I was at a loss about what I should say to him, but then just swallowed my pride and answered, “I'll get you back for it. I'm counting points you know.”
He shrugged and grinned, “As am I, master. I will return to training and building some more traps now. We all should. Our enemy is at our door step and we have to be ready for a hot welcome.”
We all returned to our duties and worked for the rest of the day in peaceful silence.
When evening arrived and my elves came back from the river with their catch, they all gathered around Gillian and ate their meals talking to their friends and family like the goblins were not an issue at all. I registered Galen and Kalla talking agitated about something but didn't want to eavesdrop.
Whatever they talked about, Galen looked like he had bitten in a lemon, while Kalla came walking to my core.
“Marcus, could you invite me inside? I have to discuss something with you in private.”
Why not? I could use some distraction from the looming doom above my proverbial head. I sent her the invitation and seconds later she sat down at my table, smiling at me.
“I had a talk with Galen about the recent events and I think we need to talk about your attitude changes in the last weeks.”
I wanted to interrupt her but she raised a hand, “Please let me end my piece and then you can add yours.” I closed my mouth and she nodded.
“I have watched you closely and saw your dialogue with the goddesses myself, so I know that they manipulated you to be more aggressive and dominant. As far as I understood your past your old world was a quite peaceful and safe place to live in, and this new place is the direct opposite of it. Add to that the coming siege and all the limits Tiria has placed on you, I think you're under massive stress.”
She paused and waited for me to answer to her speech.
I collected my thoughts and sighed before I drew a deep breath, “It's as you said. Everyone wants things from me, dragging me in this direction, then in the next moment another person pulls me in another direction. I fear for my own survival and freedom, should the goblins be successful with their attack., and to add insult to injury Tiria and Alvera want me to man up and be someone I'm not. I enjoy building things, watching them grow and inventing things. This world is demanding me to be a ruler over life and death, to make decisions I never wanted to have to make, and to become a politician which I hate. All of this because I had the stupid idea of creating a city instead of a dungeon.”
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Kalla had watched my rumbling and outbreak with a sad smile, and now leaned over the table to hold my hand, “I understand your point and I know that it's hard, but for good or for bad we have to stand together now and make the best out of it. Although you made a mistake here to think that you have to decide everything by yourself. That's something I had to learn too, you know.”
She had a sad look in her eyes and I could sense some memories lingering in her thoughts when she said those words.
“Bearing the weight of leadership is hard and demanding, sometimes calling for more than you can offer, but Marcus, you don't have to do it all alone. Use the resources available to you.”
She pointed at herself and then around the place.
“Me, your guardians, even the other elders. We will all help you with this task. This is our home now too. All you have to do is be strong for us. Be strict, but not tyrannical. You can be a benevolent ruler and also a strict one. Enforce your laws and decisions with fairness and the right degree of force.It might take some time to learn what that is, but I told Galen my piece of mind already and he had to admit that Kitara would have gotten a much harder punishment from me than she received from you. Such decisions that could influence the whole city are only to be made by you. Gather the ideas of your subjects, ask your aides about their opinions and then decide, and that is the most important part of it: Live with your decisions. Don't regret them, just accept the consequences and learn from mistakes. Staying in the past doesn't help you in the future, only when you learn from your past can you pave your way to greatness.”
Wow, she knew to do a pep talk. I was impressed how mature and wise she now seemed. The funny girl, the coquettish woman had disappeared and the noble stood before me, dazing me with her aura.
I looked down to the ground and felt somewhat stupid now, “All I ever wanted was to build a great place to live in. My past life wasn't great, I was just an ordinary guy trying to master his own life and sometimes doing a quite bad job at it. Now I have to be so much more, and I'm not sure if I'm strong enough for it,” I raised my head, looking Kalla into her beautiful eyes, “But now I will try to do my best for all of you. I was stupid to not ask for help from you and the others. I'm not very good at delegating power and tasks.”
She smirked, “Don't think you're the only one with these problems. I had to learn it too and it's a constant struggle to improve my abilities. Just be open to your trusted allies and guardians. Don't be an ass, or a blockhead. If we make mistakes, tell us about them in a constructive way and make us regret them without using a sledgehammer to correct our ways.”
Kalla sighed and then laughed, “I admit, that sometimes even with my training I have the overwhelming wish to strike the idiots and the offenders down and rip their sorry heads off, but then I take a step back and think about ways to make them eat their own shit with me grinning behind their backs about their misery. Believe me, that's much more fun than just hitting them with something solid.”
I had to laugh about her now, but was frightened at the same time thinking about her cunning and perfidious mind. This was a woman you didn't want as an enemy, but as an ally she would be an excellent resource. One I had not made use of, but that would change now.
“I think, we should have a talk every morning and evening about the city and other things from now on, wouldn't you agree, Kalla?”
She nodded with a smile and her beauty was breathtaking that moment, “Yes, Marcus, that would be the best for now, I think. In the future we should gather a council of aides to gather information and make them decide smaller issues by themselves. The bigger the city becomes, the less time you'll have to care about the smaller issues. Thank you for your trust.”
She stood and reached for my hand, pressing it firm and with a serious face.
“Let's meet tomorrow morning again and talk about the next project.”
She disappeared and left me alone in my inner mind contemplating about what just happened.
Even if everything she said made perfect sense, she got more from this deal than me, I think.
This cunning woman was more dangerous than I thought. I would marry her, if I could, just to make sure she stayed on my side.