"Oh, don't you worry over Hades, it's just my old-folk-speak. And don't you worry about me, either!" the senior chuckled back. "I've come here as a last hurrah, if my joints weren't protesting it wouldn't be a worthy adventure. You can call me Jack, by the way, and I'm here looking for the same temple."

After a little while, the pair approached the entrance to the castle.

"Well, here we are," Jack smiled as he struggled to pull back the door, "Ladies first?"

The guard was taken aback for a moment as the old man came onto the scene. Two. There were two more. He imagined Lord Cross must have been well into his deliberations with the others already, and he wasn't a man who liked repeating himself. He motioned towards the two of them to follow, and walked through the town at a hurried pace. They passed by the marketplace, where the people of Vulture's Roost were still going about their daily lives. As they walked, the guard began to speak. "Right, so, Lord Cross is interested in this business up north. The temple that this... Tikkis fellow wrote about. We've had a few coming through on their way north to look for it." The castle was coming into view, its banners still billowing in the wind. "There's a group already in the great hall, talking with Lord Cross at the moment." The guard sounded fairly young, and his hurried speech indicated a bit of stress. "I must remind you that Lord Cross is the sovereign of this city and its territory. Be respectful and mindful of his title if you want to avoid any... problems."

The guard beckoned his comrades to open the castle gates. "We've got two more joining the expedition to the Wastes. Open up." The great iron doors were slowly wound open, and the guard led the duo behind him into the courtyard. Soldiers were still drilling within the walls, seemingly paying no mind to the newcomers. Reaching the entrance to the great hall, the guard turned, pointing at the door. "The Lord is addressing the others in here. "Remember what I said about being respectful." He nodded as the old man reached for the handle. "Go on in."

She took a salutary pull from her glass, noting that the water was indeed close to tasteless. Poisons were impractical for such a situation anyway but it was really just entertaining one of her undamaged senses. Lexine returned herself and her glass to the table, settling in as the aftermath of their greeting played out. The sounds of conversation echoed in the stone room, they weren't a raucous bunch yet but their assembly was becoming bothersome loud for Lexine. Her patience held only for the fact that she retained a vested interest in actually getting their promised information out of Alec Cross. She already held a sort of fondness for the idea of the group; it was easy to get attached to things that raised your life expectancy, but nothing about her desire to travel with them would change her temperament. Things had started to settle down in the throne room. The scholar had at least begun drinking even if he hadn't toasted. From what she gathered, he was something of a familiar anyway. One of the twins was being engaged by the lord of the castle's daughter, and the other was seemingly done speaking. Slowly, she assembled her words, casting her tired glare around the table in expectation of someone else saying something.
"I have every intention of taking part in this meal, Lord Cross, but you are unfortunately accurate in calling me a professional. One of your conditions was giving us all of your information about what's waiting for us." She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table and supporting her head as her eyes swept the group, finally landing on Cross himself. The faint smile she put on was her attempt at politeness, but it was regrettably beyond her to soften the harsh aura of her face.
"Before I chance getting distracted by all this merrymaking I'd like to hear this or see your archive," She said. It sounded all reasonable enough to her. In a place like Gris she risked offending some sense of honor or long standing social traditions, but people everywhere understood hard business the same way. No matter which parts of her fractured experiences she looked to for wisdom, shrewdness and efficacy made constant showings. Cross looked to her like a man who knew both better than her, and if he didn't, she wasn't the first person to wildly misstep in his presence and not die. Her smile only grew more strained with time.

Haruka's eyes widened and her tail began wagging back and forth furiously. This old man reminded her much of master. He seemed kind and brave and adventurous! She began reminiscing about all of the stories master told her, and wondered if this old man had similar stories. Perhaps she would ask him later, since they were both heading to the same place. For now, it seemed like it would not be long until they reached their destination.

"That is a good way to think, old man! I mean, Jack! I am Haruka," the girl replied, with a wide smile on her face.

