The green haired boy seemed to shrink back as both the man he was standing behind as well as a younger archer were startled by him suddenly speaking up. And while Nova didn't look particularly spooked in terms of facial expression, his body was practically shaking like a leaf in the wind from the sudden outbursts and defensiveness. Lowering his gaze to the ground for a moment, trying to figure out why they were so shocked, Nova eventually looked back up at the odd group, eyebrows arched enough to show that he was a bit confused.

"I've been h-here the whole time. I c-couldn't get into the bar b-but...I still wanted to help figure out how he was a-assassinated." He managed to get out, being particular about leaving names out his explanation. "I wasn't g-gonna...I just...I just wanted to help...I can d-do magic and stuff, so I can help, right sir? He then asked, the question more directed to the prince than anyone else. Despite it being unintentional, Nova's eyes glared down on the archer in between Erik and himself, shooting daggers at the needless defense, before softening back up when he looked past the archer and to the prince.

Nortiz's eyebrow rose. "And what sort of magic and 'stuff' can you do?" He then proceeded to give him a once over. At the very least, the boy was able to distract his thoughts from how either route required going by or through Ganon (and the possibility of seeing him again).

This newcomer was certainly young, definitely from around here, showed some measure of tact with his timing, and was prepared for a long journey, books and all. The folks at Derak (especially in the radical crowd) might eat him alive though if he didn't have a stronger backbone. But, if he truly stuck around, the long road was the one they ended up taking, and he wasn't an utter bigot, he could potentially get him ready for that. At the very least, this mage made a better first impression than the one at the tavern.

"Though if I may say so, your highness," he began, making sure that all possible revarance was paid. This was a suggestion he wanted taken seriously after all. "If he truly is qualified enough, it would be appropriate for the beroc of Mirica to have a representative on this investigation as well as the laguez." At the very least, he would be someone listened to if the beroc king did turn out to be the murderer.

He squatted down to the boy's eye level. "What's your name, mage?"

Erik had difficulty believing that the younger mage, as he had learned he was, was with them the entire time. Erik was known before during his training not to completely be aware of his surroundings, but he thought he would have known if there was another one of them around without him knowing. Then again, Gregory's armor could hide an entire feast behind him, if he wanted. Perhaps it was possible.

"If you were sent by one of the nations, then you can definitely help," Erik answered and then gestured to Noritz. "But I'll echo what he said, what kind of magic can you do? And for everyone's information, if you didn't know, I am Prince Erik Reighn of Albia, along with my trusted knights Gregory and Zachary."

Before he could get any response from the prince, Nova's attention was pulled to the winged Laguz, dark gold eyes meeting up with deep blue. Normally when he brought up being able to do 'magic and stuff', people would just take his word for it. Having to show proof was bit new for him, and honestly, made him feel as if they were going to judge him just based on that. Lowering his gaze down to his satchel once the prince echoed the same thing, Nova reached in and pulled out the three tomes as well as a few of his school books. Turning them so that the spines were visible, the green haired boy pointed to the green Elwind tome.

"I-I can use, fire, lightning, and wind magic. B-But I like the wind o-one the most." He said with a nod. "I learned a l-lot of stuff from school too..." More of less unaware that he used the word 'stuff' again, the young boy looked back to the winged Laguz as he spoke, nodding along once he noticed the information would benefit in terms of him joining. He found himself continuing to nod once he received proper introductions, giving each a proper, and slightly apologetic, bow.

As the boy was straightening from said bow, Nova ended up face to face with the Laguz, unable to hide the flinch that came along with the other crouching to his level. Despite the nervousness boiling up inside of him, Nova's face remained relatively calm.
"My name is...Nova. I'd r-rather not give my family name for the sake of keeping my parents m-mostly anonymous, but th-they are instructors at the college I a-attend due south of h-here..." He said as he started to shove the books back into his little bag. "...Might I ask your name?" He questioned back, his attention on the Laguz once again.

Prince Erik Reighn. Big man is Gregory. Archer is Zachery. Got it.

The raven laguez mentally tallied that info away to not be forgotten. Wouldn't do to have that sort of disadvantage, especially when the mage showed the Elwind book. A chill spread through his bones as he thought of how that wind tore at the wings and turned a natural ally into a betrayer. If this was the official Mirica delegate for this quest, Nortiz was going to have to be on his guard, even if the boy, Nova, seemed more worried about their view of him than anything.

"...Might I ask your name?"

Nort blinked. Asking his name? When was the last time a beroc had been interested in his name? "Nortiz," He replied. Then he turned to the wolf faunus. "And your's fair lady?"

