I looked at the stranger and decided to talk to him; he hasn't done anything wrong to us (at least not yet), and my dead little soul missed interacting with a full-fledged representative of the grave so much that I cast aside the remnants of my suspicion and spoke: "My name is Adelaide. I, Smoke the Barbarian, and Knight the Dark Elf are searching for fragments of an ancient artifact key; we need the key to open the gates of ..., but let's not get too far ahead. The wizard is called Saruman; we met him... no... we found him in a bag; as long as his goals align with ours, we are together. We arrived in this city in search of a magic agate; it is needed for ... well, anyway, it doesn't matter (off, really, why do we need this tear?). For now, I would advise you to stick with us, at least until we make our way into lands that are safe for you. And what brought you here?"