None of these people are very well-travelled and so they mostly have stories to go off, and don't know much that isn't already visible from the shuttle. She does learn that the canal is five years old and was dug almost entirely by magic. The woman who had the juicy gossip last time has more of it - she heard from a mage who stayed here that they used blood-magic for it, via executing criminals. 

What is blood-magic. She probably shouldn't ask that. She says instead that she didn't know you could dig canals that way, how many criminals would you need.

Oh, the woman says with a vague handwave, probably hundreds to do the whole canal, she's heard it's the longest canal on the whole continent. (She in fact has only a hazy idea of how blood-magic works and this is a wild guess.) 

There is a technique, in Golarion, to derive great power from the destruction of souls. It is not commonly done, and obviously it's very evil. She doesn't know if that's what blood-magic is but she doesn't like it. She asks if they do that in other places, too, or just Predain.

They think blood-magic is illegal in some other countries. Probably it's illegal in Tantara, from what they've heard Tantara sounds like that sort of place.

The older woman thinks that this is a substantial improvement over the state of affairs when she was a young girl and they were still just under Lord Alrond, who was decent as far as landholders go, but definitely couldn't keep bandits out of his forests, and some of those bandits were mages and it's not like anyone would bring the law down on their heads if they hauled off and murdered some farmers. It didn't happen all that often but there were stories, you know, it seemed like everyone knew a second cousin's husband or such who'd been caught that way and never seen again, or worse, found in pieces in the woods a year later. Now at least the King's men come down hard on banditry. Three years ago they all went down to Niall to see a public execution after some nasty group of them was finally caught and put to trial. Niall got a new barn roof raised and a well dug out of it too. And if you're a decent upstanding citizen and keep your head down, you don't need to worry that you'll be in the next batch of convicts with a death sentence. 

A lawful evil state is a lot better than a chaotic one. It's why after a decade of civil war Cheliax embraced even the peace House Thrune could offer. You keep your head down, and it's not you. And if it is, then rather by definition you deserved it.

Does it sound like you? she asks Mhalir vaguely in the back of her head while she asks how the war is affecting the weather.

<It...could be. Using mind-control magic to enforce loyalty in the army is - something I might consider. And trying to increase the number of sorcerers by breeding them is clever. Someone in charge here is thinking long-term... I need to know more about what blood-magic is, though. And what exactly led to the war.> 

Carissa is kind of terrified to stay in the country where if you break the law they might destroy your soul to dig a canal.

<...If that is in fact how blood-magic works here, then - I do not think it could possibly be me in charge. You remember how horrified I was about Abaddon. So...hopefully we can find a mage to interrogate, and determine if that is the case, and if it is then we will leave right away.> 

That makes sense. And they'd have some time, even if they were arrested, it's clearly done Lawfully - probably -

She doesn't sleep well but she doesn't need much sleep, and in the morning they can get a shuttle ride to ...somewhere else. The nearby town might be a fine place for it honestly.

Niall has much less of a ghost-town feel; it's still the case that there are far fewer young to middle-aged men around than there ought to be, but the open-air market is getting quite a lot of traffic. The shuttle's sensors can detect some amount of magic; the town hall has some basic shielding on it, and the main square has a single big magic light on a lamppost. 

The town hall has canvas posters pinned up on the side, with what's presumably announcements in the local language and script painted on them. 

She casts Comprehend Languages and reads them.

They appear to be announcements about the recruiting for the army; there's some boilerplate propaganda about how the kingdom needs YOU in this dire time, and then details on pay and death benefits for dependents, clarification that all equipment is provided, and instructions on where and how to find recruiting officers, which are painted in a different colour and hand, maybe filled in later for each place. For Niall the instructions are 'right here in this building, upstairs.' 

Maybe if she goes as a woman mage they'll be less likely to kill her if she gets attention, since they also have the breeding program. She picks yet another face, and goes on up the stairs.

The recruiting officer, it turns out, is also a woman. She's thin, in her late forties or early fifties; she's wearing a rust-red uniform, a little worn but mended well. She's also missing a hand, which might explain why she's out here instead of on the front. She's at a desk, doing paperwork one-handed. 

She gives Carissa a surprised look. "You're not a man between sixteen and forty-five. You volunteering?" 

"Wanted to talk about it, at least. I'm from - way north, not even a town. We've only heard a little bit about the war. But I'm a mage, so."

"Oh, you are?" That gets her a tired smile. "Thank you for coming all the way out here. We don't get many volunteers from the new provinces, understandably. Have a seat - can I offer you tea...?" 

"I'm all right, thank you." She takes a seat.

"So - first of all, any other Gifts or just mage-gift? We're hurting for Mindspeakers too, and if you are one, you can get a much safer position." 

What. "I can do short communications with mage-Gift, but it's a complicated spell. I don't think that's what you mean?"

"- Oh, really, fascinating. No, it's not what I mean, Mindspeech is a separate Gift, usually comes with Thoughtsensing, it's rare here in the north but Healers sometimes have it too. I'm also aware that mages can imitate it with spells, but like you said, complicated - did you figure it out on your own or did someone out there teach you?" 

"Someone taught me. Years ago, he's dead now."

"Ah, too bad, I was about to ask." She sits back in her chair. "So you've had some teaching, then - was it a fairly wide range? Can you throw fireballs around too?" 

"Yes."

Nod. "I'm not a mage so I won't bother quizzing you more on your training. Tell me what you've heard about the war to date, and I'll fill in the rest?"