Valla woke when she heard Doren leave, but she stayed as she was, listening to his steps as he walked toward the stairs and up to a room. She listened intently, opening the Sight, to hear him open and close a door, then withdrew, sighing. It would have been easier if he hadn't left. She thought he might still agree to the offer - after all, he hadn't left the town. But with him out of the hall, the only thing preventing the villagers from taking action was their own fear, and fear could turn from flight to fight in a heartbeat. savouring the last moments of rest, Valla sowly opened her eyes, adjusting her posture to something careful normal, and easy while readying herself internally. No reason to terrify the watching villagers more by moving in a way they would deem inhuman. She opened her senses wide again, taking stock. Aisel was outside, as were five other villagers. Valla recognized them all; Harman, Igor, Neema, Orlo, and Peeter. None were a threat, really, but all five would be beyond her to incapacitate without harming them, and as frustrating and predictable as she found their actions now, she really quite liked them. They were simple but strange people, who had respected and welcomed her, and who were open with travelers and each other. She knew, though, that their welcome was situational and thus conditional.

There was a Witch who took care of the valley and the town, protecting it from the awareness and control of outside forces, and the villagers lived by the Witch's rules. The arrangement was unusual but symbiotic; the Witch kept the townsfolk safe and the town was an inconspicuous means for travel and trade between Allor to the northwest and Weiren to the south. The Witch protected the town so as to stay undiscovered, despite her significant power, and thus unbothered by any attempts at outside governance or demands for assistance. Valla had gathered from her brief time with the valley Witch that most of her kind was in some way bound to serve some sovereign or order, usually against their will or at least against their preference. On the whole, they were ancient, solitary in nature, and preferred to live as they had for centuries in the wilds. The valley Witch had decided to use the settlers who invaded her valley rather than exterminate them. It was her power that kept the town Nameless, even as merchants and travelers poured through, sealing their lips once they left but leaving a faint memory that drew them back again, keeping the settlement thriving but unnoticed and small, friendly but ultimately isolated from greater powers. The town had lived this way for generations now and fully accepted the Witch's distant presence and abided by her rules of secrecy and peace.

But even then, they had their limits, and Valla had never expected them to be endlessly accepting. The care of the Witch had made them complacent and unused to surprises. Usually, any supernatural threat never made it to their doors; few if any beings could threaten the power of a fully bloomed Witch. In some ways, as welcoming as they were in their sense of security, they were more naive and close-minded than other similarly remote towns. They likely thought that Valla was something nefarious and powerful enough that she could even threaten the Witch. The late night made them more foolish, their trust in Orlo's sight made them confident. And while to many of them, the flash of power she had released earlier might have seemed simply physical, and thus only somewhat terrifying, Orlo was not the only one with some Sight in town. Harman and Neema had weaker Sight, but enough to have been terrified before. And everyone in town, Sight or no, knew how real and powerful aether was; their very existence was ruled by the Witch’s wielding of it. Terror bred foolishness. Even so, Valla was dismayed that Aisel had acted so quickly to summon this party. Unlikely as it was, since none of the living townsfolk except old Horma had ever heard the Witch speak, Valla had hoped that the villagers would honor the Witch's rule of peace and wait to try and scry Her for guidance. That is what should have happened. It should have taken them at least a day to act. But it had been too long for them since the Witch had shown herself, and they were frightened of Valla’s display of anger and power earlier, and they had skipped over all caution to gather and confront her now.