You do nothing to hide your irritation as you ask the Mayor what would cause his guards to defy the direct orders of Oathsworn and why you were forced to smash through the gate in order to enter the village.

"Th- these are troubling times," the Mayor offers anxiously. "Our people live under a blanket of terror. They are afraid to live here and even more afraid to leave. All our attempts to try to reach Verum have failed. We are altogether cut off."