You have time to investigate your new gear, and have a quick meal.
As you sit there a number of people come in, looking around wildly before finding somebody to rush over and sit with, or being collected by Ollwin the innkeeper and tended to.
Zarren, one of the Mayor's sons, comes in carrying the kindly old lady Vilma Merridie. The old woman seems to be in fine condition and high spirits. Belba herself comes out of the kitchen to set the old woman at a small table next to the fire, where the old woman sits serenely watching the crowds with a smile as she works at some needlepoint.
Viric comes in with a number of people you've never met before, and a grumpy looking Ramne the hermit. He harrumphs loudly, obviously not please at being brought here. After the barest of glances he spots your table and immediately hobbles over, helping himself to a seat without asking, sitting down next to Cirilli who's since rejoined the group, using the excuse of a warm meal to avoid talking to anybody.
"You smell terrible," He says, giving Cirilli a critical look as he wrinkles his nose.
"So do you," Cirilli shoots back, giving him a suspicious look.
He scoffs, then picks at his collar and gives it a sniff. He winces, then steals a bun from Cirilli's overloaded plate.
The young lady pulls her plate away from the hermit, warding off any further attempts to steal her food with a brandished fork.
Finally as the inn is filled to capacity Zakarias makes an appearance. He's followed by two people most notable for being the only people besides the Mayor's family to actually be carrying real weapons and armor. A middle aged man in chainmail, with a longsword, longbow and quiver is accompanied by a younger woman wearing a breastplate, carrying her own sword and a spear. Between the two of them they're herding three small children, who all scamper off to play with other children the instant they see them.
The woman gives the room a hard look, the man seems less concerned, giving the room a dull look while wiping some sweat off his forehead.
Zakarias makes his way over to your table, giving the hermit a long look. The hermit cheerfully ignores him, continuing to attempt to steal Cirilli's food as the opportunities arise.
"Please, tell me that you were successful in your efforts to collect the weapons?" Zakarias asks the party.
The dull eyed man actually gave a ranger sign that Zasio would recognize from his time in the army. The man doesn't look familiar, but he's obviously worked with the same army you have. The signal was an old shorthand to let the rangers from the units know friendlies in questionable territory.
In the field the signal is basically just a query about any suspected danger in the local area. There are many responses, though generally in this case it's a simple affirmative that there is danger, indicating they shouldn't approach, or an all clear which indicates that the area is safe.