A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

"Alright," Beam awkwardly got their attention with that single word. The savage men eyed him with glares, to which Beam merely glared back. "I had a plan in place – and that plan was to search the forest. That's crushed, now that Lombard has announced his piece."

There were murmurs from the newly gathered men.

"So that's it then? There's nothing more to do?" Judas said, his arms folded and his eyebrow raised. "Got to say, you could have told me that earlier, before I tried to gather everyone."

"No, they still have a use," Beam said. "My problem at the moment is a lack of information. The problem for you lot, those not directly involved, is coin. How well can I trust these men, Judas?"

Judas grinned. "Well if it's coin you're talking, boy, these lads will dance to whatever tune you'll play, whatever pretty dance you want them to. How much?"

"Mm. I'll give you 1 gold today, if you prove useful and lead them well. For everyone else, 5 silvers," Beam said.

Judas' eyes widened. "Just for one day's work? You're mad, aren't you? Just how much has the boss been sending your way from these monster corpses."

With a shrug, Beam dodged the question. "Enough. So – Rodrey, Rodrick, any complaints?"

"You're paying us as well?" Rodrey said, apparently surprised.

"Right!" Nila took that moment to jump in, "it should be me that's paying – it's my little sister we're looking for, after all."

Seeing the look on her face, Beam chose his next words carefully. "Actually, Nila… This overlaps with something that I need to get done. I need to solve the cause of these monster attacks in the forest and I need to keep an eye on the village in the meantime.

We don't know exactly what is connected to Stephanie's disappearance, so we're going to gather information from everywhere – some of it will have more than one usage."

"…I feel like you're just wording it like that out of kindness again," Nila said with a pout, turning her head away. "I will repay you back for this, you know? I have my own money now."

"Sure. If you feel like you need to," Beam said.

"So, what is it you want us to do?" Judas said. "Not monster slaying, is it? If they're closing the forest off, I dread to think what sort of devils are running around up there. Don't fancy getting my face scratched up any worse."

"Nah. To start with, you're going to distract the soldiers for me, and I'm going to head up into the forest," Beam said. It was the first statement of their meeting that required trust, and an audible tension ran through the air as he eyed every single one of them. "Now you're beginning to understand the weight of the coin I'm putting in your hand. Can I trust you?"

Nervously, Rodrey and Rodrick looked at each other – they were who he was most worried about. Cautiously, they nodded, as Nila stared them down. "All you need to do is say nothing – there isn't much to worry about," he told them.

"And yet, if you get caught, you'll be executed," Nila pointed out. "Why take the risk?"

"There's something up in those mountains, something I can't put my finger on. I want to run some experiments and see if I can understand things better," Beam said.

"You had better hide your tracks. They'll find you. And when they do, it won't be pretty, even for you," Nila warned him, clearly concerned.

"I realize that. Especially Lombard – he's a crafty one," he said, before eyeing Judas' men. "And you lot, I expect, will be keeping your mouths closed, aye? From the look of you, you've all done things far worse than a little bit of misinformation."

One of them grinned, flashing a yellow smile filled with crooked teeth. "Oh, far worse, keke… Never thought I'd get called 'ere for some honest lawbreaking."

"I'm with you on that, thought you were the kinda lad to stick within the rules," Judas said. "Being all righteous and that."

"Naw, things are a little more complicated than that," Beam said dismissively. "As far as I'm concerned, Lombard is doing the right thing. I'm not entirely against him, even if he is arrogant. It makes sense that he would restrict access to the forest – he's losing too many men patrolling it and the Yarmdon have already disappeared.

Pulling back to a defensive position, giving up the forest, and merely defending the village and the camp, it's the right move."

When explained like that, the others found themselves nodding along in agreement. Even though they weren't aware of just how bad things in the forest were, from a strategic point of view, Lombard's move certainly made sense.

"In that sense, I'm working to his benefit. But in the end, I'm on the side of the village," Beam said, making that absolutely clear, as he remembered his master's orders that it was his responsibility to protect the village. "The protection of the people here is my concern, and I'll do what I can to ensure their safety."

Unbeknownst to Beam, such an assertion, spoken so confidently, from such a youthful face – despite the scars that covered it – came as something of a shock to those that he had gathered. To make such an assertion, to proclaim the protection of people – many of which he likely had very little to do with – was so far removed from their mindset, that it shook them.

Rodrey and Rodrick worked their lives for coin, for they did not have a choice, just like everyone else in the village. At times, they would gift their neighbours food, as a show of goodwill, but never had they thought to stand up and protect the entire village by their lonesome. They eyed the boy who declared he would do that so casually, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.