SS - Chapter 15 - Revelations

I dunno if I love the end of this chapter, kinda feels like I'm pushing it a little two hard. Oh well, it's a couple sentence rewrite, the rest is good.

“You know what you’re going to say?” Camille asked, as she straightned my jacket. 

“I was just going to wing it. Tell everyone what we discovered, and my very basic plans for the future,” I replied, before grabbing her hands and firmly pushing her away. “What are you doing anyways? Why are you fussing so much today?”

Camille smiled, “It’s a historic day, you should look your best!”

“No, yesterday was a historical day. Today is just the announcement,” I muttered. “It doesn’t matter how I look, it’s not like anyone’s going to paint me or anything.”

“You never know,” Camille chirped. “Someone may get inspired, and recreate the event later from memory.”

“Well, they can remember me in my tired, slightly disheveled state,” I grumbled. “Everyone has better things to do than wait for me to get dressed up.” 

“Fine,” Camille pouted as she backed up a steep and tore her hands away. 

As I stepped past I could feel her hands gently smoothing out the wrinkles on my shoulders and back. It wasn’t worth fighting over, so I just rolled my eyes and continued walking.

As I pulled open the front door, stepping out onto the top of the steps of the village hall the town square went quiet. It has been a long time since I’d stood in front of all these people, ready to give a speech. Selena, and a couple of the other elf bloods had decided to show up, and were hanging around the far side of the square, making the crowd even larger.

I stood up straight, took a deep breath in, and then started talking.

“I know you’re all feeling a little on edge after what happened yesterday. Not only did we have a hostile patrol from Skyla injure several people, and come within striking distance of our village, but Camille and I brought back a bunch of strangers back to the village afterwards. I’m here to explain exactly what happened.”

A couple people shifted, but no one interrupted so I kept talking.

“Yesterday, after lockdown, Camille and I followed the trail back to the quarry. We managed to finish off the Skylians, and save some of the people they were following. Shortly after the fight, while we were still recovering, a dungeon opened up and swallowed most of the survivors. When Camille and I, along with Selena, one of the survivors, ventured into the dungeon we found a confusing maze of challenges, unlike the regular monster filled rooms. We didn’t know why until the very end.”

I saw Selena stand up, and tilt her head slightly. I had no idea how she was going to react to the next part. 

“What we originally thought had been a dungeon was actually a citadel, and the rooms we had to go through were tests created by a Sovereign stone. When we were done the Stone accepted me as its owner.”

THAT got everyone’s attention, and a lot of people started either chatting among themselves, or yelling questions at me. I raised my hands and tried to bring order to the area, but the situation was already getting out of hand. 

Camille grunted behind me, took a couple steps forward, and reached forward like she was trying to choke someone. The square filled with a vicious whirling wind that buffeted everyone, threatening to knock them off their feet. After a few seconds the winds died down again.

“I know you all have questions, and many of them are ‘are you serious?’” Camille shouted. “Well as I just deminstated, yes, Medea found a Stone, and yes, I have my magic back. I know this is exciting, but please settle down and hold your questions until she’s done, okay?”

“That was unnecessary,” I muttered under my breath. 

“Maybe, but it proved that what you’ve been saying is true, and it got everyone to settle down. You better continue before they all get riled up again,” Camille whispered back.

Sighing, I turned back towards the crowd.

“Now, I know this news is probably a shock to you all, it certainly was to us, but I wanted to let you all know that I have no intention of abusing this power, like it has been by countless others.  Once I get a hand on the different systems I’ll be asking your feedback on where best to use the limited resources the Stone is providing me, and anyone that wants access to magic is free to become a vassal. Without the ridiculous requirements and restrictions we experienced in Iskel. I do ask for your patience, because this is all fairly new to me, and I still need to work my way through it all.”

Looking out over the square I saw everyone staring back at me. People that followed me halfway across the continent, looking at me with wonder, respect… and fear. I honestly couldn’t blame them.

