The next step.

"We want you to be our King." The spokeswoman for the town council announces. They have gathered together a day or two after the battle, enough time to deliberate, talk to the people, and make a decision. There were some signs that something like this might happen. Foremost among them was the public outrage when it was discovered that the previous ruler had fled rather than face the Fell the first time they had attacked the town. He hadn't gotten very far. What guards he had managed to coerce into going with him had been burdened with the wealth that he had looted before leaving. Scouts had discovered their remains in one of the mountain passes, though there was no sign of the treasury. Since he had had no children, and had executed his closest family members in an earlier power struggle, there would be no immediate challenge for succession.

The town of Stonegate is one of a number of city-states that are scattered across the countryside. So far, the land is sparsely populated and the various peoples have not expanded enough to come into conflict with each other. The recent arrival of the Fell has added pressure to the situation, but that pressure has mostly pushed people to work together against an implacable threat. Of course, there are also cults to the aspects of the Fell, just as there were back on Terra prior to its fall.

You think your answer over for a minute or two. They wait patiently, respectfully, but with a hint of desperation tinging their expressions. "If I accept..." You begin slowly, but firmly. "I will be a king in deed as well as name. I will not be the figurehead of a collection of Lords or the Council." "We would expect nothing less." Is the woman's answer, as she tries to conceal her relief. Things must be pretty bad then. She continues. "All we ask in return is that you continue to protect us from the Fell and return prosperity to Stonegate, we will not question your methods."

Well, when they put it that way, who are you to refuse? You accept, and spend the rest of the afternoon discussing matters of state with the Council. You make some minor changes to regulations and taxes, but most of the changes are to the military side of things. If your experience has taught you anything, it is that there are no such things as 'Civilians' when it comes to the Fell. Therefore you institute a mandatory enrollment into the Militia for all adults from 20-40 years of age. Their training will be defensive, focusing on holding buildings or walls within the town rather than deployment out in the field. The treasury is also in trouble. Its been raided by the former king and the heavy damage that's been done to the town doesn't help much either. The bounty you had recovered from the Greed Fell might have helped with that, but you decided to honor your promise to your rescuer.

The man's name turned out to be Harold. He claims to have no memory of what happened during the battle. Your run-in with the servant girl earlier suggests that he was likewise possessed by the mysterious body-snatcher. You believe that they were using techniques that rely a great deal on the body's energy, whether you call that Ki or Chakra or something else. It seems that Harold's body didn't have enough energy to sustain the kind of combat that its wearer wanted and was drained to the point that they fell ****. Since that effort probably saved your life, you're not inclined to sneer at the attempt. Instead, you hung the backpack with the treasure outside your window that night. It was gone the next morning, and you weren't assaulted again, so in a way everyone won.