"We should leave. We did just fine on our own before, we don't owe this asshole anything." Shelby said, kicking a stone into the river by which she, Andrew, and Kalan were standing. Four earth fused wood foundations lined the bank. Two of them had active earth accumulation circles around them, still in the process of fusing together. Cabin walls already four feet tall were erected around the edge of the other two. They would be finished with everything but the roofing on those two by the end of the day. They were extremely simple in design, one big room that they would be used as big communal sleeping areas until they had enough buildings to house everyone comfortably. They were already way past the long forgotten luxury of privacy among the little community and the bunkrooms would be a welcome upgrade from sleeping in the dirt. The whole camp was gathered by the bank, crowded around the three of them and murmuring similar sentiments among themselves. Andrew sent Jason home as soon as he and Kalan got back, and the two of them gathered everyone else up to have this meeting. It gave Andrew's temper some time to cool, but the others had just been told the details of their conversation with George, and their anger was fresh.

"I say we take the rest of that fucker's hand" Kent mumbled from somewhere in the crowd. "Yeah, and give that Mark kid a couple of real bruises, show him what it's really like for Carter to hit him in the face." Tyler said from somewhere else. "Who cares about those two? We should beat George's ass till he admits to bein a conman, then tie em up and toss him in hobgoblin territory. See how he likes breaking rocks!" Sam said from among the mob. "It's George, Mark and Steven doing this shit guys, remember that. We can't blame the whole camp for their actions." Carter said, standing tall over the crowd, deep voice cutting through the din of the crowd. The crowd quieted for a moment and Andrew took advantage of the opportunity.

"Okay everybody! Lets simmer down for a second. I do want to hear all your opinions, but we can't be shouting over each other like this. I have some thoughts on the subject, are you guys going to quiet down for a moment so I can try to explain them?" Andrew said, and they did. He saw a lot of crossed arms and irritated expressions, but no one looked like they were going to take action, yet, so they were still safe.

"That dude George? He's a total asshole, "Andrew paused for a moment as a round of jeers went up, "And a conman, like Tyler said. Mark and Steven are accomplices as well, but they might be acting under duress, we don't know enough about what's going on in that camp yet, okay? Here's what we do know, there are a lot of very kind, very generous people in that camp. They freely lent us the tools they were using, offered us food we didn't need while many of their own seemed to struggle, and shared their knowledge and skills to the betterment of both our camps. The innocent people of that camp are not our enemies, they're victims of George's lies and manipulation. If we abandon them here with him, who knows how they might turn out down the line? What will happen next time a group of survivors finds their way to their clearing? We're all looking for people out here, think about what might happen if they ran into these people without their own community to rely on. I won't make this choice for any of you, but we have a responsibility to convey the truth to the innocent people of that camp. I think we should stay. We'll have to take precautions to avoid something like this happening again, of course, but we know what we're dealing with now, and we can fight back against it."

The crowd was quiet for a long moment before Carter stepped forward. "You led six of us against a fort full of hobgoblins, and we won that fight. I'm not running from some pansy-ass liar, no matter how many guns he has." "Yeah!" "I'm not leaving!" "Who's running?" "Let's kick his ass!" One by one calls of support rang out from the crowd, and Andrew breathed a sigh of relief. He meant every word he said, but there was another reason he wanted them to stay. The surviving hobgoblins from their battle a couple weeks back would reach the closest settlement on their map soon, bringing word of their defeat. They didn't seem like the type to ignore that kind of thing and they would be back for revenge, he was sure of it. They would need every able hand they had to fight them off, and Andrew would not hesitate to work with George if it saved even one life on that battlefield.

"I'm glad to hear it! I wouldn't want to be stuck out in a monster filled wilderness with any other group of people!" Andrew called, getting a round of chuckles in response. "We need to set a couple of rules though, to make sure we don’t have any more incidents. We'll have to keep a close eye on anyone visiting from the opposite camp. Mark and Steven are to be turned away on the spot, if you see one of them snooping around, grab me, Kalan, Shelby, or Isaac, okay? We'll deal with it. Anyone leaving the clearing should travel as a pair, if you're visiting the other camp for any reason, go with a group of four. Keep your temper at all times. No fighting, especially if provoked. If you think someone is trying to provoke you, let one of the four of us know about it. Don't show off any off any special equipment, and definitely don't lend it out, George seemed pretty desperate to get his hands on some. Those of you who know how to do rune inscriptions, keep it to yourself, or well, don't share it with the other camp, teach it to each other for sure, that's helpful. You know what I mean. That's a chip we might have to cash in later if he tries something like this again. Any questions? Other rule suggestions? No? Alright then, let's get back to work, we're burnin daylight out here and we've still got a lot to do."

The crowd dispersed pretty quickly after that, filtering back out into the clearing and picking up their previous tasks with new vigor. It was time for Andrew to get to his own task, but first, he had to go honor their agreement. He made his way down to the wagons, digging through what remained of the supplies until he found a spare spear. They had a couple extras left over after the last fight for the hobgoblin camp. He stood on the back of the wagon and just held it for a moment. This spear belonged to one of the eight people who lost their life that day. He checked the expulsion pattern on the tip.

Sarah's spear. We never talked much. She was the one who helped me find my stuff in the med barn, when I first woke up after the attack. She was part of the kitchen staff. She worked for two days straight after that fight, taking care of all the injured. It doesn't feel right to give this away to that asshole.

"Hey, give them this one." Andrew turned to see Carter standing by the cart, holding his spear up to Andrew. "I always liked the sledgehammer better anyways, maybe you can make me a magic one of those sometime huh?"

Andrew smiled, "Consider it done. Thanks Carter." He set Sarah's spear down and hopped off the wagon, grabbing the spear from Carter's hand as he did so. "Alright, I'm off to go get those circles carved. I'll see if I can get Jason to come back over and help us get on track for roofing while I'm over there too, wish me luck!" He turned to set off in the direction of the camp and saw Carter, Shelby and Kalan lined up there, staring at him.

"Groups of four if you're heading into their camp, remember? We're coming with you." Carter said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, yeah, fine whatever, but you two have teams to lead." Andrew said pointing to Kalan and Shelby. "I'll go grab Tyler and Rowan instead, these big circles take for ever and they can help me out at least. Who came up with that rule? What a hardass."

The pair of them agreed, and broke off to rejoin their respective teams as Andrew jogged across the clearing to catch up with Rowan and Tyler before they started crossing the river to the mana accumulation grove on the other side. He was honestly surprised they had continued working on it for so long. They had to have carved up nearly a hundred branches by now, and had expected them to get bored and ask for something else to do days ago. He would have to find something else for them to work on, maybe just experiementing around with new uses for the runes. He wasn't dedicating enough time to experiementation these days. They were quick to agree to come with him, but looked a little nervous about it. Carter was just finishing up slipping the metal plates back into his armor as Andrew came back with the pair trailing behind. He hefted his shield and grabbed Sarah's spear with some reverence before turning from the wagon to face Andrew.

"I'm ready to go. If they're going to walk around our camp all day with guns on them. I don't see why I shouldn't be armed as well." Carter said. Tyler was nodding enthusiastically, and Rowan seemed a little less nervous at his words. Andrew was worried the other camp would see it for the escalation it was. He had no right to deny Carter the weapons, in fact he probably would have suggested similar protections to any other group heading into their camp. His reservations were purely hypocritical and he knew that. Still, the weapons made him more nervous, not less. They were on the road moments later, it would be best to get this over with quickly to minimize the chances of another incident. They would have to be very careful about how they handled the next few days.