Beside them, Nila too felt her heart stir. "Beam…" She murmured, recalling in the past that the boy had once stated his aimlessness – that he didn't know quite what he ran towards. She realized then, the magnitude of just how much he had grown.
For him to have the strength now that such a thing was feasible, for him to say he could protect the entire village, and for there to be strength in his words.
For such a thing was easily admitted, by a child or by someone naïve enough to overestimate their own capabilities. But when said by someone that was capable, where it was within their range of ability, it resonated with truth, and speared towards the heart. Even Judas' men stood there dumbly – they that lived their lives only for themselves.
They that didn't even know what it meant to care for their families, as the others did.
Beam, for his part, did not even notice he had said something odd, for since his master had told him it, that was very much part of his mindset.
"To that end," Beam continued, "we will find Stephanie, and we will simultaneously defuse the threats of both the Yarmdon and the monsters. I am not opposed to the soldiers, though I disapprove of their behaviour. There will come a time when we need to work with them, rather than against them.
For now, though, freedom of movement is important, information is essential, and those that bring both those things to me will be rewarded.
"For information on Stephanie's whereabouts, 5 gold coins. For information on the monsters, the same amount – and the same again for information on the Yarmdon. If you find Stephanie, I'll give you twenty gold coins. So whilst you go about the tasks that I give you today, keep that in mind. Even if you think something to be useless, repeat it to me, and I may pay you for it," Beam told them.
He could already see the hunger in the eyes of Judas' men as he listed the prices. Rodrey and Rodrick simultaneously gulped, their mouths watering at the weight of the coin.
"You have that much gold…?" Judas murmured, just to double-check.
Beam waved a hand and gave a grin. "You're the one who's been dealing with my monster corpses. You tell me."
Judas held out his fingers in front of him, as he attempted to add up the price of all the corpses that Beam had brought back. He quickly ran out of fingers and gave up. "Well… All I know is it's definitely over 5 gold coins," he said. "But are you really wanting to spend your money on this? I know you turned it down before, but the boss does have some good whores.
That and a nice bottle of wine – that's what I'd be spending my money on."
"Hah…" Nila let out a massive sigh. Judas noticed it and grinned an apology.
"Moving on. What I need from you, past when you get me into the forest, is the establishment of something useful. Build up some opportunities we can cash in in the future. They're wanting workers to improve defences. A few of you join in on that and keep your ears open to what the soldiers are saying.
Anything will be useful – the state of their supplies, the reports from their scouts, how many injured they have. We need to know it all."
"Aside from the soldiers' camp, get moving around the village. We've already asked people if they've seen Stephanie, but we haven't got any hits. We need to ask about other things as well, information, anyone acting strange? Anyone gone missing? We've got too few puzzle pieces and too many problems to solve. We need tools and we need a network.
Greeves has got information going on his own, and I imagine he'll help with this, but we need more," Beam said.
"…I'm confused," Judas admitted. "What exactly is it you want me to do?"
"You take half of those men of yours and go to the soldiers' encampment and spend a few hours doing work. If you can get on with any of the soldiers, even better, they might be more inclined to give information. The rest of your men can go about town, and eye people up – and soldiers – as though you were going to rob them. I want eyes on the village Elder's place.
If you can get me more information on him, that will be a great help," Beam said, clarifying.
"Ah, alright, I'll manage that," Judas said. "Though I don't imagine the boss will want me out too long…"
"He'll be interested in your information as well," Beam told him. "Especially on the soldiers, with the position he's in. Feel free to share what you want. But I want to hear it all as well."
"What about me?" Nila asked. "Is it worth me going to the soldiers' encampment as well? Will they really know anything about Stephanie?"
To Nila, Beam gave vaguer instructions, hoping for better results. "Like I said to Judas' men, we need more information on everything. That applies for Stephanie too. Talk to the butchers and the merchants that you've been working with, and the hunters too. Ask about the forest.
But beyond that, get something that you can use in the future – something that will help if we're in positions again.
"Something to use in the future?" Nila repeated, her lips twisted in thought. "Mm. Got it. We'll do that," she said with a clenched fist. "We'll find her – and we'll make sure nothing ever happens again."
Beam nodded, pleased that she understood his point.
"That's it then. Judas, bring whoever you're bringing with you. You'll distract the guards and get me into the forest. Everyone else, good luck. Get as much done in a day as you can. If you can't find me, report to Nila.
She'll be able to tell you what to do," Beam said.