She listened to the guard talk for a while until they reached their destination. He seemed to know an awful lot, so Haruka still had to ponder why the lord had to meet with them face to face. He must be a busy man to meet with all the adventurers going to the temple. Well, that he met with each one face to face was respectable in its own way. Haruka could understand that a little.

As Jack struggled to open the heavy door up for her, Haruka reached out a hand as if to stop him, but retracted it as he finished. It would have been much easier and less stressful for her to do that. She was very strong, and the old man was getting on in years. She decided to let it go this time, however, seeing the smile on Jack's face.

"Ah, yes, I thank you," said Haruka, as she hurried inside. What a nice man. She had heard many bad stories about westerners, but that was not her experience with them so far. In fact, most of them were very nice like Jack and the guard.

Al gave a grin as the lord decided not to send him to the gallows, and the rest of the group made nervous small talk. It would seem that his bluff had worked, and he'd secured them a multitude of supplies. Truly, there he had become skilled at negotiating. Also smashing and slashing. He wasn't a bad drinker either, in his opinion.

"Hm?" he hummed as the doors opened behind them. Briefly he wondered if negotiations had failed after all, only to see it was a very young girl accompanied by a very old man.
"Oh... Oh man that's her grandpa!" he said aloud, smiling. This new arrival was the key, the final piece to the puzzle. Al knew what the treasure was now: the elixir of youth. Why else would such an old man have his grandchild escort him to this wild land?

With a treasure like what was up ahead, the swordsman was one step closer to achieving his dream.

The girl narrowed her eyes at Ashley as he replied. She took a step back, furrowing her brow. "What kind of traitorous scum do you take us for, sir?" Evidently, Ashley's implication had managed to deeply offend the little lady of the court. "We are not barbarians, whatever the rest may say!" The girl's hand balled into a fist. "My father may have soaked this ground with the blood of his enemies, but a great kingdom has grown from the fertile soil such a labor produced." A wave of red crossed the young lady's face. She clearly had not inherited her father's composure, or perhaps she just hadn't developed it yet. "You insult this land, its people, and the man who made our current state possible with your words. Bow your head and beg forgiveness, wretch, and you may live to regret your folly." The young girl glared at the man before her. "I said apolo-" The child's rising voice was cut off by Alec's interjection. "Emilia. Cease this. It is dangerous to trust a person you have never met. If this man questions my sincerity, then so be it. Though, to be clear, I do not intend to harm any of you. So long as you abide me my singular request, you may do as you please." Emilia grit her teeth, clearly frustrated, but said no more to Ashley as she returned to her seat.

Having dealt with the situation his daughter had caused, Alec returned his attention to the table. A slight smirk crossed his face as Ira continued. "Though your appreciation of my city is admirable, I have no taste for honeyed words. This is business. Uphold your portion of this agreement and I will see to it that you are provided with whatever you need." With the scholar's consent, it seemed the entirety of the group had been persuaded. After the verdict had been solidified, the ashen-haired woman inquired about the first half of the lord's bargain: information. "Right then, being that you are all in agreement, I will give you an idea of what it is you will face in the Wastes." Cross paused for a moment. "There are few sources available, and many of those are little more than hearsay and legend. However, given the nature of your errand, perhaps such sources are to be believed."

Before Alec could continue, the doors of the Great Hall swung open, and two more strangers entered the room. Alec eyed the newcomers carefully. One was an old man, the other a young woman with some rather peculiar features. Stopping his explanation, Cross turned toward the pair of new arrivals. "It would seem we have a pair of stragglers." He took a step toward them. "Since you were directed here, I imagine the two of you are also headed to investigate this temple in the north." He gave the newcomers the same piercing gaze that had been permeating the rest of the group. "I have set up a sort of bargain with this group of adventurers. I will provide information and supplies for your expedition, free of charge, so long as you report back to me with your findings. The others have already agreed. Will you be joining them?" The Lord positioned himself so that the two mountains of metal guarding his throne loomed behind him. "If so, you are welcome to partake in the meal I have provided."

