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Iternus and every other head in the caravan turned as the badly wounded Fianna Warrior was carried by. Some shook their heads others simply muttered under their breath. Although there was no doubt that Imperians were a hardy bunch, none could really say that having that happen to them wouldn't affect them. Ortho, one of Iternus' junior aides came and stepped forward next to the esh'lahier who was on point. They looked to each other in silence, then turned to look to the charred and chaotic seen visible inside the city. It installed in them a memory, one that scarred every one of the men here.
They had all lived through the fateful Imperian day. A day of screams, pain, and gratuitous death. The men talked in hush tones behind Iternus about how similar this land looked now, compared to Imperia on those dark days. Others spoke quietly about the wrath of the gods themselves being vented here. Others till, had more macabre things to say. There was something about this that didn't quite sit well with the small party. Some foreboding perhaps, but something real none the less. "Gotta bad feeling about this sir" Ortho said quietly. The senior member of the delegation who stood next to him, Iternus, said nothing, only nodded and kept looking straight ahead to the blackened remains of the city.
And then they were approached. As Colin introduced himself, the Esh'lahier bowed sharply with the bent and precision that would be expected of an ex-military man. He returned the greeting warmly; "Malamar Iternus, Lord Esgalviths cheif aide and diplomat and the senior leader of this caravan."
As he listened to the barbari he was simply stunned. To say that this Colin was in charge was a shock. Barbarians were lowest on the Imperial chain, not even citizens fully, if Iternus understood policies correctly. This would mean that there would be no one here of Imperial cloth or at the very least any man who was a citizen fit to lead. The men behind Iternus started to talk and murmur quietly as they had before, but this time they were silenced with a single pale hand that their leader raised.
Of course the men had no offense to Colin because he was a barbarian, it was just shocking to them as Imperia had little barbarians there.
The Esh'lahier nodded at the leader of the Fianna Clans offering of food. The journey oversea had not done well for his stomach. As Colin and Iternus made their way to the table Ortho moved to the front of the caravan and turned round so he could see the wagons behind. With a drop of his arm and a short blow of a small whistle the caravans surged to life slowly and began to come inside. Dust and ash flew up as the wooden wheels once again turned and men could be seen pushing, carrying, and organizing where to park the wagons inside the gates.
Iternus turned to the Barbarian. "Lord Esgalvith ordered me to send his personal condolences for the loss of you people here. Tell me, how is it that any survived?" The Esh'lahier could see it was bad, and the report he was given was not exaggerated.
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