Chapter 49 – Procrastinating
Violet, Slade and Lorely had a private moment of rest, flying around Holloweye.
Gnolls crowded around the piles of rubbles. They grumbled, reluctantly moving rocks and clay soldiers around. A few bonfires and beholders provided light so that the gnolls could navigate after sunset.
Above them, Violet peeked her head out of a hole, sticking it out of the palace's broken walls. "Aren't there a lot more people than this morning?"
The number of souls hustling in the dark tomb tripled.
Violet yawned and went back to find a new book in Griscent's stash. It was filled with magic that she couldn’t use, as she was unable to wield anything but Earth Magic. But that wasn’t enough to stifle her curiosity.
Earlier in the day, she got bored after a few hours of strolling with Lorely and Slade. They retreated back into the palace despite the harpy's grief. There she reverted to her natural state of being a shut-in.
She plopped down on a chair with a book at hand.
Slade sat on her head, glowing so that she could read. "Thanks to harpy scouts, Metiva quickly brought back the scattered tribe members."
"Mistress, shouldn't you prepare a speech for them?" Lorely refilled Violet's glass.
"Uh… I don't want to think about it! Let me just push it to the last moment and fail miserably." The warlock ruffled her head, shaking under pressure.
The room's owner slipped inside. Griscent put a thick glowing book on the table and opened it. "Report completed. High unrest in Holloweye. Proper inauguration recommended."
Violet glanced at its content. "What do you mean high unrest- Oof"
Its pages shone like computer screens rather than like a book of paper. Griscent’s handwritten notes were left scribbled around in a mess, but a few numbers in red stuck out like sore thumbs.
“37% unrest? How is that possible? We have barely 100 citizens, and they’re already that unhappy? We don’t even have tax yet!” Violet screamed.
“The -3% bonus seems to come from Slade’s mediator title?” Lorely looked over Violet’s shoulder.
“Uh? Did I do something bad?” Slade looked lost.
“Oh, I should explain.” Violet tapped the magical book. “This is the sovereign book, an interface to my town cores. You can use it by poking your mana on it, but only I can use all its features.”
She pressed her thumb on a page, and a trace was left on the page. “I lent it to Griscent so she could take the measurements of the town core to plan our actions.”
Violet slumped back into a chair. “And she measured a god damn high level of unrest! This means I don’t gain much power from the citizens.”
“With this level, Holloweye is a liability.” Lorely grimaced.
“Hmm… I see. I’m responsible for the gnolls so I should gather intel.” The slime sighed.
“(I’ve already looked into it for you, Slade.)” Griscent said in her native tongue.
Slade listened to her explanation and read the notes. He cross-checked with his other slime core on the terrain and quickly formed a solid picture.
“The new gnolls aren’t happy with Metiva’s clan. And they are angry that we’re desecrating the tombs of their ancestors.” The slime concluded.
“What?! This isn’t consistent with the reports about Metiva!” Violet said.
“Well, she lied… They were divided about risking their lives to collect the artifacts. Metiva needed to reassure the exploration team that they wouldn’t be abandoned. She went inside with warbanner and ordered the pawns to not leave the entrance,” Slade said.
“And then we attacked… Fuck, I need to prepare a speech right now!” Violet held her forehead. She needed to give a good impression to lower the unrest but there was barely an hour left until the celebration.
“Before that, Griscent baited the gnolls to venture inside the mine by bringing out the hostages closer to the surface and making them scream for help. So after losing so many people to her clan’s treacherous cries, they grew pretty wary of them,” Slade said.
Violet and Lorely looked awkwardly at the Evil Eye.
“Flawless efficiency.” Griscent shrugged.
Milia’s team built a platform using the bridge’s rubbles. It stood near a wall of collapsed rocks, close to the cave’s center. The beholders and gnolls gathered around, waiting for the ceremony that would start soon.
The minotaur lit the braziers standing at the corners of the finished stage.
Proud of her work, she jumped off to the back. “What’s up with the vibe?” She frowned, putting her hands on her waist.
There, Metiva was kneeling, pressing her forehead on the ground. “I apologize. I don’t mind what happens to me, but please spare my clan.”
The witches and Ranna imitated her gesture.
Shaki scratched her head. “Let’s recap. You went into the mine while your pawns held the entrance. But you failed, and your tribe was stuck there, trying to retrieve the warbanner so they could move the pawns to elsewhere… So what’s the problem?”
Sensing that the discussion touched sensitive topics, Milia strolled away, circling the small platform she was proud of.