After stepping over the rubble of the wall, Arthur couldn’t help but stare at the sight that greeted him.

Signs of damage covered almost every building, and though they had attempted to clean up the rubble, some of it remained scattered about in small piles. As his eyes drifted over the remains of the battle, he ended up focused on the fountain.

When he’d first arrived, he remembered seeing women sitting on the edge underneath the well-dressed man in armor. They’d laughed and waved to The Explorer, but no such sight met him under the now-headless statue’s presence.

In fact, as he looked around, he noticed very few people moving about the streets of the compound. Those that were present clutched weapons and walked with swift purpose.

As Arthur followed Theorisa toward the museum, he noticed that their small group drew some attention, with some passersby giving subdued greetings to both Theorisa and Charleston. One even stopped for a brief chat in a hushed whisper.

Though he tried not to look like it, Arthur did his best to listen in on the conversation. If they were going to meet with The Council today, it seemed like a good idea to get a feel for what they might walk in on.

From what he overheard, the news wasn’t good.

With all the recent mutant attacks, people’s spirits were wearing down. Alyssa was doing what she could to give everyone breaks, but it simply wasn’t enough. Tired knights snapped at those around them, which caused most people to stay inside.

This had the compounding effect of making everyone even more wary as they stayed cooped up in their homes. As they moved, Arthur caught sight of children staring out of windows at them. He waved to one, a boy who clutched a wooden sword to his chest, but a woman’s hand pulled the child away.

The single time they passed a group of patrolling knights, he thought there might be a fight. They glared at them, or more accurately, at Theobold and Augustus. Theorisa stepped forward, and the group backed off without speaking a word. Still, Arthur knew that without the older woman, the situation wouldn’t have ended as cleanly.

No one spoke as they climbed the stairs to the museum and pushed their way through the front doors. An empty hallway greeted them, even the banners somehow seeming more worn than the first time he’d seen them. It made his stomach churn. He still remembered the hustle and bustle of his first visit and the way people had greeted The Explorer so enthusiastically.

This was wrong.

“Where is everyone?” He asked as they started towards the room he’d met the council in for the first time.

Charleston shrugged, his clanking armor loud in the otherwise silent hall. “If the injuries were as severe after the attack, the majority are either in the barracks or the infirmary. Between that and the mutant attacks, keeping people home and quiet makes sense.”

“It does,” Theorisa agreed. “However, they should know better than to let the knights be so aggressive. The last thing we need is a rift forming. No, I will have to speak to Alyssa about this. Perhaps Cyrus too? If we have the supplies, some kind of celebration might be in order. Something to lift the spirits.”

Excited murmurs came from the group, and Arthur couldn’t help but smile at the idea. A party could be fun, and it would give him the chance to chat with Cyrus about the possibility of supplying the knights with weapons and armor.

Plus, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been to a party, even before he died. Charleston let out a laugh.

“We certainly have the news for that!”

As the conversation turned to parties and names he didn’t know, Arthur did his best to think about how he was going to handle the upcoming meeting. In some ways, he wished Jemima had elected to come along, but he could also understand why she hadn’t wanted to.

With Hulvin’s reaction to mutants, he would be especially obnoxious with a new face. That, combined with her desire to dive back into the sewers to keep an eye on things, made it the obvious choice for her to stay.

He’d simply have to hope that The Council wouldn’t be stubborn about listening to what they had to say.

“Can I help you?”

The voice was familiar, and as they turned the corner, Arthur saw Sienna sitting before him in a small plastic chair. The younger girl held a book in her lap—a romance, if he was judging the cover right. A part of him wanted to ask about it, but Theorisa beat him to it.

“My dear, what’s wrong?”

At her words, he really looked at the girl sitting before him, and he saw the redness of her eyes. With one hand, she reached up to wipe her face before shaking her head.

“N-nothing ma’am. I’m sorry. Are you here to see The Council? They’ve asked not to be disturbed, so...”

“Nonsense,” Theorisa said. “You’ve been crying. Is it Squire Huckle again? I told you that boy was no good. Head in the clouds.”