As the person who Haruka assumed to be lord Chris spoke at her, she simply stared back at him with wide, earnest eyes. Eyes impermeable to any gaze, no matter how piercing, in their sheer honesty. She did not seem to comprehend the full situation, be intimidated in any way, or even have the slightest idea about what was going on beyond the surface appearance. She simply set the sack in which she kept her supplies down, along with the Naginata that was a bit taller than she was and the meteor hammer whose weight was easily apparent by the sound and the small tremor it made as it reached the floor.

"Free supplies, foods, and informations? This sounds fair! Many thanks to you, lord Chris," she chirped as she sat down at the table and began piling anything that looked good onto her plate.

"May I take some of these foods if we do not finish eating them? I have not had good meal in many time, and will probably still be much hunger later."

She then looked at Al, who smartly carried many weapons. Not many people realized that more was better, and so Haruka marked this one as a smart man, although mistaken about she and Jack.

"It is not my grandpa, but Jack. He is much nice man I have met on the way in! He will tell us stories, I hope."

"Jack, huh?" the swordsman rubbed his chin, his face stretching in thought and confusion.

No, this news didn't alter his scheme. She might have been some sort of foreign bodyguard he hired. Or, like, a great-granddaughter. Still, as long as this made scheme worked out right, the youth granting treasure would belong to him. He didn't even need info from Cross at this point. And that meant it was time to get to work.

"Well, sir, I appreciate the offer, but I'm really more of an eat on the road kind of guy." Al called to Lord Cross, stuffing some sliced sausages into a steaming hot bun, and wrapping it into a scrap cloth before tucking it into his coat's inner pocket. Looking at the table some more, he pulled his bag off his shoulder and piled a fair deal of foods inside, starting with haunches of local beasts, boiled potatoes, cheese made from goat milk, and a large loaf of bread. Al smiled. He wouldn't be eating pine bark for a while.

Hefting the bag in his hands, he estimated the amount of space he had left. It should have been enough to pack in the other supplies he needed.
"And with that in mind, we should get going before nightfall. There's weird stuff in the dark." he announced to the hall of fellow explorers.

Sage looked on as the brooding twin so quickly offended the Little Lady Cross. She was sure this young girl was going to get her way and he would be forced to apologize for his rude words, but Cross simply soothed her temper and corrected the twin's assumptions. While Sage understood his apprehension she believed he could at least use a little discretion.

Her attention was averted when the doors opened and Sage watched the exchange as two newcomers were ushered in. She cocked her head as she studied the lady, at least a few years younger than herself, by the looks of it. Her age isn't what had Sage curious though, it was the fact that she had ears and a tail. Not something she had ever seen before. Sage was taken aback by this girls quick attack of the food. It was obvious she was an inexperienced traveler.

She was just about to make her own plate, excited about the prospect of filling her now very empty stomach, when Four Swords spoke up. She was once again floored by his manners, or lack of, rather. He was putting on a grand display of grabbing and dashing, along with trying to hurry the rest of the group out. Sage couldn't let his rudeness slide again. "I think it's best to hear the information Lord Cross is so kindly supplying us. And then perhaps get a good night's sleep before heading out in the morning." Her brows furrowed as she aimed her gaze at Four Swords, making her annoyance known with the man. ~I really should gather names~ she thought to herself as she realized her own names for these people would become impractical.

"Ah, I see." Al walked over to Sage, placing a sticky bun in his mouth.
"Still unused to harsh travel, I see. It's alright, miss; you'll get stronger with time." he nodded, patting the girl's shoulder. "I guess if it's that big a problem, we can get some sleep for tonight. A bed beats a snow den, anyhow."

Al's eyes slowly turned downward, landing on the bun. It was drizzled with honey, and sweet. Wordlessly, he took another bite, chewing thoughtfully.
"Delicious."

