[h3]Domhnall MacRaith[/h3]

	The fellow at the gate looked like he wanted to shrink underground when he admitted that, indeed, it had gone down roughly as the forestfolk had suspected - but the fate of the self-appointed quest-goers was unknown, and they probably wouldn't be all too useful as researchers. The squire was frowning, and ambiguously suggested they would "look into it" - which sounded suspiciously like the kind of thing people promised when they had no actual [i]intention[/i] of doing something. Perhaps he did not dare make any definite statements in the absence of his leader (as opposed to the forestfolk himself, who did not quite have the same boundaries).
	The expression on Domhnall's own face had long lost the intensity it had displayed when he first inquired about anyone who was [i]not[/i] willing to wait (or could not afford to wait) for an official expedition, and now that he was done trying to fit all the details of the timeline together, he was once more looking the lad in the face, absently scratching his neck with his free hand. The fellow looked almost as youthful as the young black-eyes, and was obviously not exactly fully in charge of the affairs here ... nor did he have the experience needed for dealing with these things. He tried, he thought up what he figured was the best way to deal with things, but ultimately the world had other plans. ...Not that Domhnall could claim having been in charge of missions of sorts as a part of his regular schedule, but he still had a couple of decades of dealing with people of all sorts over the lad. 
	"Ah, it coul' nae have been more than a day or twa, no?" Not enough time for the disease to kill those who were good to go, and he suspected a ... was that the Firm Angora had mentioned? ... company would aim for more high-profile targets. And even common thieves who [i]did[/i] want food and clothes and the occasional small valuable were more likely to target the refugees or the common abandoned buildings. As the past few years had shown, tragedies such as these tended to do a number on economy, and even the sort of bartering he and Iridiel (well, mostly he) did. 
	"Aside, peeple be peeple. Ye cannae control wha' 'ey do." He shrugged. "Jus' learn tae expect wha' 'ey do." No all that different from beasts, after all. 

	He was really not certain how to react to the news of this ... harvester who was once a human named Immanuel. They [i]really[/i] had not been kidding when they said they attracted all kinds of trouble. It sounded much more reasonable to take your odds with Djubei in person, and [i]that[/i] didn't seem particularly reasonable, either. In his known world, beings [i]died[/i] when you put a crossbow bolt through an eye of theirs ... unless they were deities, and deities were better left alone and un-pissed-off. Start with problems which at least seemed fixable; that way, odds were something got [i]done,[/i] too.  

	Oh, Claw? Well, seeing Jaelnec was already explaining the lad and guards that the newcomer was with them, he might as well let the refugees know, too, and extend a greeting to the ... man? himself, too.  
	"He's wi' us," he declared loudly, holding up a hand. "Ey, an' welcome back!"