A week passed, and everyone was more or less settled in. The move was finished, and now that there was nothing left to do on the home front, they had to make good on there excuse for being there.
Andromeda was in her room getting her robes in order. She was in charge of the operation, and would essentially be its figure head. This meant that making a good first impression was going to be important. Garret had taken care of setting up some kind meeting in the town hall, so all she had to do was show up, give a short explanation of their job and intentions, take some questions, and leave.
This did mean that she was essentially putting a massive target on her back for everyone in town to blame her for literally anything that might even seem slightly related to her job. From what she understood, Hoviss wasn’t hit particularly hard by the draft, but it did snag a good number of the younger people in town, so people were still unhappy. Anything related to that would be put on her shoulders.
While she was making her final preparations, she felt around in her robes and felt something hard. Only to remember that she had pockets inside it. She ruffled through the fabric to find her mask. Since she lost her ability to use magic, she lost the ability to keep the mask on her face without holding it.
For no other reason then because she could, she put the mask to her face. Just like before, it was see through on the one side, but opaque on the other. She took it off and looked at its surface, and it occurred to her that she had never really taken the time to just look at it. It was a little heavy for what it was, and didn’t feel like wood, so her only guess was that it was made of some kind of stone. It was polished despite having been stuffed in her pocket for weeks.
While she thought about this, she remembered something. This mask was enchanted, and so were her robes. From what she was told the robes were enchanted in such a way that they would break apart after some time, but she held them together through mending. Only its been weeks now and she hasn’t been able to do even the slightest amount of mending. As she looked closer at them, she couldn’t see anything obviously wrong, but then again she wasn’t an expert in how enchantments worked. As with most concerning inconsistencies in her life, she was going to put this one off until it bit her in her in the ass. Or at least that what’s White told her every time she tried.
She put the robes back on, pressing out the creases and unfolding everything so it fit snugly against her, being back in the climate controlled robes with Reine’s hood on her shoulders was a warm and comfortable feeling.
There was a knock at the door and Alice poked her head through the crack, “We’re all ready out here, how’s it coming in here?” Alice asked.
“I’ll be down in a minute, is Eli still being difficult?” Andromeda asked.
“He was fighting Garret about the coat, but we got him to come around. See you in a sec.” Alice said, closing the door and heading back down the hall.
Despite how much he broods and complains nowadays, Eli was was in-fact a sheltered farmboy at heart, so he wasn’t comfortable in formal attire. Originally he wasn’t even going to come but Chi made the valid point that people might question who he is in the future if they don’t meet him now. This was a point Eli was very displeased to hear. Besides that little hiccup, everyone seemed ready as ever. As a noble Alice was trained from a young age for events like this, and Garret also seemed prepared due to having worked in King’s Grove proper for so many years. Chi was a little less straight forward but as soon as she got into her dress she was raring to go.
Andromeda made her way down stairs and met everyone. It was an important event, so they weren’t going to walk in their finery to town. Chi took the inititive to get in contact with the Traveler Corps to organize transport. She had slowly grown to appreciate Garret and Chi over the last week, because when one wasn’t drunk and the other wasn’t a nervous wreck they were masters of their craft. All she had to do was ask them to do something and within hours it would set up and ready to go. Not having to micromanage everything gave her a lot of free time to prepare.
As the cart was pulling into view, Andromeda felt a hand on her shoulder, only to see it was Eli. “Can we talk for a moment.” He said. The way he said that… It had the same feeling you would feel hearing glass shatter.
“Sure?” She said, and they stepped back away from the cart while the others loaded up. The could see something was up so everyone stalled for time.
Eli didn’t say anything, and lead Andromeda back into the rec room. He walked toward the rack at the edge of the room and picked up one of the wooden practice swords they had, specifically, the ones that Eli bought a few days before.
Andromeda waited for him to say something, but as soon as his hand touched the pommel, she could tell something happened. She could tell something changed. He turned, holding the sword, and she could see it in his eyes. In what felt like a lifetime ago, when Andromeda was in the military, this was the look she saw in the eyes of those who knew where they were doing. The ones who walked a thousand battlefields, caught as many bullets as they fired, and stood in crowds of their peers that would be gone save for them. He turned back and put the sword down, and when she saw him again, that same look was gone, left only was a distant, if normal expression.
“Are you okay?” Andromeda asked. This was not the question Eli was expecting to hear, he expected to her to ask what it was, or when it happened. But she just looked at him, slightly concerned. Something about it upset him, he just didn’t know what.
“I’m fine, I just needed you to know something is happening. I heard Alice is dealing with something herself.” Eli said.
“Who else knows?” She asked, looking out the window at Alice and the others packing up.
“Just Garret, I’ve been keeping it to myself until I was sure it wouldn’t be an issue. I think it won’t be, but I needed you to know before we headed out. I don’t want to… No, I’m fine.” He said. Andromeda smiled and turned toward the door.
