"You can call me Guilliame. My weapon skills are a little rusty but I have done some drills down at the school and helped Master Narim with training the youngsters on occasion."

Handleader Wallus seems impressed by this. "I know Narim, and he is no fool, so he must see something in you of value."

She then switches languages from the Sorendenese the two have been speaking to the native Stemian tongue. "And can you speak the language of the people?" she asks.

In Stemian: "I speak Stemian with my grandmother all time. I grew up speaking it. So no problems there."

[OOC: For the record, since I can't remember if it has been specified yet, Guilliame's mother was also a Stemian, so Guilliame is one quarter Sorendenese.]

"Excellent," says Handleader Wallus with a smile. "Your grandmother is Stemian then?"

"And my mother as well. I am quarter-Sorendenese."

OOC Do the guards all look Stemian?

The handleader and the male guard are clearly Stemian: stocky of build and pale of skin. The other woman has the deep-tanned skin and lithe figure of a Sorendenese.

"Lucky you. You inherited your grandfather's height," says Handleader Wallus, looking up into Guilliame's face with no apparent animosity.

"Do you know this area at all?" she then asks.

"I grew up around here, but I was travelling for a bit. Our shop is here so we've done business with some of the locals and been around the markets. So I know so0me bits well, other bits not so well."

"That's right. You live near the Fini store, don't you?" says Handleader Wallus. "Close to the southern bridge and the School."

She then turns and looks to the north before saying, "To the north, there are more craftsman's workshops, warehouses and areas with larger houses; mostly pretty quiet but who knows in these times. We have had a number of mysterious fires recently, and a few deaths. It will help us a lot if we have someone to mind the station so we can keep people out on patrol."

She turns back and asks, "Do you have the time to do a walk-around?"

"I certainly do. I just need to be back for dinner."

She looks surprised at this and then gives a hearty laugh, before saying, "This will be a quick walk-around, and I will be getting you back in time for lunch, because that is when my shift ends."

True to her word, Handleader Wallus's tour is quick, but she spends most of the time talking: telling Guilliame details of the places and people in the area that she has picked up during her time in the guard. There are some places where her knowledge is lacking (e.g., she has never been inside the School of Occult Studies) and there are some areas where Guilliame's own knowledge is superior to hers (i.e., his own home street) but in the end Guilliame ends up knowing more about the Ward than when he started, especially the northern end.

[OOC: I have added a new skill of Area Knowledge to Guilliame's character sheet. He is currently only half proficient in this skill, so his bonus is only +2, but I will let this become a full proficiency after a while. Mechanically what this means is that for checks that involve the local area, Guilliame can roll a check against this skill rather than a Wisdom check as I have been doing in the past. Not only is his chance of success higher using this skill rather than a straight ability check, but he also now has the possibility of earning experience through such checks.]

The sun is high in the sky when the two arrive back at the guard station, where it seems the rest of the hand have congregated in preparation for the end of shift. Guilliame is introduced to the other two members of Wallus's hand: a male guard called Barrus and a female guard called Lucinda; they are both Stemians.

"Well then," says Handleader Wallus. "I hope that was useful for you and I hope you find the work rewarding when you start. Unfortunately, we are going on night shift tomorrow and so you will be working with another hand. But Handleader Ull is a decent sort, so I am sure you will get on well with her and her hand."

"Thank you for the tour. It was very useful. I'm looking forward to working with you in the future. I hope I can be of some use. Goodbye for now."

Head of to the school.

Guilliame makes his way to the School of Occults Studies where he is met at the entrance by a worried looking Eddard Maclan.

"Hello Guilliame," says Eddard as he lets Guilliame in through the door. "I do not suppose you have seen Master Minton, have you? He is still missing."

Guilliame also notices that dog Bruxa seems very subdued and is just lying in front of his kennel looking at Guilliame.

"Hello Eddard. I'm afraid I haven't. Is there any word on where he might be?"

[OOC: I am roleplaying tonight and with the lunch tomorrow I probably won't be able to do a move until tomorrow night. See you tomorrow.]

"He went out to lunch with Lord Brand's son yesterday, and nobody has seen him since," says Eddard. "There was a big search made for him last night, a search which even involved the Archmagus. But he is still missing."

"That's interesting. I've been meaning to get a message to young Master Brand for a while. I didn't know he was in town. I hope they are alright."

"You know Alaric Brand?" says Eddard looking surprised. "I am surprised, Guilliame, I did not know you moved in such rarified circles."

"I met him travelling between towns. I haven't got an invite to the estate yet and don't expect one soon. I wonder if either gentleman could be contacted by Wing & Prayer messenger services. Gerard Assam can contact people directly."  

After that little momentary diversion, Eddard becomes serious again and says, "Alaric, Master Narim and the archmagus were all involved in a search for Master Minton last night. Alaric, who left here in disguise, and Master Narim, who later went in a great hurry, both ventured out to the main island of the city while the archmagus used his magicks from his sanctum to coordinate everything. So, while I have heard that Master Assam is a magus of much knowledge, I doubt he could do more than the archmagus has already done."

"I expected not but thought it might be worth a mention. I hope Master Minton will be alright. I'm going for some lunch. Goodbye for now."