Mayor Hawkins was seriously considering fleeing town.

It rankled him, to be sure. He had been a good mayor. Leadership wasn't hard. All you had to do was screw over everyone besides your allies, then use the money you got from screwing over everyone to give your allies favors. All relationships were about exploiting resources, but you had to know how to play the game. It was what had made his town one of the fastest-growing settlements this side of the Burn Line.

Yeah, he had made some mistakes. He had thought that the refugees from Gilroy were nobodies to be screwed over instead of allies to be favored. Then he had been betrayed by his own bodyguard, who he had leveled up at great expense. Hundredborn must have gotten to him before somehow.

And wasn't that just the rub.

Everything about Joshua Hundredborn was so frustrating. There was someone who didn't know how to play the game. Putting aside the part where he had usurped Hawk over taxes, of all things—as if the man didn't know how bribes were supposed to work—he then went on to completely ruin the town and his own power within it.

He had multiple unique and valuable advantages that he handed out to random townsfolk. Like most ignorant peasants, they didn't know how to properly use new classes or bloodstones, so there was little actual benefit from giving them such things. Instead, he had just painted a giant target on the town the moment someone realized what he had done. Not to mention that sooner or later, one of those people was going to use this power he had given them and usurp him in turn. Biting the hand that fed them was just about all people were good for, after all.

Hawk had heard something about that happening already, some refugee named Baara all but kicking him out of the mayor's office. As amusing as all that was, it could have been avoided if Hundredborn had just come to Hawk in the first place. Offered his unique abilities to someone who knew how to put them to use.

It was far too late for that now. Hawk was long past the point of accepting alliances from traitors. It only cemented Hawk's resolve more firmly. Hundredborn needed to die. The fact that the man had survived more than a few of Hawk's assassins didn't change that.

Thankfully, there were more than enough people in this town willing to make that happen.

Well. Not more than enough. Enough, barely. The villagers were, as to be expected, short-sighted fools. The moment Hawk didn't have the full authority of his office—and access to the treasury—he had far fewer friends. Most of the little people were seduced by their “new mayor's” generosity, and most of the important people just weren't willing to work for free.

Hawk really was considering running. He had copies of the bloodstones that Hundredborn had been spreading around. He could find another town out here. There were still a few, though this far out they often didn't have citystones. He could roll in, make some deals, and own half the town in a month. By the end of the season, he'd have his own little fiefdom set up, in the perfect position to become a real powerhouse after the reset.

But he'd do even better if he could collect that bounty first.

“Uh, sir? Mister Mayor?”

Hawk was knocked out of his musings by Michael. The man looked like stereotypical dumb muscle, and he had the stereotypical dumb muscle class. But he was worth more than people thought. He was loyal, respectful, and smarter than he looked. Getting the Tough Thug class was harder than it sounded, and now that he had it the man was practically impossible to kill. That alone made him invaluable.

Of course, as grateful as Hawk was to have him, the fact that he was here was just more proof of the usurper's insanity. When you had your enemies in your power, you either crushed them or enslaved them. Neither had to be literal; in fact, Hawk had received a good reputation for not killing people by ruining his enemies instead. The point was that one way or another, you had to make sure the threat was neutralized.

“Apologies, Michael,” Hawk said with a fatherly smile. “You were telling me how you escaped?” At least Hundredborn hadn't just freed the people who tried to assassinate him. If he had, Hawk would have had to give up all belief in a logical universe.

“Uh... yes sir. It's not a long story, sir.” He stepped aside. “Miss Jael freed us.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

The woman with the rogue-type class, something Shadow, stepped forward. Hawk wasn't sure if she had been hidden by Michael's bulk, or if she had used a class ability. She nodded politely. “Lord Mayor,” she said. “I hope returning your men shows my continued dedication to our alliance.”

“It does,” he said. Then he frowned. “Wait. I thought you couldn't talk?”

She ignored his question. “You wish to take back your town from a man with a very large bounty on his head. I would be happy to assist in this endeavor.”

Hawk resisted the urge to grind his teeth. “You want the bounty as well.”

