[center][h1][sub][color=darkred][b][u]G O R O U[/u][/b][/color][/sub][/h1]
[h3][i][b]Greymont Castle - Banquet Hall[/b][/i][/h3][hr][/center]
Before Jauna could answer his question about her sword, the Prince announced that the group would be breaking their fast with him before they set out. The bard became jubilant at this, announcing something Gorou didn't understand in one of the Ibion dialects, and played an uplifting tune on his lute. He was certainly skilled at his craft, even attracting a red songbird from the windowsill. Gorou idly wondered if the other bird in attendance, the one with the timid girl in white, would share in the music.

Jauna let their conversation end there, though with a polite reassurance to continue later on. Along with the others, Gorou moved into the banquet hall and sat at the behest of one of the many butlers and maids. For now the plates were empty, but no doubt the servants would bring whatever had been prepared posthaste. Gorou gulped softly; as a wanderer and only occasional mercenary, it was rare that he ever had more than enough for a simple meal at a tavern or a few loaves from the markets. A warrior needed food as badly as he needed weapons and armor, and who knew when an opportunity to eat royal fare might come again?

The Prince, of course, sat at the head of the table. Rhea took the seat at his right, and the bard stood to provide the music. The others would likely seat wherever they pleased, though Gorou himself had once again chosen a place near a window and with the widest view of the room. Their royal employer encouraged them to speak freely, get to know each other, and ask any questions they had about the mission. Rhea was the first to do so, formally introducing herself...and, ever so subtly, encouraging the present company to keep their focus on the journey that lay ahead. Gorou appreciated that the Prince's personal adviser behaved fittingly, as the lad himself seemed to have a woefully lacking sense of his surroundings--or, perhaps not entirely. Now that Gorou thought about it, there had already been a few actions and words by the Prince designed to diffuse the oppressive air...but maybe he was overthinking it.

[@LordVoldemort][@Ambra]"Your Majesty. Dame Rhea." Gorou stood, again inclining his head. "I am Gorou, merely a wanderer. Some time ago I was traveling the coast and became involved in a few skirmishes with pirates. Captain Aiden of the village of Jonsferry, recruited me--the report I brought from him was submitted yesterday."

Hopefully, either Eli or Rhea had read this report already. Gorou hadn't, merely carrying the sealed letter to its place of delivery on his way to the capital, but within the report Captain Aiden had made specific note of the swordsman's skill in dispatching the raiding party at Jonsferry. Perhaps more importantly, it also contained recorded routes and activities of pirates in the area--where they had been seen coming and going, what locations they had attacked and how each militia had fared against them, and little inklings of information gained from prisoners.

"I was told," Gorou continued, "that I would serve as a field guide and, once we have encountered pirates, to offer any advice possible--as well as fighting, obviously. I do so gladly, but I must ask: Will we be marching directly to the northern islands, or campaigning along the coastlines?"

To go directly north would be to engage the pirate fleets on their home turf--to strike the seat of their power and cut off the serpent's head. However, ships did not sail on empty holds. The pirates had enough manpower and ships to raid all along the continental coasts, but traveling so far even by the fastest vessels meant weeks, sometimes months, at sea. They had to have many hideaways and hidden coves along their routes, so that they could resupply with fresh food, water, and other necessities. Any shanty-towns in the vicinity would provide a place for desperate men or fugitive criminals to be recruited, and for different crews to meet up and swap information.

Even if they went north to destroy whatever powerful groups or individuals had brought most of the other pirate gangs under their thumb, if the vermin had a nest to return to elsewhere the problem could start all over. Or worse, the pirate fleets would become even more spread out without a central command, and thus the conflict would shift from "war" to a chaotic search for pockets of "insurgency" that could be anywhere at any time with little predictability.

Depending on who gave the answer to Gorou's question, and what the answer was, he would be able to take a better stock of this unusual group in which he found himself.