Magnus offered a sympathetic smile when Sirenix nearly tumbled over her words. "No, no, I understand. Things haven't exactly been great on my end, either." He didn't get into it, but he knew the feeling. His reason for being in town wasn't pleasant at all, either. Attempted murder and a burned down home were hardly a wonderful excuse for an excursion. He took his hand back and rested in on his hip, listening to Sirenix's explanation of how she knew Blake. Another new arrival, apparently. "We're all a bit new to each other, really. Well, most of us." He knew of at least a few pre-existing relations among some of the party, but besides that, they were mostly a group of folks drawn together by a common goal.<br/><br/>As the group packed up and got going, Magnus didn't want to be left behind, especially as his parents were already heading out. He motioned for Sirenix to come along, then left the lobby alongside Sheo and Atisha. He also took time to greet Xaviex and Astowyn - who in turn were also greeted by Verigan on their way out the door. There wasn't a lot of time to hold a conversation with any of them, so he just kept on their way to the train station, and upon arrival, noticed Anora's reaction to the architecture.<br/><br/>"Pretty nice, huh?" He asked with a playful nudge to the shoulder with his own. "Dvergar technology and Teryn ingenuity make a pretty good team when it comes to keeping routes open. May not be quite as scenic as a river boat, but they're quick." Not to say the train ride wouldn't have some good views. Ardon's countryside and woods were known to be quite beautiful in the place they were in, and the ocean views of their next goal were only rivaled by far-off lands to the very distant south. There were other travel services as well, of course, but they were outside the area's specialty.<br/><br/>Without wasting any more time, Magnus went on to procure the tickets. He stopped at one of the booths, manned by an elderly Dvergar man with a variety of papers and stamps around him. Magnus had traveled the line in the past, and was recognized by the vendor on the approach. "Oi, Alondite! Been a while since you've been around. Nice suit," The Dvergar greeted.<br/><br/>"Too long, Carbry. Not exactly a business trip this time, either." Magnus dug around for his money, and counted out their party's numbers before ordering the necessary amount of tickets. "To Marveila, the soonest train we can get."<br/><br/>After fiddling with some buttons on a stamp, the old dwarf nodded, and started to print the tickets out one by one, transferring ink onto the papers. "Lucky you, we've got one coming in within the hour. Don't suppose you'd want to reserve a whole car? Looks like you all could use it."<br/><br/>Magnus started to laugh, but stopped when he heard an altercation going on behind him. He turned to look, as did the ticket vendor.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>In response to Blake, Verigan offered a hand, meeting the Teryn's own. Compared to Blake's grip, Verigan's hand felt oddly thin beneath his glove, and very lukewarm. "Lord Verigan Kruger of Thoralt. A pleasure to make the company of a party such as yours. So many well-qualified people on such a noble quest. It's inspiring, really." As nice as the words were, Verigan's tone of voice toward the end made them a bit odd. "But let's not hang around here. I wouldn't want to keep your friends caught up here for too much longer."<br/><br/>He offered Avis and Sheo a handshake as well, and after formalities were taken care of, he led both carriages to the station. It was a lovely place, and while his dark outfitting made him stick out like a sore thumb among the marble and orichalcum that made up most of the station, he appreciated the attention to detail and sheer amount of work that had gone into crafting it. The statues in particular were lovely. He began to approach the ticket booth himself, intent on covering costs and renting a storage car for their carriages, but was stopped about halfway by the large woman who had been suspicious of him back at the inn. Immediately, he took half a step back and looked down at the axe in her hand.<br/><br/>"Now now, there's no need for that," He said a bit nervously. One hand lowered slightly to try and nudge the axe away from him, but he didn't try his luck with it too much. After Atisha stuck up for him, he straightened himself out and nodded. "I assure you. I have no ill intent with Atisha. She's a strong young lady with a lot of potential, she just needs some guidance. And I do wish to learn of what's been plaguing your other friend. The world's become a dangerous place with them around, and I don't wish to stand around and do nothing while they terrorize us all."<br/><br/>When Sheo was gone before he could get a response, he huffed and tossed his cane up, catching it by the halfway point of its shaft instead of the skull-like topper. "I understand. Times are hard, and the last thing anyone wants is for their family to be harmed." His voice held a layer of seriousness that was quite unlike anything he'd said prior to that, but soon as it was said, he returned to that oddly chipper tone he usually kept. "But I think I'll give her some space. Wouldn't want to set her off again, after all."<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Magnus sighed, relieved that it hadn't intensified past a short scuffle. The vendor passed over the tickets, and began tallying off the price. It was quite steep, and Magnus frowned a little as he began counting his coins. Before he finished, Verigan strode forward and dropped a bag of golden ducats onto the counter.<br/><br/>"Will that cover it?" He leaned onto the counter, his mask partially obscured by his hat's brim, though the toothy grin of the lower half was still intimidating to most normal folks.<br/><br/>The vendor was visibly a bit put off by it, and Magnus gave Verigan a look of confusion. But lucky them, the tickets were covered. Extra money in the pouch went on to accomplish two other things: renting out an entire car of their own, to avoid any strangers, and getting one of the storage cars right near it. With the tickets procured, the two passed them out, and soon enough the train itself had arrived.<br/><br/>It resembled a steam engine, but its power came from magic, crystallized mana burned to give the machine life. It moved faster than primitive mundane engines could, and gave off very little pollution, other than a white smoke from the magical flames that powered it. As the train came to a stop, people began to get on and off. It remained parked for a while, allowing the party to get their carts packed up and take their seats, and once all tickets were accounted for, it chugged along down the rails, taking them on the route to the next kingdom over.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Brom made a chuffing noise not unlike a very loud, deep purr when Kaya motioned at him, taking a few steps forward and raising his head inquisitively. Tarkus remained stationary, and listened to the exchange between Kaya and the elves that accompanied them. Floriad's blunt insult and Silas's reaction was quite amusing, and while he didn't exactly laugh, he made a sound and very nearly smiled for about half a second. When he was thanked, he nodded. "Brom is stubborn, but he knows when there is danger around. He is the one to be thanked. But I appreciate it." He looked back to Kaya, and she raised a good point. Standing around doing nothing was not going to accomplish a thing. But Brom had tracked one threat, and if he could track the other, maybe they could get some progress before it was too late.<br/><br/>"We can talk on the trail. Come," Tarkus ordered, to any who were going to stick around with him. Without wasting another moment, he was off again, Brom bounding along to catch up to him. The cat-beast sniffed around for a moment, beginning to head north once more - toward the nearby capital city of Marveila. The countryside was pleasant, still clouded due to weather, and kept fairly cool by an oceanic breeze. But it was still not nearly cold enough for trolls.