Central Plaza

Looking on, Lady Naoki watches as groups begin to form. Some decline, and leave themselves. It’s difficult to tell who’s being foolish, but it seems as if there are at least a few here who have their heads on straight. Speaking of, there’s Arya. As she comes and goes, Naoki smiles warmly but draw any more attention to Arya than that, figuring she’ll approach if she should so desire.

Interesting seeing her here, Naoki thinks. Perhaps she thought the Quest might have been some manner of noble deed within the scope of her activities. Hardly is, though. Not even a task that’s important to be done in a larger sense. Perhaps Arya’s doing it for her, Naoki thinks. … No, surely not, not this. It wouldn’t make sense; the danger is too great. What if something happens? That would be terrible and feel worse, having sent her. But if she’s captured… Images of great red beams carving through a forest set aflame come and go through Naoki’s mind’s eye. She huffs.

Turning subtly, The Empress looks in an attempt to see if that bracelet with the purple stone is present. It may have been lost.

"Oh, thank you," Arya said, offering a warm smile to the young man who complimented her armor. She listened to his proposition and quickly nodded, "No worries, you haven't babbled at all, let's see if we can team up with a few people," she began to follow him then towards the other forming group, slipping the compass she had received into a pouch tied to her belt. 

Just as she began pushing through the crowd of people gathered to follow Louis, however, Lenny approached her. Arya was not rude so she would pause as he began to speak to her, "Oh, hello there sir," she offered the same smile she did to Louis previously to Lenny, "I was just about to join up with another group actually... but if you don't have a group yet I suppose I can team up with you, your proposition also seems to be quite appealing."

Arya, as opposed to Lenny was mostly in this for the gold. Normally Arya didn't specifically do things for gold but to help other people. She, however, knew that gold was very useful in doing many things, and this quest set forth by Isra seemed set to make her a large sum of it. 

Now what she would do with this gold once she got it? She had a few ideas in mind but she would only worry about that if she comes out of this forest alive and with a decent haul of those rocks. Nonetheless, she knew that wandering around alone as a single paladin was just not cutting it as far as making the entire world or even a single country a better place for everyone overall. 

Arya would turn towards Louis who would probably be with the other group by now, "Go on ahead without me! I've found another group to team up with!" she yelled out across the crowd, waving her arm to get his attention. Underneath the plate armor of that arm, she also did in-fact wear a certain bracelet with a purple stone, though it wouldn't be visible to Naoki.

"We should leave as soon as possible, I think. That way we have a better chance at finding more of that metal, there is a lot of competition after all..." Arya said, looking around at all the people.

Shen then remembered a question she had been meaning to ask for about the last minute or so now, "Do you think you can hold your own against giant spiders and the like? We are bound to encounter some sort of danger in these woods, I wouldn't expect it to be a walk in the park," she warned.

Lenny seemed to be a middle aged man with nothing quite spectacular about him, it did not even seem like he had any weapons on him besides a wooden walking stick.

Arya was a bit disappointed, though her outward expression didn't seem to change all too much.

She would usually turn down the offered drink, but considering he had already taken out a cup and poured a bit, Arya thought it would be rude to decline. 

Taking the small cup, she would drink it in one go, suspecting it to be some sort of alcohol.

"Alright, let's head off, no time to waste!" 

She wanted to get going before the other group did.

<exit>

Louis never liked that question despite it being useful to answer when he was trying to appear weak. But this time he was having to prove himself. He drew the sword upon his back and says, "I have this. I know it looks big on me, but I'm actually pretty good with it." Indeed the sword was quite large for his stature; it was a zweihander, meant for heavy weapon fighting. Compared to the boy, he looked out of place carrying it yet it had no trouble handling the fresh cut of steel. He added, "I come from a family of blacksmiths, so I'm quite good with metal. I also do a lot of forestry and tracking. I'm...well I can't really say I'm a squire given that I have no knight to serve, but that's what I've been trained to do."

