Not many of Lord Biustarn’s former subjects came to attend his last rites. I don’t know if it was because they’d had little love for him or simply that they had better things to do. Presumably it was some combination of the two, after all Miusin was the only one here who looked upset by his death. I assumed the villagers and his remaining servants had much more important things to concern themselves over, as often seemed to be the case in this world.

Lord Biustarn was buried without ceremony, before the few of us even assembled. Then, standing atop the freshly dug ground, Miusin addressed the small crowd.

“The late Lord Biustarn failed all of us. I will do all I can to wipe clean the stain of his betrayal in the days to come. May Ortyx consume his soul, that he might be more use to the world in death than he was in life.”

To my increasing surprise, there was a murmur of agreement and then the demons dispersed. I blinked, still trying to come to terms with what had just happened, when Miusin approached me.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Not exactly. It just didn’t go quite the way I expected.”

“And what is it you expected?”

“Well, I thought someone might say something nice about him at least.”

Her lip curled slightly in disdain at my remark. “I said nothing about him that was untrue. He betrayed his people and now he’s dead, what was I supposed to say? Am I meant to apologise for him? The sort of sentimental nonsense you’re suggesting would only tarnish what little respect my new subjects might have for me. The last thing I need is to give them more reason to reject my authority.”

I stared at her. “He was your father; doesn’t that mean anything? I didn’t get the impression you two hated each other or anything.”

“You got it exactly right, he was my father. Now he’s just a corpse.”

She stomped off, very deliberately walking across his grave.

Confused, I looked to Elmidath for guidance.

“Was I really that out of line? I didn’t think what I said was unreasonable.”

“A bit. I think she did the right thing. Regardless of how she truly feels about her father’s death, she needs to put on a strong face. Something which she did a fine job of. Though that part is easy compared to the challenges that she’ll face ruling this place on her own.”

I was tempted to ask Elmidath if she was just putting on a strong face as well, but I doubted it would lead to anything productive.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like you’re planning something.”

“Of course I am. Did you expect me to stand around uselessly the entire time? This is the perfect opportunity for me to rebuild my power. And besides, Miusin could use the help.”

Given our track record, I really wasn’t sure we should be the ones to give it. But then again, there weren’t a lot of other options available around here. We also happened to be her allies, which I imagine spoke in our favour. Or at least, we had been her allies? I had no idea if our past affiliation meant anything at this point.

“Then I suppose we should get to that when we’ve dealt with your own subjects. They should come first and I doubt Miusin is in much of a mood to listen to us right now.”

“Yes, yes. I hardly need you to remind me of my responsibilities. However, there is little sense in sharing our plans with them when we have yet to make them. It will only make me look weak and foolish. I can see the wisdom in giving Miusin time, but perhaps this is also something of an opportunity. Her current state might make it easier to convince her to see things our way.”

I blanched at that, it seemed like a terribly manipulative way of looking at it.

“Are you really suggesting that we try to take advantage of her vulnerability? Right after her father died? A death which we were at least somewhat responsible for.”

“You make it sound like it’s such an awful thing to do. Are we just supposed to wait around until she feels better? There are far more important things at stake here. Besides, we owe her nothing.”

While it was easy enough to explain it away like that, it still didn’t feel right to me. Miusin wasn’t perfect, but she’d acted quite decently when it came down to it from what I’d seen.

“We may not owe her anything, but wouldn’t it be better to start this new arrangement off on the right foot? If she realizes we manipulated her, and she surely will eventually, then she’ll probably hate us for it.”

“Fine, I won’t try to trick her or force her into something she’ll regret. But we really do need to speak with her privately about all this.”

“Alright, I think I’m okay with it then, so long as we both remain respectful.”

We were seeking Miusin out once more when I saw Korzan approaching us.

“Hey, I’d heard you two were back. So, what’s the plan now?”

Elmidath stood a little straighter, looking up at the taller demon.

“Much the same as before; ensure the security of my subjects and my lands. The darkness that threatened us has been pushed back and we are now free to bring things to order once more.”

“That sounds good.” Korzan eyed me. “Is any of that actually likely to happen?”

“I believe so. We’re currently rather short on numbers, but there’s a lot less that we need defending from now.”

“I’ll take your word for it then. Just let me know where you need me.”

Looking somewhat annoyed that Korzan was talking to me over her, Elmidath interjected.

“That I will. Have you been performing your duties here?”

“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what my duties are meant to be, but I have been keeping an eye on things and trying to stop people getting themselves killed where I can. Was there anything else I was meant to be doing, oh wise and benevolent leader?”

“You could try having a little respect for the one you’ve sworn to serve for a start.”

I cleared my throat to interrupt before an argument could begin and gently drew Korzan aside.

“Do you really have to antagonise her like that? You did agree to serve her.”

Korzan looked thoroughly unimpressed by my logic. “Only because there was no other choice at the time. She’s barely done anything worthy of respect in the time that I’ve known her.”

“Then you haven’t been paying attention. She’s the only reason this whole place hasn’t already fallen. If it weren’t for her, then we’d all be dead or worse. I’d say that’s quite worthy of respect, wouldn’t you? Do you know anyone else that’s done more for you?”

I was starting to get more than a little heated, and thankfully the defiance in Korzon’s eyes faded as my tirade wound down.

“Alright, you’ve made your point. She does deserve more credit than I’ve given her. Can we move on now?”

“Fine, but don’t forget what you’ve just said.”

