"No no no! Rhea, was it? This sword is a gift from Soramaru! He delivers directions and commandments through it, guiding and encouraging myself and his fellow followers!" Edward looked at his blade with a caring gaze. "This gift has saved me many times and serves as a very powerful tool of the god. I promise that it shall serve all of us greatly in this adventure as well!" He proclaimed, cradling the sword once more.

Lera just glared at the young devout swordsman. To pray to your deities in public...

"How shameful." She'd never heard of any god named Soramaru. She may pray only to goddesses, but even she had basic knowledge of the world guardians, real or not. And now, she felt like the man's mad faith may drive any semblance of good faith in higher beings away.

"It's a shame such strong faith is wasted on a delusion."

Visage took his time letting others carry on the conversation. A moment of listening was worth a thousand speaking, and this was no different. Everyone's personalities and quirks were showing, which is precisely what he had wanted by breaking the ice.

He genuinely liked Rudolph so far. The dwarf had a certain air about him that said he was a faithful and worthy companion, if perhaps a bit unpredictable. The others seemed likeable enough. The one with the bow...Rhea...was likely of some similar occupation as himself. A huntress at least. If she was a Druid he would know soon enough. The man with the sword, however...seemed...nice, but just a little queer.

Visage chuckled, but gave a slightly reproving tone to Lera.

"Now, my dear, let us not judge another's faith. The pantheon is vast and varied, such as we mortals are here below. It is not out place to judge another on what we do not know. I have indeed heard of his god -- Soramaru -- and find this young man's devotion strange but genuine, and therefore its fervency is admirable whether you or I believe it displaced or not."

A smile stretched across his face when Rhea jibed the fervent young man and he let out a chuckle at the whole bow comment. The dwarf examined the boy and his weapon, he seemed capable of handling the weapon, whatever the hell it was. Rudolph prided himself in his knowledge of minerals and precious gems, but he has never seen a material like this. "Now missie," Rudolph looked to Lera. "No reason to be so haughty. I ain't the religious type m'self but like the young buck said, ain't our place to shame others. Cept mate within reason, as you must be as loopy as 'e is." He turned his attention to Visage and jabbed his thumb at Edward to make the connection. "I never 'eard of dis Sora who what god and I'm sure I've been on this world 100 years more than ya. So either this is some new trend that's running around you young uns or you both got dropped when ye were babes." Perhaps he was coming off a bit harsh, especially if he wanted to see the boy's sword. Rudolph coughed. "But anywho, laddie." He walked up to Edward. "Mind if I take a look at this 'artifact' of yers? Ye can regale meh with the whatnots of yur god in the meanwhile."

"Yes," Sir Dreimon's voice echoed in the hall. "Yes, sir. They are ready."

An elderly voice replied to the knight captain's remark: "Are you sure? The boom had very odd effects to the wildlife here.."

"The first team made it, why can't the second? Fedimians are a hardy folk, mayor."

"If you're so hardy why did you send a force so fast in a panic?"

The mayor and the knight captain stopped their conversation at the mouth of the hall's entrance. The mayor was visibly an elderly man, wrinkles marked his forehead, his cheeks sagged slightly and his eyes were near gray. His hair, or whats left of it in strands, were neatly combed back. He had a cane to support himself, long, wooden and capped with silver on both ends. He wore casually, simply long trousers and a brown shirt with a red and green sash that simply wrapped on his shoulders loosely.

"Oh, a bit lively here already," he chuckled.

"Should I quiet them down?"

"No, no," the old man shook his head. "The noise is rather relaxing. It's been nothing but cautious silence here, you must know."

The mayor stepped forward and smiled weakly. "Hello, adventurers." He stopped for a moment to check if he was heard and seen that he was but not by all. He simply raised his cane and brought it down gently onto the floor. A particularly strong gust of wind expanded from the point where the cane met the floor, blowing most of the party's attention from anywhere else to him.

"Ah, there we go," he muttered. "It was getting a bit stuffy here, you there Miss? Near the window? Could you open them? Thank you." He gestured his cane to the window closest to Aurea.

"I am Roderique Gamon, the current mayor of Thornfell. My successor had died during an attack, may the Lantern guide his soul, days before. Tragic, it was. Left a child and a wife.