“Thank you for telling me,” She said, and before she walked out into the main hall she turned and looked back at him. “It might not be what you want to hear, but I would throw myself in the flames before I let anything bad happen you, just like everyone else.” She said, and then she left.
As he sat there, he couldn’t help but stew on those words. But what bothered him was that hearing her say that only made him more upset, and he didn’t know why.
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A short time later, the group arrived outside the town hall, where a small crowd was gathered. As soon as they were sighted the crowd broke out into quiet whispers. Everyone besides Alice suddenly felt self-conscious, and the Travelers minding the cart called for people to move so they could turn around.
“Alright everyone, we only need to be here long enough to explain. Everyone keep up the smiles and don’t say anything without a second opinion.” Andromeda said, and they all nodded.
Once they hopped out, the crowd subtly parted for them to walk inside. Andromeda felt like they were staring staring into her soul. But no one caused any trouble and they got inside. It was a different story in the town hall as it seemed they were more orderly and organized, there was even a small stage and a smaller group of a few people in an otherwise empty hall.
“Welcome Lady Noelle, we’re glad to have you. Welcome as well your associates, I am familiar with Mr. Esther, but the rest I am not.” One man said. He was an older man, well dressed. Obviously not a local, from the way he spoke Andromeda took it he was some kind of minor nobility.
“You can just call me Andromeda, I don’t want our positions get in the way of our work.” She said.
“Of course,” The man said, bowing his head slightly, “My name is Olivier Hausting. These are a few of my aids and assistants.” He gestured to the few men and woman standing beside him, in turn they all bowed their heads.
“These are my friends and allies. You’ve met Garret, next to him is Chi, this one is Alice, and the one behind us is Eli. They’ll be working with me in an official capacity.” She said.
“Once againb, a pleasure to meet all of you. Now, I suppose it would be prudent to get down to business.” Olivier said.
“Yeah, about that, what’s with everyone being outside? It looks like half the town is out there.” Andromeda asked.
Stolen novel; please report.
“Ah, this is my fault. One of my aides failed to confer with Mr. Esther if this would be an open event or private. My aide assumed it would be open and announced it to the town, but I was unsure if you would want a more private audience.” Olivier said.
“Well, everyone’s already here, so might as well let them in. Is security going to be an issue or will they be fine?” Andromeda asked.
“No one should get too rowdy, and as well there are a few guards stationed nearby in case things did. I’ll have everyone assembled in a moment, you’ll have a moment to get prepared.” He said. Andromeda and the others stood near the stage and waited for the crowds to floor in, all told it looked like there was a good two to three hundred people, definitely more then what it seemed on the outside.
At first they were going to each take turns, but then they thought it might be better to just have Andromeda speak and take questions. They got the go ahead from Olivier (who they found out was the mayor), to go ahead, and Andromeda took the stage.
“Hello everyone. My name is Andromeda Noelle, and over the last week and a bit, you probably heard that someone was taking up the old Traveler hall up the road. That would be us, we were sent from the capital to help everyone reintegrate after the draft got cancelled by the ceasefire. I don’t know exactly how long it’ll take to get everything in order, but we should be here for about a year. I wanted to have this assembly because we’re all new here, and wanted everyone to at least know who we were and what we’re about ahead of jumping in the deep end. You’re sure to see and hear a lot of us in the next few months.” She said. Andromeda went on to explain various things about what they planned on doing, what they offered to the people, and introduced Alice and the others.
After a few minutes, she reached the end of her notes and ran out of things to bring up, so lacking an alternative, she started taking questions.
The first to stand up was, surprisingly, Gunny. The sheriff she met the other day. “Right, so… I met you the other day when you came and got that drunk fool out of my cell. But now you got him in front of me saying he’s gonna help the town?” Gunny said. The crowd grumbled when the realized what he said, and that Garret was on the stage.
This was probably the worst possible thing anyone could have brought up under any circumstance, and Andromeda almost felt like it was purposeful. But just from a look it didn’t seem like he was upset, but posing a challenge.
“Garret’s behavior last week was, and still is, inexcusable, and I want to make it clear that he has been properly reprimanded for what has done. But at the same time I don’t want his momentary loss of reasoning get in the way of our working together. He has done his best to help me and my team in every way he can, and he is singularly responsible for organizing this event. I’m not saying we should bury the hatchet yet, but we can’t be burning bridges either.” Andromeda said. The crowd murmured in general agreement.
Another man stood up, a farmer from the looks of it. He looked very upset.
“So, I wanna know, some of us have lived here since our pappies were tots. Why do we need some out of town CapDan just to bring our kids back?” He said, unlike Gunny, this man just seemed angry.
