Kaldalis took a long moment to process what the quest text meant. For one thing, it told him that his big brain plan to save Cotanaku was actually the real way of doing things. The systems in place for establishing settlements here involved actively stemming the tide of the Infernal Horde at the source.

At the same time as it made him feel smart for recognizing what needed to be done and handling it ahead of time, it made him feel dumb for his unique idea being the way everyone was supposed to do it.

Kaldalis’s first consideration was that there wasn’t a timer on this quest.

Well, not an official one.

It was possible that if Cerh were here, the Panbu council would decree that the wait for reinforcements would resume, and they’d all have to stand down. But without them present - and gauging from their previous reluctance to take the front - he had a window now to assume command and get the job done before their objections would be heard.

But was it the right call?

It didn’t take long for the right answer to be apparent. He gave one more look at the badly damaged wooden walls, and knew this had to end now. Whatever Garyung had done to get the money to rebuild Panbu, it was bad enough that he didn’t want to talk about it. Every crescent spent on repair quests - especially if Infernal Horde attacks might continue - was an interest payment he might not make.

The time to strike was now, while no one would raise a voice to stop him, and before quests began to drain Cotanaku’s bank any further.

“Alright then,” Kaldalis said, raising his voice to shout after the people milling about inside the gates of Panbu. “You all got the quest. We’re headed out to finish this!”

“I’d love to join you,” Garyung said with a sheepish grimace. “But I’ve been away too long already.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kaldalis said, clapping the bhogad on the shoulder. “Considering I did this with eight people last time, I can probably make do with forty instead of sixty.”

Garyung laughed, and made an about-face gesture to his party. “Good luck,” he said as he and his group left.

“I hope I don’t need it,” Kaldalis said, and then lower, under his breath, “unless this fucking game tries to hose me again.”

“So what’s our plan of attack?” Courbois asked as she returned to him, alongside the group of adventurers who had just walked back in.

Despite the frustration Kaldalis felt, the group looked only mildly annoyed. A few even looked eager. He supposed for people who had taken their first deaths at the hands of the Infernal Horde here in Panbu, this chance to strike at their den in turn must have seemed like the perfect opportunity for revenge.

“You know where we’re headed?” Kaldalis asked, turning to Balrim and Myrin, who were just behind him.

“Yup yup,” Myrin chirped with a big smile. She was visibly vibrating with undisguised desire for violence. “Just say the word and we’ll lead the way!”

“We’re going to need some help getting up,” Balrim cautioned, grabbing Myrin’s shoulder before she could bolt for the jungle. “The entrance is in the side of a cliff, remember?”

“Someone fetch me a rope,” Kaldalis called to the crowd forming up around him as more of the adventurers returned to the gates. “And everyone make sure you’re formed up into groups! We leave as soon as there’s a rope in my hands!”

Someone pushed through the group and handed Kaldalis a rope barely a second after he finished speaking.

“Um. Okay,” Kaldalis said with a laugh, “thank you. I guess we’re leaving now, then.” He gestured to Myrin. “Lead on.”

Myrin took off at a full run, and Kaldalis had to call her back to slow down to a light jog. There were still people streaming out of the camp to catch up, and even in the group they already had, there were plenty of folks moving at a slower pace as they sorted themselves back into parties and raid groups after disbanding when they thought their work was done.

They pushed into the jungle, going along the edge of the white-blossom forest. They marched at a rapid pace through the undergrowth, presumably in a direct line towards the Xorn den. Kaldalis remembered that Myrin and Balrim had said it was a long trip, so he hoped they could get through without incident.

Luckily, or unluckily, the jungle seemed eerily quiet. He guessed it was due to the event, and it was doing an excellent job of building dramatic tension. Everyone was looking around warily as they marched, unsure of what was coming next.

What Kaldalis needed wasn’t tension, though. He needed everyone in good spirits when they arrived at the den. Running into a pack of Jeotops would be a great opportunity to loosen everyone up and get people talking and laughing again.

Instead, what they encountered only built the tension even further.

As they reached the farthest edge of the white-blossom forest, they appeared.

Four figures emerged from the jungle, blinking in confusion and surprise at the army descending on them.

Kaldalis recognized two of them.

One was Yosini, and another was the man in black armor. He didn’t recognize the other two: a Bhogad woman with a bow and another man with a greatsword, both in the leather armor that marked them as DPS players.

Seeing four people out here in the jungle, Kaldalis almost jumped to an accusatory conclusion.

He told himself immediately that it was because of his personal dislike for the man in black armor.

Of course, as soon as someone else spoke they proved his conclusion accurate.

“Voker!” Courbois barked, leaping to the head of the group and fixing the man in black armor with a withering glare. “You fucking asshole!”

A rumble of aggravation went through the group behind and around Kaldalis. More than one person repeated Courbois’ insult. A few were a bit more colorful than that.

“The fuck did I do?” Voker, the man in black armor, whined, throwing up his hands in aggravation.

“If it were anyone else,” Courbois snapped, “I’d accuse you of playing dumb. But I know you don’t need to play.”

“What were you thinking?” someone in the crowd behind him demanded. “You all saw the message! We weren’t supposed to run the dungeon!”

“You’re all alive,” Voker said, gesturing around at the group. “I guess it all worked out, right?”

“We’re fighting the final battle for the town upgrade, you ass,” Courbois said, planting her fists on her hips, “all because you’re too brainless to read a fucking quest description!”

Voker shrugged. “Sounds like it all worked out great for us, then. Isn’t that a good thing? We aren’t all stuck on our asses for two weeks now, right?”

He was right, in a way, but Kaldalis couldn’t let the discussion go down that path. He couldn’t let the whole group take away from this that ignoring orders would be rewarded. The Zaran diplomats had enough preconceived prejudice against them as PCs already.

Last thing he needed was for every asshole like Voker being dickheads and justifying their distrust and hatred.

“There will be consequences for this,” Kaldalis said, stepping forward. He physically interposed himself between Courbois and Voker, though he loathed to do so, since she looked to be about to pop him in the mouth. “But we’re all going to suffer under whatever the Zarans decide those consequences should be. We don’t have the time to mete out punishment among ourselves now.”

Courbois gritted her teeth and turned away.

Voker smirked, and Kaldalis almost turned on him himself.

It took a second to stop himself from doing so physically.

“You will regret this later, I promise,” Kaldalis said, directly to the group of four, although loud enough for others to hear his words. “When Cerh’s goons arrive from Baimer, everyone is going to remember the reason they’re coming down on us. I’ll believe you think you made out like a bandit today, but give it a week.”

Voker’s smirk didn’t dry up, but a little uncertainty started to creep into his eyes. It was the best Kaldalis could hope for. He also hoped that he helped make the connection in everyone’s minds between Voker’s actions and Cerh’s incoming response.

If everyone was treating him like shit by the end of the week, he’d call it a worthwhile use of breath.

“Move out,” Kaldalis said, gesturing to Myrin. “I want there to still be daylight left on our walk back.”

A number of people were still gritting their teeth and grimacing at Voker, but they didn’t make him repeat himself overdramatically before they resumed their journey towards the Xorn den.