Zarya only had to listen for a few minutes before things got interesting. It seemed that the merchant was accusing the kharnate man of being a thief based off the fact he got his goods from Rebache. Zarya had also heard some information about Rebache, mostly that there has been a lot of bandits sighted near it. It didn't take her long to figure out that the merchant thought that the man was one of those bandits who looted the village and was trying to sell the goods. However unlike the merchant, Zarya knew this man was not a thief. For starters he was from and looked like he came from the kharnate; unless he brought an army of horsemen with him, she doubts that he could have raided the village alone. Not to mention the boy in the wagon, who was likely the same boy who had been telling others about his village. He looked meek enough to be a mere village boy and not say, a poorly dressed bandit.

Some guards came to approach, and that's when Zarya stepped out and called to them. "Wait! This man is no thief. He is my guardian, and we have been tasked to seek help in liberating the village. These goods are merely what was given to us as payment." Zarya lied smoothly, her words flowing with intoxication like a fine wine. She knew she was taking a risk trying to lie on the behalf of these strangers, but she was certain that she was going to be far more successful in convincing the guards to back down than the kharnate man was. Not only was he a foreigner, but he was much more heavily armed and dressed for plundering. Whereas Zarya was dressed in finer, if simple, clothes that would make her seem like a merchant's or some sort of low nobility (Which she technically was). Not to mention the her sword on her belt, which was finely crafted if a bit dull. Certainly not the weapon of a mere brigand, but of someone who carried more honor. It helps that she looked and spoke like a native, so the possibility of someone like her hiring a kharnate mercenary to protect her and help liberate a village was more likely than some others.