Aleric blinked several times before he noticed that someone had just spoken to him. He looked over his shoulders to see a girl in a blue jacket following closely behind along with several others trailing a few steps away. Some of the kids were some distance off, some of them were resting, while others had difficulties with the wildlife specifically the seagulls in the middle of their feeding frenzy. It suddenly struck him just how far he had traveled and how much he was missing out on the scenery in his haste for answers..

Pausing for a moment, he gave a quiet smile to the girl dressed in blue, his inner anxiety slowly edging away. While he wasn't a social butterfly or much of a conversationalist, he actually enjoyed talking. Besides, the girl seemed nice enough, her tone light and friendly. His lush green eyes drifted pass her for a moment. Out of the corners of his eyes, he watched what one might consider animal abuse as a boy in a sailor suit gave a good kick to a gull after it snap at some poor girl.

“They're really nasty. Are we really that edible?” He nodded in agreement. Although he pitied the seagull, he can't really build much sympathy for them if they keep targeting their heads. He barely managed to tug at his scarf, pulling it out of the path of a speeding seagull in time. “But they’re bold to be attacking wizards-in-training!” 

As he neared the top, his feet suddenly scrapped against the frost that covered the wooden steps as he forced himself to stop. Nearly planting his face into dark blue fabric, he took a few steps back and steadied himself by reaching for the rocky ridges. He stared at what seemed to be an elderly wizard - judging by the silvery runes that covered his robes and unperturbed tone – who introduced himself as Crythos. 

That was… very sudden. The man came out of nowhere! As much as he wanted to poke at the silverly runes lining the stranger’s robes, Aleric held himself back as questions started to bubble on his tongue. Where did he come from? What's up with the falcon? Do falcons usually appear during this time of the year? What do those runes do? Oh so many questions yet so little time. He looked to his peers with curious eyes before setting his gaze back onto the man when the Crystal Tower was mentioned. 

Like a wanderer he is, he calmly followed after the man, with slow and steady steps. He figured that following this man to the answers will be much more satisfying than interrogating.