Reimian Empire

Delirium and his group accepted D'Lek's offer and agreed to participate in a banquet celebrating their new acquaintance, as per local customs. However, Gesper had no intention of feasting with what he called "savages." D'Lek might have taken this as an insult or aggressive behavior, but Delirium managed to negotiate with him (with some difficulty). While the travelers prepared to participate in the upcoming feast in one of the city's large houses, Gesper remained outside, accompanied by an ogre that the locals had assigned to him, just in case he caused any trouble.
D'Lek invited the guests to sit around a large, oblong table, taking a seat at one end, and invited Delirium, as the leader of the group, to take a seat on the opposite side. Fever and Celia sat on either side of him.
As he invited the others to take their seats, D'Lek assured them that the food and drinks would be ready soon. He also noted that in these lands, what he was about to serve them was considered a delicacy and highly valued, so he would be very disappointed if the efforts of his people were in vain.

Added 1 minute ago

Okay, if you really want to, let's go north.

Is the formation changing?

Added 2 minutes ago

(I wonder, if we lost some of the normal NPCs, would someone like Dillion be "solving" the puzzles...?)

No. If there wasn't an official who could give you the hint, you would simply starve to death, because the other NPCs are not suitable for this role.