Caelan pushed open the garden gate to the Beech & Ember with his shoulder, careful not to jostle the small weight in his arms.
Mynxi slept against his chest, tail flicking once before settling.
Linda walked beside him, matching his pace.
“She’s really coming out of her shell,” Linda said quietly. “I know she’s not aging… but it’s nice, in the middle of all this, to watch her almost grow up.”
Caelan smiled down at Mynxi.
“The worst part,” he said softly, “is I think that shell’s still opening.”
The front door slammed open.
“FOUND HIM!”
Takeshi burst out, breathless.
“Where have you been? You have—”
He stopped.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
Caelan didn’t answer.
He gently handed Mynxi to Linda.
Then he stepped forward, stopping inches from Takeshi, his smile calm and utterly unkind.
“If you wake her up,” Caelan said quietly, “I am going to beat you up and down the fucking street, Sergeant.”
He leaned closer.
“Now be quiet and tell me what the hell you’re talking about.”
Linda adjusted Mynxi in her arms.
“I’ll put her down and fix her lunch,” she said. “You deal with whatever this is.”
Caelan glanced back at her, a smile returning instantly.
“You’re my fucking angel.”
Linda smiled as she walked past Takeshi into the inn.
“I’ll take the money from your desk for it.”
Caelan muttered after her, “Just like every other woman in my life…”
He turned back.
“…Right. Takeshi. What is it, bud?”
Takeshi straightened.
“Well,” he said, “since the Lieutenant knew she’d be busy today—”
The door opened wider as Joss pulled on his jacket and stepped inside.
“Ah. You found him,” Joss said. “Thought he’d be hiding or something. Not like him to actually turn up for this.”
Caelan looked between them, confused.
“What the hell are you two on about?” he said. “I’m heading to Whaa Whaa’s after Mynxi wakes up.”
Takeshi looked past him.
“Mr Pael,” he said. “On time, as always.”
Caelan froze.
Joss’s hand came down firmly on his shoulder.
“This is happening,” Joss said.
Caelan’s legs gave out.
He dropped to his knees, eyes wide, voice breaking.
“The trials were for me all along… wouldn’t the Master Chief be better for this?”
Takeshi leaned down toward Caelan, a grin spreading across his face.
“He left a message for you,” Takeshi said. “‘I’m not the Lieutenant. I’m not doing your job for you. Ha ha.’ Or something along those lines.”
A shadow fell across him.
Pael stepped forward and placed a hand on Caelan’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry,” Pael said calmly. “It’ll be quick, Captain.”
The Virelith City Council chambers were all polished wood, sharp suits, and people who looked like they’d never had to carry their own water.
They stood in small knots with drinks in their hands, talking too loudly and laughing like war was something on their doorstep daily.
Caelan stood among them.
Completely still.
Emotionless.
A man in a dark jacket leaned in, smiling like they were old friends.
“So what would it take,” he said, “to have the Master Sergeant spend a little more time down in the southern town? Our guards have shown unprecedented improvement in training since the last time she visited.”
Another councillor barked out a laugh.
“You say that now,” he said, “but the last time the Master Sergeant came to the eastern outpost, it was easier to count the buildings that didn’t have holes in them.”
A ripple of laughter.
Caelan didn’t move.
A third man raised his glass toward him.
“You need to come to these more often, Captain,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong — that Lieutenant of yours gets things done — but I swear if I misspoke even once she’d have me sprinting into a horde of Emeralds while she laughed.”
“At least you aren’t in charge of construction,” someone else groaned. “Last time the Master Chief fought one of those Emeralds, I’m not sure if he was challenging himself to knock down as many walls as possible.”
He shook his head.
“But as usual… no one was hurt.”
Caelan stared straight ahead.
Like his soul was still back at the Beech & Ember.
The doors opened.
Aurex Vallis walked in as if the room belonged to him.
Pael followed a step behind, in a formal suit, with a calm face.
Aurex took a drink from a tray as he passed, then sat at the head of the table.
