What had been tents and a half-erected wall was now a real fort. It spread out beyond the hill we’d chosen. There were two walls. The one around the hill, which housed the command areas, and then a larger one around the bottom of the hill. That was where the barracks, still mostly tents, and supply buildings were. Towers were set up along the walls, guards patrolling between them. Arcane Cannons were mounted to the towers.

  People were all over the place. Some looked like they knew what they were doing where they were supposed to go. Others looked lost. Those ones got yelled at pretty quick by someone that knew what was happening. If they didn’t have a task, or somewhere important to be, they were quickly given a task.

  They probably should have come up with something because of what they were given… not fun.

  The command building was really just four walls and a roof. Nothing fancy. Made out of logs taken from the forest nearby. High Levels, increased Stats, all that stuff made for easier construction. We hadn’t brought anyone with building-related Essences, so construction was a little slower but once the engineers got up here, things would really start growing.

  There wasn’t much in the building. Just a long table, a bunch of mismatched chairs, and a couple shelves. Spread out across the table was a map of the area. The three Dungeons were marked, the one we’d just cleared with a different color. The front lines of the Grimdar advance were indicated, already too deep into Gray Wolf Territory. There was a big question mark where we thought their main portal was. Written on sheets scattered around the table were numbers of the Grimdar army, the Gray Wolf numbers and what we had from Solace on site. The arcanetribe location was marked as well, but that was currently in the territory held by the Grimdar. Something we, hopefully, didn’t need to worry about yet.

  The command building, I kept wanting to call it the command tent, was crowded. Would headquarters work? Maybe when the engineers got up here, I could have them rebuild it so it looked like the old G.I. Joe Headquarters from when I was younger. That would be cool.

  The headquarters was crowded.

  I sat at one end, with Derek to my left and Maria to my right. Mason was next to her. Nathan was next to Derek. Captain Nichols, Sergeant Parker, Captain Calhoun, who was in charge of the Forward Operating Base, and a couple other Sergeants. There were four chairs left at the other end of the table.

  And we were patiently waiting for our guests.

  Very patiently. I was full of patience.

  “Don’t tear him apart when he gets here,” Maria said, voice not a whisper.

  All eyes turned to me. They could tell I was not a happy clanchief.

  “I wasn’t going to,” I said, which was true. “He can’t explain how much of an idiot he is if he’s screaming in pain.”

  I was mostly joking.

  A couple more minutes passed and one of the Solace guards outside knocked on the door. It opened and he peeked in.

  “Lord Payton is here,” he said. “He’s come with three others and a half dozen guards.”

  “The guards stay outside,” I said, loud enough that those outside would hear. “Tell them to go and get food or make themselves useful and sign up for the front lines.”

  Next to me, Derek sighed and just shook his head. Maria glared at me. Nathan chuckled. Mason looked a little worried. The others all did their best to be expressionless. The guard at the door looked like he wanted to say something but decided it would be best not to.

  He didn’t shut the door and we could hear arguing outside.

  “I’m not going in there without my guards.”

  That voice was unfamiliar, but from the arrogant tone, I guessed it was Thomas Payton.

  “I told you not to bring them.”

  That one sounded like Daphne Culpepper.

  “Didn’t I say that he was a…”

  Luckily that one trailed off, the voice going quieter. It sounded like Calvin Holsted, the Mayor of the city.

  “What did he mean make ourselves useful?”

  That had to be one of the guards.

  There was a bunch of other crap I didn’t want to listen to so figured it was best to just end it and get things rolling. There was a lot to do and I’d wasted enough time already.

  “Tell them to get inside,” I said, voice rising. “They won’t like it if I have to go out there.”

  The voices beyond the door fell silent. There were some very quiet mumblings and growlings and then the door opened fully. Four people walked in. Beyond them I could see some armored guards that looked like they wanted to come in, but my door guards were now standing in their way. I glanced at Sargeant Parker. He nodded, getting up and making his way to the door. As he exited, he ignored the four newcomers, shutting the door behind him.

  I recognized Daphne Culpepper. She had moved to the side, putting distance between herself and the other three. The one farthest in the back was the Mayor. He looked pretty nervous, casting glances between the big guy in the front and me at the far end of the table. The other guy was tall and thin, dressed in fancy clothes. No armor. He didn’t even have a sword. No wand or anything.

  The big guy was dressed in a mix of leather and plate armor, with a hammer at his waist. He had a thick fur cloak hanging from his shoulders. Not as big as Mason, but close. Lots of blond hair, thick beard, bright blue eyes. He walked in looking all arrogant, ready to start yelling, but got one look at my expression and changed his plan.

  Instead of coming in all offended, he switched it up and decided to look apologetic.

  He should have stuck with offended.

  “Lord Howell,” he said, bowing slightly. “I’m sorry for any confusion…”

  “Sit down,” I said.

  His eyes widened and he looked at the thin man, then over at Daphne, who just shrugged. Smart of her to stay out of it.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “My Lord,” he said, moving toward the seat at the other end of the table. “If my guards can just…”

  I held up a hand, stopping him. I kept the hand up as the other three sat down. Daphne on his right, the other two on the left. Anyone walking in, looking at the folks gathered around the table would probably figure he was the guy in charge.

  He had the look. Fur cloak, fancy looking armor.

  Then there was me. Baseball hat, open leather jacket, pants with leather pads. Aside from the hat, all my armor was scratched and faded, showing signs of lots of wear and tear. The other guy’s armor was spotless. There were fancy designs in the pauldrons, looking like a howling wolf’s head. No scratches or marks. The metal plates shined.