Lexine's head followed Cross as he turned away, towards the sound of the doors opening. The sight of two newcomers greeted her, and the implications of their arrival were, to her at least, important enough to distract her from the obvious interruption of Alec's explanation. Their little assembly wasn't just the morning quota, they may have even been waiting on a previous batch of adventurers to be processed. Two more had shown up shortly after them, and that lent some more credence to Alec's claim that a countless number had already come through. Despite some exclamations to the contrary, the two seemed utterly unrelated to her. An older, bearded man who bore himself on a cane. If her work was taking her into the domain of wizards, this man was here to play the part. It was an easy assumption to make, part of her wanted to claim that it was too easy but there were few other stories that explained why a man getting on in age would subject himself to this corner of the world. The other was a dog eared girl bearing quite a number of arms. She had seen lightweight fighters with methods for manipulating heavy weaponry before. The faint tremor through the stone floor as one of the girl's weapons landed, a flail-like construction she had seen touted by those with an interest in exotic martial arts before, indicated that she was one of their like. More pressing to her than any fighting style was that the dog ears on her head appeared to be real.

Lexine wrenched her staring eyes from the girl's exotic ears as the curious hybrid started to eat. At any rate, the newcomers were quick to file in. They were part of the group, then. She didn't mind that in the slightest, one was an obvious martial type and the other... His name was Jack, the first name given between all of them and that of the last to arrive. Grimly enough, it hadn't even been given by its owner. It was natural to fill in the blanks, to write an old man off as weak and wise, but she knew well enough not to try. The only certainty with him was that, despite youth having passed him by long ago, he had the will and a reason to be here. Whatever his actual qualifications turned out to be, he was working with a purpose. It was more than she could say. Someone else at the table was speaking, and she broke in after the exchange between Sage and Al. She wasn't afraid of the dark, least of all in starlight amplified by snow. That particular condition had made moving at night less safe than she was used to, actually. Instead, she was afraid of her body simply giving out some day soon.
"It'd only be right to use beds offered to us. If we stay the night, we can use that time to make sure we know everything we can about the wasteland," she said, not so casually promoting her preferred course of action. A bit of genuine rest wasn't going to hurt either.

"Pleasure to meet you all," Jack said to ogling crowd. It was quite an interesting assembly, and he was sure they would make an equally interesting adventuring party. Several men and women, all of whom looked more than capable of the journey ahead. Keeping up might prove to be the real challenge of this north!

He pulled a chair out for the man with half a sticky bun poking from of his mouth. "Sit down, enjoy the meal. It isn't often in life that one has such an extravagant feast with such a renowned lord."

"So what brings you here, uh...?" Jack left it hanging, waiting for the overly-armed man to fill in his name.

He filled his plate with some of the more exotic foods, taking his own advice about the meal.

Ashley glanced down at the girl with uninterested eyes as the girl's mood swing came in full force. Unimpressed, Ashley opened his mouth to utter a sentence, and to cut the girl off from her tangent, but Lord Cross had beaten him to it. As Ashley changed his gaze to Cross, he once more opened his mouth, to speak out to Cross about keeping control of his ill-willed child, but was once more interrupted by the opening of the Great Hall doors. Looking up and down the newcomers, Ashley did not greet them, nor did he show much more interest in them once they took their own seats, despite the exotic appearances of the individuals.

Anxiety racked Ira as he watched the girl's outburst, hoping once more that Ashley wouldn't do anything rash. As quickly as it begun, it had ended, however. Lord Cross managed to soothe his daughter's impolite outburst, without agitating Ashley further. About to speak, Ira turned his attention to the opening doors, and two new, slightly different looking, guests. As they took their seats and quickly picked up conversation, Ira decided now would be the best time to grab the free meal. Filling his plate, Ira looked back at his brother, who had turned his attention away from the group once more, "Are you going to eat, Ash?" Ira spoke up. However, Ashley did not warrant his brother a response, leaving Ira to turn back to his food and to continue his feast.

