The King's Tankard

The healing potion was quite potent, and she'd find the alchemical mixture imbuing her with forces that sped her body's healing time to a few hours. The horse she'd find strong-willed and friendly, and it'd take her without problems to the King's Tankard, the town's local inn and meeting spot. Within was a hearty atmosphere of solid oaken construction and furnishings, and an average built middle-aged man with a thick brown beard and mustache presiding over the establishment. She'd find his service adequate, and should she have ordered dinner she'd receive a spicy, savory soup and two dinner rolls.

[smear:e65c19]----------Dawn----------[/smear:e6cf19]
The lodging certainly wasn't what royalty may be used to, but she'd find it sufficient for a good night's rest before she saw the king. Stepping outside into a fine sunlit morning, the surprisingly busy village was more vibrant and better visible. Numerous construction projects and plans were in the works. She'd see a convoy of carts laden with stone pulled by numerous oxen moving towards a large stone fort being constructed on the town's outskirts, some considerable distance away out into a field. Rumor or clue may suggest that the king was in the direction of this convoy, as he presumably watched over the construction himself.

The construction site featured a main hall to the fortification being constructed mainly with stone. Multiple small sites surrounded what appeared to be half of a hall. Small shacks and makeshift work areas featured such areas as a blacksmith making nails on an anvil, a rope-maker, several setups for stone masonry, and a large table over which architects reviewed plans on big sheets of parchment.
The existence of armed guards at the perimeter of the hall was enough to suggest to Camilla where the king may be, and as she approached she'd be recognized by the guard and allowed inside.
There wasn't yet a throne--king Hylon Eremae stood over a small table, discussing more building plans with workers and a lead guard. Coincidentally, he'd indeed at first be standing with his green-caped back to her. The discussion stopped as the people at the table acknowledged her with their gaze. This caused Hylon to turn around, and his old face looked upon her with a warm smile.

Camilla curtsied, and he nodded and gestured for her to join him around the table. As if briefed previously of this encounter, those others around the table he was talking to left the area one by one to rejoin whatever area of work they came from. This left Camilla and the king in each other's formal audience--well as formal as could be, without the presence of a throne, great crown or peace and quiet as workers hammered and nailed all around them.

"Ah... are you here as a defender of the mines?"
Seeing as how Hylon had only issued one summon for one reason, there should really be only one reason why anyone was here--especially one dressed for the occasion of the king's still makeshift court.

Hm... that's strange.. she's not from Eremae or Medan, he thought to himself. Hylon had expected the champion of the mines, whoever that might be, to be one from the local populace.

"Verri? I have not heard of such lands," he said.  "Please," he said kindly, sitting across from her, "tell me your story."

"But what would cause you to leave the Verri and wander, I wonder?"
Something just wasn't adding up. King Hylon felt sure of it. Surely he'd have encountered more of the Verri, lest they were too distant, in which case, how had Camilla wandered here across such a vast distance without accompaniment? The oddity of the situation was surely possible as a mere coincidence, but highly unlikely.

"And... just who are the Verri? I daresay, you must be Verri far from home...." he says with a smile.

[smear:8d0000]An hour or so later...[/smear:e20000]

    The king listened to Camilla's story with solemn consideration after the room had emptied, taking in each detail of her story to be churned and calculated in his pragmatic mind. All culminated in the direction of a single conclusion - an artifact, one imbued with magical power beyond many dreams, resided somewhere in the ruined old kingdom of Verri, a nation of shadows of the past that no longer existed as a sovereignty. And this artifact could still be retrieved, by the selfish or the righteous, each with its own set of magical consequences.
    So, this woman had once been more than a wanderer, now condemned to trekking through woods and visiting sparse patches of civilization without direction. Experience in all had to have become a part of her, for it showed in her fortitude after so many years. This was certainly a person who knew how to live off the lands and adjust to other cultures.
    "You deserve a reward for your efforts at the quarry..." King Hylon said, "and even more so, if you can provide me directions and a description of this fallen nation that together prove... fruitful. Perhaps a homestead and the support of our village, is in order," he offered with a warm smile.

    He thought on her words. Just like that, so much had all fallen into place. He offered no word on the marriage, instead focusing on what can be accomplished here and now.
    "You shall be given residence and citizenship of our fine kingdom of Eremae. I shall have my masons build you a fine estate, and you shall be given the very treatment your royal blood requires." Camilla, should she choose to accept, was now Camilla D'Arcy of Eremae, formerly of Verri.

The King's Tankard was an ordinary Inn and bar setting. Within was a hearty atmosphere of solid oaken construction and furnishings, and an average built middle-aged man with a thick brown beard and mustache presiding over the establishment.
There was no meeting here, but if he were to inquire about the king's quest, he'd be steered in the right direction: to local fort on the northern outskirts, still under construction but robust enough to house the new Medani royalty.

Camilla was sitting at a corner table in the inn, dressed in her armor again because she was unused to wearing her finery. She was eating some stew, silently contemplating over the events that had been taking place. She'd offered her hand in marriage, not directly to the king so much as... someone... For her protection and because she couldn't reside over the fallen kingdom on her own. Not that she wasn't strong enough, mind, but the memories were plentiful and she would see that her land was well placed for peace of mind.

Scrolls regarding the situation had been sent throughout the land, distributed to attract adventurers of all kinds. She lifted her gaze toward the unfamiliar traveler who was inquiring about the quest, and nodded toward the male.

Camilla lifted a brow gently toward Cassius and then dipped her spoon back into the bowl. She took another bite before wiping her mouth, and then took a drink from her tankard of mead. Then, and only then, did she speak, “I am contact for what?” The male had not even shown her the scroll or anything, and he interrupted her dinner. The princess in her came out. But, she would hold off on letting the guy know he was speaking to royalty just yet. Not that she cared... Okay, maybe she did when she was hungry. Speaking of, she tore off a chunk of bread and dipped it into the rich and delicious gravy. “You'll have to be more specific, sir, or I won't know what you speak of. Oh... And please do ask the bartender for some stew. It's lovely. I feel rude eating in front of someone when they are talking to me. I will pay for it if you ask for it and sit down to sup with me.”