Deran swallowed nervously, going over and over what he was going to say. His mind was racing, discarding half-formed ideas with slight noises of frustration. Gorgath unhelpfully suggested that he could just picture the crowd naked if it would make him feel better, to which Luke started roaring with laughter, "Yes. Picture them all naked. That works every time!"

Deran flushed and used his three skill points, rounding his charisma up to ten and bringing his wisdom up to average. It wasn't particularly useful to him but the thought of a less than average score galled him and every time he looked at his sheet, it nagged at him.

"Alright." Deran tried to shrug off some stress, looking at the small crowd forming. There was a little over twenty people gathered to listen to him, some out of simple curiosity as to why a man was standing on the market stage so late in the day, while others were people he had helped over the past few weeks. "I have always hated public speaking. That hasn't seemed to change one bit. Time to get started."

He climbed up on to the platform and was dangerously aware of how many eyes were on him. The moment he began to speak though, his newfound stats took over and smoothed out his worries, "My friends of Tarth, thank you for coming here today to listen. Most of you know us. You know the lies told about our friend and companion, Gorgath. Not only that, you know he went out his way to save the one he had been accused of taking! Truly, a hero. I hold sorrow in my heart when I tell you that not all Orcs are like this. Most of them aren't, in fact, and currently, hold our very capital at siege. With the bulk of our armies spent trying to hold that city, there are none to protect us. Bandits grow more confident and stronger by the day and sooner, rather than later, you will pay the price for this war. Already we have lost a man on the road. What will happen when the road is no longer safe at all and our little village is completely cut off from the rest of the world? There is no one else who can protect you." Deran paused for a long moment, listening to the tension build. Just before the quiet turned awkward or angry, he spoke in a quiet voice, forcing them to draw closer to hear him, "No one, except yourselves. I'm offering any man who wishes to help protect his home to join me and my companions, to rid our home of the growing menace. I offer arms, armor, and a death token to the first dozen men who join us. You can make the difference that our king cannot. You can keep our people safe."

Deran turned and walked off the stage, not wanting to look out at the crowd. Part of him was worried about what he might see if he did. His words were already ringing back hollowly in his ears, worry nagging at him. What if they were scoffing at him, laughing or making rude gestures. Ignoring the message and causing them to fail before they began. He didn't even notice the new icon flashing at the edge of his vision.

Even worse was the fact that it could be the opposite. He was scared that he would see hope, faith, and resoluteness in them that showed they would follow him to battle. Follow him to their deaths. His future was bound up in this but theirs were just as much. What right did he have to twist these people into giving up their lives? Who was he, to think he could command these people or lead them anywhere.

Deran felt one of his old panic attacks coming on, something that hadn't happened since he had logged into the game. This made it even more real to him, causing him to gasp out an apology to Luke before stumbling away to find a moment of quiet. Long moments passed before Gorgath appeared around the corner, sitting next to him in a cramped and cluttered alleyway.

"You worry about these people, yet you are not of them," Gorgath spoke, his head cocked to the side, "You continue to surprise me, nofang. First with me and now these people who would still be considered strangers. You have taken much on your shoulders for one so young."

Deran blinked at the NPC's casual way of mentioning the fact that he wasn't from this world, "Wait, you know that I'm not from here?"

Gorgath's eyes peered back at him in the darkness, "Yes. It is quite obvious. You still look around the town as if lost at times, attempting to find your bearings. One who had been born in this village would know it like the back of his hand. It is not hard for one like me to see. Reading people is necessary for music to move them."

"Oh." Deran relaxed, sitting back against the stone once more, "That. Yeah, I'm still at a loss all over the place. I'm not certain I'm doing the right things. There are so many choices and new things to learn and the one person I had to guide me is some monster that almost no one knows anything about." The words poured out of him faster than thought and he forced his mouth closed to gain a moment to think.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

His companions voice was quiet in the shadows of the alley but he heard them clear as day, "These doubts are things that show you capable of being a leader. You care about the people and they can see it. I think you will be surprised by the amount willing to follow you. But more so, they also want to thank you."

"Thank me?" Deran sputtered, disbelief clear in his eyes, "You must be joking. None of them know if they would even survive!"

