On the other hand, Clifford had already organized a group of people to venture into the wilderness, in order to look for Samuel.
He did not just select anyone, but instead, he only selected those people that he knew all to well, and could trust even with his own life. Additionally, this operation was done in such a way that other people within the city did not really know what was happening.
As for the excuse that they gave while going out, it was just said that there was something that had to be dealt with urgently. They did not specify what it was that they had to deal with, leaving those people to make guesses on what they were going to do.
Clifford was the one in the lead, as he tried as much as possible to find Samuel. Since they were venturing into the wilderness, which was extremely big, apart from knowing the direction that Samuel went to, they did not know anything else.
