[h3]Kyra Pfalz-Karstadt,[/h3][i]most definitely not [b]Lutatia Eichenwald von Brudel[/b][/i]

[hr]
The last of the tea had run out, and Lutatia had nothing to show for it, but she had been prepared for an extended search. She had packed enough for two full meals for herself, plus a little extra if her companions needed an extra pick-me-up. She had long finished her inflight meal of some toasted sandwiches, and was tucking into some delightful cream-filled biscuits when something on the ground below that she was idly observing caught her eye. Or, rather the lack of something. She popped one last baked treat into her mouth before she nudged Lede to descend to a lower altitude for a closer look. 

The anomaly in question was a village, but it seemed quite abandoned, and abandoned recently. There were some easily explainable reasons that could have a village deserted so, but considering the circumstances of the missing patrol and the rumors of meddling by Nuniel, it was a point of interest. 

[b]“Ser Aurelian,”[/b] she spoke, putting power into a communication spell to the nearby knight. “There’s a village off the spur of the main road to your left. It’s been abandoned, and I think we should check why.” 

There was no response from the knight, but she hadn’t expected one, because it was one-way. He didn’t have the knowledge of the spell to reply. Frankly, that was probably going to be an issue going forward. With the party already split up, fast two-way communication could mean life or death. She would have to figure out a way to teach everybody the spell or some close equivalent, somehow. 
She continued to provide overwatch as Aurelian headed over, in case something went wrong. If the village had been taken over by troops from Nuniel, for example, then it wouldn’t do if she went down with Aurelian and was ambushed together. From the closer view, though, it was obvious that something sinister had happened here. A field had obviously been torched in the recent past, which didn’t bode well for anything good.

It was only when he casted his signal flare spell did she react, first, with a wince, before finally making a lazy descent onto his position. After all, if there was enemy action here, he’d just alerted everybody else, as well. 

Glancing around carefully as she landed, she made her way over to the knight. It was obvious up close that there had been a struggle, and it seemed Aurelian was investigating one of the houses. 

[b]“Well, we’ve certainly found something,”[/b] she idly commented. [b]“Anything important?”[/b]