As for a meeting, it could happen in any manner--at a tavern, perhaps, or on the road. Some of the characters could already know each other, and two groups could join forces, etc.
Got YWS? I do.
Lumi: Don't you drag my donobby into this. Lumi: He's the sweetest angel this side of hades.
When she transformed into a butterfly, the caterpillars spoke not of her beauty, but of her weirdness. They wanted her to change back into what she always had been. But she had wings. — Dean Jackson