While Jack figured out where they ended up, Lock, Shock, and Barrel each took a weapon and started to scour the graveyard. It was roughly a hundred yards in any direction, with crypts and tombs scattered around. None of them got more than a few paces before they decided that splitting up wasn't in their best interest and slowly backed away until their group reformed again.

"France!" they heard Jack cry, and all three of them jumped in surprise. "How did we get to France?"

"We don't--" Barrel started.

"--Know--" Lock continued.

"--Jack," Shock finished. "Honest."

"We just followed the shadow," they said together.

They had maybe been to France once or twice in their years of trick-or-treating. Most of the time, they traveled to the United States, where the candy was far more plentiful and the trouble more easy to find. Right now, they had to trust Jack and his experience with other places around the Human World to narrow down their location.

Barrel watched Jack pace while Lock and Shock flanked his sides to look for the shadow, their weapons raised. The three of them then turned to Jack as he found the parchment and spoke again.

"It's off-season for our act, though, so we all shouldn't try and scare the pants off of anyone we come across."

Jack's pacing left his back turned to them. Lock looked to Barrel with a smirk. Barrel in turn gave a mischievous grin to Shock, who had a devious smirk of her own. All three of them then quickly pulled up neutral expressions as Jack's pacing lead him to face them again.

"We're just looking for a way back home," he told them. "Sally's smart, she probably went there first before us."

The three of them nodded in agreement.

"Right, Jack!" Barrel said.

"We'll find her, Jack!" Shock promised.

"Lead the way, Jack!" Lock said.

They climbed back into the bathtub, pulled on their masks, and followed Jack into the streets of Paris. The sun was almost down, and the shadows much longer than before. Many of the streets were empty as the citizens turned into their homes. In a time where there were no streets lights on every corner, and only a stray lantern, torch, or candle in the window to provide any light, many citizens preferred to be in the safety of their homes rather than risk being on the streets at night. Still, a few shopkeepers took in the last of their wares, a few stray citizens made their way home, and the braver ones headed to taverns in the last dregs of twilight. If the Halloween Town crew were careful, they could duck into nearby alleys or hide in shadows to avoid being seen.

As they searched, though, the shadow thing never left their thoughts, and it wasn't lost on the trio that any shadow here could hide it.

"Well, it's clearly not a very good or important title if only you have it Emperor," she adds snarkily, watching as the group of soldiers surrounded the encampment, grinning to herself as the weird newcomers have horses as well. She watches the two men talking to each other not caring enough to put in any words, still just staring at the strange alpacas.

"Just because your alparkas couldn't keep walking a little further," Merida grumbles to herself quietly as her entrance is mentioned to the newcomers.

Merida watches quietly from the edge of the circle, staying close to Angus as the two men continue to talk and call a mutual truce of sorts, making a note that things are slightly more civilised here than back at home. She giggles to herself at the memory of the fights happening in the halls of the castle back at home.

Angus returns the greeting to the other horse, watching its display unsure of how to respond to this. Merida slips the horse an apple before he walks away, Angus watching as it prances away, finding himself strangely interested in the horse. She quickly snaps back to attention to offer the guard a nod, making note of the interaction between the horses, making sure to poke Angus about it later.

"This Emporer and his party of funny painted people and, while I like the town's description of the beasts, they are called Alparkas and the resemble shaggy unkempt dogs, are in fact not visiting the city. No, they have camped out the front because of their shaggy mutts who were too lazy to walk the little extra distance. They in fact are a disturbance and really should find a better place to rest, like in the big ass city over there," she gestures toward the city still annoyed that they camped in front of the forest.

Oh for- they weren't sheep! Now this strange-looking woman was calling them some animal, too? And OH, this orange-haired crazy girl did NOT just sass the title- alright, relax, do what Pacha would do...

'Okay, well, sir-' Nope, the girl was being loud. 'I am here be- uh, because-' Why was she- 'BECAUSE-' Would she just- 'Actually, they're-' Why was she still talking? 'Hey, Princess Merry-da?' What was she saying?! 'Merry-d-' They weren't even that close to- 'Okay, shut UP, I am TRYING to talk with the guard, THANK YOU!' he finally snapped, stamping his foot just to relieve some of his frustration. Yeah, he was trying to do what Pacha would do, but no way would Pacha just sit down and let people talk smack about him.

