Distractions? Hell, distractions are easy!

Storm stood tall before the angry, drinking Kobolds, again fixing his hair and rolling his sleeves into tight knots around his sinewy forearms. Opening his palms, long fingers danced in the air before the annoyed little lizard men, who seemed offput regardless of how many rounds he had bought them. Another toothy grin was forced upon them as he stifled a honey-whiskey hiccup.

"Time for a challenge, my diminutive friends! Here in Ettermire, it's customary to treat your guests with a trick or challenge. I will submit to you that I am the most skillful drinker in all of Alerar! Barkeep, fill my stein with your most popular beer, and let's liven things up a notch!" With a grin, he pointed to the iron-rimmed glasses hanging from a series of hooks aside the bar.

The clever little bartender followed him implicitly, filling a cup to the brim with the frothy golden liquid. The pour was smooth and easy, with a series of small and surly soldiers gazing at her as though they'd never seen fluid flow in any form before. Raising the glass, Storm immediately caught a sense for the balance of weight within the glass, sensing the iron ring at the top being the point of balance and manipulation. Taking a quick sip, he got a sense for the flavor - it was fortunately mild, and would serve his trick well. To begin the display, Storm raised the stein over the bar, addressing the on-looking soldiers.

"Welcome to Ettermire, warriors! A toast - to our wives and our girlfriends - may they never meet!"

Ugh, SO old. Brutal.

Maintaining his smile through the laughter of little serpentine simpletons who lacked any presence of humor, Storm feigned dropping the stein. His eyes wide, he moved quick to catch it with his left hand, and again dropped it to catch the thick glass between two fingers on his right hand. This was of course obfuscation; the weight of the glass was entirely suspended by the wizard manipulating an electromagnetic field about the iron stein. A third drop, and he caught the stein upon the tip of his left index finger, the stein wobbling as he controlled it completely. The illusion of danger filled the room with a blanket of silence, broken only by small gasps. The electromancer had them at his call as he stared at the stein, feigning concern that he could possibly drop the thing.

"Quiet please; everything is under control. From a fingertip to deep liver, I am the conqueror of hops!"

Without further explanation, Storm lifted the stein, wiggling a finger to allow it to "fall" into his mouth. There was a deluge of liquid that he had prepared for, opening his throat and allowing the beer to pour down his throat, a trick years of borderline alcoholism had afforded him. A great cheer erupted as not a drip poured upon his face or neck, and the mage pinched the bottom of the empty stein between two fingers to display the empty cup to the awestruck fools before him. Twisting his fingers, he made the impression he was spinning the cup with incredible dexterity, erstwhile the field produced effortlessly spun the cup before them with the speed of a top. With a flick of the wrist, the stein was suddenly tumbling through the air, high in the bar and back towards Veritas, who dropped his eye level to the Kobolds, who looked at him with horror. He didn't look, but reached behind him with his left hand, his witchcraft correcting the difference and pulling the cup back into his hand.

The bar erupted in croaks and laughs at the display as the wizard smashed the stein down upon the bar, winking at the barkeep who had quite clearly finished her efforts.