They had only travelled another block before a relay of barks reached them. It was Bixby’s wolves letting them know that people approached, and they were in the company of Mirabella. Bixby answered to let the group pass and quickly, a large group of people emerged from the dark. Joe was relieved to see the dwarves as well as Harrison, Kyle the barbearian and the blonde healer, Serenity. They were also accompanied by a group of about twenty other citizens of varying classes, every single one of them on alert.
It was Rory that broke the mood, “Ach, Joe, lad you sure know how to ruin a dwarfs beauty sleep. When Bella came to let us know you’d gone out and about and had a bunch of wee ones in tow, I cannae say we were surprised. Although you could have invited us along.”
Joe shrugged, “Sorry guys, Bixby and I really wanted to test our classes and we weren’t tired at all. Plus,…” He said gesturing at Bob and the children, “…we made some new friends.” Joe took a few minutes to introduce everyone while Serenity moved easily among the children, bringing a calm to them all as she checked for injuries. Bob seemed overly protective of the children, especially the girl, Rebecca, but followed the introductions and remained docile. Joe took Kier and Kyle aside and spoke to them about the Oath he swore to Bob and Kyle made assurances that no one would bother the treant. The rest of the trek was made with Joe recounting to his friends what had happened from the time he left the city center to then, with all three dwarves chiming in with questions. Rory most of all as he was indignant that he did not get to help fight the wyvern.
Harrison was agog at Joe and looked at him almost with hero worship, which greatly disturbed Joe. He made a mental note to have a talk with the kid. Harrison also had no issue chatting up both Ramon and Rebecca as they were all of similar age. His presence really made a difference in Ramon’s demeaner as he relaxed somewhat and was just as eager to talk as Harrison was. Kier commented that the two were headed towards a solid friendship. All in all, Joe was happy with the outcome.
Eventually, Bixby dismissed his wolves, and the entire group made their way back to the city center. The children were brought to the newly made orphanage inside the former county building and Harrison volunteered to help Ramon and Rebecca find their own rooms to stay in. Unsurprisingly to Joe, both teens opted to stay with the younger children for a bit longer to make sure they were adequately taken care of. All the children said their goodbyes to both Bob and Bixby, and not even one approached Joe or Mirabella. Again, not a surprise to Joe.
Joe guided Bob, followed by quite a few citizens still up and curious about the treant, to the forested area behind the main building. This strip of land was once a parklike walking area between the county building and the river and had been a homeless encampment more than a few times. Now, with the river overflowing its original embankments, the strip of land was narrower, but Edward had kept the area free of any new construction. In the darkness of the early morning, it looked a bit imposing as the trees were tight against one another, but once they had passed the first line of redwoods, there was an open area of grass and wildflowers that were hidden from view.
Joe marveled at the manner of Bob’s passing among the trees. Even though the redwoods dwarfed the walking willow, they all magically bent and shifted out of his way as he passed between them and into the grassy plot.
“Hhhrrmmmm.” Bob’s roots moved him along towards the center of the area where he eventually stopped, and they dug themselves in deep. “This will make a fine Grove.” Bob’s face spun on his trunk to face Joe. “I thank you for keeping to your oath. This land feels special, and I can tell my roots can grow and replenish here.”
Joe beamed at the tree. “I am very happy to be able to provide the space. Please know that we will have several guards posted so that you are not bothered by the people here.” He gestured to indicate the small group of people standing in the tree line watching.
“That is of no concern. Let them come. Your people are welcome under my shade. Just know that there are only a few that I will find interesting enough to converse with.” Bob’s trunk settled with a few creaks and his limbs and leaves all shook out in relief like a dog shaking water off its fur. “The girl child is especially welcome.”
“Fair enough. My friend, I will leave you to your recovery. I am certain there are a load of people that are wanting my attention.”
As predicted, there were in fact a lot of people waiting to speak with Joe. His friends, the council members and several citizens all had questions. Joe politely told his friends to wait, and they all understood. The random citizens were also asked to wait so that he could speak with the council first. Those people he met in the Sanctuary Center in the basement. He nodded in approval as he descended the stairs down. Fortified doors and guards were a nice addition to the stairway and hall leading to the room. Inside the room, Edward had made it more functional with desks along the walls and more comfortable chairs and lighting. The room was still dominated in the middle by the massive wooden table that showed the topographical map of the city.
