"Because I'm not asking you to trust me," Reidar said. "I'm making you an offer. Take the skills, use them in the raid, and we both get what we want. Or refuse, stay weak, and die because of infighting."

Silence fell over the clearing.

Moonlight glinted off Seraphine's white braid as she shouldered through the crowd while her bow rested on her back.

Reidar hadn't been able to find her at all during this whole ordeal, so her appearing here, not scared, not feeling threatened was a huge surprise.

Instead, she was there, as if she understood Reidar's intentions from the start, and most importantly, she believed in what he said.

<So she didn't flee.>

The archer stopped at the edge of the circle, studying the scene. At that point Reidar noticed that… she was really young. Twenty five at best.

"You didn't leave," Reidar said.

"I couldn't even if I wanted to. Remember? It's impossible to go through the fog." She paused. "Regardless, I knew there was nothing to fear despite your display of strenght," then she smiled. "Pretty impressive, by the way."

"Thanks, but this doesn't explain why you chose to appear now. You could have stayed hiding."

Seraphine agreed. "I wanted to see what you'd do."

"I'm happy you found my actions amusing." He didn't.

Seraphine looked at Helga, then at Aldric, then back at Reidar. "You could have killed them. You have the power."

"I could have," Reidar said.

"But you didn't." Seraphine walked closer. "You subdued them. Disarmed them. And now you're making an offer. That's a behavior far that of a warlord."

"Go tell them."

She turned to face the other leaders.

"He just demonstrated what he's capable of," she said. "A thousand spectral knights, each over level 115. He crushed our defenses without breaking a sweat. he explained the situation and said he was going to help you complete this raid. Isn't this proof enough of his intentions?"

Seraphine was looking at Helga now.

Helga gave her a glare. "Your point?"

"My point is that if he wanted to be a warlord, he already would be," Seraphine said. "He has the strength. He doesn't need our cooperation. He can make this quest alone."

Helga spat.

"Really? Still stubborn?"

The warrior's expression remained guarded. "What's stopping him from demanding tribute after we're dependent on his skills? Or using them as a leash?"

"The fact that I'm leaving after the raid," Reidar said. "I have other places to be. Other things to do. I'm not interested in ruling a bunch of survivors who can't even set aside their pride to actually cooperate."

He paused.

"You want to think I'm some scheming bastard with a secret agenda? Fine. Think that. But the offer stands regardless. Skills for cooperation. Strength for the raid. Then I leave."

Seraphine looked between the two faction leaders. "We won't get a better opportunity. You both know that."

Helga's jaw clenched. Her hands clenched into fists where the knights held her.

"If you fuck us over—"

"I won't," Reidar said.

"If you even try to establish permanent control—"

"I won't."

"If you—"

"Helga," Seraphine interrupted. "Accept the offer."

Seraphine glared at her. Her eyes promised violence, once that Helga knew Seraphine could deliver. They didn't call her the white death after less than six months of apocalypse for nothing.

When she decided to kill someone, you'd never see her coming. She just appeared, sudden and silent, and it was already too late.

"Fine," she spat. "But I want a condition."

"What condition?" Reidar asked.

"You keep those knights around the camp," Helga said grinning. "Set up a perimeter. My people needs a good night sleep, and they won't be able to do it properly with the monsters and those cutthroats around."

Reidar raised an eyebrow. "You want my army to guard you?"

"You subdued us," Helga said. "Used your overwhelming force to make a point. Now use that same force to keep us safe. Show us you're serious about helping."

<She can be smart when she wants. She's turning my show of strength into a demand for protection.>

"Done," Reidar said.

Helga blinked in surprise. She'd expected him to argue.

Aldric spoke up. "I have a condition too."

"Go ahead," Reidar said.

"We maintain our faction structures," he said. "You don't interfere with how we organize our people or make decisions. You provide skills and protection. You will have the final say on things, and we will follow your orders, but the rest is on us."

"Agreed," Reidar said. That would actually work better than having to micromanage everything, which Reidar didn't want to. He had had enough of that when he had a company.

The crowd stirred. People exchanged glances, whispers growing louder.

Reidar gestured to his spectral knights. "Release them."

The knights obeyed. They stepped back, freeing Helga, Aldric, and the other pinned fighters.

Helga climbed to her feet, rubbing her shoulders where the knights had held her. She grabbed her war hammer from where it lay in the dirt. Reidar allowed her, which was another way to show his words held the truth.

<It's too fucking hard to deal with people.>

Aldric retrieved his spear.

"We have an agreement," Aldric said giving Reidar a dashing smile. "Reidar will share skills with anyone who wants them. In exchange, we complete the raid objectives. After the raid, he leaves."

"No one is forced to accept his skills," Helga said. "Anyone uncomfortable with this can refuse."

Reidar nodded. "That's your choice. But understand that those who refuse will be at a severe disadvantage during the raid."

He turned to face the crowd.

"The skills I can share include summoning abilities, elemental attacks, healing, defensive buffs, and support abilities. Each person will receive up to three skills."

He didn't say much else since he didn't want to give that kind of information to them. However, three skills were enough based on the amount of survivors in the camp.

Excited murmurs spread through the survivors.

"When do we start?" someone asked.

"Tomorrow morning. For now, my knights will make a perimeter around the camp. You'll have a secure area to rest and prepare."

He turned to his spectral knights.

"Form defensive positions around the camp. Standard patrol pattern. No one enters or leaves without permission."

The knights moved while the survivors watched in awe. Of course, Reidar was going to use the Vorathid Foragers for the actual guard duties. They lasted two hours with their standard duration, but with Spell Control active, they lasted 25% more, meaning two hours and a half.

"Get some rest," Reidar said. "Tomorrow we prepare for the raid."

He turned and walked back toward where Lena and Jake waited with their wolves.

Lena watched him approach. "That went better than expected."

"Seraphine helped," Reidar said. "Without her, Helga might have kept arguing."

"The archer is smart," Lena said. "She saw the value in this situation immediately."

Jake looked back at the crowd of survivors. "They're scared."

"They forced my hand."

He pulled up the quest notification. The progress bar remained at zero, but the objectives were clear. Help them succeed. Make them stronger. Complete the raid.

<One step at a time.>

Around them, the spectral knights held their positions. For the first time in weeks, the survivors slept without the constant fear of being attacked.

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