  Once everyone was settled, the three newcomers all looking at me, I lowered my hand. The man started to talk but I raised a finger.

  “Why do you need guards?” I asked.

  I was quite calm. No hint of sarcasm, reproach, anger or anything. Just a simple question.

  It took him by surprise. His eyes widened and he looked at the other two. The thin man started to lean forward.

  “Stop,” I said, pointing at the thin man. “Who are you?”

  “Uhm…,” the man looked at the other three. The lead guy, who was Thomas Payton, the former clanchief for the Gray Wolf Clan, nodded toward me. Calvin looked at the table and Daphne just cracked a crooked smile. She was enjoying this. “I’m Lord Bernard Caulfield.”

  “And why are you here?”

  “I’m Lord Payton’s adviser.”

  “Why does he need an adviser?”

  Bernard looked very surprised at that question. It took him a couple moments to respond.

  “Why does any ruler need an adviser,” he asked, his eyes moving to the people around me.

  I smiled. Touche. But that had gone right where I wanted it to. I started pointing at the folks around me.

  “Military, military, high ranking Adventurer, high ranking Adventurer, Military and the liason to the folks back home,” I finished, pointing at Derek. “They all have uses beyond just ‘advise’. So again, why are you here when you weren’t invited?”

  “Lord Caulfield was invited,” Thomas Payton said, now looking offended. “As part of my staff…”

  I held up a finger again.

  “I invited her,” I pointed at Daphne. “Because so far she’s the only one of your so-called government and nobles that has any kind of clue. I invited him,” I pointed at Calvin. “Because he’s the mayor of the city we’re using as our base of operations. So it’s only polite to include him in these meetings. I invited you as the head of the Gray Wolf Clan. I did not invite him,” I finished, pointing at Bernard. “So if he has no actual use…”

  “He has use to me,” Payton said, gaining a little backbone. “Lord Howell, this is not what I expected. The stories I have been told are not this…”

  I held up a hand, stopping him. He had a point. I was going a bit rough. But I’d been exhausted when the Phoenix’s Feather had picked me up. What little patience I had, it was gone by the time we got back to XXX. I hadn’t been given good news.

  “You’re right,” I said. “I’m not normally like this but then I don’t normally get used like you tried to do.” Payton started sputtering but I ignored him. “I would have been fine if it was just me effected but when it affects my people and even Earth? That’s when I get a little upset.”

  “I don’t understand,” Payton stammered. “We came to you and the Solace Fellowship in good faith and..”

  “Don’t,” I said, the one word stopping him. “We thought you came to the Fellowship, wanting to join, in good faith. Then when the invasion started, and we learned about the dungeons close to overflowing, we thought maybe that’s why you joined the Fellowship. Wanting to use our help in the Dungeon problem. That would have been bad enough, but we would have done it. And gladly. Might not have even made you join the Fellowship.” I leaned forward, spearing the man with my stare. “We would have helped if you had just asked.”

  “If I had known this was the treatment I would receive,” Payton started.

  I sighed, shaking my head.

  “Just stop. You’re not helping yourself,” I continued. “Then we get up here and find out what kind of people you have running your cities,” I glared at Calvin, who visibly shrank, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there. “I was disappointed but still, not the worst thing. I had expected to hear you were on the frontlines, where you should have been.” Payton looked like he wanted to protest, but a glare stopped him. “When I learned you were safe and sound in your capital, having a party no less, I’d made the decision to strip you of your rank in the Clan.”

  Payton shot up from his seat, eyes wide with rage.

  “You can’t do that,” he shouted.

  I smiled.

  “Want to bet?”

  Payton sputtered, unsure of how to react, but he took a deep breath. A glance at Caulfield, who gave a slight nod, probably hoping no one would notice, but I did, and Payton returned to his seat. He smoothed out his cloak, taking some time to settle himself. I let him.

  “We can discuss my rights to the Gray Wolf clan seat later,” he said. “There are more pressing matters what with the invasion and the Dungeons.”

  I wanted to laugh. He was trying to come off as the calm and collected one, like that would matter in this room. The only people on his side were Caulfield and maybe Calvin, the Mayor. But that was only because without Payton, Calvin would be out of a job. He knew there was no way in hell I’d let him stay on as the Mayor.

  “Speaking of the Dungeons. How did you let them get this out of control? One would be bad enough, but three?? My Adventuring team that cleared the first said it was days from erupting and was so overloaded with Arcanebeasts, it would have been a horde that escaped. We heard earlier today from the team clearing the second Dungeon..”

  “How did they manage that,” Caulfield asked.

  I glared at him. He cleared his throat, mumbling an apology. It was interesting that he was that surprised it had been cleared. Something to get back to later.

  “They said that it was also days away from erupting and so overflowing, they almost couldn’t clear it. Luckily, no one died.” I focused on Payton. “How did you let them get so bad?”

  Payton took his time answering, he glanced at Caulfield, who again gave a small nod. Payton looked up at me, he had a slight sneer that he was trying to hide. It looked like he thought he had a point that would turn the tables on me.

  Or something.

  “How did I? Like you, I have a large territory to run. I have adventurers, crafters, cities, towns, farmers. Everything that goes into a Clan and a territory. There is far too much for one to watch and control. There is even my own Advancement to deal with. Like you, there are many things pulling at my time and like you, Lord Howell, I delegate to trusted people to handle such things.”

  His gaze drifted to Derek and then Maria.

  I smiled. It was a nice little bit of verbal wordplay. How dare I accuse him of something I do myself? The problem was that he really didn’t know me. He was just going off the stories and what he would do.