“Damn fucking right.” Rugrat raised his beer and Erik tapped his bottle against it. The two of them grinned as they drank. There was risk, there was the possibility of failure, but that was what they lived for. If not, then they wouldn’t have become private contractors after leaving the military, following that buzz and sense of purpose.
***
Aditya looked at King’s Hill Outpost. It stood high above the forest, taking a commanding view of the surrounding area. There were crafters swarming over the location still. A large stone wall surrounded the outpost. The ground was being flattened out beyond the wall, for the next expansion. Trees had been cut down and sharpened, sticking out to defend the workers against any creatures that might try to rush out from the forest.
There were guards on the walls, looking outward.
Aditya went up the winding road. The inner outpost only had one entrance, while the outer outpost that was under construction would have four entrances.
Inside the outpost, the main roads had been laid down. There were outlines for the different buildings to be created. The lords and ladies all had a plot of land within the inner outpost. There was also a crafting sector and a region that would be sold off to traders, a place for an auction house, stables, and all of the things an outpost needed.
The buildings were going up rapidly. The outpost headquarters had been completed first. It stood back from the entrance to the inner outpost. It was a hexagonal structure, its walls as thick as the inner outposts. Towers were at every corner and the actual building within was just a few meters back from the walls and rose five stories up. Making it one of the taller buildings outside of capital cities.
As Aditya entered on his mount, the guards saluted.
Aditya continued on, finding Pan Kun waiting for him. The man looked tired but pleased.
“Well, to me it looks like you’re even ahead of schedule,” Aditya said.
“Just a few days or so,” Pan Kun said.
“The other outpost leaders?”
“Most have arrived or are expected to by nightfall.”
“Very well. Send them word through the messengers that I wish to have a meeting tonight and a feast. Best we get things started instead of waiting around.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“And well done, Pan Kun.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
***
Emmanuel and the other lords and ladies from the different outposts filed into the big hall within the headquarters. They were allowed to bring their guards. Everyone was on edge, so most were thankful to have some kind of strength with them.
They all filed in, talking and greeting one another. They admired the outpost and talked about small matters. With how things had changed so rapidly recently, it was hard for them to talk of future plans or much of anything that wasn’t related to what had happened.
The table in the feast hall was round, making everyone equal and allowing them to converse easily with their partners.
Aditya was all smiles and had the biggest group around him. He dealt with the lords and ladies with ease.
The master of ceremonies, the auctioneer from Vermire, hit a small gong, signaling people to take their seats.
As the conversation quieted, the tension that was hiding beneath the surface rose up once again.
Aditya cleared his throat and raised his glass. “Well, we did it! We took King’s Hill and established an outpost while weathering a war aimed to cut us down from behind. Here is to the King’s Hill Outpost Alliance.”
The others raised their glasses in salute and drank.
“Also, to clear the tension, I wanted to bring up a few things before we eat.”
That tension returned in full force as some sent discreet looks to the guards nearby.
“I propose that we collaborate together, using the mercenaries and the guards who were captured to assist in clearing and creating roads to link all of our outposts to King’s Hill Outpost in order to improve our internal support of one another. Also, the cheap labor is pretty nice.” Aditya laughed as the other lords joined in.
Smart, Emmanuel thought, his eyes flashing at Aditya’s words.
Creating those roads would connect all of the leaders together. They would be able to move their guards in order to support one another. It would bind their defenses and their trade together tighter than before. On the surface, it was to protect their interests, but deeper, it would make them one group, the headquarters located in King’s Hill Outpost and the other outposts its subordinate.
“What of the outposts that we have captured?” Old Lord Quan asked.
“This was an effort that we all underwent. I do not know the minds of the other outpost lords, but I only wish to govern Vermire.” Aditya chuckled, getting compulsory smiles from the others. “All of the outposts under my control, bar Vermire, I say will be governed by the King’s Hill Outpost Alliance. I also wish to place a stipulation upon the alliance and the management of it.”
