Nathan followed behind Rami. His footsteps sunk into the sand. He nearly tripped before he caught himself. Rami, meanwhile, moved with experienced grace and ease—she was clearly no stranger to the sands.

Overhead, Nathan’s newfound turban brushed against his head. It was surprisingly breathable. His entire outfit had been changed out with clothes of a similar type, of loose fabric and white colors.

In the distance, Nathan spotted another sandworm flying through the air before sinking into the ground. His body tensed, and he froze in place.

Rami stopped and turned around.

“Why did you stop?” Rami asked.

“Just—monsters freak me out, you know?”

“They’re not monsters, Nathan,” Rami said. “As we explained, they’re fairly docile. We use them as domesticated animals.”

Nathan pursed his lips, then followed behind Rami. In the distance, he spotted a building.

As he got closer, he noted the fact that the soil was different—less sand, more actual dirt.

“What’s this place?” Nathan said. “Someone’s home?”

“No, this is a farm.”

“But where are all the crops?”

Rami’s fingers twitched. “Now you see why Zayen was willing to let you go so easily. Because at this point, we’ll take any help we can get.”

That’s concerning…

They walked up to the building. The door swung open, revealing a man with ragged clothes and thin cheeks. His eyes were narrowed, and his hand was hovering over a knife on his belt.

“What are you doing here?” he said. “Who are you?”

Rami’s face tightened. “You speak to Rami, of royal lineage. Hold your tongue.”

Nathan glanced at her. Her demeanour had changed entirely from earlier. There was none of the lazy coolness. Now she reminded Nathan of a stiff tree.

The man stiffened. “My apologies, my lady. I didn’t recognize you.”

“Obviously.”

Damn, she’s being kind of mean, isn’t she?

The man bowed his head. “If I might ask, my lady, why are you at my humble abode?”

“The king has dispatched this man to assist the farmers of Sandara.”

The man snorted. “No offense to you, my lady, but I doubt this man will be able to do very much. Unless he can summon water from midair, then he won’t be of much help.”

“I can do that, actually,” Nathan said. “But that’s a short-term solution.”

The man tilted his head. “What?”

“Why do you need water?” Nathan said. “How did you get water in the past?”

The man blinked.

“I used to have a well, but it dried up,” the farmer said. “Most of the farmers around here have had the same problem. At that point, the only option is to go to the river, but my farm is too far away from there for that to be a practical option. Even then, the crops near the river have been dying anyway, so who knows what the hell has been going on?”

“So what do you plan to do?” Nathan said.

“Probably sell this place—though I won’t get anything for it, realistically. Still, it’s the best I can do.”

“Hold that thought,” Nathan said.

“Huh?”

Nathan turned around and shut his eyes.

“What’s he doing?” the farmer said.

“I don’t know.”

Nathan ignored them. Voices were easy to ignore compared to a goddamn magical hurricane.

After five minutes, the white portal to his town appeared.

“What the hell—!?”

“Oh my goodness!”

Nathan walked through the portal and shut it behind himself without a second thought.

----------------------------------------

The sound of hammers striking nails hit Nathan’s ear. Nathan barely had a second to blink before a wood beam sailed toward his face.

“Duck!” someone shouted.

Nathan did so and the beam sailed harmlessly by.

The light of the portal disappeared, revealing construction en masse at a scale Nathan had never seen before. Every single building in his city was being rebuilt from the ground up.

“We need a six footer over here!” someone shouted.

“Coming right up!”

Nathan stared at the buildings.

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“They’ve really gotten to work.”

He started walking to the meeting hall when he spotted noise up ahead. He squinted his eyes. There were two hordes of people shouting at each other in front of the meeting hall. One side was composed mostly of werewolves with a handful of mushroom people, while the other side was composed entirely of mushroom people.

“These restrictions are completely unreasonable!” a werewolf shouted. “We have to apply for a temporary house using eight different forms. EIGHT!”

“This is the way we’ve always done things!” another mushroom person on the other side said. “It’s not our fault you’re unable to adapt!”

The werewolf grinded his teeth together. Nathan stiffened.

This could end badly.

He speed-walked toward the two groups. As he got closer, he caught sight of a figure in the middle. Gius, standing between the two.

“Everyone, your grievances will be settled!” Gius shouted. “The council is in deliberation as we speak!”

“What council!?” someone shouted. “A council composed entirely of mushroom people and Contractists!? How is that reasonable!?”

“The council must begin segregation immediately!” someone shouted.

“Segregation!? We will not be pushed off to the side—“

Nathan stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled as loudly as he could. The shrill sound was so loud it instantly caused everyone to stop talking and shut their ears.

A mushroom person blinked and pulled his hands away from his ears.

“I-it’s Nathan!”

“Nathan will know what to do!”

“Y-yes, of course!”

Nathan marched toward Gius and leaned in. “What the hell happened!?” he hissed under his breath.

“The inevitable happened,” Gius said. “Did you seriously think granting citizenship to a foreign army would go over smoothly? The werewolves were unable to find temporary housing, and this is the result you’re seeing before you.”

Nathan glanced over at the werewolves.

“Shit,” he said.

“Indeed. Public confidence in the council has fallen overnight, and it doesn’t help that the council isn’t united. We’ve become divided over party lines.”

Party lines!? We’re getting political now!?

“I know this is much to ask, my lord, but you need to deal with the mob.”

Nathan bit his bottom lip. He straightened his back and leveled a glare at both sides.

“This will be solved!” he shouted. “I will speak with the council, and we’ll arrange temporary housing for the werewolves. The rights and customs of the mushroom people will be respected. In the meantime, I expect all of you not to act like a deranged mob!”