She considered for a moment, before shaking her head. “I would like a cut, yes, but that is not why I am here. My goal is the girl. Ruth Moore.”

Interesting. “I presume you want her alive.” The bounty was quite clear on that.

She nodded. “I have my own mission, and her survival is paramount. If she dies, I am under strict orders to eliminate everyone.”

Hawk raised an eyebrow. “Everyone meaning...”

“Everyone who could possibly be considered to have even the slightest amount of guilt in the matter,” she said flatly. “You will very much be on that list.”

Hawk wanted to dismiss the threat, but he hadn't gotten this far by being an idiot. She was, at minimum, a competent stealth-focused [Attacker]. He suspected she had an Improved-tier class. He had little interest in testing her.

“Very well,” he said. “I will put out the word that she is to be kept safe.”

Michael coughed discreetly. Hawk glanced at the man. He was standing over by the door, trying to stay out of the way where no one would notice him. As if a man of his size could hide in Hawk's dining room.

“Yes?” Hawk asked with a raised eyebrow.

“If you'll recall, sir, we had a chance to see Miss Moore fight before,” he said. “It's one of the reasons we recommended not to attack while she was present.” He nodded to Jael. “Though in hindsight, I suppose you would have preferred that anyway.”

Jael acknowledged the point with a nod.

“What I'm trying to say, sir, ma'am, is that she's a tough fighter. She likes being in the thick of it. Making sure she's... safe is going to be a lot harder than just staying out of her way.”

Hawk drummed his fingers against the table. “He does make a good argument.” Or so Hawk assumed. He had certainly never seen the girl fight himself. That was why he hired people, after all. “That partner of yours. The priest. I don't suppose he is around?” [Healers] often had non-lethal combat spells.

Jael shook her head. “He is busy. He says he wants to bring in allies.”

“Oh? Anyone helpful?” Hawk knew backing these two would pay off in the long run. Mysterious allies were always a fun one.

But Jael just shrugged. “Never met them. But going off of Hou Zheng's skills, I think anyone he brings in could conquer this village by themselves. I'm just not sure they'll make it in time for anything.”

Hawk wished she had found another way to phrase it, but fine. He nodded. “So we should proceed on the assumption that we will receive no further assistance. I was prepared for this.” He picked up the box he had placed on the floor next to his chair. It was the size of a shoe box, but made of strong oak with multiple latches. He put it on the table. “Michael. If you would.”

Michael hesitated, but stepped forward. He clicked open the locks one by one, then opened the lid. Hawk could sense the man's confusion. The device didn't look like anything special. Just a simple leather choker with some runes inscribed on the inside, glowing so dimly that they were hard to see. It didn't have an aura of menace or power, it didn't try to reach out to control everyone in the room. It didn't even have any mundanely unsettling things like a thorn design or a large lock on the front.

Hawk was not surprised that Michael didn't recognize it on sight. The devices were exceptionally rare. They had been rare before the fall of humanity, and now literally no one had the ability to make more. Hawk didn't even know where they had come from. Magic items lost their power if left untouched for a year. Had the Eight Immortals found a box of these early on and just decided to keep them for some reason?

Jael, however, immediately recognized it. Suddenly she was by Michael's side, looking down at the object. It happened so fast that Hawk suspected that she had literally teleported.

“Ah,” Hawk said. “It seems you are familiar with my trump card.”

“That,” she said thickly, “is a Slaver Collar.” Her voice was filled with disgust, far more emotion than he had ever heard from her before. “Where in the world did you get a Slaver Collar?”

“There are a handful left, around the world,” Hawk said carefully. “I wonder, did the Eight deliberately preserve them in case they might need them one day? Or did they just grab every magic item they could find in the early days to make sure that they were not lost?”

Jael looked up. He couldn't see her face through her full face wrappings, but he could feel her glaring at him. “If you try to use this on Ruth—”

He waved that away, as if the thought had never occurred to him. “Of course not, of course not! What do you take me for?” He grinned wickedly. “This is for Joshua Hundredborn.”