People were shocked into mumblings as they talked to their partners, but quickly grew silent, feeling that the second part was Aditya’s knife to the alliance’s heart. He had proved himself to be a capable and ruthless schemer, brilliantly turning the war against the other outposts into a windfall.
“The leadership of the King’s Hill Outpost will be made up of four people and one leader. The four people will coordinate with the crafters, the farmers, the traders, and the mercenaries. They will be elected by the people. The overall leader will be elected by us. The overall leader’s wealth will be placed upon the line. Fifty percent of the gold made will be split up evenly between all of us here. A further ten percent will go to the alliance leader. Thirty percent will be given over to the treasury to be used to create new roads, hand out loans to different groups, improve the conditions of the outpost, and help to raise our own crafters. The remaining ten percent will be devoted to the military, to take people from all of our outposts and train them into a true army to protect the alliance and not just our interests. They will be given the best gear, weapons, and training we can afford them. My major condition is that if the outposts do not make a profit but incur a loss, then the leader will not make anything and instead must pay for those losses out of his or her own pocket.”
The lords and ladies fell into discussion again.
With this, in one shot he makes the leadership position look unstable; he then amalgamates the guards into one fighting force. If one outpost leader goes against the alliance—well, we saw it with the other outpost guards. They weren’t willing to kill their own people just for their lord or lady. It ties us all closer together, while offering greater rewards and benefits for those who don’t wish to rule King’s Hill Outpost. If we want to see any return, then we need to pick the best person for the job, or else we’ll earn nothing extra, won’t see any new crafters and the army’s strength will fall.
Emmanuel felt his scalp tingling with Aditya’s declarations.
“You are too right, Lord Aditya. I will give up the captured Starfall Outpost to be managed by the King’s Hill Outpost Alliance,” Old Lord Quan said with a smile, stroking his beard.
It made it awkward in the hall as people looked over to the lords and ladies who had captured outposts from the enemy.
One by one, they turned control over to the alliance.
Emmanuel couldn’t help but smile. Giving it up, they lose the outpost’s direct control, but then the potential earnings of everyone increases. They might be bitter but they want to remain inside the alliance so that they might rise to power and control it all once again.
“I am humbled by your contributions. With this, our foundations couldn’t be firmer.” Aditya smiled to them all. “Now that is all done with, I will vacate my position and wait for the next alliance leader to be elected.”
This created an even bigger stir within the room. With Aditya leaving the position, it took away a large portion of his platform and it opened it up for everyone to compete, b
ringing him back down to their level.
He sat back down in his chair at the round table.
“In these turbulent times, I think it would be in everyone’s best interests if we elect a leader as soon as possible,” Leo said.
“First, let us vote on the changes that Lord Aditya has proposed,” another lord said. “Those in favor of using the mercenaries and guards from the enemy alliance to create the roads needed between our outposts to King’s Hill Outpost, raise your hand.”
Nearly all of the outpost leaders’ hands went up and someone noted down the number of hands raised.
“Those against?”
Hands went up and the number was noted down.
“The motion is passed and will be carried out as soon as possible.” The lord cleared his throat again. “Now, those in favor of enacting the new budget of the alliance and making the leader responsible for the shortfalls, raise your hand.”
There were less hands in agreement this time.
“Those against?”
Hands went up and the number was noted down.
The lord checked the numbers and a few other lords did as well.
“The motion is passed as well.”
“We need a new leader soon. I say that we should have voted one in by the end of the next three days, before we return to our outposts,” Leo said.
“Those who agree?”
All of the hands in the room went up.
“Well, then it is passed. In three days, we will choose the new leader of King’s Hill Outpost.”
Before, if he remained in his position, then he would have been domineering. Now, if he is elected, then he is their choice, not the one who was forced upon them!
Emmanuel wanted to laugh but held it in as he looked around the room. There had been too many announcements and information. Although all of the agreements bound them closer together, after what they had faced, having allies they could rely on didn’t sound too bad.
Although the outposts had been left alone, they had attacked a number of outposts backed by different kingdoms and large powers.
These places had left them alone for the most part but the recent changes in the Beast Mountain Range could change all of that.
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