There was no response. More than a few people looked at the ground, avoiding Nathan’s gaze.

“What are you still doing here!?” Nathan said. “Get out!”

One by one, the crowd slowly departed from the town square until the only ones left were Gius and Nathan.

Nathan looked up at the meeting hall.

“We’re going inside, and we’re going to figure this out,” he said. “Now.”

----------------------------------------

As Nathan approached the Meeting Hall doors, he could overhear voices inside.

“I can’t believe you’re being so insipid! They’re right to be angry, it’ll take them days to figure out these forms! Why can’t you make it simpler for them?!”

“Because our law requires it. I don’t understand what’s so hard to comprehend about this. Simplifying the process is not legal.”

“Come on, surely there’s a way around it, some loophole!”

“I designed the law myself. Even if there was a loophole, it would be problematic for me to—”

“YOU ARE LITERALLY THE PROBLEM!”

Nathan swung the council doors open, and the voices froze. Vee was halfway across the table, arms outstretched toward Burrau’s neck. She’d stopped midway through the motion and had the distinct look of a deer in headlights.

Around her, the rest of Nathan’s council had similar looks. On one side of the table was Bricks, Sticks, and Vee. On the other side was Burrau, Papim, and Casc. Fuge was off to the side, a smirk on her face.

“What are you doing?” Nathan asked.

Vee awkwardly crawled back toward her seat.

Nathan let the heavy doors swing shut behind him, the echo ringing out like a judge’s gavel. He walked toward the table. Everyone at the table squirmed under his gaze.

“Gius,” Nathan said. “Take a seat and try not to let anyone strangle anyone else.”

Gius inclined his head. “Of course.” He moved over to the right-hand side of Nathan’s chair.

Nathan planted his hands on the table and leaned forward, his glare sweeping across the group. “Start talking. I was gone for a few hours. What the hell happened?”

Vee raised a hesitant hand. “In my defense, I’ve only attempted to strangle someone three times this week, which is down from my usual five.”

“You shouldn’t be strangling anyone, Vee,” Nathan said.

Burrau adjusted his glasses, his expression imperious. “This entire debacle is the result of poor planning. Had the council properly assessed the legal ramifications of werewolf citizenship—”

“Stop.” Nathan held up a hand. “You implemented a legal process that’s impossible for werewolves to navigate?”

“It’s not impossible,” Burrau said. “It’s just thorough. Ensuring proper documentation prevents future disputes.”

Vee groaned. “Proper documentation?! It’s bureaucracy for the sake of bureaucracy! These people need roofs over their heads, not a crash course in mushroom law!”

“Mushroom law is the foundation of our society!” Papim said. “Our laws are sacred. The werewolves must respect our traditions if they wish to live here!”

Nathan turned his glare on Papim. “And how exactly does ‘sacred’ law justify letting families sleep on the streets?”

Papim faltered. “Well, I didn’t say—”

“You didn’t not say it,” Vee cut in. “Face it, you’re just as bad as Burrau—”

Nathan rapped his knuckles on the table. “Enough. This isn’t about pointing fingers.”

Bricks, who had been quietly chewing on the end of a pencil, raised a hand. “There are housing shortages, so Burrau isn’t entirely wrong to be so careful. We’ve been slapping homes together as fast as we can, but there are only so many hands to go around. And, uh, some of those hands aren’t exactly welcome in certain neighborhoods.” He gave a pointed look at Casc.

Casc bristled. “Are you accusing me of blocking construction? My lands are already overcrowded with refugees, and my tenants are furious!”

“Oh, cry me a river,” Sticks said. “You’ve got more land than you know what to do with. Maybe stop hoarding it like a dragon.”

Casc’s face reddened. “How dare you—”

“Stop!” Nathan shouted. The room fell silent again. “This is ridiculous. We’re supposed to be leaders, not a bunch of squabbling kids.”

Burrau opened his mouth, but Nathan cut him off with a sharp glare. “No more excuses. We’re going to fix this. Now.”

He gestured to Bricks. “You said the builders are stretched thin. What do you need?”

“More builders,” Bricks said. “We could use werewolves, honestly. They’re strong and fast, but, uh…” He glanced at Burrau. “Paperwork’s been an issue.”

Nathan turned to Burrau. “Fix it.”

Burrau’s jaw dropped. “But the law—”

“Fix it, or I’ll personally make you fill out every form for every werewolf in this town. Clear?”

Burrau sulked in his chair. “Crystal.”

Nathan looked at Gius. “How can we streamline the housing process without breaking the law?”

“Simple,” Gius said. “We create a temporary permit. It’ll have minimal paperwork and allow us to get homes sorted in a relatively smooth fashion. We can deal with the long-term aspect at a later date.”

Burrau opened his mouth to protest, but Nathan cut him off. “Do it.”

Burrau paused. “Very well.”

Nathan turned to Casc. “Your land’s overcrowded? Fine. We’ll designate additional areas for temporary housing. But you’re not going to raise a stink from here on out and you’re not going to get in the way of the builders.”

Casc sniffed. “I suppose that’s acceptable.”

Nathan’s gaze swept the room. “And the rest of you—figure out how to make this transition as smooth as possible. No more infighting. No more excuses. We’re solving this together, or so help me, I’ll lock you all in here until you do.”

The room was silent for a beat, and then Gius spoke from the corner. “A sensible plan. Perhaps now we can focus on the real work.”

Nathan sighed, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. “Good. Let’s get to it.”

The council started talking, discussing how to get things done. Nathan walked over to Sticks and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey,” Nathan said. “Come with me, I need your help with something.”

Sticks glanced back. “Of course. I don’t think I’ll be of much help here anyway.”

The two left the meeting hall.