Reality differed from Matteo’s expectations. He expected the scholar to eventually explain the odd circumstances the four had woken up in. He expected more information on the recruitment office and the roles they were expected to take on. He expected reason. He expected courtesy. But most of all, Matteo thought, he expected assurance.

And they didn’t get it.

If they were part of this group’s plot, they made no effort to alleviate those suspicions. If the situation-- fighting monsters and demons-- seemed fantastical and dangerous, no words were said to lesson those concerns. No one was trying to make the situation seem better than it was, and Matteo had mixed feelings about that. Instead of sympathy, they received facts, reality, and coin. An investment, they called it later as they gathered at the entrance to the recruitment office, the doors almost closing on Matteo’s heels as he exited. 

The tattered bags of coins were comforting. If this business was handing them money, it must be expecting them to make it back. If they were truly cannon fodder (he struggled to make sense of the strong feelings that word evoked, but couldn’t quite grasp it) there was no sense in wasting money on them. Matteo had pulled his necklace over his curls almost as soon as he’d received it. Even if he didn’t understand it, the symbol might mean enough to someone else to get them some more information, or to keep them out of danger.

[b]“Ah-- Ash, just a moment,”[/b] Matteo called. He had a brief vision of exhausting himself wandering all around Andeave in search of his fellow amnesiacs again and cringed internally at the thought.  [b]“If we get split up, shall we meet back here?” [/b]he suggested mildly as an alternative, casting a glance behind him as he hurried west after Ash. It seemed like the best idea-- there had been little that was threatening about the festive plaza when they’d first passed through it.

As the music grew loud again, the spectacled young man stood and took in the busy square, debating who would be the most effective to approach first. The people in the sky-blue robes caught his curiosity-- they stood out from the drunken revelry. Rather than Matteo trying to figure out what had happened to him (an opportunity they’d already wasted at the recruitment office, he felt) perhaps it would be better to learn about this place and its people. Besides, anyone giving to charity probably wasn’t a threat to someone else down on their luck. 

He waited for one of them to finish what they were doing and cleared his throat.  [b]“Excuse me,”[/b] he said politely, clearing his throat. [b]“Yes, hello. Ah-- my name is Matteo. I just got here and was wondering what you and the others in those robes… do. Excuse my ignorance,”[/b] he added. [b]“...Or who are you, rather?”  [/b]