The face before him bore a striking resemblance to that Iberian pirate captain, only without the weathered look and considerably more youthful. Maximus blinked, "Of course, I believe you, but your father brought this up a month ago. Is your settlement that far from here?"
With those words, the young man's confident demeanor quickly deflated. He dared not meet Maximus's gaze, stammering, "Actually... I set out long ago, but when I was about to reach your camp, the Pannonian Army happened to surround it, so I... I stayed at Uncle Budocaribas' settlement for a while.
After finally waiting for the Pannonians to retreat, I wanted to come find you, but Uncle Budocaribas said you had been through a long battle and had many things to deal with, so I... I waited a few more days. I didn't expect you would move here so soon, and moving would be even busier, so I..."
