As they returo town, Dawn sidered her options, questioning Jerald about the information he had regarding the help Leanna had asked for. Hearing that she had asked purely for medid healers, and that she would be personally defending them with her elites made Dawn feel quite a bit better about the idea. While she kept in mind that they were bandits, they had been surprisingly nice, and this meeting only pouhat fact, as she had returned people she could have used as hostages without any demands.

  She stroked Niphru’s head while she thought, eventually being shaken from her thoughts as they arrived back at Granitehill. While the others tinued inside, she approached the guards who had watched them arrive, inf them that she was supposed to be escorted by Lara while she was in town. The leader of the group thanked her for her cooperation before sending a member of the group to inform Lara that she had returned.

  Once Lara arrived, the two of them began to head back to the inn, only to run across a number of people walking the streets spreading a warning that the burn was happening early, and to be careful if leaving town. Uain about the meaning, Dawioned Lara about it.

  “You may have noticed before, but occasionally, the pins are set afme to destroy the life within and help reduce the mana accumution. Typically we have a schedule for wheart the burn, if it doesn’t happen naturally first. I wonder why we are doing it early this time?” Lara responded.

  sidering the situation, it clearly had to do with Leanna and Jerald meeting earlier, though Dawn was sure it probably shouldn’t be publiowledge, so she simply nodded rather than expining what she thought.

  Shortly before reag the inn, they began to see plumes of smoke rising from the north. While Dawn had trouble remaining rexed, she kept in mind that it was almost certainly iional, which helped keep her from panig. A few moments ter, they eheir room, this time taking the short path rather than wandering around the entire floor, and she went to the window to look outside.

  As she watched, she spotted a single fming arr from the edge of town off into the pins, starting another small fire. To the side, there were numerous other spots of fme expanding into a growing wall of fme, rapidly burning away from the town. As she turned back, she caught sight of another arrow being shot from about a hundred feet away from the st one.

  It seemed as if there was just one person cirg the town to start the fire, but she figured it probably wasn’t vital to be fast about it. Unlike when the Bck Tide reached her vilge, the fire wasn’t being used to trap aroy enemies, which had made it a bit more important to be quick about things.

  Now that she had firmed the fire was iional, Dawn rexed and sat down on the bed. With a quick warning to Lara, she called up a ball of fire and began attempting to stretch it, trying to match what Niphru had doh the ribbons of fme. She would have used light instead, but she felt far more fortable with the fme, finding it much easier to manipute. She was also fident she could keep it from burning anything, especially since she was keeping it moving and well away from anything fmmable.

  As she practiced, Dawn tihinking about if she wao take the risk of going to help Leanna. Eventually, she decided she would be willing to do so as long as she wouldn’t be alone, so it would depend on if Lord Jerald mao find anyone else willing to go as well. Having made her decision, she stopped her practice, having only mao slightly alter the fme rather thairely reshape it.

  Discussing with Lara, they both agreed to head to Elena’s home and see if they could have some more of her stew. Along the way, several of the children that had stopped them before came to apologize, showing that Elena had ialked with them about their as st time. Upon arriving, they saw her door open, a child rag out and across the street into an alley just before Elena emerged, waving at them.

  “Wele babsp; Thank you again for your help yesterday, we’ve already had several people stop by to talk with us thanks to you. I’m sorry for running off so quickly, but apparently one of the s I had was actually a gold covered in silver. I think someone was trying to hide it but actally spent it? The man at the guild noticed it and gave me a note about it, and I felt like I had to make sure I got it bae safely as quickly as possible,” Elena said as they approached.

  Dawn o her and replied, “That is quite uandable. I am also gd to hear things seem to be going well so far. Would it be possible to get some more of your stew today?”

  “Sure, but would you be willing to sit outside to let people see you eating here?” Elena inquired in response.

  “Of course, I even help out a bit more by making it obvious I am a mage too,” Dawn answered, raising a hand and calling forth an orb of light into it.

  After thanking her, Elehem io wait as she cooked, chatting with them from the other room. A while ter, she brought out some bowls of stew, setting them aside befrabbing a folding table and a set of chairs that were leaning against the wall. Together, they all went back outside a up the furniture before Elena brought the stew out for them.

  Dawn put up a small floating light above the table, and even before she finished feeding Niphru, she had already seen a few people gng at them curiously from a distanbsp; By the time they had all finished eating, she had spotted over a dozen people stopping to look at them before moving on, and hoped some of them would end up visiting Elena once she had everythi up properly.

  Afterwards, they thanked her again for the meal before returning to the inn, stopping by the ter to talk with Robert and pick up the rest of the money Dawn had earhe day before.

  Having received the full sum of money, Dawn remembered that she still o pay for the dress she had requested. Despite being told she could pay tomorrow when she picked it up, she decided it was best to go pay for it today, making that her stop. After a short walk, they arrived at the store, though it took several minutes for the old man to arrive and greet them this time.

  As Dawn paid for her robe, the man stated she came at a good time. Apparently, one of the people who had an order before her had celed, and he had just been finishing up her robe as they arrived. Immediately after receiving the payment, he wandered off into the back, returning a moment ter with a finely-crafted gray robe. After thanking him for the work, Dated the robe and headed back to the inn with Lara.

  After resting for the night, Dawuro Lord Jerald’s house, having informed Lara about having permission to meet with him at sunrise. Upon arrival, she spotted three others waiting out front already and chatting among each other. Joining them, she learhat the older man was the town’s healer, and the younger man and woman were both mundane medics who were also headed to the capital like she was.

  After a few minutes chatting together, they fell silent as the door opened, Lord Jerald emerging with a cloaked figure behind him. Inf them of a few ges, he annouhat a mage-killer from the capital had arrived and demao join them. While Dawn was armed by this, especially the man’s title, the others seemed to rex instead.

  Upon firming they all would take part, Jerald dismissed Lara, stating that they would all be leaving town immediately. Hearing this, Dawn thanked Lara for helping her duriime in Granitehill, and said she would ask for her ime she visited. As she finished, she turo see the old healer accept a small pass from Jerald before requesting they all follow him. Beginning to follow, she lost sight of the cloaked mae him standing right in front of them an instant before. No matter how hard she looked, she could not find any trace of him.

  Bringing this up, the old healer remarked that he robably already well ahead of them, and would be proteg them. Feeling a bit better at this, Dawn nodded and resumed following as they left town, heading along the road that led to the capital, no longer sed by foliage, but instead surrounded by a charred ndscape covered in ashes.

  A few hours ter, the cloaked man suddenly reappeared ahead of them, seds before a number of archers emerged from an ash-filled ditch, seemingly invisible until they stood up. Though it surprised them, they followed the men off the road and through the ashes, finding a number of tents in the distaer another hour or so of walking.

  he tents, several rge makeshift towers could be seen, multiple archers standing atop eae. Upon spotting them, one of the archers shouted down to the camp, and Dawn noticed Leanna emerge from a tent, heading towards them.