“My name is Patricia Whiterose, I'm the principal of Brickham’s. After learning that you operate a safe haven up in the mountains, I felt it was my duty to spread the word amongst our students and their families. This group”—she waved behind her in a gesture that encompassed the parking lot—“has decided to join you. Mr. Cackett here,” she pointed to the man on her right, “is the president of our advisory board, and has kindly offered to coordinate.”
At no point during that monologue—a declaration, really—had the principal smiled, or even properly looked him in the eyes. Ben was stunned.
After a moment, he glanced at Rose, who looked awkward, then at Adam.
“Young man, interesting outfits by the way. As Mrs. Whiterose said, I'm happy to coordinate. There are quite a few… delicate characters in this group, but I'm sure I can keep them under control,” the man, who was apparently called Cackett, offered.
The other man who had joined them just observed and stood slightly to the side.
“Excuse me,” Ben said without giving any of his thoughts away, and pulled Adam to the side. Jamal and Michael moved slightly to keep others away from them.
“What the heck?!” Ben whispered harshly. “We came here to talk with Rose and Jane, and now we have a thousand rich people ‘informing’ us about their decision to join us?!”
Ben rarely became angry, but condescension always managed to trigger him.
Adam put his hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Remember, nobody gets into the Protectorate unless you say so. Also, while that principal and the ‘esteemed’ Mr. Cackett seem like pricks, the kids who visited us were cool, which means that probably a lot of the parents are too. And there might be other competent teachers like Anne and Rose in the group as well.”
“So what are you saying?” Ben asked, in a calmer voice.
“I’m saying that we need people. Here are people willing to come over, even faster than we had imagined. So let’s explain the rules, what is expected of them. I think you need to be very clear, maybe more clear than you usually like to be, on who is the boss. But once you have laid down the law and they still want to come, why not… We just have to make sure the next bunch of people is different, so we don’t become a resort for the rich and beautiful…”
Ben snorted at the last comment, then slowly nodded. “Makes sense. I imagine you don’t want to give that speech?”
Now it was Adam’s time to chuckle. “Neither my role nor my strength. But I will stand by you, of course. As should Jamal and Michael, by the way.”
“Can we even house so many people?”
Adam frowned. “We’d need to use nearly all our current Credits—including whatever we're earning now from creature attacks—and convert them into SC to buy apartment buildings. It might be better to have some of them camp for now, and once we hit the new month, which should be a week or so after we arrive back home, see what our options are.”
Ben gave it a final nod and walked back to the waiting group. There, he nodded to Rose and led her away from the others.
“I’m sorry, Ben. The story of the Protectorate spread like wildfire from our student group across the school and their families. I know Mrs. Whiterose and Mr. Cackett might come across as entitled pricks—” Ben raised his eyebrow, “—well, yes, they are entitled pricks, but a lot of the people here are just regular folks, whether rich or not. Quite a few teachers would like to come along; don’t forget many of our students are on scholarships, and most of the actually rich parents are kind and friendly…”
“So you’re saying I should give them a chance?”
“It’s of course your decision, but for what it’s worth, as a teacher here, I was able to have Matt attend on a scholarship, which allowed me to get to know many parents from a different side, and I really do believe what I said.”
“Okay, thanks for that. And remember, you and your family are of course welcome. Now, let’s do this thing…” he said, taking a deep breath and walking back to the group, where Mrs. Whiterose was now glaring impatiently at him.
While Ben had talked with Rose, Adam had chatted with Jamal and Michael, and pointed towards the knee-high concrete enclosure of the parking lot.
Ben stepped onto the wall, Adam to his right, Michael and Jamal framing them. He raised his hand, beckoning the people on the parking lot to come closer and quiet down.
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People followed suit, Mr. Cackett quickly joining a group of other, rather older men.
Before Ben could say anything, he saw movement to their right. From a side street came a group of around twenty people, led by none other than Jane.
He held up a finger, indicating he would need a minute, jumped down from the wall, and jogged over to the businesswoman. “Hi Jane, I see that you brought quite a few people…”
“Yes, I did. But don’t think for a second that I forgot my promise to you. Every single one of those people is a family member or has been with the business for a long time. Every single one of them has vowed to keep your secret. And I think every single one of them would be an asset to you. We are ready to move.”
Ben scratched his head, surprised for the second time today. Either all these people were way more adventurous than he had imagined, or the situation in the city was even worse than he’d thought.
