Last night, Qaton approached me about Darat.

After he stormed out of the meeting, he didn’t seem like he was doing too well. Especially because of what he shared with Qaton.

According to Qaton, he has one day to get rid of the Zi, or else Darat will do it himself.

Violently.

Needless to say, there would be dire consequences if Darat got what he wanted.

So he went to me to figure out a plan, although he didn’t seem that confident of the outcome. But when I explained my idea, his expression brightened and he suddenly regained some of the confidence that he had lost.

The smuggling ring was still disorganized after the chaos that was last night. Due to this, Qaton was unable to gather any of the group’s funds to fend off the Zi, so only I had the resources to do anything about the Zi right now.

Thankfully, I had a few golds I could use to pull some strings.

I had only a day before Darat made his move, so I needed to make the most of the time that I had.

To start with the first step of my plan, I asked him to lead me to a place that was familiar to both of us.

The Yad’s town hall.

The Yad was the administrator of this village, he collected the taxes and was the arbitrator for any disputes that may occur in the town. While he wasn’t inept at these duties, his weakness for the more extravagant things in life gave us an opening to exploit.

This was something that I could take advantage of.

I asked Qaton to lead us to him, and after he talked with one of his clerics, we eventually found a quite short, important-looking man who could not be recognized as anything other than the Yad. After he noticed our arrival, he seemed a bit confused as to why I was meeting him now.

Qaton and the Yad briefly greeted each other before Qaton said something to him that brought a look of surprise on his face.

“Hamet **** ** speaking ** you *******.”

Although I couldn’t understand some of Qaton’s words, as usual, I was certain that I knew his meaning.

He was telling the Yad that I was to speak to the Yad, through Qaton.

I knew this because it was part of the plan I detailed to Qaton, in order to execute my proposed plan, I needed to lay the groundwork necessary. And to do that, I needed to tell the Yad my thoughts directly instead of having Qaton talk with him for me.

Although I still needed to ask my questions through Qaton, I began my meeting with the magistrate of this town.

To begin, I requested Qaton to ask the Yad what instructions he was given in regards to having the Zi in the town.

After taking some time to recall his thoughts, he responded that he was to supervise the Zi and make sure that they didn’t interfere too heavily with the peace of the village. But if they did, the Yad was meant to communicate this fact to the king so it could be relayed back to their government and so that they would be forced to leave by their higher-ups.

This was useful information that he shared with us.

This meant that the Yad and the king had no interest in letting the Zi stay and that they were only there because of the wishes of their government.

However, if they were to be seen causing trouble in the village, it would be relayed back to their government and they would be ordered to leave.

This also meant that the Zi hadn’t yet influenced the Yad, and that he wouldn’t be on their side if something happened to them.

After taking a moment to recollect my thoughts, I put a part of my plan into motion. I asked the Yad if he could spread the news that the Zi had committed a crime, if something eventful were to happen to the village.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

When Qaton relayed this proposition to him, he responded with a confused look and asked for more clarification.

I told him that in a few hours, after midnight, something drastic would happen. This was to be the final phase of my plan, and it would be noticed by the whole town. So when the people look for someone to blame, I wanted to make sure that everyone would point fingers to the Zi. The Yad’s credibility alongside the Zi’s status as outsiders would make sure that everything goes according to plan.

He asked me if there were going to be any deaths involved, however I said in reply that he wouldn’t have to worry about anyone being killed. Maybe he had to overlook the fact that a bit of property was going to be destroyed, but I could assure him that none of the villagers were about to be harmed.

After thinking for a while, he looked at me and said to “convince” him that I would need three golds while gesturing the number three in his hand.

It was quite a hefty amount, but it would have been way more if he was in the pocket of the Zi. So three gold coins to get my way was a price that I was willing to accept.

I took out three gold pieces that I had gotten from the matchmaking business and placed them one by one in the Yad’s outstretched hand. When he was assured of its authenticity, he flashed a covetous smile while giving his thanks towards me.

I also asked him for a map of the whole town, and as a gesture of good will, he gave me one from a nearby drawer without any additional charge.

Then he asked me a question that I was able to understand entirely: “What will you do with my help and the map I gave you?”

Without the need for Qaton’s help, I replied:

“You’ll see.”

All while brandishing a rather cryptic smile.

The details that he wanted to know would be revealed in due time. He needed only be patient for a little while longer.

And with that, we ended our meeting and said our farewells. Out of the earshot of the Yad, I asked Qaton whether I could truly trust the Yad and he said while the Yad was many things, he wasn’t one to go back on his word. And so, I was assured that I would be able to rely on the Yad for the aftermath of my plan.

