Her skills with her blades had surprised me. I also sense she’d been holding back. At one point, she’d even voiced as much. Don’t kill him. Just test his strength.
The why of it is what I want an answer to. What was this game or task she’s set herself on, and why provoke me by stealing my horse? There were plenty of other ways she could have gone about getting my attention, but this is what she chose. A slight I would handle personally. Was that her aim?
“Sir? McTierney? Pollock?”
I blink back to the present and find Arthur watching me, one brow lifted in quiet inquiry. The other council members exchange a glance.
“Yes? Sorry, what were you saying?”
“Along with sending more men to hunt and fish, we were going to send a scouting party north and farther west in search of supplies and food stores.”
“Send more than two.”
Richard shifts in place but remains silent.
Arthur hesitates, “How many?”
“As many men as we can spare without compromising security. There’s food out there, and places less damaged by the fallout. Crops. Farming tools. Seed stores. Parts to rebuild machinery in case ours fail. Trades that we can establish with some of the better-off settlements.”
My gaze moves to the miniature showing the outer territories on a separate model.
“I also want them to entice survivors back here. Farmers. Bakers. Machinists. Mechanics. Masons. Carpenters. Anyone with skills we can use. We can protect them. We have walls. We have infrastructure. And there is land here that can be fertilized to yield better harvests, but we need more people to work it. We need to rotate the soil and properly manage irrigation. We need more water lines built.”
Arthur nods slowly. “Too many at once, without sufficient housing or supplies, could pose additional risk. And we shouldn’t allow just anyone inside. They should be vetted. Those who can’t contribute meaningfully may need to be turned away.”
“We are not building a utopia,” I reply evenly. “This is a sanctuary for those who need it.”
Richard speaks up then. “Yes, but you see the issue. We already have people who squander resources—who take more than they give. Some would rather steal from their neighbors than work a single day, even at the cost of their own family's survival. If we start vetting arrivals, we could eliminate problems before they arise.”
Cleary nods. “The last thing we need is more crime. It’s already running rampant.”
“I am aware.”
The room shifts at my tone. We have debated this before. They know where I stand.
Some of my council believe we should let in only those they deem worthy. They want the gates closed, monitored, and certain newcomers turned away. Essentially, they wanted to build a metropolis of people of their choosing and leave anyone under their standards to find whatever end they might find outside these walls.
Disappointing.
But not unexpected.
Not when I know what souls reside inside the bodies before me.
However, my influence grows with every soul under my thrall. In time, I could have this city working toward a single, unified purpose. Order. Stability. Progress. Survival—not merely scraping by, but something close to thriving.
Until the judgments begin, they deserve as full a life as this broken world allows. A chance to rise above their previous choices.
Also, it would limit my brothers’ and my travels in the end, giving up ample opportunity to test the multitude without having to traverse the entire world to do so.
Enough. I project the thought into their minds and quiet their concerns.
This debate wastes time.
“Have them encourage relocation,” I say. “Bring what supplies they can. The more people working toward reestablishing stability, the sooner we reach it.”
This time, I do not merely speak. I let the command carry my conviction. It threads into their thoughts. I guide the vision—fields restored, machinery rebuilt, markets functioning, walls secure. I reinforce the outcome I want them to see.
The tension in the room eases, deflating like a punctured wineskin. Shoulders lower. Resistance softens. The path forward is clarified in their minds. From there, progress began anew. There was only one way this would go, and I’ll see it done by any means necessary.