It seems you've gotten to know each other for a moment that I was fetched, I apologize for the wait." He chuckled, rubbing his head. "I dozed off, hard to get some sleep in the night I tell you. Times had been hard ever since that sickening blast at Highmount. Crops have been fast to wither and the wilds have become more treacherous than ever¹, making game hunting a lot difficult even during the day. We've just recieved supplies from Bellmare to last us the month but if the forest becomes impassable even with armed guard, then I'm afraid Thornfell will cease to exist. You can ask dear Lera over there, the scheduled shipment from the port city won't arrive either.²"

Roderique sighed and began to walk closer to the glass table. "Lovely to see such variety in your party, wonderful elves too. I've missed their songs. They sing to the wood you know, helps them grow strong and tall," he said then squinting at Rabbit. "Do I know you?"

FOOTNOTES
¹ For Rhea: Profession-wise, you have noticed the sudden drop in animal sightings on the way to Thornfell. Not only that, but those you did see were a bit.. on the feral side? You hadn't tried an approach at the time though.
² For Lera: Your stocks have been plummetting since ten days ago. Lantern's Cross' trades have dwindled short of disappearing. You've talked to the traders before, during their last visit, apparently the sea hasn't been calm for a while now. May it have been the same storm as the one that troubled the sea faring team?

She clutched her bag the moment she heard her name.

Lera Temsik the adventurer, with only a bag of everyday ointments as a reminder from the days she worked as an associative merchant for a local shop.

"So it's not just me..." Without a source for new items, how would the old lady make a living now? And yet she still gave her a parting gift that was a sizable part of the remaining stock.

"She really is a good person." The old lady was considerate to encourage Lera on her journey, even avoiding telling her that the other sources for merchandise were unavailable.

Then, to distract herself, she turned to the changeling.

"When it comes to belief, it is admirable to possess a strong faith." She glanced at Edward the swordsman, "But I prefer it to not be wasted on delusions."

Then, a pause.

"However, Visage. If you had heard of the god Soramaru, then perhaps he's real, albeit lesser. Then it is my mistake to condemn his faith." She said, with conviction and sincerity.

Rabbit had a unusually sharp mind, but he didn't recognize the face before him. Did remind him of his past, a bit.
"Ah, maybe we have met," he said apologetically, in a crisp tone. "Unfortunately, I don't remember. Quite the pity."

As the room liven up a bit, Aurea eventually pried her eyes off the window, began listening and inspecting the people inside as well. She could feel the glances land on her one after the other, and so she reciprocated some of them. Eight and her, that'd be nine. The woman couldn't quite figure if they really were such a strange lot or...all people were just like that. She did hope for the former, but there was no way of validating it just yet. After all, these were first people she had contact with in...a while. A faint smile appeared on her face however, listening to them all poke at each other, perhaps trying to break the ice.

A smile faded quickly once the mayor and the knight entered the room. The man hit the floor with his cane, and since Aurea was the one most far away, only a stronger breeze has ruffled her hair. "Hmm?...Oh, right..." When asked, the woman reluctantly extended her left arm, exposing an impressive yet quite worn gauntlet, and cranked up the window. She hid her arm back underneath the material, and listened.

"An attack?" Once the man was done, Aurea inquired. "Was it the wildlife or...?"

'Highmount'...The place rung a bell, but she couldn't quite recall it...she wished she could just ask but...Aurea began to look around once more, hoping to maybe see a map somewhere alongside the paintings. It was a town hall after all.

A sudden gust of wind brought Amon back to his senses, he'd look over at the entrance of the town hall seeing an old man supporting himself with a cane, who looks much older than himself. "Probably the mayor.." he'd thought, soon Amon would think about the words he said and wondered where and what Highmount looked like, he also thought about how the behavior of the crops around here. He'd reluctantly get up from the couch and began walking around observing the paintings and possibly find himself a painting of Highmount itself and by doing that he also ended up enjoying the other paintings.

Visage, unlike most, had been listening long enough to hear the men approach. Partially because he was a druid, and partially because he had learned long ago that not hearing what is said when others aren't listening can be lethal. He listened politely as the Mayor spoke, nodding slowly. Seeing as the others were just asking questions for their own information or puzzling it, Visage figured that someone needed to set a proper example for this motley bunch.

Striding forward, he moved to in front of the Mayor, placed a hand to his chest, and gave a head-bow. The man was, in many ways, an inferior to him in terms of power and influence, but giving respect to any and all who deserved it was a habit Visage had long held. Besides...the man was far his elder, and age was a crown to any who spent it wisely. Moving just enough to the side so as to not block the rest of the group and seem to be hogging attention, he then addressed the elderly man.