Arthur noticed her cheeks redden before she vigorously shook her head. One knight chuckled, but Charleston shot him a dirty look that quickly shut him up.

“No. No, he’s been great. Just, well, The Crafter-Captain is in a bit of a mood, is all. I really wouldn’t disturb him.”

“Is he now?” Theorisa’s tone was dark, and from the hunch of her shoulders, he could tell they would see The Council soon. With a deep breath, she forced a smile onto her face.

“Tell me, Sienna. What exactly has put Hulvin in such a mood?”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“It’s the attacks.” The girl’s words came out swiftly, as though she was worried Theorisa would get angry at her for dawdling. “He says we should start pushing back instead of hiding. Send our people out to clear the monsters once more. His idea is to start up another crusade.”

Behind him, someone cursed, and Arthur couldn’t help but roll his eyes. His opinion of the man was already low, but this was simply stupid. While he wasn’t a military expert, even he knew sending a squad out to invade The Pit after having so many people injured was beyond pointless.

“What could he be trying to accomplish?” Arthur thought as Theorisa tried to tease more details out of the girl. “Or is he simply angry and lashing out? I suppose I should take it as a good thing he hasn’t had it come into his head to launch a crusade against one of my stores.”

Arthur shook his head as Sienna opened the door and gestured for them to come inside. As soon as she did, he could hear an angry, drunken voice bellow out of the hall.

“Girl! I told you we were not to be disturbed!”

“I think I’m too old to be called a girl by you, Hulvin,” Theorisa said as she strolled into the room.

The rest of the group quickly followed, and Arthur watched The Council’s annoyed expressions deepen as the doors banged shut behind him.

***

Theorisa didn’t give Hulvin more time to speak as she grabbed Arthur’s arm. Her grip was tight, but he didn’t resist as she dragged him towards the table, muttering curses under her breath.

It surprised him to see her this angry, but from the sneer that covered Hulvin’s face, he suspected it was about to get worse. Behind him, he could hear the sounds of Theobold and Augustus quickly following along. A fact that The Council didn’t miss either.

While Cyrus simply nodded at his two bodyguards and Alyssa rolled her eyes, Hulvin stabbed forward with a finger to point at them.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“The meaning of what, Hulvin?” Theorisa snapped back.

“That monster! I understand why Alyssa spoke up for your child. But that? No. I shall not have such a thing making a mockery of this chamber.”

Rage flashed in Arthur’s mind, and he imagined how easy it would be to snap the man’s wooden leg that sat jutting out from the table. A single swing of his cane would be all it would take.

“How arrogant would he be on the ground with my claw at his throat?”

Arthur didn’t realize he was baring his teeth until Alyssa let out a cough, and he realized each member of the council was looking directly at him. It took sheer will to relax his shoulders as he answered Hulvin in the most neutral tone he could manage.

“I’m pretty sure the only one making a mockery of this place is you.”

“How dare you!” Hulvin’s chair squeaked as he stood, his hand gripping the table. “This is a private meeting. You shouldn’t even be here.”

“The news we come with is too important to wait,” Theorisa said as she gestured towards Alyssa. “Plus, it would be a good cause for celebration.”

“And that would be?” The Knight-Captain asked.

It struck Arthur then how exhausted the woman looked. Slouched shoulders and a suppressed yawn replaced her normally strong posture and tone. While he wouldn’t try to fight her, Arthur could tell recent events were weighing on her.

Theorisa gestured for Charleston to move forward and join them. Once he’d arrived, she didn’t beat around the bush any further.

“One of Arthur’s people has found an alternate route into The Pit, a route that may allow us to skip through the chemical labs and their entire mess.”

That caught everyone’s attention, even Hulvin’s, whose eyes dropped to look at his wooden leg.

“Are you sure?” Alyssa asked in a curt tone.

“We didn’t see the exact map,” Charleston said. “We wanted to come and get you the news as soon as possible.”

“I see. And the map is?”

