Why does Fitz decide to go into a town, what does he do to prepare, who does he meet and what do they ask him?

As they near a town, Fitz washes his clothes and decides to go into town to hear what people are saying. He makes friends with the minstrels who tell him how bad things are in the land. The minstrels consist of a near-blind man and his two daughters, and the father asks Fitz, who has chosen to call himself Cob, to travel with them.