Prince Erik watched the young boy, who introduced himself as Nova, show his skill with magic. Truly, he seemed adept, even despite his young age. Erik was hesitant to take a younger boy with him, but since he knew about the mission and had former training, he figured whoever had sent him had done so with the belief that he was capable. Erik wasn't in any position to doubt it, and if they were truly going to Derak and potentially had to engage in fights with winged laguz, then a wind magic wielder would be useful.

Erik glanced around his group at the various gathered he would be taking along with him. Between the three laguz and the three beorc accompanying him, they had a good mix of everything they might need on the journey.

"Great!" Gregory began as everyone concluded their greetings. "So Albia it is. We can make a stop at Albia City for supplies and to commission a ship. The trip to the coast should be fairly uneventful in our own borders. From there, sailing along our shores would be no problem. After that, well... we'd have to see after that."

"We all know Gannon pirates are likely waiting there," Erik commented by crossing his arms. "They're brazen enough to try. We'll worry about that when we get there. For now, I hope you're all ready for the road. It's a week's ride. We head to Albia City."

"Ah, Albia!" Gregory applauded loudly as he caught sight of the familiar village of Merunda. The group had journeyed along the road together for nearly a week. After they exited the capital city of Dawn, the rest of Miricia was a bunch of fields and small villages that Gregory recommended Erik to avoid, so as not to draw unnecessary attention. Therefore, most of their trip was camping instead of sleeping in normal inns. Merunda was the first sizeable village that was close enough to Albia (being right on the border) that was supposedly safe enough to spend the night. "It'll be just past this village." He beamed happily.

Erik nodded in agreement. He was happy to finally be close to his home nation, where things made just a bit more sense. Before that, however, they agreed to spend one last night in a Mirician village. "We're not through yet," Erik began as his hand slipped to the hilt of his sword, as if absentmindedly ensuring it was still there. "Let's head to the local inn," He proceeded down the hill, glancing around at the surrounding forestry. While his mind was occupied to his current surroundings, the others would notice quite an extensive amount of damage in the city below. Barrels were broken on the street. A few houses appeared broken in to and vandalized. Steady smoke came from one of the houses further into the city.

Something had happened in Merunda. And it happened recently.

Gerwazy, the captain obvious he is, stated "I've got a bad feeling about this." His staff at the ready, he looks at the prince, worriment in the young Laguz's eyes. "My prince, do you have any idea who could have done this?"

"Like the smoke and causal destruction wouldn't be enough of a clue something was off." Nortiz rolled his eye at the dragon ambassador, hiding his own unease at the sight before them. He looked around to see if he spotted anyone as he got out his beaststone and unfolded his wings from beneath his cloak.

"I can scout out ahead and report back." He declared, waiting for feedback. Now was not the time to push the prince's limits. Travelling had been surprisingly uneventful so far, but the raven knew too well how it was the rare beorc or leader indeed that allowed potential challenges to their command.

“It looks like they have been a target of a raid…” Zachary bites his lip as he takes in the destruction before him. Seeing such a place left in such a condition makes him shake in disgust at whosoever caused this incident. But it was looking at it that got him more distressed as the moments ticked by.

Zachary noticed that it was rather quiet. How long has it been since the attack? And where are the citizens?

Turning to Prince Erik, a serious look is upon his face: “My Prince! I believe that we may need to make haste and see if there are any survivors. Either they need our help or they can tell else whom has done this to them if they have already left.”

The week that came and went from traveling was mostly uneventful. Camping was neat, except for the bugs...and the dirt...and not being able to sleep because it was a little too dark, but that's beside the point. What mattered now was that the group had made it to safe civilization, which meant Nova didn't have to sleep outside. Just the thought of being in a bed was almost enough to distract the teen from the destroyed city before them; fortunately he wasn't that narrow minded.

Anxiety was quick to settle in the green haired boy's stomach, a hand resting there as if it would alleviate the feeling somehow. Nortiz offered to scout ahead while Zachary claimed they should go and look for surviors, both of which were valid options.
"I-I think we should d-do both. Mr. Nortiz should can scout ahead s-since he'll get around q-quick while the rest of us search for a-any survivors...or even wh-who caused this." He tried to explain, both arms already clutching his Fire tome to his chest, awaiting what the prince would eventually decide on.

Erik shook his head in response to Gerwazy. "No clue. This area isn't known for a lot of... this activity," He gripped the hilt of his blade harder and the group ventured further into the town. He then nodded in response to Zachary's suggestion. That was probably the best thing to do. But he also figured that scouting may be beneficial as well. "That sounds good. Noritz, go scout ahead in the surrounding area and see what's going on, and if there's still any threats. The rest of us, let's see if anyone needs any help. Stay sharp."

