As others came down into the lobby, Magnus and his father managed to stop themselves from their little elbow-duel, sharing a small laugh over the whole thing as they straightened themselves out. Nothing too much, just a little adjustment of the utensils they'd bumped into and a scoot back towards the table. Some idle chatter between the family followed, until Blake came along to join them. Magnus gave a welcoming smile as he drew nearer, nodding at the request. "Oh, not at all," He answered, preparing another cup of tea for him. After that, he readied some more for himself, setting the pot aside when he was done.<br/><br/>Avis happened upon the group with a considerably less subtle approach, and immediately got right down to business asking what things were going to be done that day. After a sip of his drink, Magnus set the cup down and considered their options. "Good morning," he began politely. "As of now? It's getting as far out of town as we can manage. The directions in that journal we took are still our best lead at the moment, so we'll be heading a bit south." He leaned back and patted around at the bags on his belt, drawing a variety of objects from them that they'd obtained from the assassins back at Goldenburgh. The leather bound journal, a gem-encrusted tree amulet, and the magic ring. At the arrival of Atisha and Sheo, Magnus spoke up a bit more so the whole table could hear him.<br/><br/>Opening the book, he turned the pages to the entries read before. "It says here that their next destination is in Marveila. Some sort of congregation is being held there. I doubt it's<span style="font-style: italic">in</span>town, but the area around it shouldn't be too hard to search through until we find them." He paused, and moved his hand towards the amulet, lifting it up to compare it to a stamp on the page. Writing about the necessity of a symbol of faith to find the meeting was on the page below the explicit target zone, and if Magnus had to guess, the more decorative necklace was a key of some sort. He could definitely feel something coming off it, a sort of spiritual energy that may have been reactive with his miracles. A thing he wanted to test, but not before they left. They'd drawn enough attention to themselves that day already.<br/><br/>"If nothing else, I want answers as to why all this is happening. I understand if anyone wants to leave at this point. Running head-on into a meeting of theirs, well, it must not be the most attractive plan." He frowned a little, expression growing more serious. "But I'm going to figure all this out. Stop it, if I can. I don't want these people hurting anyone else, and that includes all of you." This crazy quest to unravel a mystery that had plagued the country for ages now must have seemed pointless, if not outright suicidal. Indeed, he had his doubts that there would be success at all, but he couldn't risk just sitting around and doing nothing. He knew that other people would be harmed, and that they would inevitably come for him again. A life spent constantly looking over his shoulder wasn't one he wanted to live.<br/><br/>Setting the amulet back down, Magnus steepled his fingers and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He remained silent, clearly in prayer, for the next few moments. Good fortune and success were things he hoped for, of course, but moreover he desired protection. Not merely for himself, but for the entirety of this group. A ragtag band of strangers, drawn together over his own tragedy. If any of them were hurt because of him, he couldn't forgive himself. When he finished, he opened his eyes again and spoke up once more.<br/><br/>"There's a train station here that heads south. It should take us to Marveila. From there, after...whatever happens, then I'd suggest we go north. We have family up there, a safe place to hide out for a while. And you two," He turned his attention to his parents. "Can stay there. I don't want either of you risking yourselves any more than you already have, alright?"<br/><br/>Sigurd gave a short chuckle. "Ah, don't you worry yourself over me, boy. I fought off a hundred men once, you know! Some tree-hugging bastards won't keep me down."<br/><br/>"It was more like ten, dear, and that was over twenty years ago." Hilde patted the old man's shoulder, and while the tenacity was still admirable, he hardly believed in limits. "I'm sure Annika will let us stay there for as long as we need. Just do try to keep in touch while you're out on the road?"<br/><br/>Magnus smiled at the exchange, though beneath the obvious amusement, there were hints of sadness. "Of course. Maybe she'll finally have those mailboxes done by the time we get there." He twiddled his thumbs uneasily, and turned back towards the group. "If anyone needs to make any last supply runs before we head out, now's the time. The train will take us out of here before noon."<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Tarkus made a sort of noise that suggested agreement at Floriad's quip. She was very much right; Tarkus shouldn't have been in Ardon, and would have very much preferred to remain in the comfort of his home. Things being as they were, this was no longer an option. Regardless, he was here now, and something about those trolls was obviously wrong. While he didn't offer much comment, he swung his sword away to get some of the blood off of it, then held the weapon over the bonfire full of troll corpses. The blood quickly ignited, and as it was a thin layer, evaporated away with little fanfare. Before it got too hot, he moved it away from the flames and slid it into its resting point on his back.<br/><br/>"There are many to be had here. And they claim the south is more civilized," Tarkus answered in regards to Vasma's comment on the approach. "They helped. Something is wrong here. The trolls are moving far out of their territory. It may have something to do with what we are looking for." While there were no concrete answers as to what was spooking the creatures yet, Tarkus' experience as a hunter in his youth gave him a familiarity with the beasts. Never had he seen them chased so far into the south. Perhaps a mystical presence was disturbing them? Who could know. It was worth investigation, however.<br/><br/>"We should head towards where they came from. If something made them leave, then we will find it." He turned towards Silas and Floriad once more, parroting the Meerah's inquiry to them. "Yes, what are your names?"<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Tamani couldn't help but frown a bit. Heran's explanation of disappearances wasn't unheard of thanks to all the mysterious vanishing folks tended to do nowadays. "Goodness, who isn't going missing anymore?" She responded, closing her eyes and shaking her head a bit. "Sorry, I mean, a lot of people have gone missing recently. Wherever he's at, I hope he's better off than the rest of them." While assumptions on the matter were very understandable given the amount of people who were affected by the wave of disappearance, she had to way to tell if that was what happened or not.<br/><br/>Of course, the discussion wasn't quite over. She was curious about the situation in general. An encounter with a weird fellow speaking to her about religious terms, along with someone coming along and telling her that an acquaintance had gone missing, both made her very inquisitive. While there was some hesitation to throw herself at a dangerous situation, these ladies seemed pleasant enough. And she wanted to get herself a nice reward from that missing friend of theirs if they could find him. Pursing her lips off to the side, she tapped her heel on the ground while she thought, deciding to go on and ask. Why not, after all? The worst they could do was not agree to her request.<br/><br/>"Where is it you're headed? Surely you have a path of some sort you're on?" She hoped they did, at least. If not, a little research wouldn't hurt. "Depending on where it takes you, I may be inclined to offer my services. It always helps to have someone watching your back, especially if that someone can blast whoever's coming from 100 yards away." The not-so-subtle brag was accompanied by a steadily widening smile, and while it was sincere, her mouth full of very sharp teeth was a tad intimidating.