“The other thing I’d like to talk to you about is the refugees. They were being hunted down by the Skylians due to their Elvish heritage. I originally intended to give them some supplies, and send them on their way, so we didn’t aggravate Skyla, but now that we may have the power to defend ourselves I’m considering offering them sanctuary,” I said, glancing up at Selena and the others. “As long as they’re willing to carry their own weight. If anyone wishes to object you’re welcome to talk to me later. As you know I’ll always take your opinions into account before making a final decision.”

With my announcement finally finished, I let my shoulders slump slightly as I anticipated how long this next section was going to be. “Any questions?”

Half a dozen hands shot into the air, so I selected one at random. “Deirdre.”

“You said you’ll be accepting anyone that wants to become a vassal as one, does that mean we’ll get to pick our own magic?” the woman asked excitedly.

“It doesn’t work like that… Everyone has their own innate affinities, either inherited through their bloodline or developed through their life experiences. I cannot guarantee what type of magic each person will develop, but it’ll typically be something useful to that person. I would be surprised if you didn’t develop nature magic, to help you grow herbs, if not full healing magic,” I explained. 

Deirdre stepped back, apparently satisfied with that answer.

“Marcus,” I said, pointing to a particularly burly former knight.

He shuffled in place, almost like he hadn’t expected to be picked at all. “You said you want our feedback on the limited resources provided by the Stone, you mean like blessings and stuff?”

“That’s what most people know them as, yes. I seem to have the ability to infuse different parts of the area with magic. Accelerate plant growth, locate veins of resources, create more constructs… I haven’t dug into the system much, but the magic is limited, so we need to prioritize. I’ll let you all know once I have a full list,” I sighed. “Ezra?”

“If you have bound a Stone, does that mean we’re going to have a castle to retreat to, and constructs to defend us if we get attacked?” the massive stonecarver asked.

“Technically, yes. I still have to look into the citadel creation process, and we do have constructs but…” I trailed off, pausing far longer than I should have.

While my brain tried to find the right words Camille reached back and opened the village hall door. “Front and center!” 

“Hup!” came the reply from inside. Seconds later the maid squad burst out of the building, lining up like professional troops and flashing crisp salutes to the crowd. Everyone was silent.

“So, on the bright side it seems like Stone is generating them in groups of three, and they have rifles. On the other hand…” I waved my hand towards the tiny maids. “Hopefully they’ll actually be effective, but we need to do a combat test later today.”

“Can… Can I hug one?” Millie asked quietly, breaking the silence.

I shrugged. “As long as they let you, knock yourself out. Anyone else?”

Most of the hands around the square had come down, but there was still one left. I pointed at the girl leaning against a wall across the square. “Selena?”

The elf-blooded girl stared me straight in the eyes. “Are you serious about letting us stay?”

“As long as the ‘Constructs’ prove their prowess, and no one has any objections, I don’t see why not. Frankly, we could use a few extra hands around here, and your people need a place to stay. Seems like a good fit. We can discuss it after the meeting is over,” I declared.

Selena continued to stare at me, her gaze calculating, before finally nodding. Just once.

“Fine. Anything else?” 

A crowd had gathered to admire the maids, and most weren’t paying attention to me, so I just sighed. 

“I need to figure out the changes to my system, test the maids, and figure out the citadel today, so if you want to talk to me please come to the village hall tonight,” I shouted over the rising conversation. “Meeting dismissed!”

Camille threw her arm around my shoulder. “So… combat tests?”

“It’s number two on my priority list. First I’m going to go talk to Selena and the rest of the refugees. Despite just talking to her last night I sprung a lot of information on her,” I said.

“You just dropped a lot of information on the whole town, not just her,” Camille replied. “Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll forgive you for not telling her about the Stone earlier.”

I turned and looked at my friend, confused. “What? Why would I need her to forgive me?”

“Nevermind,” she sighed as she turned and hopped off the stairs. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out… eventually.”