"Sir...I am sorry to hear of your distress. I am Visage. I will address these matters by relevance, and my assistance. First, I would not worry greatly about supplies. You may have or may not heard of my traders and merchants, The United...I can dispatch a messenger back to our vessels before they depart. Though I cannot vouchsafe the speed of the passage, I can say your city will not lack for supplies if or when the messages get through.

Secondly, in the more immediate sense, I may be able to help with your local food sources. I am a Druid of Ferrianne, and though I possess not the power of those more engrained and aged in these arts it is well within my power to heal crops and assist in hunting. Lastly, I could not help but hear you and Sir Dreimon speaking as you approached. If wild animals of some sort are an issue, again...my skills as a Druid may help. These last two problems I am certain I cannot solve, for the incident as I have been made to understand is more broad than any one man could stop....but I can at least ease the difficulty while I can."

Mayor Roderique saddened at the thought when Rabbit declined that they once knew each other. "Pity indeed. I recall some folks who looked like you, some time ago too. Perhaps back when I was a proper mayor," he hefted his shoulders and straightened them as to mock his youth. "And not a substitute."

When Visage approached, the mayor of Thornfell squinted his eyes at the changeling's appearance.

"Quite a confident one," he complimented. He then listened to Visage's offer of assistance with supplies amongst other things.

"While the idea is very tempting, you'd have to stay if you were assist in the crops and hunt," the mayor said, politely refusing the latter part. "But I do appreciate the supplies. Thornfell would be grateful to you and the United."

The knight captain looked at Visage for a moment then simply looked elsewhere.

"If you were to stay and help, the purpose of you being in Grissom would be nulled," Roderique said plainly. "I wouldn't want to go against mainland's orders but since you will be giving us some additional supply, I'd like to make a request.

Listen up, adventurers. There is a castle on the way to Highmount, it is quite near Stockholm." The mayor lifts his cane and points to the painting just behind him; a beautifully painted map of Grissom. "Castle Astenborough, I believe it was called. The Sisters of the Sun¹ reside there, they've always been ready to lend a hand to us whenever we had trouble. A simple thank you each month was given in the form of goodwill and food. I would like to ask you to deliver the goods as well as check up on them."

Sir Dreimon spoke out suddenly. "My escort can handle that for you, mayor."

"I was asking the adventurers," the mayor smiled at the soldier.

FOOTNOTES
¹ The Sisters of the Sun are a subgroup of the Word of Petrania, healers and evangelists mainly composed of women. Think of them as nuns.

"Mr. Mayor, sir." An arm raised high, she called attention to herself, "Aside from taking on a request your knights could handle, is there anything else we could do for you? Or any particular details to pay attention to?"

It was a surprise. It was an outburst in all but volume. She knew the party would be getting into something dangerous, and this was just a prelude. But beating around the bush seemed like an unfitting behavior for a mayor. She'd been to many cities, including the Gambler's Den and Twin Veil. But the Castle Astenborough, she'd only heard of it. It was remote, and though it worshipped a goddess she cared for, she never got a chance to pay it a visit.

If the journey there could be accomplished by soldier escorts, then what else could the mayor have in planned if not for the difficulty? Theories she had, none she explored.

"The great Visage is a philanthropist? Color me surprised." Rudolph scoffed. "I heard a lot of things about ya laddie. Some good, most bad, but no one ever called ye selfless. What angle ye playing at?" The dwarf looked from the changeling to the mayor. "Well whateva, we ain't here fer ya to flaunt yer feathers like some kind of peacock. So Mr. May'r, you wan us to do yer job for ya? I get that things have been gettin pretty nosty but yer man looks capable enough. Whats da catch?"

Visage nodded in acceptance of the mayor's terms. "You are, of course, much obliged. As soon as we leave this building consider it done. When the ships arrive with the basic supplies, request anything additional you wish and it will be brought in the next shipment."

As the man continued, Visage mentally memorized the map. He was good with directions as a Druid, and wanted to take note of whatever information the map could provide. The others broke in, and he waited patiently for their input to be heard, before providing his own.

"First, my take on this..." he waved his hand dismissively, "...'See a need, fill a need.' Secondly, of course the mayor is hiding something my dear lady. Aren't we all?"

After letting that question sink in, he spoke again. "Besides, we are here meeting him for a reason. There is a phenomenon at stake and a city in distress. One would need to be a fool to think there are not forces at play that require more unique attributes than those provided by soldiers, however valiant and well trained they may be."