Matthew chuckled shifting the girls weight as he followed Isabelle. "Relax if some pour noble comes to try and cart you off for a crime I'll challenge him to a little duel. I owe your friends so it would be the least I could do." He laughed as brought the girl in to an inn setting her down in a chair gently careful not push hurt her. He then walked over and retrieved a cup of water placing it by the girl then sighed taking a seat beside her. "So tell me about this noble who wants you in person, oh fair Isabelle. Perhaps I can work a new story out of it... Through I'll have to make you sound much prettier." Her grinned poking fun at the girl.

"I'm as pretty as a mother freaking spring flower flowing with the breeze with a damn hint of lemon little man it's not my fault that I need to carry your story because your so unexciting." Isabelle counter with a flick of her staff towards Matthew as she asked for a bedrooom for their sleeping friend and said that the good gentlemen over there would pay for it. She also added they only needed it for a couple hours she'd probably wake up soon. "Sorry she got her head bonked by some random barbarian dude from plegia. She got hyper and spazzed out next thing we knew she hit a pole." commented Isabelle rubbing her head. She was quite adept at telling lies at this point to be even phased by coming out with one immediately like that. The Inn Keeper gave a grunt and threw her a key at which she smiled widely at the inn keeper. "Thanks sir I appreciate this! Hey Kyle pay the good man his due please!" Isabelle said as she went over to Matthew and politely handed him the key before quickly making her way out the door with a simple smile and nod but with a look that said, "Yep I did my part!" on her face.

Matthew was not letting the little brat get off that easily. He grabbed her shoulder and whispered. "No way your leaving me with the girl you just caused all the trouble with. Now little flower you stay here or I may let slip about how I know what happened." He said tossing the inn keeper five gold.

"Now be civil and wait for the young lady to wake up I'll even entertain you a little." He said walking over to the innkeeper he returned with a lute. "I'll play you a few songs and maybe give you a story or two of great heroes long past." He said plucking at the strings humming as they each got in to key.

"Do what? Tell them about how I was bumped into and the dumby smacked her head into a stall or somethin'? I'm innocent as anything! If anything I could call you a creepy stalker whose keeping that girl hostage and play the cute damsel. And before you get on me about why I don't like Ylisse nobility it's not a crime it's somethin' you don't want get me into like seriously just trust me on that pot of worms. But about the damsel thing and the incriminating stuff sufficed to say I'm not like that...I hate people like that. Fine I'll stay here for all it's worth. Why are you even interested in keeping me here? I got nothing for ya and I don't think I've done anything too you. And Jiro and Zaku haven't done anything to you either! Unless your lying...I've already put that poultice on here what more do you want from me Mr. Matthew!" Isabelle said getting frustrated at this point. Her whole day...her whole god damn day....ruined by this jerk. And why what was the point of this whole deal! She was not going to get kidnapped here!

Samuel just looked on as Zaku approached. Now he knew why this kid looked so familiar when he watched their arena fight earlier. It was the kid who River trampled earlier when he first arrived at the festival. Either way it was not important because this changes a few things things."If there is some group causing trouble why don't we just slice their throats ,Zaku?" Samuel inquired. "That is unless you kill the bandit before you got any leads?"

"Because then I'd be pegged down for murder fool. Without someone to see the evidence for themselves I have no witnesses to bring to attention if caught. I was hoping I wouldn't get involved in this whole ordeal at all. I saw a man threatening a little girl and I found such a thing to be disgusting so in curiosity I followed her up until this point in time. So in short I'm not over there gutting them for the simple reason of not wanting to be incriminated or to be thrown in jail as an accomplice of something I haven't done. I would have only done something if the little girl couldn't do anything herself. Besides there's a group of them and I'd prefer to have at least one person at my back as good as I am everyone makes at least one mistake in battle." Zaku said smoothly as if he were simply explaining why had chosen to drink tea over water or had ordered something else at a pub than the rest of the crew. Zaku in all honestly just wanted to get this over with he had better things to do than protecting young children from thieves and murderers...but at the same time he couldn't stand little children being picked on. Something about it just made him remember his past that made his skin crawl. "Those who would scam a child are scum and I despise germs and illness. Therefore I will amputate this festering wound before it rots out this town then I am going back to the inn to get some sleep. I am no hero I'm merely being practical."

