Alyson had traveled around Cheryn a few times with her family whenever they were invited somewhere or needed to go to a particular town. She was familiar with a majority of the roads and had a good enough sense of where she was going that she barely looked at a map. She led the group as such, knowing where the noble’s town was thanks to past experience and Iztris’s instruction.

It took a few days on account of weather and the distance between towns, but there was a clear road to get there and enough inns that they didn’t have to set up their own camp. They entertained some conversation while they walked, if only to fill in the silence. Iztris tried to get them to talk about important things when they got closer to the noble’s town—stuff like the noble’s name and anything else he would personally like to now—which Alyson occasionally answered.

When they got to the town, they—or Alyson, at least—were recognized as people sent by the king. The farther away from the capital, the less people recognized Alyson and Jacob as the king’s children, but many still knew they had some connection to the royal family. It helped them ignore Iztris instead of asking after him, and it made conversations easier when the people knew they weren’t complete strangers.

Alyson and Jacob asked after the noble while Iztris simply followed behind them. Helpfully guided towards the noble’s home, the noble’s son—a friend of Alyson and Jacob’s thanks to their mother’s parties—greeted them outside of the door.

“What’re you two doing out here?” He asked curiously. He looked around a bit to add, “Without the king or queen in sight, either.” When he noticed Iztris, he frowned a little. “And with a Letrelan.” Jokingly, he said, “What, did you decide to take a solo vacation?”

“Our father sent us up to a town north of here,” Jacob explained. “Some stuff happened there before we came, so since it’s in your family’s territory we figured you might as well hear about it. Is your father home?”

“Yeah; I can take you to him, if you want,” the noble’s son offered.

“Yes, please,” Alyson replied.

He nodded, and the others followed. Overall, noble’s houses weren’t quite as impressive as any other structure—typically they were just a normal house with an extra floor added to it or a slightly more elaborate construction. The farther you were from the capital, the smaller sections of land given to nobles and the less influence said noble had; the houses usually reflected that, meaning that the houses closest to the capital were generally fancier. Since they were about a week out from the capital, the house was somewhere closer to elaborate, but not so fancy that one could get lost.

The noble’s son led them into the house, down a few hallways, and knocked on a door. “Father! Alyson and Jacob are here; they said something happened in a town further up?”

“Let them in,” a voice replied.

Although his father couldn’t see him, the noble still nodded. “Do you think you two would have time to talk when you’re done?” He asked Alyson and Jacob.

“Maybe,” Alyson said. She gestured to Iztris and said, “As long as you can convince him, we can at least stay until tomorrow.”

“I’ll come find you when you’re done, then,” the noble’s son decided. He offered a little wave, opened the door to the room his father was in, then left.

The noble nodded his greeting as soon as he could see them. “Come on in, Cheryn kids and guest. Do you mind if there’s only enough seats for two other people?”

“I can stand,” Iztris said firmly.

“The other two, then—go ahead and sit down.” Alyson and Jacob both obeyed, sitting in front of the two chairs put in front of the desk; the noble was in the chair behind the desk. Iztris assumed the same position as he typically did whenever he was looking through documents in the palace—that is, standing in a corner—and the noble spoke again. “I’m afraid I haven’t heard much from a few towns. What kind of report do you have?”

There was silence for another few moments; Jacob winced, although Alyson was simply reminded of it. Iztris had described it very, very vaguely—he didn’t initially say how many died, but the other two knew enough of battles and half-answers to understand when there was some sort of concealed information. It wasn’t something they were found of hearing.

After a few moments, Iztris sighed. “Perhaps instead of spending hours studying calligraphy you should be practicing how to say things that are hard for you,” he muttered. Speaking louder and addressing the noble, he said, “Are you aware, sir, that one of the towns under your watch has been mostly killed, save for about a dozen?”

The noble looked surprised, but answered evenly. “I was not. Were you there to see it?”

“We came after,” Iztris answered. “I am here to help deal with a certain problem; since the solution involves the princess and prince, I serve as their guide and protector. The ‘problem’ is very likely to be the same person that led the group into the town, giving their motivations. Would it be possible for you to send a warning to other towns in the area?”

“Sending out a letter saying ‘watch out for this person’ would scare people,” the noble pointed out.

“Would you rather be scared of a possible outcome or more likely to be killed by it?” Iztris asked simply. “I won’t force you, but caution is better than death.”

“…It would be best,” Alyson agreed after a moment. “My father can send out something official later, but a short warning letter won’t harm anyone.”

The noble thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “All right. Thank you for the report. Can someone tell me what the people need to look out for?”

“I can,” Iztris offered. He looked at Alyson and Jacob. “That’s all for you two for now, so I don’t mind if you do something else. We can leave first thing tomorrow; go about the rest of the day with that in mind.”

Alyson and Jacob both nodded, stood up, and left. Fortunately, they were able to think of other things while they chatted with whatever friends were in the area.