Will slept for half the day, having fallen asleep from the gentle words of Emmeralda. Vaguely he recalled a song that had played from her lips, and as they walked through Galenburg under the fading afternoon sun, he wondered if she had cast a spell on him. Either way, the sleep and the small bit of mutton they had managed to scrounge up had done him well. Emmeralda seemed healthy, though she looked rightly perturbed at the circumstances. She had a charming way of being both bubbly yet pragmatic in her manner. 

The two went by Kolchester Tower, passing numerous patrols of goats, risking it only so they can hail a waterman by the River Valans. The water was rank from the smell of fish and sewage, and yet moving water seemed comforting somehow to the pair. Emmeralda kept herself hooded, and Will kept his hat on, never looking anyone in the eyes. A schilling got them to a crossing point two miles down river, and by that time, the sky was red with the last vestiges of a weary sun. They arrived at Plattertown, a smaller suburb of poorer folk, run by the merchantmen who preyed upon them and set up shops with everything from chocolate to callgirls. The place never truly slept, though it grew less lively once the night descended. Will had been here once, years back with his da and brothers, mostly to watch bear baiting after visiting a cobbler. 

Predishi rugs were being rolled up by a vendor, and scented candles from across the Antribian Sea were being placed back in crates as sizzling meat could be smelled, intermingling with the cloying scents of perfumes from the ladies of the night in some gaudy building up the street. A few vagabonds with swords moved about, but their blades were shortened. Any sword seen by a guard that's over 9/10ths of a meter will be broken or confiscated.

"What is it?" Will asked, and Emmeralda's hand let go of his arm. She had been clutching it tightly. 

"I just... hope my people are alright." She confessed. Will understood, Plattertown wasn't quite the carnival, but it was close enough to remind her of home, if a nomad could truly call any place home. "Some say the world is growing safer, but I say they don't see the world as it is. Sewell and his lot are worse than any king, and that bar is so high, I couldn't land it with a pole at hand." 

She seemed lost in thought as they moved through the darkening streets, what few lamps there were unlit, as of yet, save for a few lights in the windows. Will answered by taking her hand in his, and she looked at him. 

"If we live, I'll help you find out about your people." He promised, wondering what led him to do such a thing. "But one monster at a time, yeah?"