'Sire?'

'If she keeps talking, make her stop talking,' he said to the guard. Luckily, he didn't have to put up with it. 'Like, cover her mouth or something so she won't keep interrupting me.' She was the most impolite and incomprehensible girl he'd ever come across, frankly. And she didn't even have the good looks to make up for it the way Malina did. Or the smarts, if she was going to keep claiming Emperors- sorry, "Emporers" weren't important. Hah, see? He could mock her too. He wasn't gonna keep doing it, because it's not what Pacha would do, but he could.

'Okaaaay,' he huffed, his guards on standby now to move in and stop Merry-da from talking over him if she kept trying to do so, and incidentally very presentable in the process, 'well first of all, as you can see, these giants are blue and red, so somebody's description is a little off! Ahaha, and the uh, the alpacas aren't for riding, and they aren't donkeys, or goats, or sheep-' He ticked each animal that they weren't off on his finger as he went through them. Seriously, sheep? '-or heoress, or demons... I think the princess there said dorgs, dogs? Whatever.' And he was totally fine with them not being those animals, even if they weren't shiny and slick. From what he'd seen, the heorsse weren't very well-behaved, regardless. Not great for pulling stuff, probably.

'As for why I'm here, I am on a diplomatic mission,' he further explained with a more relaxed smile. 'I hail from the Kingdom of the Sun- in fact, I am the Emperor of this kingdom, name of Kuzco. I heard this-' He gestured to the city in the near distance. '-and many other kingdoms were scattered around, and I've been reliably informed that good relations are key to good fortunes!' Oh boy, didn't he know that? 'So, to forge fortunate relationships, I intend to start discussing such matters with other rulers, trade routes and alliances and such, and see how it all goes.' There they were, then. Simple, matter-of-factly, diplomacy. And... alright, he figured he'd said the important bits. Snapping his fingers as a gesture, the guards near Merida stepped away, indicating that she was probably free to talk without being stopped again, for now anyway. If she kept talking over him, maybe not.

Phoebus's men lowered their spears when the painted guards turned to focus on Merida. The captain held up a hand to stop them from instigating anything. As soon as Kuzco stopped talking, he stepped between the Emperor and young noblewoman.

"First of all, Your Majesty, I would warn you not to threaten to gag a lady, or have your guards do so. It's a fast way to find a blade -- or candelabra -- between your legs, and next time, I would not step in to prevent you from becoming unable to create heirs."

Then he turned to Merida. "That does not excuse your behavior, however, young lady. I support women being given a chance to have their say, but I did not address my question to you. You are not part of their group and therefore do not have the knowledge nor the right to presume the reason for their presence. Regardless of any of that, your behavior has been very rude and un-lady-like, and I am quite certain your mother would disapprove, assuming your family is as noble as your horse leads me to believe."

Phoebus checked to make sure neither his soldiers nor the foreign ones were gearing up to start fighting. Suspicion was to be expected, and caution of course part of the job, but aggression was not something conducive to a diplomatic situation. He took a deep breath and shook his head, before stepping back and returning his attention to Kuzco.

"In regards to your intentions, Your Majesty, I am afraid I do not have the authority to direct you to our monarch. I can direct you to the local magistrate, however. Given time and a lot of paperwork, he may choose to direct you to the city's steward, who may direct you to... I think a Duke of some sort?" He shrugged. "Unfortunately I was rather less interested in such politics in my schooling years, and less so since I joined the army."

Mulan simply watched the interaction between the three individuals in relative silence, Mushu and Cri-kee having decided to perch themselves on her shoulder as she did so. Things were so strange, the man with the odd headdress had said he was an emperor, but he did not seem to conduct himself in a way that she was used to seeing done. Then there was the red-headed lady… Merry-da was it? Well she was just a strange one who seemed to enjoy talking more than listening and that would not get anyone anywhere fruitful it seemed. ”Excuse me,” she interjected once the talking had seemed to come to a halt, ”I do want to know, what is the name of this city? I have been traveling for a rather long time and wish to know exactly where I am.”

”Yeah, and what’s with the guys with pointy sticks everywhere?” pipped up Mushu, ”I don’t see any meat to be roasted. I thought we were done with the Army.”

