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

[hr]
The knight was already entering the house when Lutatia was asking her question. As she hadn’t spotted an obvious threat from above, and Aurelian had not indicated anything other than that the hamlet was not occupied, she dismounted to get a better look. With years of partnership with her Pegasus, she could trust her to not wander off and get into trouble without needing to tie up her mount. 

She noticed the movement only a moment after Aurelian, and she immediately tensed, resting her hand on the hilt of her sword as the shape suddenly ran out towards them. 

It was a villager, a child. 

Lutatia let the tension flow out of her as she relaxed, though a worried feeling remained as she removed her hand from her sword. [b]“It’s alright now, we’re here.”[/b] Her face softening, she affected a reassuring smile as she knelt down to console the girl and give her a pat on the head.[b] “What’s your name? I’m Kyra, and this is Aurelian. We’re here on behalf of Marshal Dunham to see what’s going on,”[/b] she explained. It seemed the half-elf girl had been reassured by either her Corissian clothing or Lede, but either way, letting her know that they were officially from Coris would go a long way to reassuring the girl.

[b]“We’ll do our best to help you find your mommy and daddy, but we’ll need to ask some questions to help us find them,”[/b] she nodded, speaking carefully as she fumbled through one of the pouches on her belt before finding what she was looking for. It was a good thing that she had brought those cream biscuits. She offered the little girl some of the sweets before she continued. [b]“Do you know why the village is deserted, or where they or the other villagers went? If you’re not sure, just a direction would be helpful.”[/b]

She shared a glance with Aurelian. Either way, this was quickly growing far more worrisome than a simple missing patrol. Between the burning fields, and empty village, she had a bad feeling about what they might find beyond the threshold of the village. Whatever it was, she dearly hoped this young girl wasn’t already an orphan.