(I can stop and question them, or allow them to pass. I stop them.)
The officer in charge of the mounted escort rides forward to meet you. He wears silvered Anarian mail and a winged helmet embossed with the crest of Tahou.
'Hail, captain!' says Banedon, upon seeing his crown-shaped badge of rank. The man narrows his eyes and regards you both with suspicion. He is about to reach for his sword when a woman shouts from the leading wagon.
'Banedon! Banedon! Is that you?'
Your companion recognizes the woman and returns her wave. 'Lortha! By the stars, I had not expected to meet you here,' he says in a surprised tone. The captain relaxes his guard and motions to the wagons to move on, anxious that his entourage is not delayed on the highway.
'You can fall in with us or save your reunion till we reach Navasari,' he says, curtly, and rides on without waiting for a reply.
'Lortha is the wife of Chiban, a famous Tahouese magician. He was my mentor when I lived and studied in the city,' says Banedon.
(I encourage them to talk)
Banedon rides alongside the crowded wagon and talks with Lortha as the procession continues on its way to Navasari. After a few minutes' conversation she hands him a scrap of parchment, and they bid each other farewell.
'They are the last of the evacuees,' he says, as you continue your ride north. 'They expect the enemy to reach Tahou in two days' time. They've already seen Giak scouts and early this morning a squadron of Kraan were sighted high in the western skies. She advises us to steer clear of a village called Sidara. It's rumoured to have already fallen to the enemy. She also gave me this. . . .'
Banedon hands you the scrap of parchment. It contains a few lines of Anarian script, an address and a signature. 'It's an invitation to stay at Chiban and Lortha's house in Tahou. It may be useful when we reach the city gate.'