Seventeen hours elapsed, and night cloaked Ember City in darkness. The streets lay deserted as the populace adhered to the state lockdown enforced by the duke, a precautionary measure rather than a response to a genuine threat. This stratagem aimed to keep citizens indoors while Isolde and her companions conducted a thorough patrol throughout the city.
As they traversed the urban landscape, there was an absence of anything suspicious or perilous. The group congregated at the city center, a collective pause in their vigilant endeavors.
"Nothing's changed; maybe we should head back," Willow suggested, breaking the stillness that had settled among them.