For the first week of their stay in the Crimson reed realm, they didn't go near the maze directly and only roamned around the surroundings.
Surprisingly nobody recognized the Five-Elemental King who is quite famous in this realm too. There are gossips about his curing and him leaving the valley for the first time in years. But even when he is right in front of them they didn't recognize him, because of his beard.
After Sam shaved that beard off during the surgery, the Five elemental King cut his hair to a short length to match the beard and now all they can see is a man who is in his mid-thirties by earth's standards.
And this is one of the best scenarios they ever encountered accidentally.
The Five elemental King being recognized is one of the worries they had from the start and now that it was gone, they can move more freely.
