Acrius could only now fully take the city is in such a state of disrepair. It was good that the empire is finally intervening, even he didn't think it would last much longer than it did. Hopefully it would be as simple as that. He folded his hands behind his head as he followed Leonidas' mount trod down towards the keep. Two familiar faces greet the prince as he passed. It was the two he had 'exercised' with. The orange-eyed boy shot them a smirk as he passed them.

Acrius simply listened to Leonidas' impassionate speech, it was full of optimistic idealism. In stark contrast Balthazar was more of a pragmatic realist. A balance of both will surely lead to a proper solution on a rather complicated subject. As for Acrius', he values strength and skill over anything else. He also valued strength of character over the race they were born as. Human, Drow, Dwarf, Beastmen. It's all the same to him. Hell, he even gets a kick out of fighting the other races due to their innate strengths compared to humans. As an orphan he saw the worst in humanity. As part of Prince Leonidas' retinue, he saw the best in humanity.

Though he wouldn't voice any of these thoughts aloud. It wasn't quite his place and his view on the issue was rather simplistic. Instead he would quell those who showed dissatisfaction on their face with a silent glare. 

"[color=fff200][b]Will one of you go find Merik, I don't know how the local troops will take a Lizardman just walking around.[/b][/color]"

[b][color=#FF9900]"I'll do it."[/color][/b] Acrius said, knowing he should probably gain a few brownie points for all the stuff he's pulled (and will pull) during this campaign. 

Soon Leonidas and Balthazar would disappear into the keep. It was normal procedure, as usually only Leonidas and Balthazar would be privy to the meetings.

[b][color=#FF9900]"Any of you up for an excursion to the west gate?"[/color][/b] The boy grinned, [b][color=#FF9900]"You never know what kind of trouble I can get myself into."[/color][/b] Acrius didn't like staying idle, after all. He turned towards the general direction of the west gate as he said this. He didn't mind going alone or with a few other people. 

Folding his hands behind his head again he trod away from the keep. Most of the soldiers or the little general populace around didn't take much notice of him. They seemed have a lot on their mind, which, considering the circumstances, is reasonable. The only thing that separated Acrius from the normal soldier was the Royal Guard symbol that dangled on his neck. On seeing this some soldiers would hastily give greetings while others looked on incredulously. Acrius simply waved off those who greeted him. He asked them to keep it casual as it was too formal and, consequentially, too stuffy for the boy.

It wouldn't be long when he would spot Merik. The lizard man stood out like sore thumb due to this height. Acrius would notice the soldiers and men gossiping like milk-maids, standing around and whispering about Merik. 

Acrius drew a breath and loudly shouted, [b][color=#FF9900]"Don't you clucking hens have better else to do!?"[/color][/b] He eyed a few of them and purposefully let his royal guard emblem dangle from his neck. [b][color=#FF9900]"Quit the gawking you maidens."[/color][/b] 

[b][color=#FF9900]"Merik, hello."[/color][/b] Acrius looked up at the 8-foot behemoth and crossed his arms, [b][color=#FF9900]"Prince Leonidas says we have to be at the keep, can't have you wandering around because, well, you know."[/color][/b]