Making their way back into the hotel where their faction was staying caused a bit of a disturbance, which was only exasperated when they called a meeting of the whole building. It was getting close to late afternoon and they needed to address everyone and inform them of the changes. People still needed to officially join the new faction, so a group meeting was in order.

The only place that could house that many people though was the conference hall. So once they had gotten in they had immediately called a group gathering.

Which was the reason for the current organized chaos. People were slowly making their way down from their rooms as runners spread the news.

Filing into the large room was snug but soon enough everyone had gathered and they launched into the explanation.

Mark was currently sitting up on the stage with his six other co-leaders.

Sam kicked things off by laying out the circumstances at play. Along with the reason they had chosen to merge all of their forces and what would be expected of everyone.

Jonathan then walked them through the current political powers within the city and the challenges he expected from them.

For most, they had been in the dark, so the info dump was both alarming and well-appreciated. “Listen if you want to leave to join one of the major factions, we will not stop you. The city is safe. But if you choose to join us, know that we will do everything in our power to protect our people.”

Jonathan finished talking to the crowd and his words seemed to calm a good majority of them down.

Mark got up and walked forward holding up a blank document.

“Good afternoon people, I’ll be quick. In my hand is a sign-up form for The Order of the Sage. This states to everyone that you are under our protection. Should you wish to stay you will be asked what division you wish to join. Currently, there are four divisions. Logistics, Crafting, Combat, and Exploration. You may join more than one division but each of these jobs has requirements for entry, so read them carefully. There are hundreds of tasks in each of these fields and all will be compensated fairly. At this point, we will accept any questions you may have.”

As soon as Mark finished, hands all across the room shot up for the mic and voices rose like a tide.

The sudden deluge of noise dulled and the room became quiet once more.

Sam retracted her spell and let the first question fly their way.

She then answered it immediately

Runners moved between the audience holding out mics as they fielded hundreds of questions and concerns.

Eventually, time was up, and no sooner had the meeting been called than people began to swarm the volunteers with the sign-up forms. They only got out when the evening had securely fallen.

They had tried to make the meeting as transparent as possible. Karter had stressed that they needed to trust their people so giving them all the information was important. It may end up losing some people but in the long run, the faction would be healthier for it.

Now it was time to let everyone decide whether to stay or go.

They would total up the numbers to see what they were dealing with tomorrow and how to proceed. All they could do now was wait for the numbers and jobs to be tallied up.

Ethel and Karter stayed behind as part of the logistics team, while the rest of them escaped the room.

So for the first time in a while, Mark had real Downtime all to himself.

Which was a strange feeling. He had been in problem-solving mode for so long now, that it felt wrong to take a moment for himself.

As they left the conference hall Daphne pulled Mark aside and gave him two keycards.

“This is for your room and this one’s for mine.”

Mark smiled as he looked down at them and committed which was which to memory.

“Thanks, I’ll see you later then”

Honestly, they didn’t need two rooms but space was not something they were struggling for right now. Too many rooms and not enough people. One day that might become a problem but if it did Mark would consider it a good one.

Their group scattered as people started to flood out of the large room, lest they attract more attention than they desired. As they did so Mark saw Abby walking out the hall.

Changing his path towards her Mark saw Donny walk out beside her. He was honestly happy that they had both made it out safe. When he got close enough to them, they saw him coming. Their paths joined but they kept walking so as not to slow down the flow of traffic.

Walking towards the stairs - as they were still the only method for climbing the hotel- they were some of the first people in the stairwell.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“You guys both doing okay? Sorry I couldn’t be around earlier”

Abby spoke first.

“No at all, I understand. I’m excited about this new faction business. I’m joining the logistics team”

Mark nodded as he smiled. It was great she had chosen to stay. The logistic team was responsible for the day-to-day running of the faction. This was where the most admin and maintenance tasks were found. Along with being an important division to keep things moving, it was also where Mark and Tommis were going to train all of their new healers.

In fact, Mark now led them to the second floor. This whole floor was clear of people as they thought it would be best to have the ‘hospital’ nearer to ground level.

They would have their own medical bay here in the hotel so that they didn’t have to rely on anyone else.

Mark had heard healers in the city either charged a large amount of Sp for their services or they became part of one of the churches as one could only receive healing if one was devout. Strangely enough, they did not accept donations in order to heal people. Strict rules had to be followed and one had to join the faction if they wanted on-demand healing. They weren't a major power but they definitely had their own pull.