Elizabeth looked back and forth at the newcomers as they joined in with the rest of the group. The girl's appearance was strange, and her manner of speech suggested she was foreign. The other newcomer was an old man, who seemed rather unimposing, but she knew better than to judge someone entirely on appearance. Four Swords remained rambunctious, a trait she doubted would be disappearing any time soon. The woman's eye twitched when he recommended they leave immediately. Regardless of how uncomfortable the castle made her, it was far more hospitable than the frozen wasteland that waited before them. Thankfully, one of their new comrades dissuaded this impatience. Elizabeth gave Sage a grateful nod before taking a small bite of pork from her plate. The woman's gaze moved to the quiet brother. She couldn't place that one, and that made her nervous. Thankfully, the altercation with the younger Cross had been quelled. The blonde woman wondered for a moment what the girl's childhood had been like. Vulture's Roost seemed a strange place to grow up.

Cross nodded as the newcomers joined the party. It seemed the group as a whole had agreed to his terms. As the group conversed amongst themselves, Alec spoke up. "It is entirely your decision when you set out, though, if you decide to wait until tomorrow, I have a number of guest rooms that you may use. In addition, my library, and the rest of the city are open to you. I will have your supplies gathered as soon as our discourse has concluded." The lord walked to the end of the table, turning towards the party. "But on to business. As I said before, there is limited information regarding the Wastes, however, I have gleaned a bit from the few sources I have." Alec cleared his throat. "The Great Northern Wastes are, just as their name implies, completely devoid of organized human settlements, however, according to some works I have read, this was not always the case. There once were cities north of my border, though at some point these settlements became unsustainable. Now, when and how that happened, I don't know. There are a number of legends, including famines, wars, and even a rather... fanciful description of a great dragon scorching the earth. Perhaps, in your travels, you may come across the ruins of some of these cities, and learn more about their fate for yourself."

"While there are no cities, I have heard reports of small numbers of wildfolk roaming the Wastes. We know little about them or their culture, though they seem to be disconnected from the rest of the world. There have been a few reports of cannibalism, though I cannot ascertain their legitimacy." Cross paused for a moment. "As it stands, however, your greatest obstacle will likely be the environment itself. It only grows colder the farther north you travel, and the wind and snow are quite unforgiving. Immediately north of Vulture's Roost there is a wide frozen plain, mostly devoid of life. If you continue north, you will find a great forest of evergreen trees. Beyond that are mountains. I have no information regarding the geography beyond that point, as my scouts have never attempted to pass them." Cross glanced away for a moment, as if in though. "Beyond information regarding the land itself, a variety of... interesting creatures have been observed. There are the standards for Gris, of course: wolves, bears, mountain goats. But there have also been reports of great mammoths wandering the Wastes, an oddity that vanished from Gris some years ago. In addition, my scouts have reported strange cries within the forest. There is a chance creatures far more dangerous than wolves and bears have remained unseen. Of course, there is also the matter of the previous adventuring parties. If they are still alive, they probably won't take too kindly to others encroaching upon their treasure."

"I believe that covers most of the information I have-" A voice cut across the room as Emilia spoke up. "I've heard something else. Ohn says there may still be other giants living in the Wastes." A small smile crossed Alec's face. "Oh, is that so, Ohn?" Cross motioned toward the giant kneeling to the left of Emilia, the one bearing a greatsword. The mountain of iron rose to his feet, nodding to his lord. Emilia again lept from her seat, rushing over by the giant. "Tell me again, Ohn, I don't remember all of it." The giant extended a massive hand toward the girl, who took hold of one of his fingers. All was silent, except for the girl nodding, as if the massive being was somehow communicating his thoughts through touch alone. "Right, yes, I remember now." The heiress turned toward the party. "Ohn says that when he and Rahm first left for Vulture's Roost, which was... let's see... fifty years ago? Regardless, Ohn says they weren't the only ones. There were some living in the mountains at that point in time. Apparently there weren't many though..." The girl frowned for a moment. "He says they aren't fond of people. Apparently they had been nearly wiped out by humans in the past... oh... Um, also apparently the giants had a different version of what happened to those cities in the north. According to their traditions, the giants, having lost most of their people, prayed to their god, which was a fire god, or something similar, and he destroyed the human settlements with a sea of flame." Emilia giggled. "Ohn says he doesn't necessarily believe that's how it happened, though."

