When she hears the screams, she does not run toward them, because she has lived all her life in a frontier city, and she would like to keep doing so. Instead, she sprints for the guard station to raise the alarm — which will, ultimately, be better for whoever is screaming, too. The guards will have fully-trained mages who can hold off the corruption.

"Screaming, on the corner of Seventh and the Emperor's road," she shouts, flinging herself through the door of the station —