A pillar of smoke rose on the horizon.

Beneath it, the outline of a marching column trekked over the plains, waving purple banners with eagle insignias.

I watched their advance through Shia’s eyes, my stomach fluttering. Ruler View overlaid my vision, showing a huge red ‘x’ drawing ever closer to our markers.

Aleister’s official declaration had surprised precisely no one. What had surprised me, though, was the Quest that had popped up as soon as it arrived:

[Diplomacy] Defeat Ribera! (Incomplete)

Force the surrender of the Riberan government.

+100 XP, +30 SP

My eyes had bugged out at those rewards. 30 SP? I had to be dreaming. Still, even after a lot of furious blinking, it hadn’t changed, so I allowed my excitement to swell.

In the War tab of Diplomacy, a drop-down list showing captured and disputed territories and even troops killed had appeared. One of those disputed territories was about to be the site of our battle.

The town of Asha sprawled underneath us, a chaotic mish-mash of wood and stone structures, all packed together in a space seemingly too small for it to fit.

Streets criss-crossed like the webs of drunk spiders, and a person unfamiliar with the layout would quickly get lost.

This helped my plan. Some of the army’s Light Mages shielded us from view as we floated. Though the town’s layout was a boon, Aleister’s force was massive, numbering at least five thousand. How many of those were Mages, I wondered?

Enough would throw a wrench in my operation’s gears. After the Verards, I’d cringed at the thought of battle, and the idea of my workaround being scuppered filled me with paralysing dread.

However, it was too late to change anything, and as the sun reached its peak, the army came close to the wooden walls of Asha. Most wore leather or chain-mail, but a few cavalry and heavy infantry approached wearing plate.

I heard the clinking as they rode up and discovered the open gates.

Confusion plastered across their faces, and a message rippled through the column, a small force of around twenty detaching and approaching the front. A burly man on horseback led them in.

Shia bit her lip, and I felt the sting. They marched through the streets, opening doors and ransacking houses, but it soon became clear the town was empty. Still, they kept moving, seeking the town centre and the Lord’s manor.

They clearly had a goal.

If they found their target, I imagined they’d summon the rest of the troops. If not, they’d burn the damn place to the ground and continue on within my borders. I couldn’t let that happen, but my plan was precise.

It worked better this way.

As they entered the central square—which held an inn, the manor, the storehouse, and a few businesses—they all scratched their heads, spears and swords held easy, tips dragging along the ground.

The horseman, who I assumed was the commander, barked an order to begin their wave of destruction.

Now, I thought, and Shia thrummed with energy.

A ripple in the air surrounded the walls, encasing the town in a dome of force. The barrier had three parts—first was Movement, which rebuffed any attempts to get in or out; second came Gravity, dragging away anyone who came too close to the barrier.

Lastly, Shia’s Divine magic, as I understood it, summoned the will of the gods to harden the air itself, but I didn’t believe that. It was probably some complicated molecular bullshit I had no hope of understanding.

Gasps ran through the advance party, and their muscles tensed, preparing to flee. Outside, Mages immediately began battering the barrier with fireballs and Movement spells, but it held easily.

Their leader, however, kept his composure. He gave orders immediately, drawing his troops into a tight formation, their backs to each other, weapons drawn.

I exited Ruler View. Nodding to Hana, I followed her out of the storehouse and into the square.

When they saw me, the Riberan soldiers all tensed, a few grins spreading as they realised the enemy’s leader had appeared before them. The commander held them back, eyeing me suspiciously.

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“You’re probably wondering,” I said, stopping twenty feet away, “where my army is.”

“Basically,” said the commander. “We expected an evacuation, but to leave your town undefended like this?”

“As you can see,” I said, gesturing to the barrier, “it’s not undefended.”

“Quite,” he replied. Now that I had a closer look, I could see that he was middle-aged, with a neat beard and shocking ginger hair. He stood even taller than Hana, and the plate made him look like a force of war unto himself.

I heard banging as siege engines crashed against the barrier.

It held.

“But why wait?” he said, tilting his head. “Why let an enemy force inside the walls?”

“Because we’re not really enemies.” Despite Hana trying to hold me back, I strode toward him, ignoring the weapons pointed at me. In reality, my heart pumped hard enough to break my ribs, but I kept my composure.

Honestly, I burned with the desire to slaughter them all. To send Aleister a message, and make him feel the same pain I had.