“Will you vultures leave the poor man alone?” Aurex said, waving a hand at the councillors. “Not even he can sweet-talk the Lieutenant for you.”
He set his glass down.
“Now. Let’s get down to this.”
Chairs scraped. People sat.
Caelan’s eyes finally moved.
He watched Aurex take the head seat.
Aurex pointed at Solara’s usual chair.
“You can just sit there for today, Captain.”
Caelan walked over.
Then, slowly — loudly — he grabbed the chair and dragged it.
The legs screeched across the floor.
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Caelan kept eye contact with Aurex the whole time.
He dragged that chair to the far end of the table.
Set it down.
Sat.
Aurex’s smile twitched.
“Alright then…”
Caelan cut him off.
He put one boot up on the table.
Leant back in the chair until it squeaked.
He rocked it once.
Then smiled — eyes unblinking.
“Oh, sorry,” Caelan said. “Please. On you go. Don’t wait on my account.”
Takeshi leaned over toward him, voice low.
“You know she’s going to kill you for this?”
Caelan didn’t look at him.
“That’s exactly my plan,” he murmured back.
Then he raised his voice to the whole table.
“Right. Let’s get this started.”
He looked down the length of the room like he owned it.
“First thing on the agenda — my new forward operating bases. What’s happening here? You built a whole city in, what, fifteen years? But a couple of bases and we’re taking our sweet arse time, aren’t we?”
Aurex sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
“I told her this would be a bad idea,” he mumbled.
Pael straightened behind him.
“Captain,” Pael said smoothly, “we have a certain way of doing things in these meetings to ensure matters are dealt with—”
“And the trenches?” Caelan cut in. “I mean, it’s what — only a couple thousand miles of the things.”
He tapped his fingers on the table.
“And do we do snacks here? Because I’m really getting into those green cubes. Fuck knows what they’re made of, but eh… no bad.”
Joss let out a long, exhausted sigh.
“This matter has already been dealt with, Captain,” he said. “We can’t just throw all manpower behind the Revolutionary Army. We have supply chains to consider.”
He held Caelan’s gaze.
“And at the moment we’re suffering from a shortage. We’re currently focused on developing roads to allow faster transport of items found in the loot zones.”
Caelan’s smile went thin.
“Well, that’s alright then,” he said to the room. “At least when we get invaded, they won’t have sore feet when they get here.”
One of the men from earlier cleared his throat.
“I would also like to make it clear,” he said, “that I’m working with twelve hundred men across a region of four million square miles.”
He spread his hands.
“My workers are the best around. But there’s only so much we can output at once. This isn’t a matter of we shouldn’t — it’s a matter of we shouldn’t right now focus on such things.”
Aurex turned his head slightly toward Caelan.
“I understand your thinking,” Aurex said. “But they’re correct. Now is not the time to put all our eggs in that one basket.”
He steepled his fingers.
“I understand your concern regarding the latest intel on Ravon Dask and the group calling themselves the Immortal Alliance of True Commanders.”
A few councillors shifted at the name.
“But as you’re well aware,” Aurex continued, “there has been chatter of infighting within that group. For now, we keep focus on our foundations first.”
His eyes flicked, just once, toward the empty chair that should’ve been Solara’s.
“Even your Lieutenant is in agreement that the Revolutionary Army and our own forces would most likely be able to handle anything they could muster at this stage.”
Caelan reached for his drink.
He lifted it slowly, deliberately, and took a long pull.
The room went quiet.
Pael cleared his throat.
“So, on with the first topic of today’s—”
Caelan set the glass back on the table.
Hard.
“Have you all forgotten my warning already?” he said.
Takeshi sighed beside him.
“Oh god. Not again.”
Joss leaned over, muttering under his breath.
“You and that redhead better do this outside of the inn next time. I’m not replacing another wall because of your stupidity.”
Caelan waved them both off.
Aurex exhaled slowly.
