Just as before, Iztris walked behind the other two. Alyson opted to lead them, mostly talking casually with Jacob. Although Iztris didn’t often participate, the voices alone helped them pass the time.

The town they were going to was two weeks northeast of the capital. There were a few storms that made the trip go into three weeks, and Alyson and Jacob opted to ask around the surrounding towns and villages as well. They didn’t hear of anything particularly strange—it seemed that storms truly had delayed a majority of reports in the area, but there wasn’t exactly confirmation either way.

When they arrived at the town that they were asked to visit, it was night. Trying to determine whether it was the weather or something else that delayed the town was hard; it was a bit farther away than the others around it, so the townspeople were less likely to have spoken with any residents. Iztris had initially wanted to go into the town by themself first—or, at the very least, wait until morning. Alyson and Jacob opted to continue going, however, so while it was still evening the sun wasn’t out anymore.

Understandably, there weren’t many people out and about; they only saw one or two. The heirs found a place to stay for the night after quite a bit of arguing, and as per usual Iztris opted to find somewhere else to spend the night. ‘Somewhere else’ was near the edge of the town, where not many people could see them and they could easily look at their surroundings—the people and buildings, or the sky and surrounding forests.

Anyone who came outside grew more defensive as the night wore on. No one seemed to really notice Iztris, and if they did it was wary glances. At some point they grew curious, so they opted to walk around a bit. A man who had also been outside for most of the night—likely a guard given his appearance and glances towards the edge of the town—noticed them and walked over.

“It’s past midnight, kid,” he said. “Are you going to sleep?”

“This is how I spend my nights,” Iztris replied. “It’s fine. Although, while I’m here, may I ask a question?”

“Go ahead,” the man said.

“I am with a group that came here on business with the king,” Iztris explained. “I was told that this town’s report on its state of affairs has been delayed for quite some time. We only need to know if it was weather or something else—and regardless, the king has asked that we bring back the report if its ready.”

The man was silent for a few moments, then sighed. “The person who handled the reports for this town died a little while ago. We haven’t gotten any replacements due to the circumstances.”

“Circumstances?” Iztris asked, growing to be a bit cautious in case it was a sensitive topic. “Did something happen here?”

“A group of people came by a few weeks ago,” the man replied simply. “They had weapons and such on them—got in a scuffle with the harsher folk here, but some of the nice people got hurt, too. Most of what’s left of this place’s original population are the really old or really young ones—people who wouldn’t have fought anyway.”

Iztris was confused, but they also understood. On the note of the former, “A majority of your town was killed, and you still let others in?”

“Except for you, most of them are merchants we’ve known for a while,” the man said. “And if you’re with that lady knight, then we can’t turn you away.”

It didn’t exactly surprise them, but Iztris still expected more caution. Nonetheless, it wasn’t necessarily the most important thing they could be asking after. “And about the group—did they seem to have a leader?”

“Some woman,” the man answered simply. “She didn’t fight, but she was barking orders at the rest of them.”

“Do you happen to know where they were going next?” Iztris asked.

“Nope,” the man said.

Iztris frowned, even if it was expected. “The woman was never named?” They tried instead.

“Those of us who didn’t fight were too busy trying not to die to listen to them,” the man replied firmly. “I don’t know if they ever called her anything.”

Now Iztris sighed—again, it was expected, but it would have been nice to know. With a supposed woman giving orders, they couldn’t think of anything but Elsyn—their mortal form resembled a woman, due to their personal preferences on appearances. With that done, however, Iztris opted to still ask after something else. “Where does the noble in charge of this area live?”

“A bit south,” the man said. “It’s the biggest town around here, so it shouldn’t be hard to find.”

Iztris nodded. “Thank you, sir. That’s all the questions I have.”

“Great—now go to wherever your group is and sleep.”

The man left, and Iztris simply returned to their spot near the edge of town. They considered it for a moment, and what the man said made sense—a bit unfortunate that Elsyn knew enough to not share a name, but it was very likely to be them.

In the morning, Iztris waited for Alyson and Jacob to come out before explaining it to them. “I spoke with a person last night,” Iztris told them. “The report seems to have been delayed because the person writing it was killed—there’s no one to replace them, so it’s been left untouched. It seems likely that Elsyn was here before us.”

Both of them frowned, growing somber or disheartened. It was understandable—it was their people who had died, even if Iztris didn’t directly say that more than one had passed. Iztris continued when neither of them commented. “One of you can write something to be sent back to the king,” they said. “I would like to speak with the noble in charge of this area—it wouldn’t hurt, at least. Depending on what happens afterwards, we can return to the capital when we’re done there.”

The heirs nodded. “I can send a letter to the capital,” Alyson offered. She tried to give Jacob a little smile, but hearing of death seemed to be an ill topic for both of them—it failed to even look genuine. “Why don’t you and Iztris make sure we have everything? It shouldn’t take me long.”

Jacob murmured an agreement and went to check whatever things the princess and prince had with them. When Alyson came back from writing and sending off a letter, they left to go to the town where the noble lived.