But he didn’t care about his people, so the effect would be limited to the loss of pieces on a game board, and besides, would that make me any better than him?

“What do you mean?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

I smirked. “We’ve both suffered the indignity of being deceived and tricked by Duke Ribera.”

“Prince Ribera,” he replied.

“Not for long,” I said. “What’s your name, soldier?”

“Captain Alus Maxwell,” he replied, straightening his sword in front of him. “Third son of the noble Maxwell family.”

“It’s always the third son,” I said. “Take a minute to consider—I could have had you killed ten times over, by now. My mages, the soldiers hidden in the storehouse, the Arbiter.”

“So why haven’t you?” He curled his lip, rubbernecking furiously.

“I want to show you something.”

“Like what?”

I grinned. “Shia!”

***

We emerged from the portal into Larm’s plaza, which had become something of a thoroughfare of late. At the far end, a stage held performers from the Royal Theatre Company, putting on a musical for a sizable crowd.

Without the amphitheatre, I’d had to improvise.

Around it, several stalls had popped up, and the mouth-watering aroma of fried food drifted up our nostrils. The Merchant Guild had commandeered a building next to the Treasury, and its work was already starting to show an effect.

People danced and laughed, the queues for the food stalls stretching outside the plaza. The population had started calling it ‘Market Square’.

I hated that, since it was supposed to be the site of all my future ministries, but at this point, I doubted I’d be able to move it on. Still, it was a good audition for the eventual entertainment district.

“What… is this?” said Alus, stepping out beside me. Hana, a few soldiers, and a couple of Alus’ men—I’d allowed them to accompany him, but they’d left their weapons behind—followed us.

“Different from what Aleister’s been telling you, I’m guessing.” I strolled over to one of the merchants, who happily sold me a basket of fried potatoes. It cost seventy bits, which was still way too high, but it was better than it had been.

“We’ve heard that you spend recklessly, ignoring the needs of your people.”

Alus glanced around for his troops, but they’d joined the play’s audience, their eyes glued to Kell as she launched into the crescendo of her song. Then, he eyed the masses, his expression faltering at the sight of their smiles and laid-back demeanours.

“I do spend a lot of money,” I said, chuckling. “But it’s not because I’m ignoring anything.

“The population were lacking in two things—money, and food. Now, without your Prince’s crops, there’s not much I can do about the food, but I can put money in their pockets.” I waved at a few passersby, and they bowed.

“How?” he said, gobsmacked. “All he tells us is of the misery of the people of Larm, and yet…”

“Sometimes, people lie to get what they want.” I munched my salty treat, savouring the umami from the exotic spices. Another benefit of trading with Zaleria, even if they were determined to bankrupt me.

“How does it work?” he asked eagerly. “What have you done to create this atmosphere?”

“I’m resurfacing the roads,” I said. “A great highway that’ll serve as the backbone of the economy. Doing that meant more jobs, and more jobs means more money for people to spend.”

“And the performance?”

“Psychological trick,” I admitted. Honesty was important when trying to convince someone, or so said my instinct, which was really [Persuasive] in disguise. “For all the improvements, things still aren’t great. So, I gave the people a distraction, and places to spend their new money.”

“Magnificent.” Alus pottered around, his jaw hanging at the sights. “In Zarua, everybody is so much more… reserved. There is little joy, only the knowledge that we should be grateful, because life could be so much worse.”

“Life can always get worse,” I said. “But it can get better, too.”

He nodded. “I believe you may be right. I… why are you showing me this?”

“You don’t deserve to die for Aleister’s ambition. No one does.”

Cupping his chin, he exhaled. “And what would you have me do?”

“Tell your men what you saw here, how you’ve been deceived. But honestly, you should just make your own decision. If you want freedom, you need to break his hold on you, and for that, you need the truth. But if, even after seeing this, you still want to follow him, I wouldn’t dispute you that.

“Everyone’s free to make their own choices.”

“Not in Ribera.” He bid me farewell, dragging his troops back to the portal.

“Captain Maxwell!” I called. “I’ll tell them to drop the barrier. Try not to raze my town, okay?”

“Believe me,” he said, “that’s the last thing on my mind.”

And as he disappeared through the portal, I smiled.

Hearts and minds stacked together like dominoes, so when one fell, the others followed suit. Truth, then, was infectious, spreading through words and invading a person’s very soul. Stage one was complete.

Now I just had to wait for the infection to spread.