Noah glanced from person to person as they answered his question. It seemed they all had a variety of reasons for being there. It surprised him that there were people willing to hire others to look into Tikkis' report. Everyone they had met on their way seemed to think very little of the Professor's work, so it was strange to hear that there were people taking it so seriously. Noah turned with a smile when the hooded woman added her last bit of input on the situation. "I do too. Things will be a lot better if we stick together." Noah still seemed quite content. A newcomer approached the party, catching the boy's eye. Noah stared for a moment. [i]One... two... three... four. FOUR SWORDS?[/i] Intrigued, Noah waved towards the man. "Hey there, are you going north too?"


  Elizabeth broke from staring at the wall, turning her attention towards Ira as he spoke. They were here on orders... that was not something she'd expected. It seemed the situation was going to be a bit different from what she had originally anticipated. As Ira questioned her relationship with Noah, she tried to force her face into a smile, only half-way achieving her goal. "No, we're not related. We've been traveling together for quite some time though." She glanced away for a moment, her mouth finally forming a half-hearted smirk. "I guess in some ways, we're closer than family." '[i]At least closer than mine...'[/i] Elizabeth placed her cane across her lap as Noah continued doing what he did best. Her gaze once again met Ira's. "He's actually the one that insisted we come up here." She motioned towards the boy. "Not that I'm not interested in what might be out there... but my enthusiasm apparently isn't quite up to par." The scholar commenting on the prospect of blizzards only served to reinforce her reasoning. There was a lot to risk going so far north.



   The sound of a hurried conversation echoed down from the top of the wall. After a moment, the guardsman who had spoken previously leaned over the rampart. "Oi! The Lord's been notified, so we're gonna open the gate in a moment." The beak-shaped outcropping on the man's helmet bobbed up and down as he spoke. "Lord Cross wants to meet with you in the great hall, so a few of us will escort you there. If you need to buy anything wait until after your meeting, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time." With that, a loud creaking noise echoed out from the gate. The great iron doors were slowly wound open, and the sound of the city within echoed out. The guardsman, along with a few of his brothers-in-arms, stood waiting at the city's entrance. "Alright, come along now." The man, now much more visible than he had been at the top of the wall, wore a meticulous suit of armor forged from black iron. Black fur protruded from a few joints, indicating that the suit was quite well insulated. A well honed poleaxe was leaned against his shoulder, its edge glinting slightly in the sunlight.