”Mushu…”

”What? I remember the last mission you had to go on for the emperor-”

”MUSHU!”

The small dragon guardian instantly ceased all talking while the cricket began to laugh, earning it a shove off of the woman’s armored shoulder. This, of course, made Mulan roll her eyes before she simply flicked Mushu off her shoulder and dismounted her horse. Unlike the gaudily armored man’s horse however, Khan stayed by his rider and simply eyed the other horses and all the other people in the group, almost as if he was sizing them up and saying ‘I could take you’. Not wanting to remain on the outer edge of the Circle, Mulan stepped forward and placed a hand on one of the Alpacas, marveling at the strange texture of their fur… or was it wool? She had no idea.

Cassim rode at a slow, pleasant trot through the streets of Paris, streets that were growing increasingly empty as the sun dipped down below the horizon. The King of Thieves kept his promise, allowing Iago to ride atop his shoulder. He had had all the fun he figured that little game was worth anyway. Now it was time to find some new fun in an old city, to see what had changed in the last ten or so years it had been since he'd set foot here. If things were not radically different, it could still be a wild, romantic land... With a deathly intolerant side hiding just beneath the facade of cheer.

"Hey look!" Iago began, gesturing to a nearby storefront. "A baker! What'dya say ol' buddy? Up for pilfering a bit of bread to split?"

Cassim shook his head, eyeing the baker warily as they shut their doors, clearing staring back at the thief and bird with prejudice. "They've done nothing to deserve it, and times are not as hard as they were in my youth. We can afford whatever meals we need." Iago shrugged in a "couldn't hurt to ask" sort of manner as Cassim continued. "Besides, Iago, Paris is someplace we must be vigilant. This place has a history with foreigners such as ourselves, especially those with darker skin and connections to magic. Real or perceived."

"Ya don't say?" the bird responded, leaning on one wing like a shoulder, clearly only paying the minimum amount of attention required.

"I do. Even as recently as only a few years ago, the Romani people were burned at stakes in the name of their God. They were believed to be untrustworthy liars, thieves-" he gestured toward himself, then back to Iago. "-and practitioners of dark magic."

This caught Iago's attention, who loudly gulped in fear. "Well then, eh, um... Polly want a cracker? Grawk?"

"Now you're getting it," Cassim nodded.

"Just one thing, then. If these people are so paranoid about magic and whatnot, how do you explain something like that?!"

Iago gestured to a dark alleyway, drawing Cassim's gaze. Something was darting around the shadows, but it didn't look normal. Still, it was difficult to make out the details, so Cassim directed his horse a bit closer, grabbing a lit lantern torch from the street. Once a bit closer, the thing turned out to in fact be several things. Three children, carried inside a large porcelain bathtub which appeared to be... Moving? And a, uh. Hm. Er, well.

"I see what ya mean, Cassim. Clearly these people have a lot to be afraid of what with the whole GIANT SKELETONS WALKING AROUND! I'M OUTTA HERE!"

As Iago attempted to flee, the natural reflexes of his human companion reached out and caught the parrot by his tail, preventing Iago from truly fleeing. "Fascinating," he breathed out in wonder. He had held the Hand of Midas, stared a giant, city sized turtle in the eye, befriended a genie, and met many a magical creature in his time. There was no fear for this. Only excitement. "I do hope you're not absconding with these children, skeleton-creature. It would be a pity to dirty my cloak in a fight after such a nice day of riding."

Jack and the terror triplets had been wandering around the outskirts of the city in pursuits of any sort of trail that would lead them to Sally for quite some time at that point, and as they traveled they had made sure to stay out of sight of any people. Halloween wasn't going to come early this year, Jack had decided, and that meant he had to make sure that he wasn't going to cause any ruckus out of season. No doubt someone would lose their heads on it if he ran amok with the trio all across Paris, causing absolute mayhem in their path. Though he could excise his restraint to scare, the trio was a group he had to keep a close eye on. No doubt Lock, Shock, and / or Barrel, would use any situation to escape to cause a scare. That, and he had to keep an eye on them. Zero was always well behaved, though. He was a good boy, indeed.

"I do hope you're not absconding with these children, skeleton-creature. It would be a pity to dirty my cloak in a fight after such a nice day of riding."