Aside from Kyle the Barbearian, Serenity and Holly, all the rest of the council was present. Joe noted that all of them wore better armor and clothing. “You guys don’t sleep either huh?” He asked to the room as he walked in, Bixby just behind him. All activity stopped as all eyes were instantly on him, then as if a switch was thrown, everyone went back to what they were doing. However, in that moment, Joe felt a combination of fear and relief. What the hell was that about? Joe’s internal questions were interrupted as Edward came up to Joe, his hand out. Joe shook the kindly looking, older man’s hand. “Edward. You guys have been busy I see.”
A genuine smile graced Edwards bearded face and his eyes crinkled, leaning heavily into the Santa Claus look, “Joe, this interface is amazing.” He gestured to the table and guided Joe over to take a closer look. He gestured and portions of the city zoomed into a better view. “We’ve managed to build a very defensible bastion around the city center as you know, and we’ve created a secondary wall further out. It’s not wholly complete just yet as we are being persnickety about what to remove in place of the wall, but we’re getting there.” Joe could see that the city map had another wall displayed, much like the inner wall, but this one had segments missing, mostly in the southern areas which is why he did not notice anything new as they had come back to the city.
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Edward continued, “We’ve managed to create a small amount of housing, but most of the buildings in the city center are slated to be merchant spots. With the dwarves wanting to trade, we have deemed it prudent to create a mercantile district as well as a place for dignitaries, such as your friends to stay while in New Santa Cruz.” He fiddled with the map, and it zoomed directly into the top of the main building. “We’ve renamed the old county building, Sherman Keep. We uh, hope you don’t mind.” Edward squinted his eyes a little dubious as to how Joe would receive the news.
Joe sighed and smiled, “That’s fine, but man, my nephew is gonna milk that for all it’s worth.” Edward visibly relaxed as Joe seemed fine with the name. Joe looked at the display, pointing, “What’s that?”
Edward clapped his hands together, “That, good sir, is a gargoyle!”
“Is it dangerous? Do I need to go kill it?” There was a tinge of worry in Joe’s voice and Bixby’s fur bristled.
“Oh, well, dangerous for any intruders, but not for our people.” Edward’s voice was filled with excitement. “We unlocked a security parameter that allows us to create and install sentry gargoyles. They will activate either autonomously in case of an attack, or we can directly control them as needed. So far, we have six with another six currently being crafted by the System. All we needed was the materials and it so happens that between the materials you supplied and those from your friends, we could make twelve total.”
Joe’s eyebrows shot up, “That’s… That’s badass!”
“Isn’t it just?” Edward waved his hand and the table returned to its overall view of the city. “Now, the reason we wanted to speak with you was to run a few things past you before we implemented them. Holly insisted that you be involved with these particular decisions.” Edward led Joe and Bixby to the back of the room where there were several couches and comfy chairs arranged in a circle with a coffee table in the middle. The others began to congregate there and within a minute, everyone was present and seated.
Roland spoke first, “Joe, we cannot state enough what a miracle it is that we have this City. And we thank you for allowing us near carte blanche to do what we need to do to keep everyone safe.” He leaned forward and steepled his fingers, “As you may guess, running a system of government is a laborious job and there are many decisions to be made. We would like to ask permission to continue making the day-to-day decisions and ask that you trust us to make the harder choices as well.” He sat up a bit straighter as he saw Joe’s eyes narrow just a bit. Ronald held out his hands placatingly, “We are not asking for you to give us full control, just to trust us to make bigger decisions.”
“Like what?” Joe asked with hesitation in his voice.
“Well, like implementing taxes and creating a lottery for land development for starters.” Konrad interjected. Joe saw that his old torn-up denim and leather garb had been replaced with a green and brown leather and cloth combo that screamed Ranger to him. His weapons seemed to have been upgraded as well.
“Still basically day one and you want to tax people already?” Joe could feel his anger rising.