Alec nodded to his daughter and the giant. "Thank you for that, Emilia. I'm certain Ohn knows more of the Wastes than anyone else." Turning back to the table, Alec coughed. "That is all the information I have on hand. If you would like, you may make use of my library, perhaps you will find some source I've missed. Otherwise, continue your meal. The rooms I am offering are in the eastern wing of the castle. As I said before, I'll have your supplies gathered. In the meantime, perhaps you should become familiar with one another, the Wastes are a dangerous place, after all." With that, Alec left them to continue their meal.

Sage sat fuming, thoroughly annoyed at Four Swords' comment. He might end up regretting his rude words later. Nonetheless, she had been enjoying the hot meal as the lord and his daughter spoke. She was intrigued by the gift Emilia seemed to have, never having encountered such an ability. Having filled her stomach though Sage was ready to prepare for the journey. She decided to take the Lord's advice, seeing as they were going to be traveling together. Sage stood so she could be heard "I'm guessing everyone plans on traveling together, if I am wrong though please correct me. I figure we'll be together awhile and names at least would be helpful. That being said I'm Sage. I also think we should lay out a game plan as I would like to see what this city has to offer in case I don't make it back. My vote is we part ways, and meet at the exit at day break." Sage planned to go through the market and hopefully find something useful for her journey. There were some things she wanted to get to have on her person in case she somehow became separated from the group. She'd return to the guest rooms when she'd had her fill of the city.

Haruka continued shoveling food into her awaiting maw with the vim and vigor of a starving puppy, because that is basically what she was. She kept her ears open for lord Chris's informations, but it seemed like nothing she could not handle. Wild animals were easy, and nomadic cannibals didn't sound too tough. A giant, as the younger, more female Chris pointed out, might be a fun fight though.

Then, one of the others introduced themselves, which made Haruka remember her rudeness. She had forgotten to introduce herself to everybody! She quickly raised her hand and announced to all present.

"Yes, please forgiving my rudeness! I am Haruka Taiyo, and I come from far east on high mountain! I am here to get informations to trade for informations about the man who killed my master, so I can track him down and murder him. I like the color yellow, and am student of The Fist Through Which the Sun Breaks. I will spend time before the leaving to train, maybe. It is good to meet you, Sage, and I look forward to working with everyone!"

Haruka bowed politely to all present, and extended her hand to Sage as westerners do when meeting someone.

"Oh? My name's Al." the swordsman bit into his sticky bun, still choosing to at least stand, rather than sit.
"I'm here to find whatever treasure's hiding out there. I bet it's really expensive. My hobbies are fighting, and I guess traveling. My favorite food is strawberry pastries, and one time I ate three pounds of pine bark because I lost a bet. It does not taste as good as it smells."

After a short moment of silence, he pushed the rest of the bun into his mouth, and began chewing.

It was vague, but it was clearly all Cross wanted to give them. Lexine leaned back in her chair, the aching in her back joining the aching in her head as if it was a viable competitor in her woes. She looked down into her lap as she thought, eventually folding her arms. It didn't seem like anyone had an objection to what she had said, the girl introducing herself as Sage was even offering the same sentiment as their official plan of action, so she had time to think. As far as she was concerned, her deal with Alec Cross was off the second he said the words 'interesting creatures.' It hurt to violate a man's generosity such as she now was, but what he was doing was already tantamount to killing them off. There was no telling what the local lord would do when they actually returned. Under her darkening frown, Lexine's jaw clenched. What really made her furious was that there really wasn't a choice. It wasn't a certainty, where along her path she'd grown such a conscience; she didn't remember most of that path, but even thinking discontent with their terms felt wrong to her. Luckily, it reached her that introductions were going around.
After the swordsman named Al spoke, she raised her head, looking a curious blend of sheepish and perturbed as she said, level and clear, "My name is Lexine, put my vote on Sage's plan." With that, her eyes went back down and she went back to committing Cross' words to memory. As much filler as he'd given them, there were useful details as well as what his daughter had been kind enough to relay. Giants would be problematic if they were any sort of intelligent. They couldn't afford to run into a hunting party that decided to remove some encroaching humans.