He sheathed the oversized weapon with ease and said, "I would love to get some of the metal in the meteorite. I've always wanted to make a good sword or piece of armor with star metal. It can be a bit heavy though. If you manage to get some for yourself, I can make you something when we're done." Part of him was hoping they didn't know how to work with metal. It wasn't something most warriors bothered with, preferring to let someone else do the hard work of making weapons and armor.

When he made the mention of crafting weapons, he cast a glance at Captain Mordane as well, wondering if perhaps the offer might entice him. Perhaps he could offer the Empress such a service too, and it while it would mean less for him he would make up for it in reputation. It was so easy to overlook such luxuries.

Roarin was lying on a bench occupying it entirely. In one hand he clutched a bottle of alcohol, unnamed stuff he'd gotten out in the fields. It was made by a farmer and it put the shit you got from a proper distillery to shame as far as getting you drunk was concerned, even if it tasted like liquid death.

On arm was draped over his face to cover his eyes and he groans. He had a bitch of a hangover and he'd yet to properly replenish his buzz. His muscles were spasming lightly with pain and his stomach was growling. Looking around he spots a Satyr looking useless. "Oi you." He says waving one shaking hand uncertainly. "Goin fetch me something ta eat and I'll give ye like." The hand not holding his booze fumbles in his purse and he pulls out a gold coin. "This."

The boy he'd sent off to get food returns almost ten minutes later with a bowl of... Roarin stares at the offered "Human Food" dubiously. If it was food it wasn't a type he was familiar with, it was black there were tentacles and it smelled like a fish market. Not just a small part of the fish market, the entire fish market.

"I dun think tha' qualifies as food." Roarin says finally giving the kid a look. Most Satyrs he knew ate food, regular food, what the hell did this kid eat? Grass? Pointing across the way at a shop selling meat pies. "Go o'er there and get me a meat pie, tha's proper human food as ye put it. Yer an odd one make na mistake." He adds that last part under his breath, his buzz had managed to settle in somewhat while the boy was gone, he was feeling less shaky but he was still famished and sore.

"Ye were a sheltered lad weren't ya." Roarin says when the satyr returns. He'd tossed the "food" onto the ground and was now offering up a meat pie like he'd completed some grand quest.

With a weary sigh Roarin pushes himself into a sitting position and accepts the pie. He flicks the gold coin at the satyr, it was an odd one bearing no markings just a solid disc of gold but still enough to cover the lads costs, and then bites into the pastry. This one was actually food which the old man devours greedily. "Ah, tha' hits tha spot." He says once he is done wiping his greasy hands on his trousers.

Jarkoopi, Kepesk Altiui had heard that the people were gathering for the festival already, and it seemed to him after his long absence, he should… get back in touch with the people of Isra since his very long absence from the city. This festival provided just that chance. Hopefully his previous service to Isra and his “good behavior” as part of Goraia meant something, however ultimately he wasn’t looking for the peasants’ hearts and minds, it was the figureheads he would need to appease before anyone else. He decided it might be the best way to recover what standing he had left.
The dragon was flying in the sky towards the square, he could already tell from a ways out that with all those dang tall buildings and fragile structures, there was no way he was going to set himself down at full size anywhere in there without crushing a building or a person. He didn’t want to drop in as a tiny human and have to waddle among the peasantry just yet though. He was early.
Instead, when he came with “burninating range,” also known as the “ignorant humans start worrying and running around screaming ‘DRAGON’” range, he shrank himself, mostly so he could fit in an alleyway if he folded his wings, roughly the size of a full grown ox.
He glided into the edge of the plaza, and quietly set himself on the sturdiest looking buildings that overlooked the plaza. Perching over the humans and the likes that ran below on the streets. Hopefully it wasn't too illegal to be up here. Not that anyone was going to make him move before getting up here themselves.
The now smaller dragon overlooked the plaza for anyone he might know or anyone who was important or pleasant to look at.