“Your bubble theory,” he said. “It’s been a matter of discussion several times. Even Lieutenant Solara agrees that—”
“It’s not a theory,” Caelan cut in. “It’s what’s happening out there right now.”
He leaned forward, boot still on the table.
“Yes, I understand the requirements for strong foundations,” he said. “Logistics. Stability. The ability to last when things get bad.”
He gestured vaguely around the room.
“But right now all we’ve done is build the ideal target.”
The room stilled.
“The moment they learn about Virelith,” Caelan continued, “the longer we sit around congratulating ourselves, the worse the groups forming out there are going to get.”
He looked from face to face.
“And trust me — if we’re lucky, they’ll only be ten times worse than Ravon.”
A few councillors shifted uncomfortably.
“Not everyone is taking our approach,” Caelan went on. “And frankly, I’ve yet to meet anyone in this war who’s come close to the Revolutionary Army.”
He paused.
“The only ones in this region who’ve been able to engage and defeat Emerald-tier monsters?”
He held up a finger.
“Us. We’ve killed sixty-eight of them in the last four years.”
Murmurs rippled through the chamber.
“My people have been pushed to the brink time and time again,” Caelan said. “But the city guards? The smaller groups?”
He shook his head.
“They can’t do shit.”
His voice dropped.
“So tell me — what do you think a group out there looks like if they put all their focus into fighting instead of roads?”
Silence.
“They won’t need to build a city with good logistics,” Caelan said. “They’ll just take this one.”
He leaned back.
“And there’ll be nothing we can do to stop them.”
A man halfway down the table let out a dry laugh.
Eryk of Waller Forge leaned forward.
“Well, he isn’t wrong,” Eryk said. “For a start, the only reason we can even produce Emerald-tier weapons in this region is because of what the Revolutionary Army has been able to acquire.”
He spread his hands.
“On the bright side, we’ve manufactured an incredible number of Emerald-tier weapons. They’re currently in storage, as per Lieutenant Solara’s instructions.”
Aurex’s gaze flicked toward him.
“And as forecast by the Lieutenant,” Eryk continued, “weapon sales over the past few days have been… significant.”
He nodded once.
“Roughly thirty percent are tied directly to the recruitment event. The rest?”
He hesitated.
“A large influx of outsiders. Exactly as predicted.”
A man across the table spoke up, voice tight.
“That may be good for the weapons market,” he said, “but I represent the entire trading network of Virelith.”
He folded his hands.
“Trade is down across the board this week. Every inn in the city has been rented out for what — three hundred people? They could hold ten times that.”
He looked directly at Caelan.
“Only one inn currently has regular traffic. Roaming groups are avoiding the city entirely.”
He exhaled.
“This will have massive repercussions for the surrounding region.”
For the first time, Caelan stopped rocking his chair.
He sat forward.
Fingers laced.
His hands steepled in front of his mouth as he studied the man like he was deciding whether to laugh or bite.
“So,” Caelan said slowly, “are you telling me that sudden dip in sales wasn’t presented to you by my Lieutenant?”
He tilted his head.
“Last I was aware, there was a package put in place from the Revolutionary Army’s personal funds to manage this temporary dry spell in your sales.”
The trader lifted both hands.
“Please don’t get me wrong, Captain. I’m not complaining about the situation,” he said quickly. “I’m talking about the optics.”
He swallowed.
“It could look like we shut our doors to any passing market at the Revolutionary Army’s whim. We need groups out there working to bring resources into our ecosystem. The widespread effect of even a few days on these matters can have lasting consequences across the region.”
Aurex nodded once.
“Unfortunately, I’d have to agree with that statement,” Aurex said. “Our market is for the many — a long-term network to exchange work for services. That’s how this whole operation is meant to build.”
He glanced around the table.
“And bearing in mind, this matter was presented to us by the Lieutenant. We agreed to see it out.”
His eyes returned to Caelan.
“But for the future… we can’t set this as a precedent.”
Caelan’s mouth twitched.
