
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	The call from Kosara to perform, just prior to the private conversation with Marita, did not fully leave her mind regardless of the situational importance of the talk with the lady Cleric. This was partly what Victoria had in mind when she said that she felt a song's swift approach, though to be quite frank she'd rather get a set of her own in before taking on a partner. Again, Victoria's penchant for compromise when it was necessary came into play here. She wasn't wandering on the road by herself at the moment and needed to maintain decent relations with the people with whom she would embark on this little adventure. And of course, the goading (if that's what it was) from Marita would have to be answered with an example of her Epic Bard-ness, such as it was. 

	To Victoria, the way she spoke about her music wasn't so much of a brag, though she did have occasion to do this, as it was an explanation of the type of music which served her Bardic College. In her case, the College of the Grey Requiem (which was referred to by the uninitiated as the College of Necromancy but was in fact an offshoot of [i]Lore[/i]) taught a performer various styles, both sorrowful and joyous, based around funerary customs. However, this most certainly did NOT mean that she couldn't pack a tavern. Or a music hall. Or an arena, if she got enough advance notice. And so, she strode over to her violin case and reverently removed the rich, polished wooden stringed instrument. The bow slid from the back of the violin, soundlessly and effortlessly molding into Victoria's hand like it belonged there, just as much as a sword in the hand of a duelist. She looked to Kosara, speaking the terms of her compromise, [color=9932cc]"I shall perform the first one solo, if this doesn't bother you too much. It should bring in a decent enough amount of folk, who might then become entranced by your rhythmic steps of the southern deserts while in greater spirits."[/color] There wasn't a pause to converse on the plan so much as it was a statement for her information - Victoria was doing her own thing first. Hopefully the explanation would suffice. 

	The fire in the hearth at the back of the stage was starting to catch a little brighter, giving the tap room a nice, homey feel. Victoria took her hat from the table and placed it toward the front of the stage, should any generous patron with to throw in a coin (or another suspicious letter for an adventure, like the last time). Before climbing up, the optimistic Bard removed her close-fitting purple coat to more fully reveal black silks underneath, and moved her silver raven's skull brooch to pin it thereupon. Red-auburn hair flowed to one side, pinned up on the other to better accommodate her instrument beneath her chin. She was a woman of svelte frame, slender and dexterous while still maintaining the ideal of an unmistakably feminine figure, with bright eyes and an infectious smile. This demeanor, these mannerisms; it was hard to say whether it was intended as part of a coming performance or simply her natural state of existence. Such was the life of a Bard.   

	Victoria brought herself up to the stage with practiced grace, holding her violin with reverence. She made an overt flourish with the bow, catching the attention of some of the inn's patrons, who in turn motioned to others. The flourish then turned into practiced motions, as a conductor might move a baton. Trails of magic seemed to blur the clearer lines of reality around the violin bow, then the lady wielding it, and soon a pulsing rhythm of sound swelled from behind Victoria. Musical accompaniment, at once distant and easily perceived, crystalized even before she pulled her bow across the strings of her instrument. The [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyvENT2H0V4]song[/url] she began cut through the air and filled the senses of those present, its notes reaching out from the confines of The Infamous Pear and into the streets beyond. As the dulcet sounds solidified into a grand performance, Victoria began to move and sway along with it.

	Victoria could dance, and in fact danced with an amazing degree of proficiency, made more impressive by the observation that she simultaneously, flawlessly played her violin, never missing so much as a single note. The dance was not a structured set of choreographed steps, but, like the nature of Bardic magic, felt like movement spontaneously directed by the music of the moment. It was sensual acrobatics put to music, tastefully performed to demonstrate mastery of self, mastery of instrument, and mastery of the crowd which was by this time starting to enter The Infamous Pear in earnest, having heard the first notes from the street and stood compelled to find the source of the dulcet, soul-calling sounds. Victoria owned the stage, as if she had laid the polished planks herself and lovingly carved each joint which held it together. The townsfolk of Darenby could only look upon her with stunned, enchanted silence. 

	Until, of course, the first percussion of applause broke this silence. Then it exploded into a cacophony of approval. Victoria bowed, giving the appropriate demonstrations of gratitude. While the applause started to die down, Victoria motioned to Kosara and declared over the noise of the patrons, [color=9932cc]"If you were looking for an audience, Warlock, I have found one for you."[/color] She smiled, again weaving the minor magics which brought about an otherworldly accompaniment of rhythm. For one versed in the music, this was the opening to a piece influenced by, if not exactly, a traditional style of the southern deserts. Victoria supplemented the appropriate pauses of her violin as the song progressed with melodic vocalizations, showing decided proficiency for the art. For this [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11S5tcT2Tm0]song[/url], she kept her movements more subdued. The goal was to draw attention to the dancer more than herself. A good performer, in her experience, knows when and when not to take center stage. This highlighted the dances native to Kosara's culture, not her own. 

	This time, when the applause occurred, Victoria likewise took up clapping and cheering, motioning toward the pale Tiefling lady to ensure praise outwardly flowed in her direction. This also gave her an opportunity to, now that fewer eyes were upon her, to see how many (if any) coins of the realm were deposited in her hat. Her mind went back to a similar performance a couple of days ago, dredging up a little anxiety as to what she might do if there really was a letter left there.