Nathan walked the werewolf to the meeting hall, where Gius had already been waiting. Nathan explained the situation to Gius, his words short and hurried. Gius nodded and asked a mushroom soldier to find the rest of the council for a meeting.

  The mushroom council flickered in, one at a time. Bricks and Sticks came in as a pair and shot Nathan a nod. Burrau showed up, a briefcase in hand. His eyes flickered toward Nathan before he sat down, pulling out a sheet of paper and a pencil. Vee’s mushroom cap head had changed colors from purple to green—she quickly grinned at Nathan. Papim strolled into her seat, a long robe trailing behind her. She paid attention to no one. Casc arrived, his blubber jiggling as he walked through the front door. The last one to arrive was Fuge. She was covered in dirt, her armor stained with blood. She walked in until she saw the werewolf. Her body stiffened, and she reached for her sword.

  “Wait!” Nathan said.

  She stopped. “My lord, it appears there’s an enemy in the Meeting Hall.”

  “He’s not an enemy. Put away your weapon, Fuge.”

  Fuge’s eyes flickered between Nathan and Lupim before she untensed.

  “Fine,” she said. “Your will shall be done, my lord.”

  She strode to her seat and sat down.

  Nathan let out a quiet sigh.

  That could’ve ended badly.

  With that done, Gius walked the group through what Nathan had told them. Most of them nodded and whispered to each other.

  Fuge looked surprised.

  “Of course, I knew about the ability to hire monsters,” Fuge said. “But I had no idea that there were former Delvers hidden in the raid menu.”

  “Did you just not use that feature?” Nathan said.

  “I’ve never believed in numerical superiority as a default tactic, my lord. I believe in training high-quality troops here, at home. As such, I’ve never explored the capabilities of the hiring system.”

  “We’re getting off-topic!” a voice yelled.

  Nathan’s eyes turned toward the voice. Casc. He stood to his feet and pointed at Lupim, who’d been standing in the center quietly.

  “Why haven’t we killed him!?” Casc shouted. “This man is an invader of our hometown!”

  “Don’t you think you’re being too harsh?” Bricks said. “He’s obviously not here willingly.”

  “We don’t know that. We’re just taking it for granted that he’s telling the truth.”

  Sticks leaned in and raised an eyebrow. “Mister Cascs, are you saying we should kill the fella? That seems mighty excessive.”

  “I’m saying that we should do whatever it takes to protect our home,” Casc said.

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with Casc.” Vee stood up and placed her hands on the table. “We don’t know this guy. Should we be taking the risk of keeping him alive?”

  Papim snorted and rolled her eyes. “Bloodthirsty harlot. That aside, she’s right. This town is a haven, Both for the people and for—“ Her eyes flickered toward Nathan. “—certain secrets. The consequences could be devastating if other towns learned of what we’re hiding here.”

  Vee shot Papim a glare but didn’t say anything.

  Nathan frowned. They made compelling points. But surely there was room for some kind of merciful option.

  Burrau coughed into his hand, pausing the writing of his pencil.

  “Our founding laws are extremely clear on the execution of war prisoners.” He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. “Namely, that we don’t do such barbaric things. Prisoners are to be treated humanely, to the best of our ability.”

  Nathan’s eyes widened.

  Burrau came through and defended Lupim.

  “Those were made for a different time!” Casc said. “Before this whole apocalypse nonsense!”

  “Nonetheless, the law has spoken.”

  Bricks and Sticks glanced at each other, then nodded and faced back toward the rest of the council.

  “I’m not an intelligent man,” Bricks said. “But I’ve got to state what my conscience is telling me. And my conscience is saying that it’d be wrong to kill a man for the crime of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  Sticks nodded. “My brother is right. Besides, imagine if we were in his shoes. I’d prefer that my enemy treat me with some basic dignity.”

  Vee slammed her hands against the table. “No matter what the extenuating circumstances, he’s still a danger to our people!”

  There was a staredown. Three on three. A perfect tie.

  “Fuge, why don’t you weigh in? You’re the marshal,” Sticks said.

  Fuge shook her head. “I’d prefer not to comment. Not on this, anyway.”

  In sync, every single head turned toward Gius—the last potential vote.

  He sighed.

  “We live in a terrible time,” he said. “A time where much of our customs have been ignored due to pressing, existential needs.”

  He paused.

  “We ultimately concluded that this dismissal of our ancient traditions was correct. Not because we saw it as right—but because it was the only decision. And if it is the only decision, then it is the best decision by necessity.”

  Nathan’s eyes widened.

