Mercedes arched her back and took in a deep breath, visibly straining to inhale as much oxygen as she possibly could. Low to the Earth as she and Father seemed to be, the air was as thin as upon a great mountain. Fortunately, through both the training she had received under the guide of the Order and the holy charm placed upon her by Father himself, she was spared from suffocating in all its emptiness. Lifting her shades over her head, brushing back waves of hair, she glanced down at the tracks and swept a gaze down the hill road and into town. It was a short distance, and though wary of trekking it alone (the place was more unfamiliar than anything else it seemed, given how it was by way of arcane portal), she resolved her heart and went forth.

"I will whistle if the town is safe," she notified Alder, breaking into a slight jog down the hill, her boots kicking up ashen mud and dirt. Keeping her hand trained on the rapier jingling on her hip, she darted her eyes through the decrepit and dying trees, hostile to most any form of movement she could detect. A few shuffling figures deep in its depths concerned her, but for the moment they seemed to fear her more than she them. They kept their distance, and she did not care to take pursuit; they were not vampires, that was for certain, and as such were not her targets. Mercedes did not consider even for a moment that upon entering town and finding it safe that whistling to Alder would be dangerous. If she could make her way down the hill safely, she had no doubt in her mind Father could do it all the same.

Careful not to burst straight into the heart of civilization immediately, Mercedes took to the dark rear ends of houses and shops in the peculiar village, darting from shadow to shadow in avoidance of the gaze of its inhabitants. Eventually she found her way to the roof of a short wooden house, skillfully quiet upon its surface despite the numerous objects and weight she carried. Crawling to its edge to overlook the town center, she found herself watching a strange scene unfold, and one altogether surprising. No vampires were in sight, but she supposed even they were wary of revealing themselves so easily. No, she saw only -what looked like- common townsfolk... and a large golemn of some sort.

Unsure of how to proceed, she moved back into the dark and let out a long and loud whistle mimicking that of a bird, easily able to convey to Father Alder that he was safe to enter town as well.