The ride to the Metalneart village was long, but calm. The first-class car was relatively empty, no nobles eager to step foot in the slums of the town save for Marcella, which wasn't exactly bad. The silence was a welcome tranquility. It gave time for the doctor to think. To think of the illness. To think of the state of the village. To think of her old friends.

Marcella's heart twisted with anticipation and anxiety as she thought of Max and Cooper. It had been so long since she'd last seen them due to her habit of staying in her part of town. She missed them dearly, especially the latter of the two. But did they miss her? Did they even remember her? A sudden thought flashed through the doctor's mind, a sharp thorn in the quilt of nostalgia. What if they had caught the illness? The question drove a sharp sense of dread through her heart. She couldn't bear to lose her close friends. 

The train finally stopped and Marcella gathered her things. She hurried out of her train car, ignoring the curious looks sent her way. She'd gotten too many of those in the last few years for them to bother her. Her eyes scanned the shambles of tenements and filthy streets. A figure far away caught her eye, their direction set on the train station. Perhaps they would provide some directions. Picking up her plain grey dress to avoid the mud, Marcella went towards the approaching figure.