Arthur sat and listened as Alyssa grilled them on the details of what Jemima had told them. While she did, he wondered if perhaps he should have asked more questions.

“I see,” she repeated as she sat back in her chair. “Kourtney, what do you make of it?”

The Scribe-Captain looked up from her book, her pen pausing over her ink well as she gnawed at her lip.

“It’s possible? We’ve seen signs of other entrances rather than going through the top, though most showed signs of cave-ins. I can check the diaries, but they aren’t with me.”

Her mention of the diaries reminded Arthur of his idea of getting more information about the various monsters. Though, as he looked around the table, he knew it wasn’t the time to ask. Each of them looked serious, and even Hulvin had stopped glaring at Augustus to pay attention.

“But you haven’t heard anything?” Cyrus asked, his hand gripping the staff that leaned against the table.

“I mean, I know of the rumors of other ways in, but no one’s bothered. We have our path, and it’s kept clear.” Kourtney frowned, though if it was because of her lack of knowledge on the subject or the interruptions to her writing, Arthur wasn’t sure.

“I say we go and investigate.”

All eyes turned to Hulvin, who remained standing. His eyes were wide, and the booze smell had somehow grown worse.

“No,” Alyssa said with a shake of her head. “We don’t have the people, not until everyone is better. Even with Arthur’s healing, he didn’t get them all.”

Hulvin’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the table.

“What do you mean, no? This is the best chance we’ve had in a while. We need to find out where the monsters are coming from! This situation is untenable.”

“He’s not wrong,” Cyrus said.

When Alyssa turned her gaze onto him, the Trade-Captain ran a hand through his short gray hair. “This is something we need to investigate. I’m not saying we send people all the way in, but we should at least get a look at this map they spoke about.”

“Agreed,” Kourtney murmured, her hand a blur as she scribbled in the book.

“I put it to a vote!” Hulvin called out and raised his hand. “All in favor of sending in a squad?”

“Wait, I want restrictions.” Alyssa said. “We are only going to send them to the map and no further. Not right now.”

“Seconding that restriction,” Cyrus said, as he raised his hand.

Hulvin scoffed as he turned to Alyssa. “Your predecessor wouldn’t have shied away.”

“And how did that work out for you?” Her tone had no edge to it, but as soon as she finished speaking, the room fell deadly quiet.

Arthur felt his hand tighten on his cane, and he did his best to relax his grip. Beside him, both Augustus and Theobold shifted into more combative stances. The air thrummed with a promise of violence as Hulvin stared open mouth at Alyssa.

“How dare you!”

He attempted to leap forward, but his wooden leg slipped out from under him. His grunt of pain was loud as he hit the ground, and one of Charleston’s knights moved forward to assist. Tears dripped from his eyes as he slapped away the helping hand.

“How dare you!” He repeated, his voice harsh. “You know what would have happened if we hadn’t gone!”

“I do. But this isn’t the same situation. Knight, please take The Crafter-Captain to his room. We shall reconvene on this tomorrow.”

“You cannot dismiss me like some child!” Hulvin staggered as he got to his feet, but two other knights grabbed his shoulders as Alyssa gestured towards him.

“Then stop acting like one. Take him away.”

Cyrus coughed as the knights finished dragging Hulvin from the room. “So, shall we finish the vote? All in favor?”

Kourtney was the last to raise her hand, and only after checking to make sure she’d covered her ink well. Alyssa nodded around the table.

“In that case, we shall send a squad to check the map and go no further. Kourtney, I’m assuming you have people in mind?”

“I do,” she agreed.

“Excellent, if there is nothing else?”

“Actually, there is one thing,” Theorisa said with a smile.

“Oh?” Alyssa looked exhausted at the sheer thought, but once Theorisa answered, she perked up.

“I think this calls for a celebration, don’t you?”

From the cheering that came from the knights behind him, Arthur didn’t think they needed to run a vote on this one. He turned out to be right, and so he found himself settled into Hulvin’s vacant chair as the discussion turned to exactly how much food he could provide for the event.