The village council chamber felt smaller than Lys thought it would be. Thick stone walls trapped the midday heat, making the air heavy and still. A long wooden table took up most of the room, its surface scarred from years of arguments and decisions that had happened over it. Lanterns hung from iron hooks, casting steady light across the serious faces gathered around it.
Rhuvia sat at the head of the table like she belonged there, her back straight and her shiny mage robe catching the light. She looked completely calm, fingers resting lightly on the table.
Vessa sat right beside her, arms crossed, eyes scanning everyone in the room with a quiet focus.
Lys had also taken a seat a little further down on their side, close enough to listen but far enough that he felt like an outsider. Feeling a little uncomfortable, he shifted in his chair, the wood creaking under him.
Across the table, Bezos leaned forward on his elbows. The village chief was a broad man with thick arms and a beard that looked like it hadn't been trimmed in days. He wore simple but well-made clothes, just as Lys saw the first time he met this guy. His face stayed serious, almost respectful, but Lys could see the resistance in the way his jaw tightened.
Next to the big guy sat Clara. She was dressed more sharply than everyone else, in a fitted blouse and skirt that probably cost more than most people in the outer settlement made in a month. Her curls were pinned back neatly, but her eyes looked cold and calculating as she tapped one finger against the table.
Rhuvia had already laid out the situation clearly when the meeting started. No long speeches. Just the facts: the dungeon under Gaiya Forest is real, a great one, and the dungeon break could hit any time. The outer settlement had no real walls, no defenses. The people there needed to be brought inside the village temporarily until the danger passed.
Just as she finished her proposals, Bezos didn't waste a second before pushing back.
"Huh, what do you think this village is? Some kind of charity settlement for refugees? Here are rules we follow, rules that exist for a reason, you know," he said, his deep voice filling the chamber.
He looked straight at Rhuvia, respectful but firm. "I'm sure you all know that this village has clear laws about who can enter the walls and who can't. Non-citizens can't just be let in like that. Who is going to feed all those extra mouths? Who manages them once they're inside? And what happens to their property out there when they leave it empty? We can't just ignore procedure because things got dangerous."
Lys watched him closely. Bezos wasn't yelling or getting angry. He spoke like a man who truly believed in order and tradition. But underneath it, Lys could feel something else. It looked to him that the chief just didn't want the extra hassle, and probably didn't want to share resources with people he saw as outsiders.
Meaning, while respecting rules and authority might be one of the reasons he is being like that, at the same time, it might not be the only reason for his refusal.
Clara leaned in smoothly, her voice sharp but polite. "I agree with Chief Bezos. As the main manastone supplier for this area, I have to think about the practical side too. If we bring in that many people, our supplies will be stretched thin. Trade routes might get disrupted. Storage for my shipments could also become a problem. And let's be honest, who pays for all the extra food and shelter? The village coffers aren't endless."
She gave a small, tight smile that didn't reach her eyes. Lys could almost see the numbers running through her head. She looked like a woman who wasn't going to give up any chance to make money, even if people's lives were on the line. He was learning a big lesson in this very council room, which he had never learned all his life. People's real nature gets revealed only when they are exposed to a big incident like this.
Rhuvia kept her composure, leaning forward slightly. "Chief Bezos, the situation has changed. Lower floor monsters have already reached the surface, as the report says. A Death Knight was sighted. I'm sure a man of your caliber knows that these aren't normal forest threats anymore. The outer settlement will be wiped out if we wait any longer."
Vessa nodded once, her voice steady. "And we're not even asking for permanent changes. This is just temporary. The guild can help organize food distribution and security. We just need the council's approval to start moving people inside before it's too late."
Lys jumped in, trying to keep his voice calm even though his hands were clenched under the table. "The people from outer settlements don't have much, I know that. But they're still part of this country, aren't they? Leaving them out there is the same as killing them. From when did this country's tradition become abandoning its own citizens?"
Bezos shook his head slowly, his broad shoulders shifting. "I respect the guild's concern about those people's safety, and I respect tradition. But bending the rules like this sets a bad example. What will the local lords say when they hear we let in a flood of people without proper process? Order must be maintained, boy."
Clara jumped right in after him. "Exactly. And the cost… we can't just absorb that without compensation. My shipments alone…."
The back and forth of their arguments continued like this for a long while. Rhuvia tried logic. Vessa tried practical plans. Lys tried appealing to basic decency.
But nothing moved them. Bezos kept falling back on rules and authority, his narrow thinking making every suggestion hit a wall. And Clara twisted everything toward money and resources, her shrewd eyes never softening, even after hearing many times over that lives will be lost.
The room grew heavier with each passing minute. Lys could feel the tension building in his shoulders. 'This is going nowhere. They're going to drag this out until it's too late.'
He glanced at Rhuvia. Her face stayed composed, but he saw the small tightening around her eyes. It looked like, even she was starting to feel the dead end.
Just when the conversation felt completely stuck, the large wooden doors at the end of the chamber swung open with a loud creak.
Everyone turned.
Sara walked in first, her steps measured and confident. Her chin was level, shoulders back, as if she owned the room. She didn't wait for anyone to speak. Her eyes locked on Bezos as she answered the question he had asked moments earlier.
"I will," Sara said, her voice clear and strong, cutting through the tension like a blade. "I will take responsibility when the local lords come asking questions."
John stepped in right behind her, his priestly robes shifting as he moved. And behind him was Vivian, her green hair catching the lantern light, and her facial expression sharp.
The entire atmosphere in the room changed in an instant as they moved in. Bezos straightened up in his chair, his broad frame suddenly more alert. Clara's tight expression flickered for the first time, her fingers stopping their tapping on the table.
Sara stopped near the end of the table, looking at each of them in turn. John and Vivian took seats on the side, their arrival shifting the balance of the room without a single extra word.
Lys let out a slow breath he didn't realize he had been holding. The dead end suddenly didn't feel so final anymore.