Jack froze when he heard the voice of a foreigner address him directly. Well, it may not have been a direct thing, but he was fairly certain he was the only person around that could easily be described as a 'skeleton-creature'. That being said, what the man said was actually really reassuring. He wasn't scared, and he certainly wasn't intimidated. He was concerned for Lock, Shock, and Barrel, which was quite nice to know. Either that, or he was being sarcastic, but it seemed like his bird was more responsible for that end of the conversation.

"No sir, we're just a bunch of travelers, far from our home. Though, we normally make our appearance around the end of October, a shadow took us here and stole away someone dear to us." Jack offered a creepy smile and outstretched his hand towards Cassim. "Jack Skellington, the one and only Pumpkin King, and the Spirit of Halloween!" Regardless of whether or not Cassim took his hand, Jack moved on to explain the rest of his friends to the traveler and his colorful bird. "These are Lock, Shock, and Barrel, the truly troublesome troupe of terrifying tricksters, and this is Zero!"

The sudden torchlight made the bathtub scamper for the nearest shadow, though not nearly quickly enough for them to not be seen. Lock, Shock and Barrel all leaned over the edge of the tub to glance at newcomers through their masks.

"I see what ya mean, Cassim. Clearly these people have a lot to be afraid of what with the whole GIANT SKELETONS WALKING AROUND! I'M OUTTA HERE!"

"Uh-oh," they said together.

The stranger approached them. Lock, Shock, and Barrel watched him closely, and more than that, the red bird with him. They grinned under their masks as the stranger caught his tailfeathers to keep him from flying away.

"I do hope you're not absconding with these children, skeleton-creature. It would be a pity to dirty my cloak in a fight after such a nice day of riding."

"...'Absconding'?" Lock repeated.

"Is that bad?" Barrel asked.

All of them perked up at the mention of a fight. That sounded like fun, but before they could say or do anything else, Jack greeted the stranger.

"No sir, we're just a bunch of travelers, far from our home. Though, we normally make our appearance around the end of October, a shadow took us here and stole away someone dear to us."

The trickster trio nodded.

"We almost had it, too!" Barrel whined.

Shock grabbed her brothers' collars and knocked their heads together.

"We lost it thanks to these dummies."

Lock pushed her away. Before he could start another fight, Jack started the introductions.

"Jack Skellington, the one and only Pumpkin King, and the Spirit of Halloween! These are Lock, Shock, and Barrel, the truly troublesome troupe of terrifying tricksters, and this is Zero!"

That got the trio to settle down for a moment and turn back to the newcomer. As Jack said their names, they respectively pulled off their masks to reveal that their faces were not only similar to the masks they wore, but scarier than the simple designs they hid behind. Their grins got even bigger as Jack delved into their abilities.

Lock, Shock, and Barrel kept their eyes on the red bird. It was nothing like anything they'd seen in Halloween Town, where the birds were all either skeletal, or simply ravens and crows. And none of them could talk. The siblings leaned over the edge of the tub to get a closer look.

"What kind of bird is that?" Lock asked, his tail twitching with curiousity.

"He's not very scary," Shock observed, a note of disappointment in her voice.

"But he talks!" Barrel said. "That's something."

Shock nodded in agreement.

"But what's he good for?"

"Does he bite?" Lock asked.

Barrel climbed onto the edge of the bathtub to get a little closer to the bird.

"Does he like candy?"

Merida raises her bow, nocking an arrow as she raises it, turning to face the nearest of Kuzco's guards. She looks them dead in the eye, her bow fully drawn.

"If you dare try, you will wish that your wee sorry ass never left your little kingdom." She says deadly serious, before slowly easing the bowstring but leaving the arrow nocked in case.

She stands quietly watching the guards near her, internally smiling to herself as Kuzco goes through and corrects everything, in an OCD annoyed fashion. She giggles softly as the head of city guards steps forward to tell the arrogant emperor off, looking away as he turns to face her.

"Well fine, I apologise to you for jumping in and answering the question," she looks back at the man, bothered that she thinks it matters what her mother 'would think'. "I am a princess but I am not some damsel in distress and can well and truly hold my own. As for my mother, as much as I love my mother, I am a lady, an adult, it doesn't matter what she would or wouldn't approve of, not that that is any of your business,' she glares at the man for a moment before her mind snaps to a different point she had made. "Now that I mention it, where are we? This looks very far from home?" She asks, wanting to break the tension between the groups and actually learn where the whisps had brought her.

