It took most of an hour to get all the prisoners moved without the crowd mobbing them as they had the ones outside the courtroom.
However, now that they had doled out public punishment to the offenders, the rest of the population seemed to be in a much better mood. There were some who would likely never be forgiven for their crimes, but others were already back at work, despite walking tenderly, and often without their shirts to avoid aggravating the lash marks.
Wolfe addressed the crowd in the city through the television broadcast. "Well, it has been a pleasure to get you all sorted out here, ladies and gentlemen. There are Guardians from Forest Grove inbound, and they will arrive in the next few minutes before we leave. We thought it would be better if those who travelled to be here went home with their new Protectors, both for safety in the woods and to help introduce them to the rest of your townspeople.