“Well, you’re coming at the right time. I was just about to explain to all those folks what it means to move to us. Please join them.”
He jogged back and admired how Jamal and Michael seemed completely at ease in their skin, standing on the wall, almost motionless—if it weren’t for their eyes scanning the crowd—radiating competence.
As he took the last few steps back onto the wall that was to be his podium, he thought about the speech he was about to give and decided to be rather overdramatic to get through to people who might have lived in privilege all their lives.
He raised his voice, looked at the close to hundred people in front of him, and began.
“My name is Ben Jackson. I am [Knight Protector] of the Protectorate of the Blue Mountain Forest.
“The perk was given to me by Meta and Mesa as a reward for things I achieved, and the Protectorate that comes with it is a place of safety and growth in the middle of a high Energy density area.”
Even the last muttering quieted down at those words.
“But both the perk and the Protectorate come with obligations—obligations for me, but they extend to everyone living in it, becoming a citizen of it.
“These obligations are reflected in the values that I have defined—values that everyone who becomes a citizen of the Protectorate has to acknowledge, just like my friends here have. Values that the System itself tracks and helps us enforce.”
He saw some frowns, including from Mr. Cackett and his friends, as he mentioned enforcement.
“I understand that you have heard about the Protectorate—maybe about the magical way that we can create infrastructure—and wish to join us. In principle, everyone is welcome in the Protectorate, but I don’t think you can decide whether to join us unless you understand our values and what they mean for you.
“Our values are:
Community — stronger together
Growth — ever forward
Safety — protecting everyone
“Now, what does that mean?
“First, we are not an agglomeration of individuals, as you might be in a city. The community comes first. That means that everybody needs to chip in. If we need people to cook, if we need people to do hard manual labor, that is what we will do—all of us. I am uncertain to what extent you have been exposed to the new reality of this world, especially up on the mountains, but trust me when I say that it won’t be easy.
“Second, the System has bestowed me with the Protectorate as a place of growth. As one who has done nothing but fight and train for the last month, I can assure you that we need to grow rapidly as a species if we want to survive. Even up on the mountains and having run multiple dungeons, I am certain we have only scratched the surface.
“That means every single one of us needs to apply themselves. I am sure there are infinite ways to grow, and we’re not going to tell you how—but it must serve the community. If you want to grow as a painter or as a manager, that’s fine, but at least until we’ve made a lot of progress in adapting to the new environment, that cannot be your only or main pursuit if you want to be in the Protectorate.
“Third, the System provides us with safety within our settlement walls. However, we are under constant attack from outside and must defend our community. Some of those who join us will make fighting their main occupation. Everybody else—at least every adult—will become part of our militia and will need to contribute, for example by manning our walls and killing Energy-born creatures. Make no mistake: these activities will come with risks to your life. But they are the price for living in a caring community and a magical place that will let you adapt faster to this new world than probably anywhere else.”
He took a deep breath and looked into the quiet faces around him. He could see the anxiety in some of them and knew that some would choose not to join them.
“We are grateful for every single one of you that wants to join us. But please—make your decision with open eyes about what awaits you.
“Any questions?”
Adam leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Awesome speech, my friend. Could not have been done better.”
Ben smiled slightly, not wanting to risk his image as a serious leader by joking around.
One of the men from Cackett’s group shouted, “You said people become citizens in your so-called Protectorate. Are you creating an independent nation? What qualifies you to be the leader?”
“We have no aspiration to call ourselves a nation. The System calls the people who register with us our citizens. And the System decided that I am qualified to be the creator and leader of the Protectorate. If you have objections, you’d need to address them to them. I personally found them quite responsive in my interactions.”
Ben showed his teeth in a grin as he finished.
The noise level rose significantly as the group reacted to the revelation that he had interacted directly with the System. Cackett’s group began discussing his answer in hushed but urgent tones.
Just as Ben was about to ask for more questions, a woman—maybe in her thirties—standing on the street outside the parking lot began shouting.
“YOU! You are a system follower! Only unrestrained Energy will allow us to strive! Repent! All of you should be ashamed of listening to him. Look at him. Look at the symbols they are wearing—minions of the System, dancing around their golden calf. Only the Church of Energy can save us!”
Ben struggled for a moment to place the accusations—until he saw the blue and gold armband the woman wore and remembered the brief encounter he’d had with this Church when picking up Julia and her family.