...well, this guy was probably right, since the girl aimed a bow at the guard and all. If Kuzco kept doing stuff like that at her, she'd probably shoot him, and technically, lording one's authority wasn't something Pacha would do - nor was it something Kuzco was keen on doing too much, after a very personal lesson about what lording one's authority would result in. He still didn't like being told off for it, though, and he folded his arms and pouted just a touch grumpily afterward, though it was a loose fold. You know, just in case he got an arrow aimed between his legs. But then, he was right, in that getting interrupted during an important conversation was, well, annoying, and clearly the guard agreed with him there, based on the rant given to the...

...huh. How had he missed that the other lady had a dragon on her? It was bright and colourful and everything... and he looked like he could talk. Yeesh. Maybe he'd have to direct that guy to Yzma's "secret lab" at some point, get him changed back to human. Oh, and the guard was still talking, okay, okay... aww. The diplomacy had steps and steps to it, apparently.

'Well, that kind of sucks,' Kuzco admitted, returning to mere melancholy in mood. Heh, nice. 'I was hoping it'd take a little less time than that, since... well, y'know, I have other places to go too.' He gestured to Merry-da, as if in example, though he wouldn't be overly surprised if she took this first impression and ran off with it, even if she had apologised. Yeesh, if her kingdom was anywhere near his, he imagined diplomacy would be a bit rough...

'Oh, speaking of, I think I do know where we are!' he added, glancing over to both the two ladies asking about where they were. 'If the research I did was right, and I know how to pronounce letters silently, then the name of this city iiiis, lemme remembeeer... Parry!' He paused, half a grin on his face and one arm on his hip as he considered what he'd just said, then leaned over to the guy who actually lived there and loudly whispered, 'That's the city's name, right?'

Phoebus winked at Merida with a playful smirk. "Did it look like I was treating you as a damsel in distress, given that I was warning His Majesty of the danger he put himself in by threatening you? You wouldn't be the first young lady to decide which sword better belongs where a man's nethers go."

He nodded toward Mulan in acknowledgement. "The young emperor, here, is correct, though I would highly suggest he practices his French pronunciation before speaking to any politicians. Most of them take offense rather easily, in my experience. The city is called Paris, and if need be, I can show you a map of the kingdom later."

The captain looked around at all the visitors. "Actually, if everyone's tempers have cooled, I might suggest a good drink to further relax everyone after this near-scuffle. I know a particularly good tavern, which provides a... variety of entertainment."

He motioned toward Kuzco and his royal guard. "You'll all have to put on some clothes before entering the city, I'm afraid. As much as I enjoy the view--" He shamelessly eyed one painted man who had a particularly well-chiseled jawline. "--I would hate to have to arrest you for indecency."

Mulan stared at the man, had he given his name to her? She could not remember at this moment, but that did not matter, she had not given her’s to be fair. Not yet at least. ”Before I drink with any of you, I feel like it is only right to share one another’s names,” Mulan said as she watched them, ”It is clear that you all shared your names with one another, but I seemed to have come late to that party. I am Fa Mulan from China. This is Mushu, Cri-kee and my steed Khan.”

As she spoke, she gestured first to the dragon on the back of her horse, then the cricket. Of course Khan was self explanatory as there was no way she had ridden such a small dragon to the party let alone a cricket, but you never knew what people would think. With her own introduction out of the way, she was more than willing to go to the tavern, maybe they would have a bed she could sleep in, it would be a nice change from the road she had been sleeping on these many nights.Then a thought occurred to her, what was she supposed to pay with? Something told her that her currency probably wouldn’t do her any good there. ”Is this going to be acceptable payment?” she asked, pulling out one of many coins from her purse, the object a small copper coin with a square cut from the center and characters etched around the edge. ”I also have similar coins in silver of the same size and some a small bit larger.”

Cassim paid close attention as the skeleton and his three child-like companions introduced themselves, whilst Iago struggled in futility against Cassim's grip. This Jack fellow seemed to be friendly enough, even a bit jovial in his tone, and spoke of a tradition the King of Thieves had heard of in the West: Halloween. He even claimed the title of Pumpkin King, something which the Arabian man thought very interesting. He had heard of only one tale surrounding Halloween involving some Jack and pumpkins.

