"Any questions?" Griffin asked his loyal subjects.

"None my Lord. I'm glad that we could make peace with you. I heard you loud and clear. I'll gather as many able-bodied Challengers as I can." Sherman answered, standing.

Objective "Establish peace between Griffin and Casterville" Completed!

New Objective Added: Prepare to battle in the Badlands!

Ehh? I didn't catch anything Griffin said. Hope it wasn't important.

"How many of your Challengers are there?" Griffin asked.

"We have at least 40, including the town guards."

"It's a start." Griffin sighed. "And their levels?"

"They are... all below Total Level 10."

"By the Gods, I knew they would be terrible, but not that bad. I've trained children that could turn every 'guard' in this place into paste without breaking a sweat. You know what? Here's my first decree for this 'town'. I, Griffin, the Lord of Ambition, declare this town's name to no longer be Casterville. It will henceforth be known as Idiotville!"

Yup, I'm gonna kill him.

"The 'Challengers' can stay here. They'd slow me down more than help with their infant-level combat Abilities. What about your levels? Since you were all council members, one of you has to at least be triple digits?" Griffin wasn't even trying to mock them anymore. His tone had changed to reflect his genuine disappointment.

"I am only Total Level 40. Phoebe is 80, and Elenore is 180."

She's Total Level 180? I think that's even higher than original Elenore was!

"You're 180? Good. At least I have one passable fighter, though I don't expect much from a woman."

Elenore's hair began to float upwards as it flared, glowing with brighter hues of red.

> Phoebe: Don't, Elenore. Remember the plan.

Elenore took a deep breath, and her hair returned to normal. Her livid expression, however, did not.

Before we begin my expedition, I'll be taking a brief moment to contact my father. I expect you all to be ready within the hour."

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Yes, my Lord," Sherman bowed.

"Oh, are there any tailors in this rut? My servant girl needs better equipment than her current rags. Give her the best gear you can manage," Griffin motioned toward Caster.

Servant girl? Rags? Is he talking about me?!

"I'll take her to the shopkeeper." Elenore stood abruptly, nodding her head toward Caster as she walked out the door.

Caster bowed to the general Roundtable, then followed Elenore closely as they made their escape from the Roundtable. Caster took a deep breath of relief.

Finally, I get a break! I've been around Griffin forever! Maybe now that I'm away from him I can figure out what's going on in town. It's a good thing we got a shopkeeper now! Man, Have I gotten new clothes before? Other than this dress and my minion robes, I don't think so!

Caster looked up at Elenore as they walked over the main and only road of the city.

I wonder if she's mad at me. If she knew it was my fault that Griffin came back to town, she would be.

"Sorry about Lord Griffin's behavior. He’s putting on a show to make you all afraid."

"What? Why are you apologizing? You ain't his mother. You're just his servant for something, right?" Elenore answered.

"Yes. He demanded that I come with him, and if I didn't then he might have killed my friends."

Oddly enough, that one isn't a lie.

"Yeah, I understand. No hard feelings. You know my name, but I didn't catch yours."

"I'm Wendy. Wendy Wacker West."

"Huh," Elenore glanced upward, but the night sky was clear and empty.

"Something wrong?"

"No, I... felt like I knew someone with that name once. Probably just Deja Vu! Anyway, nice to meet you, Wendy." Elenore's usual friendly manners returned.

"Isn't Griffin's plan to go deeper into the Badlands really dangerous? I've heard lots of scary stories about monsters and barbarians that live there."

"Oh yeah, there's plenty of horrible things lurking just over that horizon. The barbarians that will maim you and eat your limbs alive is one of the least horrible ways to go out there."

"Oh. That's... scary."

"You bet your sweet bippy it is! But don't worry, I've got your back. Just stick close to me and not even the Lake of Blood's Kindershredders will be able to get ya."

"What... what's a Kindershredder?"

"Something you don't wanna know about. Instead, let's focus on getting you some new gear." Elenore stopped as they reached the end of the housing units.

Next to the town's right-hand housing unit, there was a new, smaller building. It had a '$' symbol engraved on a wooden board that hung over its door, signifying what kind of shop it was.

I didn't even notice this was here. Probably because I was so focused on Andre and Abel, and they were over there on the left side of town.

Caster's eyes grazed over the other side of town, but Andre and his anvil were long gone.

Huh.

Elenore strode forward and knocked on the door three times.

"This fella came through town just a few hours ago. We got him a shop built nice and quick, and now he's our one and only shopkeeper! He's got a big ol' selection of gear and items from all over Perdita."

The door to the shack swung open, and a man with a large, luxurious mustache and beard stepped into the doorway.

"Good evening Councilwoman Elenore! I was just about to hop into the cot. Is this an emergency?" He asked as officially as he could for a man wearing a polka-dot print onesie.

"Yes. An emergency of style and fashion! Wendy, meet Volkiro, the Regal Mane and town Shopkeeper."

"Please, it’s just Volkiro."

Elenore leaned in toward Caster and half-whispered while covering her mouth.

"I added the 'Regal Mane' part because he's got a majestic beard."

Caster looked at the man's facial hair.

Yeah, that’s pretty majestic.

"Alright, fine. But only because I still have to pay off this shop that the city built for me, come inside and pick your wares." Volkiro propped open the door and led them inside.