Aelfric couldn't help but be a little bit awed by the ruined remains as he picked his way through. Even crumbling to dust, there were hints of what must have once been master craftsmanship. What was more astounding, to Aelfric's way of thinking, was that these were obviously the least that the city had to offer. They were the outskirts, far flung, humble homes that were far away from the central glory of the city. Aelfric couldn't imagine such a society where even the commoners were housed in such an opulent fashion. It was certainly something beyond the capabilities of any modern city. Even the wealthiest of Turizi trading hubs had a substantial slums district where poverty reigned supreme.

Aelfric was interrupted in his musings by a voice floating through the air to reach him. It sounded like a young woman. Aelfric couldn't make out precisely what she was saying, but he was fairly certain that it was something about food. Speaking of which, he recalled rather longingly that he had left most of his supplies, including food, with his horse on the edge of the forest. He hadn't wanted his warhorse (the pride of any noble born warrior) to trip on a root and break a leg amidst the dense forestation. Aelfric idly considered finding the source of the voice. They were, after all, technically intruding upon his personal property. Aelfric was hardly the sort of man who would make a deal out of such a thing, but perhaps he could get a bite to eat out of the deal...

The knight meandered through the twisted warren of buildings that were all the remained of the ancient slums, wondering to himself how exactly he should deal with the unknown person. Or persons. He realized that, unless the person had been speaking with herself, she must have someone with her. He had made the assumption that it was a local peasant girl who wanted to see the ancient marvel, but Aelfric began to worry that it might be a band of looters, or a bandit gang looking to make the ruins their new base of operations. In light of the sudden suspicions, Aelfric rethought his plan. He picked his way through the crumbling cottages much more carefully, wincing every time his chain mail jingled. Armor was not the ideal accoutrement of the stealthy.

Aelfric slowly, and noisily, made his way to a point where he could see the source of the voice. To his relief it appeared to be no more than two young women, though there was something very...off about the one fiddling around with the pot. It was difficult to tell from this distance, but somehow he wasn't entirely certain that she was human. Aelfric's relief, however, was short-lived. He spotted movement in the trees above the two women, and what he saw was not nearly so benign. Flitting in and out of sight was a pair of very unsavory looking characters wielding crude, simple weapons. Aelfric started running towards the two ladies, and shouted up at them. He had no real proof that the two men above them were anything other than friendly, naturally, but it wasn't something that Aelfric felt like gambling on.