Erik headed into the town. The few villagers still on the streets rushed into their homes as the armed group passed by. It didn't matter whether they were the beorc or laguz among the group. The villagers were scared. One villager still wandered outside, not yet seeing Erik and his group. When he heard the sounds of their armor shuffling behind him, however, he quickly turned around. "Hey there, do you need any he-" Before the prince would finish, the villager ran off and into a nearby home.

Erik shook his head, wondering what was going on. Before he could say anything else, however, an older villager spoke up from behind the group. "It was bandits." The old man said.

"Hmm?" Erik turned to observed the old man. He was worn out, barely able to stand, and scared. "Bandit raids, my lord."

"Bandits? All the way here?" Gregory asked incredulously. "But bandits never wander this close to villages."

"That may have been the case before, sir knight," The old man said. "But ever since the situation with King Jacob and his assassination, the bandits of Merunda have become more bold. It's been constant raid here. They take what they want, and kill any who oppose us. They've been raiding constantly," The old man began to tear up as he talked, looking down on the ground. Erik frowned at him.

"With pleasure." Nortiz bowed, then activated the beaststone, taking on his raven form again. He paused a moment, stretching out his wings as the shift finished, before launching into the air, barrel-rolling as he went. In an non-emergency situation like this, it was always so much fun to be in bird form. Let the air through his wings, be high in the sky where troubles temporarily disappear. But real world concerns had to take precedence and he had a job to do.

Shaking his head, Nortiz started circling around the town, on the lookout for who did this and/or any potential threats. As one circle revealed nothing but countryside, he spread out to a new circle. After a few passes, he spotted a group heading towards the town. Swooping lower, Nort spotted the various weapons and bandit apparel (not too dissimilar from pirates). The visages didn't look particularly friendly either, making him think that these were likely hostile. Nort briefly made a headcount (disappointed that their movement made 15-20 as accurate as he could get) before hurriedly flying back towards the town. If bandits were anything like pirates...Quickly finding the prince, he landed. "Sire, bandits coming this way."

"Blast!" Erik cursed as Noritz brought news he didn't wish to here. The prince of Albia unsheated his longsword, which also caused Gregory to grip tightly on his lance in preparation. The old man, who paled in his face after hearing the news, quickly got off his seat to head into the inn. "He's got the right idea. Any other citizens make their way for cover!" Erik glanced at the group. "We have to hold them off, and protect the citizens here," Erik looked around the town for potential cover and other tactical advantages he could find.

"We could try to take them by surprise," Gregory suggested. "They won't be expecting an armed escort of knights around."

"Or laguz allies for that matter," Erik concurred and nodded his head. "We should use that. What's the count, Noritz?" He questioned the bird laguz. "Anyone else have any suggestions?"

"Around 15 to 20 men," Nortiz replied. "They're coming from over there," he said, pointing in the direction the army was coming. He then looked around the town for anything potentially useful for the upcoming engagement.

"I can definitely handle aerial attacks, as long as they're distracted." He then rapidly tried to remember if there had been any bowmen among the enemy.

Th green haired teen remained towards the rear of the group, shaky hands gripping his tome tightly in his grasp. Gold eyes shifted from any movement that wasn't directly in front of him. Things weren't looking good, but it seemed like everyone was doing their part to make amends. Nova had to do the same. He quickly took in what everyone had to say, nodding slightly in understanding before holding a hand up to get their attention.
"Um, I c-can hold a vantage point in one of the empty b-buildings and make sure n-none of the bandits come close to any of the houses?" He offered with a slight tilt of the head. He knew any form of head on battle would only resort in him getting hurt. Hopefully it would be enough...

“We certainly want to set up an ambush if we want to have the best advantage against them,” Zachary speaks up. “With our current numbers, a forward assault would more than certainly lead to us having some injuries.”

At hearing the young boy, Nova, Zachary finds himself nodding as he continues his own talking. “Nova here has the right idea. Him and I should take up positions up on a couple of the empty houses.” He then points to two buildings on opposite sides of the road. “We should take up positions on opposite sides of the road, so that we can pincer them between both our attacks. Anyone else who can fight at range is also free to join up with us if need be.” Zachary once more turns back to the Prince.“If I can make a suggestion, Prince Erik? I believe that the best time for you and the others on the ground to attack, is after we have initiated the fight and they are still likely disoriented.”