"The Pumpkin King you say? Might you be the Jack I've heard stories of, who trapped the devil in a tree for immortality, and in response was forced to wander eternally as Jack-o-lantern?" he asked, taking Jack's hand. True, this Jack was a skeleton and no pumpkin-turned-lantern was around, but myths and legends often had a way of being muddled over time. That was the difficulty of oral traditions, and it made treasure hunting a particular kind of challenging.

"This is all very fun but Cassim, buddy, friend, don't you think it'd be just a wee bit smart to GET THE HECK OUTTA H-mrfgle." Cassim silenced Iago by holding the bird's beak shut, and shot him the sort of look a parent would give a small child to be stern.

"Apologies for my friend's rudeness. We wouldn't want to attract the attention of the locals now, would we Iago?" Iago eyed the skeleton, then Zero the ghost dog, then back to Cassim. He made an audible gulp, but could say nothing. Cassim turned his attention to the three children, launching questions back to back. "His name is Iago. He is a magic bird, but not good for much, I'm afraid." Iago shot him a dirty look, which he mentally chuckled at. "And you have the honor of standing in the presence of the King!"

Cassim proceeded to bow as low as he was able, while still mounted to his horse. As he straightened back up, he held up cuff link, which came from Jack's suit. "Of Thieves!"

Iago shook his head nervously, whispering into Cassim's ear. "I know you like to be dramatic and all, but do you really think it's a good idea to advertise that fact to a bunch of monsters?"

"This is all very fun but Cassim, buddy, friend, don't you think it'd be just a wee bit smart to GET THE HECK OUTTA H-mrfgle." Cassim silenced Iago by holding the bird's beak shut, and shot him the sort of look a parent would give a small child to be stern.

"Apologies for my friend's rudeness. We wouldn't want to attract the attention of the locals now, would we Iago?"

"No--" Lock started.

"--We--" Shock continued.

"--Wouldn't," Barrel finished.

They listened as Cassim answered their questions and nodded. All three of them immediately took in Iago's fear and discomfort, and honed in on it.

"You could always eat him," Shock suggested, sweetly. She grinned widely to show her sharp teeth. "Then he'd be good for something!"

Barrel licked his lips.

"Not much to eat, though."

"You would know, greedy-guts!" Lock said.

"Hey!"

Barrel turned to smack him, but lost his balance and collapsed back into the tub. The event ignited the wicked laughter of his siblings. Lock calmed down after a moment and eyed Iago carefully.

"Maybe if we boiled him in a soup..."

"Blech," Shock said. "He'd still be too watered down."

Her brothers nodded in agreement. The trio settled down as the stranger introduced himself as a king. Lock, Shock, and Barrel watched him carefully as he shook Jack's hand. Their eyes lit up in wonder as he held up the cufflink, and finished his sentence.

A thief king? One who dared to steal from Jack, a line even they rarely crossed?

Shock held up her mask to keep the King of Thieves and his bird companion from seeing her lips as she whispered something to Barrel, whose loud giggles spoke enough to whatever it was his sister told him. She then repeated it to Lock. All three of them gave a single nod in agreement, before they turned back to Cassim.

"How did--"

"--You--"

"--Do that?"

She gives Mulan a courtesy and ignoring the guards comments of "entertainment" even if it did sound like fine, seeing girls in very little, showing a small smirk at the thought.

"I am Merida of the Princess of DunBroch, a kindom in Scotland, a master archer, an exelent horse ridder and a decent swords woman. She says to Mulan, before gesturing to her companion "and this is my Angus, a grand horse and companion," she adds, handing him another apple.

She turns to Pheobus giving him a careful eye, "it didn't but I would keep in mind that I could just as easily line that arrow up with your own nethers," she says curious about his flirting but cautious of him in he general.

Eh, he'd been close enough. "Parry", "Paris", what was the difference? According to the guard, offense being taken. And boy, did he know how vindictive somebody even slightly offended could be. Speaking of guards, he apparently had to cover himself and his guards- what the heck? These were official uniforms. His outfit was royal garb, dang it! How was he meant to convey his awesomeness if he wasn't in proper outfit? Ugh, and he was at risk of being arrested for indecency if he didn't? Who did this guy think he was?

