Alexandria's entire body, though it was difficult to tell when most of it was covered in plate armor, seemed to relax when she realized that she would indeed be taken seriously, at least by the female Dragonslayer. Thinking about it, the woman didn't look very old either, aside from looking like she never slept. Did she never sleep? Alexandria knew Dragonslayers had a lot of energy, did some of them have enough to forgo sleep entirely?

"Ah, er-... yes, yes, you can call me Alex," Alexandria's cheeks colored slightly as she tried to figure out exactly how to respond. "And... thank you. Some people still don't understand that my looks hardly mean I can't be skilled with the blade."

Indeed, within an ornate sheath on her hip there sat a longsword. It wasn't exactly easy to tell if she was skilled with it from here, but she had made it past all the bandits. That must have counted for something, correct? "And, er, I also have to thank you for keeping an ear out for my father. I've asked the town guards, but everyone here seems so jittery. I can't blame them, they're living in fear all the time. Oh, I wish there was something I could give you in return..."

She was rather surprised when another man appeared, so quietly. How had he managed to get here without making a sound?

----

"Ah-hah, as I suspected!" boomed Alexandrios, "A Dragonslayer! Of course, it is no surprise in these parts. Those blasted wyrms roosting over Irontown have made themselves quite known!"

As if it would make a difference, the armored knight shook one fist at the nearby mountain. Even from here, smoke could be seen rising from the caves in the giant. There were many places a dragon could roost within the huge mountain. It had, after all, been excavated by an unknown hand. There was a vast city within the mountain, suspended walkways, homes, mines, a massive forge... but not a single living soul within. Some believed this meant there was a race of small, bearded folk who had once dwelled in Ahlunda, just as some old legends say. But where could such people have gone if they were not here?

"While I am certain we are both quite capable," Alexandrios continued, "I shall never decline an offer of jolly cooperation from a Dragonslayer! We shall carve our way through the ill-intentioned thugs filling these woods and head straight to the fire-belching beasts themselves!"