Part 3: Siege of Songs

Izhkarial considers all of your offers. "Hmm, yes. I am imagining it now. It could be quite the delight to see Oriole on stage once again. Especially in an opera of which I would be the patron. I suppose I can try to find another pet to take home with me. Perhaps one that won't cost me so many of my fey minions. I don't suppose any of you would like to volunteer?"

She casts one last appraising eye over you all as if sizing you up for potential pets. Then she spreads her wings. "Very well. Oriole is yours to do with as you wish. We can discuss the terms of my patronage at a later date, but for now, take these as a down payment for my investment." The dragon reaches into a pouch slung over her shoulder, removing a set of greater bands of force and a singing shortbow that she offers to you. She then departs into the sky, calling out in Fey to any surviving minions that she's changed her mind and that they're to leave Petrel's Perch at once.

Soon after the dragon departs, the door to the adjoining room opens. "Gradmama, are you fighting with the birds again? I told you, you can’t win against seagulls—" comes a clear voice as an androgynously beautiful person with feathered tail and a serpentine tail emerges, clear evidence of their ganzi heritage. This, at last, is Oriole!

The singer suddenly stops as they see you, taking stock of the scene. After a beat, they say, "You know, darlings, I don’t think I invited any of you. Wherever you all came from, I suggest you go back there. Shoo."

Oriole says, carefully maintains their expression as they reply. "Well, the remote island should have given you a clue, but darlings, I am retired. The only things the stage holds for me anymore are predatory producers, grueling rehearsals, and selfish managers who crush any actual creativity out of you. I’m tired of it. There’s no joy in stage performance. No freedom. Unless you can convince me that your production will be different, I’m afraid you’re out of luck, and I’ll have to send you on your way in search of another star."

Oriole ponder for a moment, then presents to you a challenge. If you can perform an improvised short play to remind them of the joys of the stage, Oriole will come out of retirement "just this once." They escort you to a nearby room, a cozy theater that features five blue velvet chairs. The ornately carved wood-paneled walls evoke the feel of pre-Civil War Chelaxian opera halls. A stage flanked by colonnades is to the north, its deep-purple curtains closed and embroidered in silver with swirling constellations. A small piano has been placed in the northeast.

Oriole takes a seat in front of the stage, crossing their legs. "Alright, here is your prompt. You are members of a family at a dinner party bickering over an inheritance. I leave the rest up to you."SET THE SCENE
Overcome: DC 30 Performance to introduce oneself dramatically, DC 32 Theater Lore to draw upon established tropes, or DC 34 Society to bring verisimilitude to the complexities of inheritance arguments

Oriole sits back and watches as you introduce your characters and the nature of the inheritance you're bickering over.

"A good start," Oriole says from their front-row seat. "Now, let's see if you can work in an allusion to another literary work!"

OBSCURE ALLUSION
Overcome: DC 30 Theater Lore to reference an appropriate play, DC 32 Art Lore to allude to a famous work of art, or DC 34 any other Lore to draw upon another subject entirely