  Gius wasn’t just a wise elder—he was a statesman. If Nathan didn’t know any better, he’d have thought it was a governor making this speech, not some random mushroom man.

  “I take no pride in saying this,” Gius said. “But I believe that we face such a decision now. There is no choice. It is an ugly thing that we shall do, but it is the only thing we can do. He must be killed.”

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  There was a beat of silence.

  “Four to three,” Casc said. “That settles it.”

  Bricks shook his head. Sticks frowned. Burrau’s pencil snapped.

  Nathan stood up.

  All eyes turned toward him.

  Sweat dripped down his back. Gius had given an amazing speech—seemingly on the spot. How was Nathan supposed to measure up to that?

  “I…” his words trailed off. “The thing is that, um…”

  Casc drummed his fingers against the table. Burrau glanced at Nathan and wrote something down.

  “You see, I…”

  Sticks stared, his spine ramrod straight and his eyes burrowing holes in Nathan’s head.

  “That is to say—“

  “Oh, come out with it already!” Casc said.

  Nathan flinched and averted his eyes.

  Damn it. Just come out and say it. You’ve faced more terrifying things than a bunch of irritated mushroom people. You fought a flying eel that ate your arm. You beat giant spiders, camps of crazy people, and an ascended human. This is nothing.

  He took a deep breath and turned his head back toward the group.

  “I hear what you guys are saying, and I understand your concerns.” He faced Gius. “But I can’t consent to this.”

  Gius narrowed his eyes.

  “Why not?” Gius said.

  “Because I don’t think it’s the only option. I don’t think we have to kill him. He deserves to live.”

  Sticks nodded from the side. Gius’s jaw clenched.

  “He’s dangerous, my lord,” Gius said.

  “We’ll put guards on him. Hell, keep Fuge on the guy if that’s what it’ll take for you to go along with this.”

  “My lord—“

  Nathan stared at Gius.

  “This is not me politely objecting, Gius,” Nathan said. “This is an order. We’re not killing innocents—or at least people we can’t say are guilty—as long as I’m in charge.”

  Of course, Nathan was being a hypocrite.

  I let Mara kill that other guy. I let her torture him. How is this any different?

  But it was all so sudden, Nathan didn’t have a chance to object. Besides, Mara was her own woman. Nathan won’t force his morality on her. The town, on the other hand—the town belonged to Nathan. He was in charge, so he had to govern it the best he could.

  “Y-you’d do this for me?” Lupim said.

  Nathan nodded absentmindedly.

  Lupim dropped into a bow. “You will have my loyalty forever.”

  The group was fervently whispering to each other, words flying. Gius stared at the door, a frustrated expression on his face.

  “I have one more thing I’d like to say,” Nathan said.

  The conversation stopped.

  “There are going to be more raids. From now on, I’m making it a policy that we offer terms of surrender if possible,” he said. “Not only that, but I want medical care to be administered to any living sapient beings that are still alive after the battle.”

  “G-giving health treatment to our enemies!?” Casc said. “Are you insane!?”

  “We could contract them and make them members of the town,” Burrau said.

  Papim pressed her finger to her chin.

  “It would provide an opportunity to gain new converts,” she said. “I’m confident that the majority will become members of the Church of the Seed.”

  Casc stared at her. “Are you switching sides!?”

  She shrugged.

  “The decision’s already been made, Casc—unless you feel like launching a revolt, this is the world we’re living in, now.”

  Vee sighed. “What the boss man says, goes.”

  “B-but—“

  “There’s no point in debating it any further,” Gius said. “All we can do is execute the plan as best we can.

  Nathan nodded. “Thank you, Gius.”

  With that settled, it mostly came down to detail work. The council decided to assign Lupim two guards. These guards would report to Fuge and ensure there wasn’t anything funny going on. There was also a brief time when they talked about repair plans and recovery after the attack. Fuge pushed for better defenses, saying that they needed to be prepared for environmental disasters in the future. The group agreed and Town Points were allocated toward her.

  They run it like an actual government.

  …because it was an actual government. Nathan had gotten used to seeing it as an RTS, but for them, it was real life.

  He had to remember that.

  They soon finished the meeting and Nathan left to check on his friends. Lupim was escorted out by mushroom guards, leaving the council alone.

  Gius opened up his Strategy View. Authority: 0%. A sub-bar noted the reason why: Nathan, in one fell swoop, had once again regained all of his lost authority.

  This was a problem since the only way Gius could usurp the title of lord was by getting Nathan’s Authority to a flat zero.

  He looked up at the council.

  “Looks like your little plan fell on its face,” Casc said. “Again. I’m beginning to have serious doubts about you.”

