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Within the privacy of your own thoughts, you readily admit that Yang walking off like she did right before a battle pisses you off. You often forget that your age and experience sets you apart from the mortals. Well, other mortals now that you've discarded your divinity. You may regain your former power over time, but that's another topic. For now, its apparent that trying to gain trust through friendship will take a long time and a great deal of patience. And you do not have time. Now that you have been crowned King of Stonegate, you have power and influence that you lacked previously. If you are going to fight back against the Fell, you'll need champions. Champions that won't just walk away if they get their feelings hurt.

The levers of power are still rather unwieldy here. You don't have a staff to carry out your orders. The Council sort of acts in that capacity, but they have their own responsibilities to look after. Each of them is in charge of a district of the city. It takes you a while, but eventually you find what passes for an office for public communications. The building is tucked away between a couple of larger shops, but the large antenna sticking up from the roof is a clue. "I have an official decree." You announce to the clerk at the front desk. He sits up straighter and prepares to write, giving you a respectful nod to show that he's ready. "I am looking for a handful of women to represent Stonegate to the rest of the world. I will accept only the best and expect absolute obedience from them, but in exchange I will make them the strongest, wealthiest, and most respected people in the world. They will be my personal agents and afforded great authority. The first trials will begin in two weeks. So says Freyr, king of Stonegate." The office stirs busily as the staff begin to formulate the message and how to broadcast it to the most people possible. You leave them to their work, but one of them approaches with a question before you leave.

"Sire, it might be a dead end, but it wouldn't hurt to check in with the jail if you're looking for dangerous women. We've got a prisoner there that ran quite the rampage against the nobles before she was captured. She was thrown into jail to await trial and execution, but then the old lot all up and ran off when the Fell attacked. With no one left to press the accusations, she's probably just been held in a state of limbo. Of course, she might not be worth your time, but I figured I'd let you make that decision sir."

He doesn't know much more about the woman or her circumstances. Most of what he's heard was rumor and hearsay. You thank him for his initiative and continue on your business. You are joined by Klaus the militia captain and together tour the town district by district to get a better idea of the damage it has suffered and to begin prioritizing the repair efforts. What you'd really like is a city wall of good solid stone, but with things the way they are that is a project that will be completed far in the future, if ever. There is a quarry near at hand, one of the origins for the town's name, but it will still be a massively expensive effort in both money and man-hours. Right now you have families who have lost their homes and are being **** to sleep in some of the public buildings until further arrangements can be made. The workers can hardly be expected to work hard days outside of the city while their families are left destitute. That's not the kind of person you are.

You direct for a set of barracks to be built as the burnt-out and damaged buildings are leveled. Its just a temporary situation, but this close to the mountains the cold is a very real concern. This way there may be less privacy, but at least everyone will have a roof over their heads. Once those are finished, reconstruction will continue and the families will be given housing with only their participation in the militia training being required for repayment. This causes a lot of eyebrows to raise when announced at the next Council meeting. Apparently the norm would be to squeeze the displaced families for all they had. You explain that first, the idea of extorting more money from the people you've already failed to protect from the Fell leaves a bad taste in your mouth and second, such measures would raise a great deal of unrest. Many would simply leave Stonegate for other cities and better opportunities. The fewer people you have in the population, the fewer workers you have available, the fewer taxes you'll raise, the fewer soldiers you'll have, and so on.

It does hit your rapidly-dwindling treasury even harder though. That's becoming a serious problem that you'll have to address soon or risk absolute bankruptcy. Soldiers still need food and spending money. Standing your army up is a good way to get deposed off of the nearest rooftop. You have a couple ideas along those lines, but it will take time and research to see them into fruition. In the meantime, you call an end to the meeting and people go about their business. Curiosity has been mounting, so you take yourself over to the Jail. The militia sergeant on duty takes you down a narrow set of steps, the air growing noticeably cooler and damp as you proceed. Dim lights hum fitfully in wire-barred recesses. "You'll want to keep your distance, sire. Hate to have to clean more skin and blood off of the bars." The skeptical jailer notes. The pair of you stop in front of one of the cells, heavy bars set deep into the ancient stones.

Watching the pair of you with a closed, flat expression is a pale-skinned beauty. Her hair is black and melds with the heavy shadows that lay across the cell's interior. She is sitting on her bunk leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, but under your scrutiny she sits back against the wall and crosses her long legs. She is wearing some kind of blackened armor with a red cobra motif nestled between her breasts like an invitation to check them out. She crosses her arms underneath her bountiful assets with an elegant air, and the ghost of a smile draws her sensuous lips upward. The glasses she wears only add to that impression of high society. You would bet the remainder of your unimpressive coffers that she would be at home mingling with the upper crust.

"Hey Mustache." She ignores you and speaks to the guard instead, her words coming with an unspecific, european-sounding accent. "Who's this?" "You sulk in the presence of Freyr, king of Stonegate." He replies, unruffled. She scoffs, turning away with a dismissive sniff to regard the uninteresting wall in front of her. Based on her reported history with the nobility, its more or less what you were expecting. "You made quite the stir, from what people tell me. I imagine that you must have amassed quite the trophy display before you were caught." Her smirk is all the answer you need, and you continue smoothly. "Got tired of the stuck-up noses and dismissive looks and decided to take them down a peg or two, right? While you were at it, you were going to buy yourself a nice place somewhere in the lap of luxury and live our your days doing what you want. Only problem, you forgot about the Fell."

She finally turns to look at you again, but her expression is scornful. Instead of being insulted, you smile confidently. "Indeed. They are other people's problem, right? You have no problem taking out a few mindless monsters, right? You forgot the most important question though. 'What next?' Because after the Fell have taken everyone else out, they will scour the high places and the low places for survivors. There is no place to hide. You can't negotiate, plead, or bargain with them. Its either kill them all, or they will kill all of us."

She has lost a little of her smirk, thoughtful eyes and a closed expression watching you from behind the fashionable glasses. "I'm holding trials for Royal Agents in two weeks time. I will demand a great deal, but I offer even more in exchange. For starters, if I think you're sincere, you'll receive a full pardon. If I don't, you'll grow old down here. I don't want your answer now. Think about it, and let the guard know your decision. I'll see you in two weeks, or I won't." She silently turns her back on you, as if dismissing you from her presence instead of the other way around. You allow her her games and nod to the guard, and the two of you stomp back up to the light of day.