Elizabeth sighed. Essentially, they'd been told they were all going to die, seemingly a recurring theme from Cross. Still, he, and his daughter, had given them some information. She didn't much like the thought of dealing with roaming cannibals or packs of wolves, but the implication behind the mysterious creatures Cross had mentioned made her nervous. The woman quietly hoped that they would manage to avoid the giants altogether if at all possible. She had seen all she needed to of the lord's bodyguards to be certain such creatures would be a problem. Obviously, the ones in the Wastes, if there were any, wouldn't be as well armed or armored, but a mountain of muscle and savagery was the last thing she wanted to run into in the middle of nowhere. Her thoughts were interrupted as Sage spoke up. She was right, if they were going to work together, it would help to know at least names. The conversation went around the table, with each member of the party introducing themselves. The dog-girl seemed quite excited, though Elizabeth still was a bit perplexed by her, that confusion only growing when she brought up some fighting style. Elizabeth quietly chalked this up as a form of magic, something to watch out for. Four swords, who had now revealed his name as Al, had continued on in his typical fashion. Lexine replied last, only giving her name and support. As she finished talking, Elizabeth sat up in her chair, clearing her throat. "My name is Elizabeth Tosli. I agree, it would be best for us to set out at dawn." The woman rose from her seat, leaving a half-eaten plate. "In the meantime, I suppose it would be best to enjoy the last bit of civilization we have left."

Noah had been happily munching away at his meal while listening to Cross. The information didn't frighten him, in fact, he only grew more excited as the dangers began to stack against them. After the lord had finished, everyone began introducing themselves. Noah finished off a roll before replying cheerfully. "I'm Noah, Noah Kass. I hope we can all become friends." The boy smiled for a moment before turning to Haruka. "The Fist Through Which the Sun Breaks? What is that?" He pasued for a moment, trying to find the best way to ask his next question. "And... um... Your ears. Have you always been like that?" He spoke a bit sheepishly. After all, he'd never met someone with dog ears, and he wasn't certain if the girl was subconscious about them. He also found himself shocked that a person could eat pine bark, much less threes pounds of it.

Elizabeth nodded to Noah, letting him know she was leaving for the time being. She doubted he was in any serious danger in the castle, at least for the moment. The woman crossed the floor, her cane clinking softly against the marble as she made her way to the door. The great iron gateway opened with a creak, and she felt the cold Grisian wind blow whip across her face. It was mid afternoon, though the sun seemed to set early in Gris. She wondered how much daylight they had left as she walked out into the courtyard. The marketplace was something worth looking into. Even if Cross was supplying them, there might be a few particulars worth looking for.

Haruka listened attentively at the introductions of the others. Haruka liked strawberries and fighting things, so she bet she would get along well with Al. Not many others gave much more than their names, which was a shame because Haruka wanted to know more about her new traveling companions. The young one, however, seemed talkative enough. Haruka smiled wide, and her tail began wagging vigorously as the child showed an interest in her. Finally, a cohort that was younger than she was! All her life everyone was always her senior, especially the monks, but this time Haruka was the big one! She would surely deposit much of her senior knowledge onto this boy, and he would learn well from her.

"Hello, Noah! Yes, The Fist Through Which the Sun Breaks is name of a martial art I do," replied Haruka excitedly, "It sounds much nicer in my normal speaking, but still it makes the body much strong! Is very complicated to explain, but I can do much exciting things."

Haruka had to ponder a bit on the second question, but seemed to give up a couple of seconds in and reply.

"Yes, yes, I have always been this way! I have not met others who have the ears and the tail, but the monks tell me I may be a good omen. A child of the sun goddess, that was sent to them for faith! I am not so much special, I think, but I am glad! Monks are very nice peoples!"

Then, with the widest, most self-aggrandizing grin the dog girl could muster up, she added, "You seem good, so if you are in trouble, you can ask me advices! I am your senior, so please relying on me! Much wise I am being."

Haruka proudly stuffed more meat into her mouth.