The procession of Ikana Soldiers was an impressive one, to say the least. Dillan had never seen anything like it. These knights were truly impressive, far more so than the Clock Soldiers that he was used to seeing. Usually not in large numbers, though. Seeing this many Ikana Soldiers in one place was somewhat worrisome to him, even if they were here as honored guests and friends. No one on this side of the closed border knew why that border had been closed. For all anyone knew, the Ikana Soldiers might be here as part of some invasion force, to take Clock Town under their control. Coming in under a banner of peace was a good way to get inside the walls, whether you were truly a friend or secretly a foe.

It seemed that his fears were groundless once the prince had started to give his speech, which Dillan had relocated to East Clock Town to hear. The prince's charisma was oddly refreshing. Dillan wasn't used to seeing people like that. The mayor of Clock Town was old and frail, and the people he usually saw back on the mountain had about as much personality as the rocks the Gorons ate. They were about as attractive as those rocks too, now that he was thinking about it...

He was pulled from his thoughts when the reason behind the closed border was stated openly for all to hear. Oh wow. A broken seal that resulted in a plague of undead? That sounded horrifying. Good on them for closing their borders to keep those monsters inside, then. That was surprisingly altruistic of them, keeping the problems for themselves instead of letting others possibly help. No wonder they only had under a hundred warriors left by the end of that mess. They didn't allow for reinforcements to come. Surely someone would have helped. The Gorons were more than capable warriors, brick-headed though they may be, and the Clock Soldiers could have leant some aid. Maybe.

Once again, his thoughts were interrupted by another interesting fact coming up. This one, however, had him laughing. A Goddess from the Sky? Had their king had some altitude sickness or something? Hallucinating voices? There was no way a Goddess had actually spoken to him. There were no such deities in this world. The Giants were as close as this place had to such beings. To waste so much time and so many resources building up a tower under the command of a nonexistent Goddess was downright crazy.

"Was the king fighting drunk or something?" he commented loudly enough for the people around him to hear. "I mean, seriously? A Goddess?"

The supposed warning from the Goddess--pfft--wasn't met with much concern from Dillan. If the Ikana could handle the undead issue and bounce back as much as they clearly had, then they could probably handle whatever threat this "Goddess" foretold. It wasn't his business, anyway. He made weapons and trinkets. Sure he knew how to protect himself if necessary, and he doubted he had much to worry about besides the occasional wolfos or bubble in his travels between Clock Town and the Mountain Village. He'd eat a shoe if some disaster [i]actually[/i] happened.

Still, it never did hurt to be careful. The Ikana clearly were doing just that, by opening their borders again and reestablishing their ties with the outside world. Good for them. It at least meant that Dillan could go there to sell weapons and such. Heck, maybe he'd rub it into their faces that some kind of disaster was coming so they should buy more blades? [i]That[/i] was advertising done right.

Once the prince was done with his speech, Dillan left the crowds behind and hurried off to actually take his lunch break before returning to his stall in West Clock Town. He didn't want to continue selling his wares on an empty stomach, and he'd definitely start using the disaster line today. Maybe he'd get it all sold by nightfall!