Roland, sensing the shift in mood, quickly blurted out, “No! Not right away. We’re not ready for it yet, but eventually we’ll need to. Your generous donation, while substantial, simply won’t last, and we need to be prepared for that. And our people need to be prepared. It’s not like we’re going to spring this on anyone out of the blue. But this is exactly what we are asking authority for.”
Joe relaxed as the explanation came out in a rush. He hadn’t really given any thought to the realities of governance. Was he geared to become a despot, or a benign ruler? Or worse yet, an absent ruler? The group gave him the time he needed to adjust his thinking as he absorbed the larger ramifications of leadership. Eventually, he nodded, “Yeah. I get it. Honestly, I don’t think I’m going to be around a lot for the daily grind or even the major decisions.” He made sure he locked eyes with everyone before he continued, “My sister trusts you all and so I trust you. I’m not going to give up being the owner of the core, but I also do not want the headache of running the city.” He leaned back, “You guys do what you think is right and just.” He looked pointedly at Ronald as he said it. “I will, however, reserve the right to veto or completely change something if I think you’ve jumped the shark.”
Ronald smiled and the rest of the room lightened in mood. “Thank you, Joe. We all understand the monumental task before us, and we will do our utmost to do our due diligence towards our people.”
There was an awkward pause and then Alan, the mage spoke up, “So, are you going to ask or am I going to have to do it?”
Joe, instantly alert, queried, “Ask what?”
Ronald shot Alan a look and addressed Joe, “It has to do with your Class.”
Joe cocked his head and narrowed his eyes, “What about my Class?”
“Well, you’re a Justiciar.” Ronald stated it as if that explained everything.
“Um, can you be a little more vague?” Joe was getting annoyed at this point. “Dude, just be direct, I’m not going to bite anyone’s head off.”
“We need a police force, and we didn’t know if you were going to fill that role all by yourself or if we need to create one.” Ronald tensed for Joe's reaction.
Joe sat mute for a moment and then burst into laughter. It took a few minutes for him to get control and he finally said. “Dude, no. I am not looking to be one man police force. No fucking way. You go ahead and do whatever you need to on that front.” He took a few breathes and addressed Ronald, “Didn’t you used to be a cop?”
The Holy Knight nodded and said, “I was once, and the council has asked me to create a local force to keep order within the city. Sooner rather than later, the populace will get restless, and tempers will flare. We’ll need a presence to remind people to be kind and work together.”
“Totally makes sense. You do you man.” He made sure everyone was paying attention again, “Look guys, I’m going to give you my verbal agreement here and now…” He paused and looked up at the ceiling, causing the others to look up with worry. Joe addressed the ceiling, “Not an Oath.” Then he returned his attention to the others, “You guys can do what you need to make sure this city and its people thrive. I won’t interfere and please, please, please don’t be afraid to approach me with anything that I might be able to help with.”
“So, you’re going to be hands-off then? What exactly are you going to be doing while we do all the grunt work?” Alan’s voice was full of ire.
The others looked at Alan like he had sprung a second head. Edward spoke up, “Alan, no need to act antagonistically.”
Joe, though, completely understood. “Look, my guy. I get it. You still don’t trust me. And you know what, I like that. It shows me you actually care about the people and this place. It also shows me you’re unafraid to get in my face, which is refreshing.” Alan’s demeanor began to soften as Joe’s reaction was the polar opposite to what he had expected. “As to what I’ll be doing? Most likely searching for more survivors and doing whatever I can to protect the city from any higher-level monsters that may roam into our territory. And I haven’t forgotten about the asshole elves that came earlier.” His gaze landed back on Alan. “Can I ask you a favor?”
Alan nodded hesitantly.
“Can you continue to be just as you are? Question everything. Question me, question your friends? I don’t want to see you be a yes man. You are obviously not going to roll over under pressure.” Joe was leaning forward at this point.
Alan, surprised simply said, “Yes.”
“Good! I’m glad that’s all settled. Anything else?” Joe looked around at the gathering. Everyone shook their heads and murmured no. “Okay, great. I have some other people to meet and a lot of notifications to go over.” He stood up and shook everyone’s hand then turned and walked out of the room leaving the council in a slight state of shock.