The Capitol City of Caradia was a large, sprawling urban landscape- its outer walls stretching further than the eye could make out unassisted. Sentries clad in bright tunics and shiny helmets patrolled the outer walls, crossbows in hand, keeping the city's occupants safe. Towering above the sea of red shingled roofs of the city's homes and businesses was the the Imperial Palace, a massive structure of ivy covered gray stone. The great windows and tall spires of the almost bleak fortress hovered over the rest of the city like a mountain peak overlooking the small village that formed at its base. Even the largest cities in Lumoise weren't quite as large or impressive. Much like the land of Caradia itself, its Capitol City could only be described as [i]expansive[/i]. 

Emil craned his neck looking at the tallest spires of the mighty citadel, threatening to pierce the clouds with their point, and couldn't help but to shiver. He pulled his cloak closer around him, his armor clinking lightly as he adjusted himself. Emil had, at his family and friends' suggestion, put on a shirt of chainmail underneath his tunic, supported by a stiff chestpiece of leather, paired with a set of leather vambraces and boots. This was more to appear as at least passingly competent rather than to actually function- as while he looked less like a hardened mercenary and more like an over-adventurous farmhand, he at least appeared to have more sense than the average farmhand wandering away from home with just a tunic and a naked sword. Also, as many had pointed out, magic and mages in Caradia were viewed with a mixed opinion, so the fewer people that knew he was a mage, the better. Still, the short pilgrim's cloak that wrapped around his torso, with its distinctive designs around the hems made it obvious that he was a traveler from Lumoise, or at least one who appreciated Lumoisian fashion. With one hand, Emil pulled at the leather strap that bound a sword to his shoulder, with the other he pulled at the guiding reins of a slightly swaybacked pack horse that carried the rest of the belongings he brought along during his pilgrimage, including his staff, wrapped in cloth and leather to keep the gem head hidden.

He crossed the gate at the outer walls without much difficulty- plenty of travelers made their way in and out of the city under the slightly lazy watch of a quartet of halberd bearing guards at the gate. The trek through the city was long, but relatively uneventful. The main roads were congested with foot traffic, and while far from shoulder-to-shoulder crowded, did slow down his travel to the castle. While part of Emil wanted to take a good look around the grand city, he was here for a singular purpose, and the call of street vendors and merchants asking for him to stop and spend his money would not tempt him- at least not today.

The guards at the castle gate at least, were more stringent than the guards at the outer gate. The guard's sergeant stopped Emil before he entered with a gauntleted hand. Underneath the sergeant's helmet was a thick beard and a thick scar over a permanently closed eye.

"Halt," came the bored but gravelly voice of the guard. "What's your business here?"

"I-I uh." Emil answered, stumbling slightly with his words, "I heard that the Emperor is leading an expedition to find the source of the monsters and was looking for volunteers. So uh, I'm here to volunteer."

"Hah. Of course you are." the scarred veteran scoffed before using his one good eye to give Emil a look over. "Pah, you don't look like you're any older than my own son. A long way from Lumoise, aren't ya?" the guard asked, gesturing towards his cloak. 

"You should be at home, helping your father tend the fields. Must be one of those other fool village boys looking for a taste of adventure eh? Come on then, tell me. What manner of brave, battle hardened killer are you?" 

"I'm not a killer." Emil replied meekly, "I'm a healer."

"Bah, whatever." the guard snorted with a dismissive wave, "Head on in, you'll be sorted out soon enough."

Just inside the castle gates, by the garden was a trio of noble looking figures- two of them wearing bright, well polished armor. There were a few other notably 'adventurer' types nearby them, so Emil assumed he was in the right place. One of the potential adventurers had sat herself on the ground before the Emperor and his cohort and played music. The second adventure caused Emil's heart to seize in panic for a moment as he noticed that she lacked legs but in fact had the lower body of a serpent. A Naga- Emil had only heard of them in Lumoise, they weren't native to that region, and even in Caradia they were exceedingly rare. 

Looking around somewhat awkwardly, Emil slowly and quietly made his way over to their small gathering toward's the tail-end of the Naga's introduction. Taking it as his turn for introduction, he mimicked the Naga's bow and lowered his head before the noblemen. 

"My name is Emil." he said quietly, "I'm a- a healer, from Lumoise. I'm in Caradia to complete my pilgrimage." He continued with a slight stutter, careful not to reveal his nature as a mage. While magic was regularly associated with Lumoisian people, it still wasn't incredibly common, and pilgrims from Lumoise while uncommon, were not unheard of. Pilgrimages were a regular part of Lumoise adulthood traditions, and would-be mage-knights, scholars, warriors and merchants alike made pilgrimages around the land.