Mark needed to gather more information on the subject but for now, it was better to avoid that fate and easy enough to do so.

“What about you Donny? Are going to join?”

Mark couldn't help but ask.

If he wanted to leave then Mark wouldn’t stop him, but he hoped he would.

Donny nodded and he seemed more certain of himself than yesterday. He looked much more stable too.

“For now yeah. As near as I can tell you guys are treating us as good as any other factions would. Plus you took care of Abby all this time. You’re the safest bet at the moment. I’m pretty sure a lot of people feel the same way”

It was comforting to hear that people felt safe here. Now they just had to keep their trust.

Walking into one of the nearest rooms, Mark saw they were empty but some kind soul had already stocked all the rooms with medical supplies.

Conversation between them lulled to a comfortable exchange.

“Alright let me take a look at how you are healing”

Mark sent Prana forward and double-checked the mental structure. Everything seemed to still be holding up, so after reinforcing some of the other areas he retracted his energy and nodded happily. Abby had been watching the process closely in an effort to learn, what she absorbed from it he wasn’t sure.

Donny seemed a little dizzy but that was to be expected. They were all leaving the room when Donny spoke up again.

“Yo Mark, I hear the hotel bar has just been opened, wanna join us for a drink?”

Mark just blinked owlishly at the perfectly normal question.

These were circumstances he certainly hadn’t expected anytime soon. Having a drink and relaxing with friends was something Mark had written off a long time ago.

Now however he had free time and no imminent crisis until tomorrow morning.

After a pause, he accepted the offer and happily went back down to the hotel lobby with them.

The bar was on the other side, opposite to the entrance. Giving day drinkers some privacy, but still being near enough to find with little trouble.

Entering, Mark realized a lot of people had the same idea as them as the place was packed.

They moved through the space and Mark saw many familiar faces. Nodding and smiling at any he passed by.

The bar itself was completely full but by some luck, the moment they got there three seats just opened up.

Mark plopped himself down and laughed as soon as he saw who was currently manning the bar.

Joslin was moving back and forth with drinks and snacks. Refilling glasses here and there, with the efficiency of a trained professional.

His laugh caught her attention and her head snapped around. One of those genuine motherly grins spread across her face.

Making her way over she threw a dish towel over her shoulder.

“Well if it isn't one of our champions, come to the watering hole”

An embarrassed look crossed Mark's face in contrast to her smug smile. Waving her off he asked.

“How are you guys coping, are the kids okay? Is George?”

She nodded.

“Yeah they are shaken but apparently not enough to stop giving me grey hairs. Got me a dream job out of it though. I always felt like managing a bar was calling my name, but George insisted we get that theater for the kids”

Mark had always thought Joslin only liked to cook but he now realized she was one of those people that just couldn’t sit still and did a bit of everything. Even when she had a job at the cafeteria she had still run a side hustle, which he heard was picking back up.

Mark introduced Donny and Abby to her and then ordered drinks.

He got himself a double whisky on the rocks but quickly realized something horrible. That first burning sip never hit, even as he threw back the whole thing in a panic, it went down easily. The taste was still there but the warming feel of alcohol did not warm his chest.

Looking down at the glass miffed, Mark then looked back up at Joslin.

She was just smirking, as she poured him another double.

“Yeah, thought so, looks like your Aura is too high buddy. You won’t feel this low proof unless you chug this whole bottle”

Mark looked at her in sorrow. He didn’t even have the fun part of Aura but his Resistance was putting in work to ruin a buzz.

Then a lightbulb went off and he realized he was being stupid, sending most of his armor into his inventory he took another sip. The burn was back, definitely weaker but at least it didn’t feel like he was drinking juice. He probably wouldn’t be able to get completely shit-faced drunk like this but he could definitely relax.

Joslin was still smiling and muttering something about Aura being good for business as she walked away, only to return later to drop off plates of food. Which Mark happily wolfed down.

Donny and Abby were also experiencing the effects of Aura on alcohol and neither looked happy. Abby had considerably less Aura than Donny because, after a couple of refills, she was definitely feeling it.

Donny on the other hand seemed to take it as a challenge, ordering the cheapest bottle of vodka and sipping regularly. Soon enough they were all as drunk as they were going to get but conversion flowed regardless. Other people joined their conversion, adding to the happy vibe.

For the first time in a while, Mark had a very normal conversation about who would win in a fight between a bear and a lion, that was until people brought the system into it, and that further divided the room. They never did come to a conclusion but no one cared, it was an evening of shit-talking and celebration.