When we got back, Qaton and I began working on the final phase of my plan. I asked him to mark buildings on the map I had that didn’t have any people living in them, were made out of wood and were rather isolated from any other structures.

He got the wooden stylus he used for papyrus and encircled buildings on the map that fit the criteria that I laid out.

I took the annotated map and went out for a walk, with the intention of familiarizing myself with the locations of the marked areas.

As I walked around, being careful not to be spotted by the Zi, I noticed that most of the buildings that Qaton had marked were abandoned, wooden homes. However some of what he put on the map were also warehouses for some local businesses.

Although I thought about how the owners of these structures might be affected by my plan, I comforted myself in the fact that at least no lives would be taken. I hadn’t yet taken a life and I didn’t intend to start anytime soon.

After I finished making a round through the village to make sure I was familiar with the location of the marked buildings, I went back to the compound to prepare for the execution part of the plan.

To make sure that my plan went unnoticed by the town, I waited until an hour after midnight in order to make sure that the townspeople were all asleep. I was preparing what I needed for the plan, mainly matches and a coarse rock to light them.

Qaton stayed up to go over the plan with me, and before I left, he wished me luck.

My heart began to race as the time for the final part of the plot had come.

The core idea of the plan itself was actually quite simple.

Arson.

Ever since I heard about their disappearance due to Halel’s death from Qaton, I realized something important. This town doesn’t trust them at all. And why would they?

To them, they are dangerous outsiders who are intruding in their hometown for an incomprehensible reason. If something as quiet as Halel’s death required them to lay low for an entire month, what would happen if something more obvious was pinned on them. Something like arson?

While I had some sort of a moral code, arson was one of those crimes that didn’t really bother me all too much. As long as nobody ended up dead, I didn’t really care. All that mattered to me was that the people that kept me alive in this new world stayed alive, and I would do almost anything to keep it that way.

So if I had to burn a few unoccupied buildings to make sure the Zi didn’t threaten them anymore, it wasn’t any sweat off of my back. The plan was that, hopefully, when the villagers discovered the arson that had been committed, they would look for someone to blame.

And the Yad with his connections would spread the idea that the Zi had done it, so the whole town would be against them. If they had property in those buildings, at least it would spur their anger and make it more intense. No man is an island, as the old saying goes, and because the village would be against them at that point, no one would want to sell anything to them.

They wouldn’t have food, water or even shelter because the people who rented them their current abode would probably kick them out. They would probably grumble, but they would probably make up some excuse as to why they left the village and investigate some place else.

The addition thing that the Yad mentioned about them stirring up trouble was just an added benefit at that point, it was just another thing that my plan could fall back on if they were insistent on staying in the town.

The Zi themselves inspired the idea when they burned down the experimentation house that I used. So in a way, it was some sort of karmic justice for them to be framed for that same crime.

This was my best attempt at a plan and there was no point in wondering what would happen if it went wrong, for the obvious answer to that was either death or captivity for me and those associated with me.

So I had no choice but to assume that this plan would work, and wish myself luck that it did.

I started making my rounds around the village with only my matches and the rock that I would use to light them. I anxiously made sure that I walked quietly until I got to the first building that was marked with the map.

As I lit the first match, I noticed my hands trembling. It took a few tries but I managed to light the wooden structure before me. The wall I had set the match on burned a bright yellow as the fire spread to the whole premises. But I had no time to waste, I needed to make sure that all the buildings were burned before I was caught.

I made my way to every building that was marked on my map, with the light of the fires illuminating the sketch I had in my hands. As I set the last building ablaze, I noticed that some people had come out of their homes to investigate the fires.

Thankfully they hadn’t yet noticed me, so I dashed back to the compound and watched the flames from its doorstep. The blazes filled the evening sky with a cloud of smoke which blotted out the night sky and turned the heavens into a sooty gray

From the doorstep of the compound, I watched as the owners of the buildings desperately tried to put the fires out, but it was to no avail, for the fires just kept on raging. My heart went out to the innocent people caught up in this mess, but another part of me was happy that the plan had worked out as intended.

Amidst the pandemonium, I caught a perverse smile forming on my face. But this wasn’t due to some sick pleasure derived from people’s anguish. Instead, it was from the simple joy of knowing that everything was going the way I intended.

At that moment, I really hoped my predictions would come true. It would be a shame if all the torment I had caused would be in vain. But I knew in my heart that what I did needed to be done —for myself and the people who supported me.