  “How was I supposed to know that a prisoner would be alive?” Gius said. “And not only that, but that he would fight so fiercely to keep said prisoner off the chopping block?”

  Burrau took off his glasses and wiped them on a handkerchief. “He defers to us on most matters, but there are certain lines that he refuses to cross.”

  “He doesn’t give off that appearance at all,” Papim said. “He comes off as so spineless most of the time.”

  Fuge chuckled. “I made the same mistake. Deep down, though, he has a shocking level of inner conviction and strength.”

  “Are we just going to sit here blowing smoke up the man’s ass?” Casc asked. “I thought we were in agreement: he needs to be removed. I don’t know about you, but I refuse to live under another Malkazor.”

  Gius’s fingers twitched at the mention of the name.

  Their last leader. The one who’d run this place like a slave camp.

  They wouldn’t live under tyranny again. Gius—or at least someone—had to seize the title of lord. It was their only chance. They might never get an opportunity like this again. A leader who allowed them to organize themselves was rare. Most of the time, they were highly alert to any would-be coups.

  “But he’s not like Malkazor,” Bricks said. “I remember what it was like. I met the man. He had a contempt for anyone below him. Nathan isn’t like that.”

  Sticks nodded slowly.

  “Nathan came up to me and treated me like an equal,” Sticks said. “He made an effort to get my opinion and listen to me. I don’t think he’s a bad guy.”

  Gius almost shrank into himself before steeling his spine. He wouldn’t be intimidated by that damn Sticks.

  Vee crossed her arms. “So what? Nathan still has too much power over us. What if he suddenly woke up and decided to go full tyrant? We’re screwed if that happens.”

  “If we’re going to do anything,” Papim said. “It must be done soon. He will eventually discover what Authority does, and then we will be stuck with him until his death.”

  “He’ll also learn about the counterattack option,” Casc said. “And then we’ll be sent off to our deaths.”

  The counterattack.

  Gius had managed to hide most of the raid options from Nathan, but it would only be a matter of time before he found it. And once that happened, Nathan would surely counterattack against the person who’d been attacking them.

  I’m half-tempted to attack this ’Vin-SYS’, myself. The constant raids are becoming annoying, but it would put the people in danger.

  “I have been against this deception from the start,” Burrau said. “We signed a contract specifying our loyalty to the lord of this town. No loophole has been found, and we are still bound to the contract.”

  “Contracts aren’t everything,” Gius said. “Not if it costs us our life—“

  “May I speak?”

  Gius turned his head. Fuge.

  “There are a few things that I value in a leader when considering my men for promotion,” she said. “Decisiveness. Loyalty, and Compassion.”

  She walked toward Gius’s chair.

  “Decisiveness is key. We live in a world where hard choices are made under harder circumstances,” she said. “Loyalty—specifically to the people—is essential. The military is for the town, not the town for the military. And compassion, because I believe it’s what separates us from monsters.”

  She stopped in front of Gius’s chair. He frowned.

  “I believe that Nathan Lee qualifies for all these things, Gius. Even more so than you. He showed decisiveness in exercising his power as a leader. He showed loyalty in putting our needs first, time and time again. And he showed compassion in how he treated a prisoner.”

  Gius’s chest burned with indignation. She wasn’t about to do—

  She turned around and faced the council. “I support Nathan as our leader. I believe he’s the man for the job.”

  A beat of silence.

  The room broke into chaos.

  “Fuge, are you joking!?”

  “I suppose that if she says he’s the man for the job, then he is.”

  “This is absurd, we’re just going to let him rule over us!?”

  Gius slammed his hand into the table.

  “Quiet!”

  The noise stopped.

  Gius thought of Nathan.

  Was Fuge wrong?

  Gius started to feel a rock drop in his stomach. Nathan had protected them, and put his life on the line. Nathan had ensured that every single Town Point was spent on their needs. Nathan had defended the weak among them. Nathan had listened to the concerns of the council and always looked for the right compromise.

  Maybe…

  Maybe Gius had been wrong.

  “We’ll make our decision after the final raid,” Gius said. “If… if we determine that he’s the right man to lead us, then I will admit to everything. I will carry the blame and request that all of you be kept from retribution. If we decide that he’s too dangerous, then I will use what is left of my druidic power to try to defeat Nathan—even if it kills me.”

  Gasps echoed.

  Papim’s eyes widened. “Are you certain of this action, Gius?”

  “Yes. It’s time we stopped this foolish game of subterfuge. He’s been winning it, anyway.”

  The council nodded.

  “It’s decided, then,” Gius said. “Thank you for your time, everyone.”

  The council adjourned.