"Oi! Get the fuck out'o the way!" A cry sprang up from behind them. Similar cries rose and created a cacophony of sounds from those behind, clearly unamused that the two made it to the front of the line to negotiate rather than pay immediately and give someone else a chance. For the notary's part, he blinked at the strange bedraggled girl and her foreign companion. It was understandable why, as Greybridge was an Andredian settlement and she was clearly Vrettonian, and her story was vague, what's more. However, it also could have some plausibility, as many mercenary companies from either country was bought by the other to confuse the their enemy during their frequent wars. 

It almost looked like the man in the extravagant hat was going to deny them, but at the yelling from the crowd to get a move on, he seemed to acquiesce after another moment's thought. 

"Very well, to your great service blah blah yes, only 5 Lordlings." He whispered to them harshly. "From [i]both[/i] of you." 

Once paid, he would raise his head and wave about a crop-like crudgle. The four halberdiers in the center rose their weapons automatically as if they were Dwarf-made machines powered by steam. 

Behind him lay Greybridge, the gothic agate jewel of the north. Even during the day, the city had an ominous, dramatic quality to its architecture. Some compared the looming and thatched two or three-story buildings that flooded the city to one of the haunted cities found in Henry Forthwright’s melodramas. Leering gargoyles could be found atop a few buildings in the distance, though what lay around them was a small marketplace in the center of a widened three way street. They would be practically shoved inside, and once within it was like a jungle of buildings surrounded by a throng of Greybridge citizens that went about their daily business. 
[hider]You have some flexibility on what you would like to do. You could roll to find a shop or someone to speak to with a faculties (perception) roll, or you could be creative and do something unexpected. Ask away if you have any questions.[/hider]
[@Romero][@Duck]
[hr] 
Ithaca had begun to lead her northwards, through numerous thickets of dark trees until they finally stumbled upon a well trodden path. It seemed to go east and westwards, though it likely snaked back around to where she had been at the mouth of the gulley. A great brown horse stood tethered to a tree, proud and powerful with a well groomed black mane. It snickered when it saw Ithaca, clearly happy to see her once again. 
  
"Geiá sou diké mou Bucephalus." She whispered to the steed, untying the reins from the tree, just as glad to see the horse as well. She made it look all too easy to mount the steed, holding a hand out for Mari to take. "The Sea of Swords?" She asked, hoisting Mari up to sit just behind her. Ithaca let Mari sling her shield around herself and sheath her sword before she had Bucephalus begin at a trot. "You must have traveled through the borderlands to get here. Durgony yes?" 

They made their way deeper into the forest path, letting the sun pass into tangled shadow beneath the canopy above. The trees were somehow both healthy yet gnarled by some unseen grimness, though the sounds of the birds around them showed no evil was yet near, if there was any at all. 

"It's Rittenvos, of the people of Eisenland." Ithaca explained, glancing back at Mari for a moment. "You chose a strange road to come here, though I suppose it is the most direct road. I like that. Nothing reaches the heart of an Orc like a straight thrust through the chest. But yes, Rittenvos. It has the largest inn near the southern border, and plenty of tradesmen. I won't ask you much on your quest, for no one would travel like you unless they had an important errand. But you very well could find what you are seeking there."

The road warden spoke with a certain surety that would strengthen the heart of anyone hearing it. But it was not to last, for a moment later a most dreadful sound erupted from the skies above. It was so brutally loud that it was not so apparent what made the leaves upon the branches shake until Ithaca and Mari's senses had regained their faculties. It was a [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPSx_cSPw_0]roar[/url] so terrifying and powerful it shook one's very bones. Among the sudden calamity Bucephalus whinnied, the dauntless horse bucking briefly in abject surprise and fear. 

"Dragon!" Ithaca gasped, doing her best to rein Bucephalus before the horse threw them off, calming within moments due to its training and Ithaca's prompting. Mari would have to cling to the warden so as not to fall off, and once the three had halted in the forest path, there was another terrible roar, albeit further away. 
[@Luminosity]