Hah! You're right, Folo (with my mate, I mean his mate Kevin, of course his ... er Rosebud? XD) did reach Aleroth for a quest later in the expansion, and some other figures appeared in different places as well, like the doctor with the anti-mind reading helmet can be found on top of Lovis'es tower once the Valley got poisoned. But still most people wouldn't probably make it.
About Richard's personality, remember how he treated poor Folo and during another quest he enjoyed to "break" that one guard, who owned some rabbit meat to a guy, he doesn't seem anything of the hero he proclaimed to be. That fits perfectly to me with the "Make way! I'm the hero of Aleroth, let me pass, so I can save my city, you plebs" behavior.