Zack just watched the two speak in silence well trying to be respectful but felt a shiver run up his spine feeling such emotionless regard for life even a bandits was just disturbing. " Well fun stuff and all but let help the girl and get this done and send them on there way?" said zack with a shrug as he streched out." I'm starving so the faster the better and then the meals on me." He stated as he walked over to the young girl hiding behind the post he bent his knees to match the girls height as best he could. " I'm Zack I was a soldier of Yilsse and want to be of aid so please lead on." He said to the girl in as soft of a tone he could.

"So your simply afraid of being chased down?" Samuel inquired. He held no true qualm towards this stranger who he met before today. Heck he even disliked the former soldier than this guy because he was a soldier. "A man should follow what he believes is right. There is no and, but, or or about it. " Samuel drew his blade. "I say we kill the known bandits and slaughter anyone in this town who even has a tiny suspicion of befriending these vile creatures. " Samuel rose his blade to point at Zaku's face. "If your not in then I'd say your one of them and we take you down first." Samuel stated to Zaku.

"I have no problem with that as long as our companion here doesn't. As I said I intend to get rid of these rats one way or another if a bloody approach is needed so be it as long as I don't get convicted for murdering somebody in the name of some self righteous crusade then so be it." Zaku said plainly as he turned around away from the other two and adjusted his sword in it sheath. "Oh and unless you wish your throat be opened don't speak to me like that again. That isn't a threat, it's a promise. I don't deal with prideful arrogant fools who barely know how to cut down a man properly. I also have no other qualms with you than that so if you prefer we can both be quiet and we can get on with the task at hand." Zaku said with distaste for Samuel.

The little girl on the other hand shyly offered up her hand to Zach as she blushed a little embarrassed about the whole situation. "Those two are mean men mister. Are you like them?" she asked Zach feeling silly about the whole thing. "I hope you're not you look like a nice person."

Samuel started with complete disdain at this Zaku character. Not knowing how to kill someone? The extreme level of narcissism. Samuel should have stuck him down at that moment. Especially if he was took a moment to play with the positioning of his blade when someone clearly raised a weapon at him. The thing is Samuel's moral did not act frequently but this was one of the times it was going to act. Samuel came here to slice down the bandits and they came first. If things came to it he would kill this Zaku after the fact. That doesn't mean he had to like him at all. Then gain with the soldier Zack. He was just as likely going to e cut down by the end of this. Not for what he had done as much as how he carries himself. However if he openly picks fights with either of them then they could easily take him down if it were two-on-one. That did not fit in Samuel's plans as much as living did. "Yeah, I guess we could kill the bandits first." He said lowering his weapon. "After all there is nothing more grotesque in this world than those who avoid the strong so they can reap the benefits of the weak." He said putting his weapon away. "Now which way little girl?"

"No I'm Here to help you, as the man said would you please lead us to that bandits young lady." Said Zack as he shook the girls hand then rose back to his full height." remember young lady when we do find the bandits please stay back and let us handle them. He eyed both men as a ominous feeling ran through his thoughts as he returned his view forward. To the road that lay ahead of them and a thought of not crossing blades with there men if he could avoid it, embaressment reigniting for rushing bullheadedly into this without thinking.

The town guards had indeed come in search of the cause of the commotion, if albeit a little ponderously. Clearly they were of the mind that if they arrived late enough the cause of the commotion might have already moved on, saving them the trouble of actually doing their job. Which normally was a good thing, mainly because those kinds of guards were usually the easiest to bribe. It was not that they were particularly corrupt. They were simply far more willing to turn the other way. Anything to make the day just that little bit easier on them. No bog standard city guard went looking for trouble if he could avoid it. It was even easier when it was raining.

As it had turned out though one or two of the town guard were vaguely competent at their job and had insisted that, despite Silk’s assurances that nothing untoward had taken place that they be allowed to talk to the girl who had supposedly been assaulted. To avoid that particular situation Silk had been forced to take them out of earshot and spin a yarn that placed her as that injured girl. At first they had been sceptical but she had managed to convince them that it had all been one huge misunderstanding, the simple result of alcohol consumption and festival cheer. This they were willing to believe. The few coins that she slipped each of them for their ‘trouble’ simply sealed the deal.

