Irene's feet seemed to move on their own as they brought her and guided the others to the edge of town. She couldn't believe she remembered where the mages were when she first saw them, but it was such an eye-opening situation that it must have stuck out to her more than she realized.
They passed a few commoners sweeping their stoops and cleaning up their areas for winterization as they went on. All they could offer were tight-lipped smiles and nods as they proceeded forward. They weren't there to offer a hand as usual, but to get to the bottom of things.
It felt wrong considering every time in the past that she traveled through a township with other apprentices, they were there explicitly to help them. Perhaps the people would understand one day that what they were doing was for the bigger picture. Not giving a hand in winterization of the duchy was giving them an opportunity to try and quell the monster issue. If the knights all fell to monsters, the duchy soon would follow.
