“Get everyone inside, now! Janos, get back to the farm that we were at earlier, tell everyone that you see on the way to get in the city and get those nomads inside too. Radan, see if you can get the hawkers to pack up and head inside. I'll go to door-to-door, get the people who have holed up in their homes.” Both of them look surprised by how seriously you're taking this. “That's an order!” That snaps them out of their reverie, at least. The two of them hurry off to do as you've asked, while you play your part.

You hammer on the door of every house outside of Tavan Gate. You don't have the time to investigate any that refuse to answer your knocking. For those that do open the door for you, you have strict instructions for them to leave their homes with their most precious belongings and get in the city. Anyone that you see along the way gets the same orders, including old Ulbazar, who has spent the alms you gave him on a lovely cantaloupe. Though he grumbles, you've earned enough of the old man's favour to get him to play along and enter the city. If Taneth is truly under attack, then everyone is deserving of shelter, even those who aren't usually allowed within the city's walls.

The bell doesn't stop ringing. The cacophony never ends, which only makes you more anxious. By the time that half an hour has passed, you and your men have gathered everyone in the area that you know of. Secure in the knowledge that you've done everything that you can, you make your way inside to inform the guards at the gate, only to find that all but one of them have left their post.

“By Ruptga's beard, where are they?!” You find it hard to contain your frustration. You expected the citizenry to be difficult to deal with, but you didn't expect other bailiffs to abandon their duty.

“They went up on the wall, to see what all of the commotion was about!”

“Radan, Janos, help him seal this gate! I'm going up there to have a word with those fools...” Yet you can't lie, a small part of you is curious about the cause of this chaos. The bell's been ringing for a while now, so where are the city's assailants? You make your way up the stairs of the gatehouse, until you're up on the ramparts – only to find that they're completely deserted. The guards must have made their way to another section of the city wall. From this vantage point, you're able to see quite far. The scrubland beyond Tavan Gate is empty, nor is there anything to be seen among the stony crags to the north, yet when you turn your gaze to the south, you can see dark shapes on the ocean, slowly drifting across Hew's Bay. You'll get a better view further along the ramparts, from the southern wall.