And so Silk found her way to the tavern, a few gold coins lighter than she would have liked, an obvious look of dejection etched into her features as she entered the tavern, heading straight for the nearest bar seat. She flung herself down onto the bar top and sighed loudly, making a small painful sound, grieving for her lost coin. She glared at the barkeep as he tentatively approached. “Hey, you seen a little blonde girl waving around a stupid looking staff and a lecherous looking nobleman,” she said with no obvious enthusiasm that she find either one. “Bah, never mind, give me something that comes with a health warning,” she said after staring just long enough to make him feel uncomfortable.

"Fine go then." Matthew said uncaring. "Jiro was right your just trouble. Still I'll around later if your interested in that present. Formal greetings and all, I'm staying here at the tavern if you need to find me." With that he turned and sighed, looking at the poor girl that had been knocked out he took her up to his room and let her rest in the bed. Taking a piece of paper he walked back down stairs.

He spotted the girl that had been with Isabelle earlier, he walked over and took the seat beside. "Barkeep put her drink on my tab." He said looking at her. "As a thank you for earlier." He said putting pen to ink he began to right about his trip and experience in Ylisse as well as the interesting and exciting people he had. Met he told his sister how much he missed her and home some days, but how happy his travels made him. He stopped for a moment then looked over at Silk. "So I assume your a professional of sorts?" He inquired her movements and the quip about dealing with guards, well they had all the hallmarks of a thief, yet he didn't want to be rude and say that out loud after thieves were bad people and stealing wasn't a horrible crime.

"Alright good!" Isabelle said with a pout as she left the pub and ran into a man in a suit of armor who pushed her aside. "Freaking heck! Why can't I catch a break from all of this?" Isabelle grumbled as she kicked a can and went over to an area nearby that was selling a another set of products. "Oh! This potion will make me smell a lot better!" Isabelle said as she browsed a stall full of soaps and found a rather cheap product that was basically perfume. It wasn't the best thing ever but it was better than smelling like feet all day! However out of the corner of her eye she saw something she hadn't expected. Zaku and a group of men. "What the hell...what's he up to? More importantly where's he going exactly?" Isabelle muttered as she decided to tag along...at a distance. She considered going to get Jiro but she'd probably just cause more trouble. "Looks like a job for little ol' me!" she said happily as she paid for her potion and left quickly following the group.

===

The little girl was leading them down into an abandoned part of town that had been recently flooded with water after a dam nearby collapsed. They occasionally came past some of the city's poorest districts and thus only a couple of stalls and guards were around here but it seems that they were being led towards a warehouse area. "So then it seems like the classic set up. How plain and un-inventive. They're lucky the guards here are so inept that they are putting themselves so heavily in the larger districts." Zaku commented as he passed by a homeless bum just sitting on the street. A nearby monk bowed his head to them as they passed. "So what's the plan gentlemen." Zaku asked as he undoubtedly guessed they wanted to charge in head first look a pack of soon to be headless chickens. "I say we let the little miss here go in and talk to them. While they're focused on her we should sneak up slowly and gut the people on the outer end of the area as quietly as possible. If inside then we should keep one or two people outside while the other two go in with the girl. If we're inside expect mages or archers. Either or we're not going to have a fun time dealing with them." commented Zaku in an attempt to forge some sort of plan with the green soldier and the petty man who thought he was the strongest in the world.

" I'm not so warm with the idea of sending the girl in alone it would defeat the purpose of this task if she was to be harmed."Said Zack as he eyed his surroundings as memories flooded in of policing actions he was part of in similar surroundings. "This reminds me of a small band of criminals we found in a warehouse on the edge of the capital, the way we eliminated the brigands was by pulling away rotting wood from the rear of the warehouse and caught them off guard." He said as he followed the girl. " going in front is out of the question, only a fool would do it, but if there is a sky light we may able to capture them off guard." He said sliding his helmet on and latching it in place and stretching well walking. "one thing i learned well fighting for Ylisse in the war and afterwards was that hitting a opponent with shock and awe tactics will reduce are casualties increase theirs if we can strike fast and take their leader." He said well thinking about the past when he and other recruits learned the tactics and how many were on the receiving end of the same tactics.