"You have given them a purpose. Even before the Fey powers were back, this world has been growing darker. The attack from the Orcs is a part of it but their remains something else. Something I can't put my finger on. These people were worried, scared, and feeling worthless. You gave them hope for their families and a reason to go make a change. You provide them the means to be better men. Don't discount that too harshly." 

The words did little to calm him, though Deran felt his anxiety take a step back as his newly enhanced brain began breaking the problem down analytically. "Right. No need to stress when I'm not even certain. The bandits might not be much of a threat. The ones we put down may have been the majority of them." He let out a shaky breath, "Thank you, Gorgath. You are a good friend, most of the time. We should go help Luke out, he's probably going to be pissed I ran out of there."

"Aye," Gorgath clapped him on the shoulder and stood, shaking out the kinks in his legs, "You are a good friend as well. You have also grown and are no longer an idiot." He paused and looked back over his should gleefully, "Most of the time." He had to dodge a hastily thrown bottle but was laughing uproariously the entire time.

Deran chuckled and finally noticed the new icon, flashing away.

 But words will get you farther skill increased to 5(9)! Commanding Presence ability unlocked.

 Commanding Presence: You fill those around you with confidence in your abilities. Grants you the ability to have NPC followers in your party.

"Now that is interesting," Deran muttered to himself, dismissing the windows to see Luke's grinning face.

He wasn't nearly as upset as Deran had thought he would be, looking more surprised than anything else. "Hey. Some good news, we had more volunteers than we have armor. I told them I would let them know when I could. All in all, we have fourteen men willing to fight for us, waiting back at the inn."

Deran began to smile but paused, a frown appearing, "Wait, you kept fourteen? We only have the gear for twelve, Luke. Where did you tell them to meet, we will have to drop two more."

Luke nodded his head to something behind Deran, causing him to turn and see the two soldiers who had protected him from TriggerHappy69. Each was still outfitted in the armor he had seen, swords swinging idly by their sides. "Hail, nofang!" The blonde one spoke with a flashing smile, "Seems like we'll be stuck with you for a while longer."

"If you ask me, he should be grateful. Seems to need protection more often than naught, from what our friend Gorgath was telling us."

Luke tried to hide a snort but failed, ending up laughing a full belly laugh, "Aye and they come with their own gear too."

Deran nodded sharply, "Excellent. As long as the mayor is okay with me taking two of his men."

"Two of his "best" men." The blonde one chimed in, causing a round of laughter. "He is fine with it. In fact, he sends his well wishes."

"My apologies. Best men. I'm glad to have you. Now, let's go look at these new recruits. Tomorrow we start to train them to not kill themselves. As soon as it's safe to do so, we hunt out those bandits and attack."

"I will begin searching the woods immediately. It will take some time to find these bandits." Gorgath rumbled quietly, "Besides, I need no training from nofangs."

Deran agreed and the walk back to the tavern was quick. The innkeeper's face was rosy, with a tinge of sweat as he ran around taking drink orders. He gave a quick wave to Deran when he walked in, "This lot is your fault, I'm told. I suppose I should thank you for the business!"

"Aye." Deran sat at a space that opened at the bar and looked around at the crowded room, "Do you mind me using the stage to talk to them all?" The innkeeper waved a hand and nodded, turning back to filling up drinks. 

Getting back on a stage to address them wasn't really on his list of favorite things to do but in the cramped spaces of the inn, he didn't have much choice. Clearing his throat didn't help so Gorgath began to sing. There were no words, just a soft melody humming along, felt more than heard. The crowd instantly began to calm down, many of the men turning to look for the cause.

"Thank you, Gorgath." Raising his voice, Deran spoke, "Early tomorrow morning, we will be meeting just outside the village. You will be given weapons, armor, and split into groups to train. Until we find where the bandits are holed up, we will make good use of our time making sure everyone here knows which end of the sword gets stuck where. As a thank you for joining me, a round of ale on me!" This was met with both groans at the thought of the work and cheers at the thought of free beer. Deran waved and climbed back down, turning to Luke. "I'm going to bed and plan to be up at dawn to visit the smith and see how far his apprentice has gotten with our gear. Maybe I can rent some until they are done." He handed the rogue his purse with the remaining coins, unsure of how much all that ale was going to cost him.

Luke nodded seriously, accepted the purse, and continued playing with his dagger, "I'll see you at dawn then. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

Deran looked around and then back, "Yeah. Me too."