By the time the sun is starting to dawn on the village, the men and I had already arranged ourselves in a neat little row in front of the gate.
With Piol standing in front of us as our proud proof of success.
Although, I'm sure the Mayor of this place would have anticipated that a Mage of my calibre would succeed in the little self-appointed challenge, I wonder what Alric has planned to keep his power over the village and its people.
"Hellllllooooo!" I bellow out loudly, I've had Shaco slither back into the village the way he came in the last time so from looking through his eyes I know there's a lot of deliberation going on.
The Warriors, no longer clad in their strange monster armour, or any armour at all have gathered at the front of the gate and are discussing what to do.
As far as I've gone with my eavesdropping, I can tell that they're divided between letting me in themselves and summoning the Mayor from his mansion to make the decision for them.
The side against this is quite fiercely arguing their part. They are the ones I've marked as allies. The ones with the most war exhaustion from fighting monsters all year round.
Sitting atop Panda's wide shoulders I bellow out once more, "You know you want to! You know you have to! You know this is the best decision you will ever make on behalf of your village, on behalf of your people!"
Through Shaco's eyes I see they've fallen silent. My allies on the inside are looking smug and proud.
Satisfied with this I have Shaco get back to his original assignment. Red and Quen.
Those two fools had better not have sneaked out of the village at night. I'm a bit worried they might have with all that lost time Shaco wasn't watching them.
But I don't think they could have, as far as I know thanks to Shaco's spying, Red is still quite injured and this is the last place you want to be wandering about outside tall walls at night.
A lot about Demme weighs down on me though. As far as I can tell the surrounding is governed by that forest spirit I met earlier, and it's gone as far as to claim the very ground the village sits on as part of the forest.
And then there's this benefactor of the Mayor of Demme. Given that the forest spirit didn't mention is nor did it seem bothered, I'm certain that this Benefactor is a force from Reais who is smart enough not to hurt the business of the other spirit in town.
It all feels complicated and nuance. So, nuance it hurts my head.
The gates creak open and below I glance a group of the Warriors. Most of them dressed in civilian clothing with a select few, most likely the guards on duty have on some form of armour and weaponry.
The group collectively whitens at the sight of the giant I'm sitting on, some even begin to scream in fright, running back the way they came while others, perhaps the most elite of the elite stand their ground and ready themselves for attack with the little weapons they have on them.
Frantically I wave and scream at them to calm down. Very few do until I climb down Panda and show that it's fine.
"Relax people! The Werebear, who I have named Panda, is now under my control."
They look at me sceptically but in a few moments of muttering and murmuring, they finally relax.
"Is that your power, Mage?" a man steps forward. Large, wide and muscular like many of them that line up behind him.
I merely smile, "What is your name?"
He looks back at his comrades then back at me, scanning me over a bit then declares, "Fragus. I am one of the best Warriors to protect Demme."
I nod, appreciative. Then I take Piol's arm and pull him out from behind Panda's large legs.
"Is protecting Demme a difficult task, Fragus?"
He looks confused but answers not the less, "Yes, it is difficult. The beast you havetamed here is one of our greatest enemies, and most difficult combatants."
He looks behind at his comrades again and shakes his head, "I'm not sure how many you faced out there tonight but, facing any of these beastswell, I suppose I can appreciate the effort you've put into proving you can protect Demme."
At this I chuckle and pull on my shirt, "We fought enough. Take a look, one of these beasts picked me up and was ready to eat me before I took its arm off." I show off my equivalent of a battle scar to the man
He's intrigued and even gets a nudge from behind. Someone whispers something in his ear and he nods.
"Uhm. Thank you for protecting one of our own, Piol."
I nod, but hold onto the eager to return scout. "You're welcome. But, now that you've seen all that there is to prove me strength, the strength I boast that can and will end your troubles, bring food and peace to your people, your aged mothers and fathers, your children."
I sigh and demand, "What exactly is stopping you from letting me in?"
Fragus looks anxious at this and many of his comrades shrink away at the question. So I begin to speculate.
"Is it the Mayor?"
Several heads lift.
"The Mayor and this Benefactor of his?"
I get nods this time and smile.
"If you want me to rule over Demme and deliver on my promise, don't say anything, just raise your hand."
Every single one of them raises their hands. I wonder where the discourse from earlier has disappeared to.
I chuckle. "So, I guess the only challenge here is the Mayor, Alric and his Benefactor."
"Yes indeed. The only problem is my Benefactor and I!" A gruffy voice from behind exclaims. It's easy to tell who it is as the Warriors part just like they did yesterday for him to make his way with his very own entourage.
"You will find that it will not be so easy to get rid of us, Necromage!"