...well, okay, Kuzco did know vaguely who he was and the sort of power he wielded, since he was in charge of at least thirty armoured men, but still. Bleh, he should have brought more guards.

'Alright, well, having somewhere to stay would be nice. Do you have, uhm... clothes?' he asked reluctantly, noticing how the man was eyeing one of his guards with a look of... fear or something, he assumed. 'I have spares, but... well, I guess we could rig the other loincloths up to cover them properly...' As he thought about this perplexing conundrum, the other lady introduced herself and her... dragon. And apparently her cricket, too. Mulan, Mushu, and Cri-kee. For some reason, the dragon wasn't really striking him as weird. Sure, it was super weird. People didn't just turn into dragons for no reason. Just, well, he'd been turned into a llama before now, and he had kind of lost track of Yzma after replacing her with Kronk- who was still not here, he noted- so he figured she'd gotten to this guy somehow. Plus, the lack of size and the mouthiness was pretty un-threatening. Almost cute, actually, heheheh. Naw.

'And I,' he added once Merry-da had said her bit about her name and her hhhhoesre, 'if you didn't hear before, am Emperor Kuzco, royal leader of the Kingdom of the Sun! And these are my guards, who I am sure are more than capable of introducing themselves. Delightful to meet you, Mulan, very nice day out isn't it.' Maybe he was overcompensating for yelling earlier, but at least her voice wasn't impossible to decipher like Merry-da's. Why were they still talking about stabbing people in the... he assumed "between the legs" meant guy-bits. You know, those general bits. Nobody liked getting those hit with anything.

"So that's what the kids are saying about me these days?!" Jack asked jokingly to Cassim as he explained what he understood about Jack's past. "No wonder everyone's scared at the mere sight of me! That's certainly quite the backstory, if I say so myself." He looked over at the kids that were just staring at this man in wonderment, as he listened to them converse and scheme amongst themselves. He didn't normally like to put his foot down, but he turned a little ways to Lock, Shock, and Barrel, and addressed them. "There will be no harm done to this man from you guys, or I'll find a way to make sure you go a month without your bathtub!" That wasn't a very good punishment, but it would definitely sting in regards to these kids.

Just about then, Cassim started to introduce himself as... whoa! The King of Thieves? Like, the legendary character from the east?

"Aha! A fellow trickster who just so happens to be the king of thieves!" Jack almost shouted in excitement as he saw the cufflink in Cassim's hands. How delightful! "I happen to have read something about you within one of the books in my library! Who would've thought I'd ever get the chance to meet someone who dabbles in both trickery and treating without coming from Halloween Town!" Jack's voice was high, and it was clear he was incredibly excited. The skeleton almost forgot to respond to the king himself in an honorable way, kneeling to a bow before the king before standing back up again. "Sorry if I'm not well read on my introductions. We've been trying to get Halloween spread to the East for quite a while now."

Jack waited one moment before looking at Cassim and asking him a question that just tickled his brain. "So, King of Thieves, what's your business here in Paris? Looking for some rare cheeses to pilfer, maybe? I wouldn't blame you, some of the kinds are just delicious!" At least, that's what the Mayor said when Jack gave him some cheese once. Someone left it out on Halloween, and he couldn't help but pick up a souvenir.

Iago continued to look upon their new acquaintances sheepishly, even giving an exaggerated nervous smile as the kids suggested various ways that he could be eaten. Cassim wouldn't let them do that to him, right? No, of course not. And since the tall skeleton man didn't seem to be all that menacing anymore, more curious really, and was keeping the kids in line, Iago turned his expression to a disdainful scowling at them. "Just try it and see what you get, ya garbage pail rejects," he said, lifting up his wings like a boxer. He was quite enjoying their utter awe at Cassim's sleight of hand, and that let him feel superior for a moment.

Cassim chuckled at the Pumpkin King's general reactions and giddiness. "Yes, that is why people are afraid," he uttered with friendly sarcasm, handing back the cufflink to his new skeletal acquaintance. So this... Man? Knew of him? Books in a library describing the legendary King of Thieves? Cassim felt both pride and a pang of disappointment. After all, if he were doing his job correctly there wouldn't be any trace to put into a book. Then again, where's the fun in that?

