Christine takes a break from her patients to gather with several other mages to share lunch. It's simple fare, but no one is complaining because they're hungry from all the work they've been doing. In her group are two young apprentices, two around Christine's age, and an older woman who sits mending, ignoring the bread and cheese Christine sets on the ground beside her. They chat quietly, until one of the apprentices looks past Christine with wide eyes. She follows the girl's gaze to see the Templar approaching, and dread settles into the pit of her stomach. Turning back, she tells everyone to stay put, and to make no sudden movements with their hands. She sets down her bread and moves to meet the man before he can reach them, leaving her staff behind. A mage doesn't need a staff to do magic, but she leaves it behind in a show of good faith nonetheless.

"May I help you, ser?" she asks in a lilting Orlesian accent. "We are eating right now." In other words: they're busy.