Having been on the road for a while, Roark was more than happy to arrive at a fairly sizeable market town on his way to the university at the human capital. On his arrival, however, he very quickly noticed a nervous, restless atmosphere to the place. Deciding to investigate, he soon found himself entering the first decent tavern he'd seen in several days. Settling onto one of the barstools, he spoke to the barkeep, saying "I'll take an ale. Something with a bit o'a kick to it, if you will." While the barkeep grabbed a mug for him, he continued, asking "Now tell me, what's got everyone gears in a jumble? I haven't seen a face in town without seein' someone what was worrying over [i]something[/i] big."

"Oh, haven't you heard?" the barkeep responded, setting the mug of ale down in front of Roark. "People are saying that Valenti's escaped!"

"Valenti?" Roark replied. "As in, that necromancer bastard? Isn't his prison supposed to inescapable?"

"Aye, but it would seem that he found a way out, anyway. There is a call going out for brave souls to respond to the possibility of this threat. Judging by your gear, I'd assumed that you were on your way to the capital to respond to the call."

"This is the first I've heard of this particular rumor! I was planning on visiting your capitol anyway, so I may as well look into it while I'm there," Roark replied, then quickly downed his ale. Handing the barkeep a few coins to cover his drink, he thanked him for the news and drink, then left immediately to find faster transport to the human capital.
----
Climbing down from the cart, he thanked the driver for saving him a couple of days' transport, Roark found himself near a market square. A quick look at the bulletin board showed an announcement calling for people to help investigate an incident at Heaven's Needle, along with information regarding what prospective recruits should do. Following the instructions on the announcement, he showed up at the castle courtyard to find out a bit more about the situation.