Yolande felt Kabuno's hand on her shoulder, gentle but firm, and she stopped immediately, and slowly turned.  She listened, then looked at the pendants he offered.<br/><br/>"That is very quick work, I hadn't expected anything so soon!  Well done, and I will certainly try one out."  She picked up the gold-chained, red pendant, and ducked her head to lower it in place around her neck.  This one was a better match with her cloak and hair, she thought, rather perfect.  There was a sensation of power, just for a moment, as it settled into place, then everything was back to normal.<br/><br/>"I'll let you know how it performs... though it's unlikely these greenskins will have any sort of mind-affecting magic to give it a proper test.  We'll see!"  She was quite cheerful at the prospect of getting out and carving her way through some simple, villainous creatures, though she remained tense until she had retrieved her sword and reached the prepared horse without bumping into Anders.<br/><br/>"I might be back as early as tomorrow, if things are already sorted when I arrive.  A few days at most, I expect.  Bilgewater is close enough, you'll probably get news if it's a bigger problem than it seems at first glance."  She gave a last nod, a glance up at her school, then wheeled her horse toward Bilgewater.<br/><br/>There were no people outside the little village, not even their domestic animals... but no greenskins either.  The buildings were barred, locked up... that was a good sign, perhaps the people had enough warning to get themselves inside to safety.  But where were the attackers?  Had they just passed through, and not even tried to break in?<br/><br/>Yolande glanced down towards the lake, but for now, she wanted to try to find some locals, for some answers.  She picked a house at random, dismounted, and banged her gauntlet on the door.  "Hey, in there.  It is Lady Yolande, I've heard you were having trouble.  Open up for a moment, please!"<br/><br/>She would try this a couple of times, then at two more houses if necessary... if there was no response, she would walk down to the lake on foot, leading her horse.<br/>