In his life, Dylan had played a lot of games where a mission - or central mechanic - involved balancing some sort of reputation bar. For some of them, having the bar very high at the end of the mission was rewarded, either with additional resources or even the otherwise-inaccessible good ending. For others, it was a resource to be earned and spent like a currency, and it was most efficient to end the quest having gotten maximum value from spending that reputation bar.

In this life, Kaldalis was hoping that the Zaran Approval Rating fell into this second category.

Getting the diplomat council together cost him, over the course of the evening, about thirty percent of the approval bar - about half of what he’d carefully banked up over the last couple of days. That expenditure was on full display now that he was in the upgraded council chamber with them, getting glared at worse than he had been on the first day.

“I understand your irritation,” Kaldalis said, trying to keep his voice even.

“I don’t think that you do.” Cerh words were as curt as his tone. His clawed hands were folded over each other on the table, but despite the calm posture, he radiated hostility. “Half the reason the Zaran leadership in Baimer is unhappy with the state of affairs out here is because of this sort of… disrespect for the proper procedure.”

Kaldalis was capable of reading between the lines.

The central cause of their displeasure was his behavior as a PC. Calling a meeting was their job, not his, and encroaching on their authority was pissing them off.

Or, at least, it was pissing Cerh off.

The rest of the council displayed varying degrees of irritation. Jetmorpan and Demriv mirrored Cerh’s expression of aggravation, though with less intensity. Big Mike had some sympathy in his eyes, but he was being obviously tight-lipped with his support for Kaldalis.

Shockingly, the most supportive person in the room was Captain Kensah, who had hated his guts only two days ago.

“He’s working in our interests,” Kensah said, crossing her arms over her chest. “This council can’t deny that the adventurers have proved their devotion to this cause, and we can’t argue that this cause isn’t the same as ours.”

It was strange to see her glare fixed on someone else for a change.

Cerh’s scowl turned to Kensah for only a moment before orienting on Kaldalis again. There was a hesitation, then the lines on his face softened. “Fine then. The council of Panbu is called to order.”

Kaldalis tried not to jump when a quest popped up on the left side of his vision. Cerh’s demeanor made it feel like he had issued the quest passive-aggressively.

Final Verdict

Attend the third Panbu meeting.

This development actually felt unexpectedly beneficial.

Kaldalis knew he only had to attend three meetings with them for his position here as envoy. The third and final meeting might finally free him from their approval bar. And even if it didn’t, it would free him from being tethered to their meetings, letting him do what he liked.

The nearby dungeon was calling his name. But being freed from responsibility would also let him get back to level grinding with Reno and Ess, or exploring with Balrim and Myrin, or following up on that raincheck with Heluna for dinner.

Or dealing with the Infernal Horde where they spawned.

“The council recognizes Envoy Kaldalis,” Cerh said after an uncomfortably long silence. “Who has chosen to call for this meeting. Against protocol.”

“Esteemed council,” Kaldalis said, addressing them as formally as possible despite their juvenile behavior. “I’ve asked you here because of our previous discussion. You gave me three days to get this camp ready for upgrade to a town. I’ve done it in two. With every day that passes, though, we get closer to the Infernal Horde simply attacking us anyway without gaining the upgrade in the process. I want to get this done today, while we’re ready and waiting.

“This fight happens on our terms,” Kaldalis continued, thumping a finger to the table. “Not on the Infernal Horde’s. I am asking you only to benefit from the work you put before us, and the work you’ve done as well. Fortune favors the bold. So let’s be bold.”

Kensah was nodding along with what he said, but the others still seemed doubtful. Jetmorpan in particular still looked like he was about to have him thrown out of the council chambers.

“And you think this isn’t suicidal?” the red-purple Vathon said, gesturing violently with his hands towards the jungle. “We’ve heard the legends of the Infernal Horde. And we’ve now seen them firsthand.”

“And we handled them with no casualties,” Kaldalis said in an even tone. “I don’t intend for that to change.”

“You’re not kidding about being bold,” Big Mike said. “How could you possibly hope to promise that?” Despite the criticism, the ship captain had a hopeful expression.

“I’ve sent word around,” Kaldalis said, “so no doubt you’ve heard my plan. I want all the vulnerable people off the island and safely sent back to Cotanaku. I only want those adventurers here who you value least.” He gave Jetmorpan and Cerh a pointed look. “Those of us who fall will not be lost forever. And our sacrifices - and victory - may be enough to show you how you’ve misjudged us.”

Despite their stern demeanor, both men couldn’t meet Kaldalis’s glare. As much as they were willing to be assholes to him and the other PCs, they still felt shame when they were called out on it.

After everything they’d put him through since this job was forced on him, it filled him with a perverse glee to see them on the spot.

“What is your plan of attack, then?” Demriv asked. Her word choice and tone was inviting. It was almost as if she was starting to come around to Kaldalis’s plan, despite her earlier irritation with him.

“Much the same as before,” Kaldalis said, though he knew he was pushing his luck. “It will depend on things we can’t know right now, like their numbers and their distribution around the camp walls. I know roughly what to expect. This will be a siege and a pitched battle in one, but that’s what we had in Cotanaku, too. We not only came out on top then, but we did so with no notice. We didn’t know they were coming, and didn’t know what was coming, but we still overcame.”

