Chapter Twenty-Seven


    Andrea Pender wanted nothing more than to go back to her tiny home, which Darren had built for her in what felt like ages ago, and soak in a nice hot bath.


    She crushed the urge to rub her temples as Cassius Dex waxed on.


    “We have no say in the day to day! We toil under threat of eviction! What do we get for the sweat off our brows? A standard home and subpar wage? Bah! I say things need to change. We need democracy! An election. We have a right to choose our own leaders and have a say in the laws that directly affect our lives!”


    There were mutters of agreement across those seated here in the designated town meeting room of Darren''s Hall. Cassius Dex was not an imposing man.


    Andrea couldn''t help but be reminded of a light pole every time she looked at him. His bright blonde hair even looked like a light. His dark eyes looked like tiny square chocolates.


    Andrea had to admit that his speaking voice was enrapturing. It was velvet smooth, rich, and carried easily. He could have been a decent audiobook narrator if he had wished.


    It was the kind of voice that, just by being heard, brought people around to a person''s way of thinking.


    It infuriated her.


    Cassius went on, and all of it was sweet, impassioned poison. None of it was actually true when you considered the full context.


    He said that no one was fully aware of what to expect of life here and that now that they had settled here, they deserved to have a say.


    He even tried to sound reasonable by saying he would be okay with electing a council. He was even fine with not taking a seat on that council himself as long as there was one.


    Imagine that.


    Finally, when he was done speaking, Andrea was able to reply. She had a few ways she could do so. She picked a path, and went with it.


    “Mr. Dex. First, we hear your concerns. It''s understandable that you would feel this way. Let me address some of them as directly and respectfully as possible. Many of you were brought to this place by Mr. Severen. He saved you, fought for you, and provided for your needs. More importantly, he gave you homes.”


    Andrea swept her gaze around the room, doing her best to meet each pair of eyes with her own. She wanted to ram the point home.


    “Bottom line is that many of you owe him your lives. I and many on this council before you owe him our lives. We are all here at his forbearance. He wants things to stay the way they are.” The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    She spread her hands,


    “And are they really so bad? Ask yourselves, do you truly believe we are tyrants? That we abuse our power? Was it an abuse of power when we opened the school Was it abuse when we allowed small businesses to open. When we built homes for you all.”


    She didn''t phrase them like questions. They were challenges and statements. She designed them to force people to think past their initial anger.


    She saw it working, too. Expressions turned thoughtful; some turned away, looking slightly ashamed.


    [Due to actions in line with your profession, you have gained experience and advanced to level 56.]


    Nice. Cassius was not an idiot. He knew how to play this game, and that was clear in the way he didn''t interrupt her.


    Then, it was his turn, and he took a surgical knife to her words.


    “Mr. Severen saved us, indeed. There is no doubt about that. But does that mean we lose all of our basic human rights. Does it mean that we bow to him like some kind of God King.”


    Cassius shook his head,


    “Friends, I ask you, does that mean we change one slave owner for another? I say to you, an unseen collar is a collar all the same. I do not think Mr. Severen would want that for us. In fact, I ask that he come here now to answer that very question.”


    Even Dannill raised an eyebrow at this. Thom, who was next to her, rubbed at his face.


    Andrea had to fight off a grimace. Cassius had neatly played his counter card, and it was a doozy.


    Faces twisted, people nodded, one person grunted and patted Cassius on the back.


    Cassius knew as well as she did that Ambrose wasn''t around to answer questions. In fact, he had hardly been around lately. There was a reason for that, a good, reasonable reason.


    But it also didn''t matter. When you were seen as a leader, there was just no replacement for being here. Cassius knew that and so he played off it. He knew Ambrose wasn''t around to correct him, and even if he was, he''d likely be forced to acknowledge their feelings.


    In addition, he had neatly slipped that collar back around their necks himself, and it was now an unseen chafe they couldn''t get rid of unless they had some form of control.


    There wasn''t much Andrea could do about it, either. Now that the idea was there, there was no getting rid of it.


    Cassius gave her a ghost of a smile, his eyes holding a subtle smug light.


    Andrea took a deep breath.


    “This meeting is adjourned for now, but rest assured, we will discuss the possibility of an election and reopen discussions next week.”


    People filed out of the room, already talking. They were dark, angry mutterings. She briefly closed her eyes.


    She couldn''t see a way around this now.


    Thom placed a weathered hand on her shoulder after everyone had left.


    “We''ll get through this, lass. You helped build this town into what it is, no way that snake in the grass is outsin’ you.”


    Andrea squeezed his hand fondly. She showed him a tired smile,


    “I don''t know, Thom. You saw them. They were all looking at me like I was the enemy at the end.”


    Thom grunted in acknowledgment.


    “Ambrose will set this right. They can''t argue with that lad, he''s the real master of this place and everyone knows it.”


    Andrea shook her head,


    “Maybe, Thom. If he were here. You know he''s off dealing with these Incursions, and who knows how long that will take? Besides, can we really get rid of all of these people just because they disagree with us? What does that make us then, Thom?”


    She combed her fingers through her hair,


    “Like it or not, this isn''t something we can brute force away. Still, I prefer to get a head start on this.”


    She flicked her gaze to Dannill. The ranger was scratching his chin, looking profoundly bored. His bow was slung over one shoulder.


    He looked for all the world not to be paying attention. Andrea knew better. The ranger wanted to be underestimated.


    “Dannill, I want you to dig up everything you can on Cassius Dex. He wants an election? We''ll give him one. Thom, I''m going to visit Vathwin. Maybe he can help somehow.”


    Thom shuddered. Vathwin gave him the creeps.


    Dannill let out a giant sigh.


    “Do I have to? Fine. What a drag.”