With Korzon looking suitably cowed, we returned to Elmidath. The demon tipped her head respectfully to her lord.

“I apologise for my earlier conduct. I’ve been performing my duties as best I know how. Is there anything I’ve left out?”

“Not that I can think of, but I will let you know if something occurs to me. Thank you for your service; we will speak again soon.”

“I look forward to it, Lady Sarinknell.”

She saluted Elmidath, then strode off and I relaxed. While their meeting had taken a turn for the worse, it had ended well and that was probably what mattered most. Once she was out of sight, Elmidath and I resumed our search for Miusin. However, after Lord Biustarn’s last rites, no one seemed to know where she’d gotten to.

Elmidath stopped to sigh.

“I suppose we can talk to her later. We may as well speak with my subjects now and at least let them know what’s been happening.”

“Sounds good to me. They must be quite confused by everything that’s been going on.”

“Go then and gather the villagers, that I might address them properly.”

I thought back to the last time we’d really spoken with the villagers’ representatives. It hadn’t exactly been a cordial affair. In fact, they’d been on the edge of outright mutiny.

“Uh, I’m not sure that’s the best idea. They’re probably not happy to see us already and if we treat them like that, then it’ll only make things worse. I’m not sure they’d even be willing to meet with us under those conditions.”

Elmidath shook her head.

“They can be such ungrateful creatures. Fine, I’ll meet with them myself. Does that meet with your approval?”

“That should be fine, yeah.”

We approached one of the workers currently salvaging what they could from Lord Biustarn’s former residence and asked him where we could find the villagers who’d arrived from Sarinknell. He directed us to the local village of Istavel, just a short walk from our current location.

After thanking him for his time, we proceeded onward to our new destination. Just as he’d said, we found the village before long. It was larger than the one in Sarinknell, with several sturdy stone houses among those of shaped dirt. I was approaching in order to make inquiries when one of the villagers came out to meet us. Due to her all-enveloping garments, I only recognized Yuvina when she spoke.

“I’d heard you were back, but I wasn’t quite sure I believed it. It’s incredible that you’re both still alive.”

She didn’t sound overly happy about that fact. I could certainly empathize with her disbelief if not her displeasure, we never would have survived were it not for a considerable degree of luck and an immense amount of aid from our various former allies.

Elmidath stepped forward, obviously irritated by Yuvina’s tone.

“And yet here we are. Gather my other subjects, I need to speak with you all.”

So much for my suggestion. I suppose this way was at least more diplomatic than me trying to round up the villagers. Elmidath certainly could have done it more politely, but somehow, I doubted that was much of a consideration for her right now.

Yuvina stared back at her, eyes impassive beneath her hood. “Why?”

Elmidath was opening her mouth to speak, no doubt about to say because it was what she commanded, when I pre-empted her and she had the good grace to allow me to speak instead.

“We need to discuss the future. Specifically, what we’re all going to do now that both Lord Biustarn and Yueryurn are dead. I’m sure we can all agree that it’s something that we very much need to talk about.”

“Fine, I’ll bring everyone here. I’ll be back shortly.”

Once Yuvina was gone, Elmidath turned to me.

“Thank you for that.”

I blinked, that was not the response I was expecting. I thought she’d at least remind me of the proper way of doing things.

“Um, you’re welcome. I didn’t mean to step on your toes or anything, I just thought there was probably a more diplomatic way to handle things.”

“And you were right.” She took a deep breath. “It’s hard for me to keep my temper around such ingratitude. Do they have any idea how much we’ve fought on their behalf? How much we’ve sacrificed?”

“I’m not sure they’ll ever truly understand, but I think they appreciate it somewhat. Unfortunately, it doesn’t change the fact that we destroyed their way of life, even if it wasn’t entirely our fault.”

Elmidath’s gauntlet opened and closed as she examined the village before her. “I know all that, it just doesn’t make it any easier. Is this really how it’s going to be from now on? If they can’t accept me as their lord, then I don’t see how this is ever going to work.”

“Give it time, they’ll come around eventually. We just have to continue to do what we can for them and for ourselves.”

“I suppose it would be foolish to attempt to gain more subjects when I can barely control those I already have.”

My brows came together as I scratched my chin. “Well, you don’t necessarily have to control them. Can’t you just work together with them?”

“I see you still don’t understand what it actually means to be a leader. A group simply cannot be trusted to make coherent decisions for the entire group, that’s exactly why we have leaders.”

While I still didn’t quite like that way of looking at it, she was making sense.

“Still, if you could achieve a position of mutual respect, I think all of this would go a lot smoother.”

“And how am I meant to get them to respect me as a leader if I can’t get them to listen to me?”

I shrugged.

“I guess we’ll just have to win them over with the strength of our arguments. I realize that won’t always be a suitable choice, but I think it’s certainly possible here. They must all realize how important what we’re deciding is.”

Elmidath looked unconvinced.

“I’m sure they realize it’s important; that doesn’t mean they’ll be at all reasonable about it. If anything, it’s more likely to be the opposite. I imagine they’re all afraid and are willing to cling to whatever security they can find. But that sort of attitude will never lead to any progress.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong that would probably cause issues. The villagers hadn’t exactly been acting in their own best interests before and that didn’t seem likely to change. They clearly weren’t inclined to see things from our point of view, so how were we meant to make any real progress? I simply didn’t know them well enough to come up with a solution.

“We’ll just have to talk with them and address their grievances as best we can. I’m sure we can work something out if we just keep our heads and remain diplomatic.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, but we’ll see.”