It was a struggle to keep his tone and expression neutral. A sensation of dishonesty tickled the back of his mind.

He didn’t have a real plan.

What he’d done with the first raid wouldn’t work on the scale of a real attack. It was difficult enough to kite the Xorn when their numbers were just edging onto double digits. If there were scores of them - or even hundreds - then it was possible that no amount of kiting could keep him safe.

And that was without accounting for whatever was coming with them. The Syncoresi had the Malum. What would the Xorn have? The Malum had been big bruisers compared to the Syncoresi. Would the Xorn have allies even larger and more imposing? Or would they bring a Syncoresi equivalent accompanying them, flooding the camp with agile threats if the muscular Xorn battered down the gates?

At the end of the day, he was lying. His plan was largely to wing it and hope for the best off the raw moxie of whatever mob of adventurers were on hand.

He didn’t even know how many people he could trust to have on hand.

The council didn’t seem to be picking up on his doubts, though. They were nodding along as if he’d actually conveyed a real plan. He’d expected them to be more perceptive than this.

It was almost disappointing.

“With your help,” Kaldalis continued, “we have our defenses. The walls and the towers will let us fight the siege, and then our experience and tactics will let us overcome the pitched battle to follow. We have the dock built as well to facilitate getting all the vulnerable people off the island and safe from harm quickly and conveniently.

“We have everything we need,” Kaldalis concluded, holding up a clenched fist. “All we need is to pull the trigger.”

Cerh’s glare was gone now, and he tapped his scaled chin with a clawed finger. The whole council chamber was quiet for a long moment. Kaldalis took the opportunity to look around the room and consider how they were all looking.

His approval bar had only ticked up a little, barely reaching forty percent again, but they all appeared much less irritated now. Kensah’s face looked to be almost approaching a smile. Big Mike and Demriv were visibly pleased with how things were developing.

Jetmorpan was still scowling, though. Kaldalis hadn’t won him over yet.

“There is one consideration still to be had,” Cerh said at last, snapping everyone’s attention to him. “There is the matter of the town’s ownership. If we’re meant to be evacuated, how can we trust that you won’t simply claim the town as abandoned, adding another of Zara’s investments to your growing nation?”

“Ignoring, for the moment, how offended I am by the implication,” Kaldalis said, trying to sound more angry than he actually was, “please take a moment to explain to me what response you think we could expect from Zara if we did that? I am confident that if we steal the town tomorrow, the entire Zaran navy will be on our doorstep the day after.”

“You’re not mistaken,” Captain Kensah said. “It was only by the grace of King Amelda herself that they have not been dispatched already.”

Cerh hushed her, but she shrugged.

Kaldalis resisted the urge to grill them for more worldbuilding details. He filed the name away for later. “Regardless, we’re not fools. Cotanaku’s unusual affiliation was purely an accident, as we’ve told you. If we were to make that seem a lie, we know what we can expect the Kingdom’s response to be, even if your nightmare scenario didn’t involve us committing an act of openly calculated thievery.”

“Enough of this,” Demriv interrupted. “This accusation is ridiculous, and beside the point. The question at hand is if we will commit to this upgrade immediately, in recognition of their hard work, or if there is any reasonable cause for us to hold back.”

Kaldalis still couldn’t bring himself to look her in the eye, but he nodded his thanks to her. At the same time, Jetmorpan’s scowl broke. He sighed with a grimace, and for a moment, Kaldalis thought he might actually admit to being wrong.

“Demriv is correct,” Cerh said at last. “All of the risks and benefits are on the table. The council is fully-equipped to make a decision now.” He raised his hands, as if silencing complaints that no one was actually voicing. “We will hold a vote. All in favor of completing the upgrade and making Panbu a town of Zara - in accordance with Envoy Kaldalis’s plan - say aye.”

Kaldalis couldn’t recall if the council had ever put anything to a vote.

Until now, it had seemed that everything was on Cerh’s shoulders, with the rest being advisors at best. It had never occurred to him that they might actually put things to votes.

“Aye,” Captain Kensay spoke first, without hesitation. Kaldalis was honestly stunned by how quickly her opinion of him had turned around. He felt like the other shoe was going to drop with her. But it seemed it wasn’t yet.

“Aye,” Big Mike said.

“Aye,” said Demriv.

There was a long pause. It felt like minutes, but Kaldalis knew it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds.

“Aye,” Jetmorpan said with a grimace. He let out a sigh, as if resigned to this choice despite his better judgment.

“It is unanimous then,” Cerh said, tapping on the table with his scaled knuckles. “It will be done in the morning. The town will be evacuated of non-essential personnel, and the event will begin. We choose to trust that the threat of retaliation from Zara will be enough to keep the worst from happening.”

While he appreciated the diplomats’ trust - even tempered by threats - the true reward came when Cerh gave a gesture of dismissal. The meeting was brought to an end, and the quests on the right of his vision completed.

Blessedly, at long last, the approval bar on the side of his vision vanished.

He was free, no longer tethered to the whims of their meeting schedule.

Kaldalis let out a sigh of relief. It had taken a straight face and a healthy mixture of honest and dishonest words, but he’d gotten them on his side. The stakes had been slightly raised, but they’d already been high before he started.

All he had left was the fight to come.