"Ah, House Berning, I've heard the name but I don't think I ever managed to meet one of you," Karl said. "I've heard that there's a whole damn continent up north but I've not been concerning myself with the news from it for a while." Surely the man referred to one of the states immediately north of Keilaudrin, but Leid was more intent to incite further words from the man before he devoted himself to the topic. It was exaggerating his skills of deduction again, but he judged by the martial look the man had that whatever news he was bringing, it wasn't exactly the peaceful kind. That reminded him of something... and his retainer beat him to it.

The red haired man, new at the table, spoke up from beyond his plate piled full of food. "You mean Lachne, right?" He nodded to Ragnar, making sure the man knew he was talking to him. "I'm familiar with the nation, but I haven't heard much about how it's doing now." Mostly truthful, he knew a handful of people who were unfortunate enough to be directly involved in the conflagration. Despite the nation's proximity to Keilaudrin, there had been few refugees on account of the few survivors. The young man looked over his shoulder and leaned forward, looking a lot more interested in what Ragnar had to say. "What's going on up north?"