In the Village
"The walls you see, in the road and the paddies, were raised to defend against Pequenaud's soldiers, who were sent to extract tribute from this village. The new Baron, Ser James, assisted us in ending such actions, and we assisted him in resuming his seat in Brouse.
"One of our purposes in returning here is to restore the road and paddies, since the defenses are no longer needed. Ming-Sa, a woman of this village, and I were able to raise these works in three days, and I would expect to be able to bring them down in a similar time."
The man speaking is, when close up, clearly not quite human, with his bright yellow skin and glossy queue that doesn't seem to be hair. He arrived riding a beast that isn't quite a horse, and keeping well away from the other horses in the group.