"Sir, last I was told, there were somewhere in the range of a quarter million people drafted. Even if the people in the capital and here were perfect, it would be hard to get everyone back home. But because we’re not perfect, there could be any number of things that go wrong. People might get sent to the wrong city, or fights might break out while others get back home. If we left this to every city alone, hundreds of poor kids might get lost on the other side of the region without any hope of getting back home.” Andromeda said.
“What? Are you calling us dumb, saying we don’t know who goes where?” He pressed.
Andromeda took a deep breathe and gathered her thoughts. Getting angry wouldn’t solve anything, as angry as he sounded, the man was just concerned. “No, I don’t think you’re stupid. I can speak with experience that I know what it feels like to have everything I’ve ever known torn away from me, with no hope to ever see my loved ones again. I can’t speak for every person in my position, or even the rest of my team, but what I can say is that if I have a chance of helping those back home and to their families, I’ll do it every time.” She said.
There was a heavy silence in the room, and the man’s angry expression slowly dropped and he sat down quietly.
“I’m sorry that this got heavy, but I do really want to help all of you. So, are there any more questions or should we wrap this up for today?" Andromeda asked, before anyone could get a word in edgewise, the doors to the front of the building flew open, and through them marched a tall woman in immaculately made dress marched through the doors.
“Why yes, there is another question I demand you answer. Will you and your people be expected to pay the tithe to me and my family, or will you be a leech on the underside of this town?” The woman said with a haughty and blaring voice. She was dressed in the most elaborate and finely crafted gown that Andromeda had ever seen, blond hair rolled down her shoulders, and her skin was a flawlessly smooth as porcelain.
Andromeda was plainly confused by this declaration, but she heard Alice audible groan behind her. “Oh please no…” Alice said under her breath. Andromeda leaned back and asked who this was, only to have Alice wave her back toward the crowd.
“I wasn’t aware of any tithe, you’ll have to be more specific, miss…?” Andromeda said. There was the farming tithe, but that was more like a tax from the government.
“Lady Olympia Vin Wren, the head of the noble family that presides over this county, and more specifically, the entirety of Hoviss. I am shocked and appalled you do not know of me already. I expected nothing and I am still left disappointed. ” Lady Wren said. Alice made a sound that Andromeda could only describe as what a might come from a stuck pick full of helium.
“I’m sorry to disappoint, but if you could explain what you mean, I-” Andromeda started, but the woman rudely clapped her hands together, both to interrupt Andromeda, and to call someone to her side. That someone being Olivier.
“Olivier, dear, please inform the capital wench about which I speak, and do it quickly. I feel your standing with me drop with every moment you remain silent.” She said arrogantly. Olivier practically jumped over himself to try and clarify the situation.
“My dearest apologies Ms. Noelle, our lady merely wishes to state that all families, businesses, and government facilities that make a profit are to pay a tithe to her ladyship as payment for residing on her families land. I assure you that the due is… quite fair, merely… 30%… monthly…” He said. Andromeda practically felt her heart drop in her stomach. Everyone paid 30% monthly? How even…
She turned to the crowd and saw everyone avoiding Lady Wren’s gaze. “Is that true?” Andromeda asked, not to anyone in particular, but to the crowd in general, and the silence was deafening.
“Of course it is, it is only fair that they pay to reside on the land my family so rightfully purchased, as a matter of fact. The fact that we didn’t evict the entire town the moment we bought the land in these past few weeks is just a show of our ceaseless generosity.” Lady Wren said.
“How could you say that? 30% of everyone’s income every month? That could kill this town if you’re not careful.” Andromeda protested.
“What would you rather we do? We spent no small amount of coin purchasing the land this town resides on. If we do not make a return on our investment, we may very well sink into poverty. Oh! I suppose we could just evict the whole town and plow over it. I’m sure some noble family would love to build a new estate here!” Lady Wren said.
“No! no…” Andromeda said, seeing everyone in the building all turn pale at once. This woman was insane. The fact that she couldn’t even fathom anything between gouging everyone and evicting them was just insane…
“That’s what I thought, so, I must ask again. Will you pay the tithe or will I be forced to claim my pound of flesh through other means?” Lady Wren said.
She deliberated quickly, but avoiding the question for too long might show weakness. The only idea she had at the moment was probably the hardest one, but she had no other choice.
“Clarify something for me. The terms are “all families, businesses, and government facilities that make a profit”, do I have that right?” Andromeda asked.,
“Yes, all who live and breath on my land that earn money on my soil will pay me my due. Your work for the government entitles me to your payment.” She said, her arrogance practically soaring.
“Well, in that case, I really have only one option.” Andromeda said.
“I’m glad to hear that you will not be difficult. I will accept-” Lady Wren started, only to be interrupted by Andromeda loudly clearing her throat.
She put on her bravest fast and focused herself, then she spoke from the chest. “I forgot to mention this before now, my bad, I forgot to mention that my operation will be entirely self-funded. Anything anyone might need, no matter how large, will be free of charge. We will take donations if you want. ” Andromeda added.