Silk smiled wryly as the nobleman from earlier sat next to her and more or less hit the nail right on the metaphorical head. Or at least that was what she assumed he was getting at in a roundabout way. The fact that he approached her rather than the guards gave her a mind to listen rather than simply walk away and disappear into the crowds. She shrugged half-heartedly before taking a slip of the foul smelling concoction that the barkeep placed before her. She recoiled a little from the kick but immediately took another, larger mouthful of the beverage. “I suppose that I might be. That depends on what you mean by ‘professional’,” Silk replied in an equally indirect manner. She swirled the liquid around in its glass.

“Don’t worry I didn’t do anything to her if that’s what you’re getting at. Lords knows I thought about it once or twice. Idealistic little brat,” she said cheerfully enough despite her words, thinking back to what Isabelle had said about the conman who had been arrested earlier. Silk took another slip and laughed cheerfully to herself before turning toward Matthew. “So what brings a man of your refined taste to this neck of the woods? If you don’t mind me asking, since we’re being all open and everything. I can’t imagine it was the festival alone,” she asked conversationally as she began to casually count the gold that she had made today on the countertop.

"You repossess things." He added dryly getting himself a drink of something hard off the middle shelf. "I'm running from my parents if you must know. Decided I'd rather be a mercenary and story teller than trophy husband to a princess. Festivals good place for cash, hard for me to stay in any one arena long before the betting odds lowered and you barely make enough to scrap by. I assume your here to make money to? And don't worry, thievery has always be romanticized in my country so I won't turn you in. Beside's its good to take nobles down a peg." He said pouring it in a cup shot it down then sighed.

"Just so were clear. I'm not much of a noble anymore, I'm trying to be more of a common man. How about little Silk? Why are you at this grand festival?" He with a sly smile. He figured she was quite good at her work watching her count her gold. He had actually hoped she had taken what he paid Isabelle. That little witch of girl could be quite rude.

Silk smiled as she caught him glance at the gold that she was counting but carried on as he talked, humming a little tune that denoted her rapidly growing good mood. “There’s a lot of that around these days, people running away from their ‘responsibilities’. Oh, don’t look at me like that I’m not judging you, who am I to judge. Live and let live and all that,” she said in a pleasant, conversational tone as she started building little golden towers out of her ill-gotten gains. She pushed a small tower toward him. “For your trouble,” she said offering no explanation as to which particular trouble she was referring. Having counted her coin she put in back out of sight, save for a few lesser coins that she left sat on the counter, mostly silver with some copper.

“I didn’t realize that you could just ‘stop’ being a nobleman, that must be convenient, wish I could pull that off sometimes,” she said with some curiosity as she started to roll one of the silver pieces under her index finger backwards and forwards. He seemed to have, in his own words, a romanticised view of what is was that she did. Well, there was no need to burst that particular bubble was there? “I’m here more by accident then by choice, I was planning on making for the capital, I have friends there that I need to talk with see? Only wouldn’t you know it but not even two days into my trip I find that ‘someone’ has been told where I would be. A most peculiar thing,” she said as she kept her ears fixed on the barkeeper, who had wandered much too far away from paying customers for her liking.

"Well I didn't stop so much as I decided that I don't want to be an ass to everyone. Nobles are just so boring and learning to take care of myself has been a blast. Course only problem I've found is bandits and thieves along the roads... Well dumb ones at least, I mean who tries to jump a guy in armor who can lightning bolt you as you run away." He asked himself as his eyes trailed to the bartender.

"So I guess your looking to find out whose sold you out right? Maybe I can help, free of charge provided it's a fun little adventure." He said in serious tone, then added a smile. Honestly he was out here to enjoy himself and frankly running around with a thief for awhile sounded good to him. Tactics were all well and good but fun could be had doing many a things.

"I could not care either way." Samuel stated. " As I said before, I am here to kill these guys off. I don't want to wast too much time quarreling about how we should do it. "He said. Then he heard what the soldier over there said when he voiced his opinion. "Man, if they already know her then they are less likely to strike her down."Then Samuel pulled a pouch off his belt and handed it to the girl. "You said they wanted money for your friend's life earlier, right? Tell them that this is the money you came to deliver......but don't lose track of it." Samuel spit out at once as he pulled his sword out in order to prepare for battle.