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"But at least now we have an idea what we'll have to work with," Iorlas pointed out.

"And how much we'll have to be able to project," Lancaeriel said thoughtfully. "This is quite the area ... and I know the way it's dug into the ground will help with the acoustics, but ... we'll still have to make sure we're loud enough."

"You don't want to be too loud, either," Daeron pointed out. "No point in deafening the people at the front."

Lancaeriel laughed. "That is true. And elves do have remarkable sense of hearing."

"That and your physical skills," Earendil put in quickly. "Andarien needs to continue training his archery and with Kaito, and Miyuki, you still need to practice your staff ... when we meet up with Alassëa again she's going to be disappointed if you haven't progressed, or at least kept up."

"And the Pokemon need training," Andarien added. "Zeus was complaining earlier that they haven't had the chance to be out or doing anything for a few days, and then even when we travel they can't really train."

Daeron nodded. "Shall we head out of the city and look for a good spot, then?" he suggested. "I don't think we can leave the inn until we have Kyrie with us, but at least we can find a good spot to camp out."

"Of course," Daeron chuckled. "It's not like we have anywhere to be today. I don't think Kyrie or Ahkshi are expecting to hear from us before tomorrow, unless there's some kind of emergency."

"And if some of us don't want to hang around, we can always go off on our own," Kaito added.

Earendil nodded his head. "True. We're not obligated to stick together all the time. Though, Kaito, I do feel I ought to remind you that Kyrie suggested we always have at least one person who speaks the language with us at all time if we're going around the city."

Kaito pouted as if he were insulted. "I never said I was going to go off!" he protested. "Only that if someone wanted to, they could!"

"Just be prepared for people looking at you oddly," Wren quipped with a grin. The princess had a rather happy-go-lucky personality, and it was rare that things really bothered her. She didn't mind the stares. She knew she was different from the people here, after all.

"What part of the city did you want to be near?" Uruloki asked the group, flying up and landing on Lancaeriel's shoulder.

Daeron and Iorlas exchanged a thoughtful glanced, and Iorlas suggested hesitantly, "Nearest Ahkshi and Kyrie's house or the clinic? Just in case something happens to Amir?"

"That sounds like an excellent plan," Uruloki agreed, directing them back the way they'd come. "And I'll try to ensure that if Kyrie runs off for any reason, she will let you know ahead of time."

Wren was curious about what that might mean. "Runs off?" she repeated. "Why would she run off if we're staying here for her sake?"

The dragon chuckled softly. "If she hears something about someone who has been injured, or that there's been an accident, or some kind of disaster, whether it's a fire, a storm, an earth tremor ... off she goes to see what help she can offer."

"Yes, that's mostly her business," Uruloki nodded. "There are a few places she might want to do more than that. Garnelia is one of those places. Just south of here. Very sad story. We'd been through the capital many times, but one day when we came the flags had been changed. The royal family had been murdered, their general usurped the throne ... Kyrie's been helping out with the Rebellion ..."

He paused for a moment, his golden eyes turning towards the sky as he reconsidered his words.

"Well ... she ... started the Rebellion," he amended. "It's been a long time. But she's determined to help until the right person is in charge of the country."

"Better than it used to be," Uruloki replied simply. "That's about as much as I can say at the moment."

"Thanks for giving us something to worry about," Earendil said dryly. "Because we didn't have enough, what with being in places where some of us won't be accepted at all, and others of us might be outright discriminated against."

Uruloki chuckled. "Well, this is one of the cases where you'll probably be better off than the people who actually live there."