3

As you head outside to return to the palace, you note a small group of your neighbors gathered in a cluster across the street. Young nobles and wealthy merchants, people you vaguely recognize, who've tended to treat you with the usual level of awed respect. Before you can decide if you're in the mood for the enthusiastic gratitude you've come to expect whenever you greet them, though, you see several of the people take a brief, wary look at you and then turn just as quickly away, voices lowered.

It suddenly seems prudent to stray close enough to overhear them as you head down the street.

"It's not possible," a young merchant is whispering as you pass. "The mayor of Elith must have had a shock. She can't really be…" She trails off, unable to finish the sentence.

"The destruction in Elith was dreadful," one of her companions says, laying their hand on her shoulder with a sage nod. "Worse than three years ago, my brother's letter said. You can hardly blame her, the things she must have seen."

One of the nobles hisses to quiet them as you wander particularly close by.