"My companion and I are merely travelling for fun, oh lord of All Hallow's Eve. If we happen to discover some treasure along the way, well then who could blame us if we indulge?" he added with a wink. "Though it sounds as though the circumstances that led you here are the telltale markings of an adventure all their own."

The tricksters giggled again as Jack addressed them.

"We weren't--" Shock started.

"--Planning on it--" Lock continued.

"--Jack!" Barrel finished.

He pondered a moment.

"...Well, maybe a little..."

Shock whacked him with her mask.

"Hey!"

"What he means," Shock said, with her mock sweetness, "is we like our new friend."

Her brothers grinned and nodded in agreement. All three of them laughed, but it was cut short at the mention of losing the bathtub. The tricksters stiffened at the thought. They didn't need it, but it would inconveniently hinder their troublemaking.

Still, they shifted to make sure Jack couldn't see their crossed fingers behind their backs.

"We wouldn't--" Barrel started.

"--Want anything--" Lock continued.

"--Bad to happen to him," Shock finished.

"Just try it and see what you get, ya garbage pail rejects."

Iago got their attention again. The three of them laughed, but more with delight this time instead of the thought of potential mischief. Most people would be insulted. In Halloween Town, such phrases were often considered compliments.

More than that, though, a bird less than half their size was laughably threatening when they'd taken down targets easily four times greater than the three of them combined.

"I think--"

"--Iago wants to--"

"--Play with us!"

And by the looks on their faces, the three of them couldn't be more delighted at the thought. They vaguely paid attention to the conversation between Jack and Cassim, but "adventure" stuck out like a lit jack o'lantern on a lonely street.

"It sounds like--" Barrel started.

"--You two--" Shock continued.

"--Are coming along," Lock finished.

Phoebus gave another bow. "Sir Phoebus deMartan, Captain of the city guard's third company. At your service."

He nodded to Kuzco, raising an eyebrow at the mention of rigging up loin cloths. "I can send some of my men to help retrieve some temporary covering. I'm sure there's somebody in Paris with broad enough shoulders and muscles like tree trunks who would be willing to part with some of their wardrobe."

One of his men scowled. "Excuse me, sir, but I didn't become a soldier to play errand boy for a bunch of barbarians too uncivilized to dress themselves."

Phoebus' face went blank and he straightened his back ever so slightly. The guard immediately realized his mistake and dropped his spear, holding up his hands in apology as he unconsciously moved to cover himself behind the girth of the captain's horse.

"Achilles, sit."

"W-aaaaaugh!" The horse suddenly stopped whickering at Angus and dropped his rear end to the ground. Right on top of the soldier, who wound up face-down in a serendipitous mud puddle. The other guards squared off their stances and stared straight ahead, though a few rolled their eyes at the stupidity of trying to call out their commander, while on duty, in front of foreign nobility.

Phoebus ignored the one under Achilles and turned to the rest, motioning for the other squads to approach as he did so. Once they were all in speaking range, he said, "We need thirteen tunics and fourteen pairs of hose for a visiting ruler and his entourage. I'll pay you back from the company provision. First squad to return with clean clothing in acceptable condition will be exempt from morning exercise for the next two days."

They all saluted him and ran off. Once they were gone, Phoebus crouched down next to Achilles' rump and spoke in a silky voice. "I'm very sorry, I have quite the naughty horse. It looks like your uniform is completely filthy and needs to be washed. Since you'll need to do that, and you won't be running errands with the rest of your squad, I'm sure you won't mind doing their laundry, while you're at it," he purred.

Phoebus stood. "Achilles, up." The soldier got to his feet and trudged back toward the city.

He looked at both Kuzco and Merida thoughtfully before answering Mulan's question. "An individual merchant may accept a foreign coin that's solid silver, but it would be hard to make sure the exchange rate is fair without trading it for French currency, first. Our largest coins are valued based on their weight and silver content. A money-lender could easily test your coins for purity, weigh them, and give you the proper amount back. Deniers, the most common coin used, are mostly copper plated with silver, and are valued fractionally to the sols and livres."

Phoebus blinked. Keeping his men in line always took a certain amount of focus, and with them gone, something suddenly clicked. "You... have a talking lizard..."