“Totally understandable,” he said. “But I’m sure when the experiment’s complete, the results will speak for themselves.”
Takeshi cleared his throat.
“Well, since we’re off track anyway,” he said, shooting Caelan a look, “thanks to my brilliant captain over here—”
Caelan lit up.
“Aw, thanks, buddy.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Takeshi said flatly.
He turned to the table.
“Now, in regards to the research into anything technology-wise… we’re still not managing to create even the most basic of technology.”
A few councillors exchanged looks.
“And some of the people with backgrounds in those fields have been meeting with me for some time now,” Takeshi continued. “And honestly, the level of knowledge available to certain people here blows even my mind.”
He leaned back slightly.
“The level of technology each of us was exposed to before the Immortal Emperor wars began varies wildly.”
He let that hang.
“But one thing is universal — none of it works here.”
Silence again.
“We’ve agreed to keep those meetings going,” Takeshi said, “and per the Lieutenant’s plan, prepare for even the smallest event on what happens post-war.”
A man seated beside Aurex finally stood.
“Well, if I may add,” he said, clearing his throat. “My name is Caldrin Hale. This is my first official meeting representing Mr Vallis’ interests in the northern expansion.”
Aurex inclined his head slightly.
Caldrin continued, confidence growing as he spoke.
“With the northern town currently under construction, the Captain’s consideration for a forward operating base could prove useful going forward. We already have manpower deployed in the north, and a small pivot toward something along the Captain’s plans would be doable within a reasonable timeframe.”
He spread his hands.
“Trust in the region is already strong. The Revolutionary Army spent years operating up there — even before they had a name. That influence can still be felt.”
Aurex nodded.
“I think that could work,” he said. “Joss, do you have designs you could send with him on his return journey?”
Joss grimaced.
“I want it on record that this wasn’t my first choice for designs,” he said. “But if they want to be idiots, that’s on them.”
He reached into his bag and pulled out a large, folded sheet of paper.
Unrolling it across the table.
Pael leaned in, frowning.
“Is that a pool?”
Takeshi raised an eyebrow.
“Take that back, you uncultured man,” he said. “That’s an outdoor bathhouse.”
Aurex pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Did the Lieutenant actually sign off on these designs?”
Joss sighed.
“That’s why there’s an outdoor tea garden in the back. Right next to the bath.”
Caelan lit up like a kid at Christmas.
“Honestly,” he said, “that sounds like a nice wee getaway now and again.”
Aurex looked at him flatly.
“And how is this meant to increase defences?”
Caelan shrugged.
“Well, with things like that in forward operating bases, people actually want to be there,” he said. “Which means your men get the training they need.”
He smiled.
“Win-win.”
Aurex exhaled.
“How do I keep losing to you?”
He straightened.
“Fine. All in favour of constructing the Revolutionary Army’s first forward operating base in the northern expansion?”
Hands went up around the table.
The trade representative sighed.
“This’ll set us back a few weeks,” he said, “but I suppose it’s better than anything else he’s suggested today.”
“Motion passes,” Aurex said. “Mr Pael, if you would please read the agenda so we can get back on track.”
“Of course, sir,” Pael said. “First on today’s topic—”
Caelan finished his drink.
Set the glass down with a satisfied clunk.
Stood.
“Right,” he said cheerfully. “Good meeting, everyone. I’m off to Whaa Whaa’s — let’s bounce.”
Chairs began to scrape as people stood and started talking among themselves.
“But we haven’t even started on what we set out to do,” Pael protested.
Aurex waved him off.
“Why fight it?” he said. “Today’s a write-off. I’m surprised he lasted this long.”
He glanced toward the door.
“Best wait for the Lieutenant to get back.”
Caelan was already halfway out.
“Free drinks!” he shouted. “And if the Lieutenant asks — we paid for everything. Shots!”
“Shots!” several councillors echoed, laughing.
Pael watched them go, shaking his head.
“How does she manage him, honestly?”
