92 Countdown to Destruction

A couple of hours after the two ultimatums were delivered, both Kretea's and Ystur's groups return to the Assembly Hall. Kretea's side explains how it went and from what they can tell, it's a tossup as to whether or not they accept right now. Ystur's explanation of the events is nowhere near as peaceful, noting that Hadrow has already begun preparing to fight.

"Allow us to bring death to the lowly Humans who would dare to tarnish your name," Birdie says.

"I and all the Oulvgar can agree. The Humans in that down are deserving of death. They went so far as to insult the Goddess, if not because our Goddess didn't want to start a conflict, there would no longer be a town to call Hadrow, only ruins," Woody says.

"Goddess, please allow us to deliver death to those arrogant Humans!" An Oulvgar shouts.

"We won't allow anyone to tarnish the name your name, Goddess!" Another Oulvgar yells.

One after another, all the Oulvgar shout out, asking for the order to exterminate the Town of Hadrow. The people of Hadrow have touched upon the reverse scale of the Oulvgar. Asterion is trying to reason with them, arguing that they should at least wait out the 50 hours before attacking, but it falls on deaf ears. It has reached the point where only Astur herself can calm the Oulvgar. But why would she do that when she had planned from the beginning to take Hadrow by force.

In the corning of the hall, Kretea leans over to Elizabeth and whispers, "What has she been preaching to make them so… fanatic?"

"Nothing. She's literally said nothing and they all came to their own conclusions. The only thing she did was give them power and knowledge and let everything else play out on its own. But since they were originally Monsters, the Oulvgar are relatively simple-minded and at some point came to believe Astur's their God and now we have an entire religion built around her while she plays along," Elizabeth whispers.

"Hmm… ok," Kretea shrugs as if it's no big deal and returns to watching the show.

"That's it? Just ok? Don't you find the whole thing in any way strange or surprising? Mom didn't say anything but somehow has a bunch of fanatics worshipping her," Ystur asks.

"I mean, she IS an actual Deity. And in a sense, she is their God specifically since the Oulvgar are only where they are today because of her so-called divine intervention. I don't see much to be surprised about given the circumstances."

"I guess," Ystur says, "but regardless, shouldn't you help your dad? Doesn't seem like he's gonna be winning this argument anytime soon."

"Nah, my father always wins, he's fine. More importantly, I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry…" both Elizabeth and Ystur mumble.

Meanwhile, the argument between Asterion and the Oulvgar has reached a stalemate. Asterion believes that they should stand with the original agreement to wait 50 hours before making a move. The Oulvgar argue that since Hadrow has already declared they would reject the demand for their surrender and will fight, that there is no need to wait because the people of Hadrow burned the ultimatum right in front of them. Asterion doesn't actually have a problem with attacking Hadrow, he merely wishes to remain honourable in regards to keeping promises, but it also gives time for those who are unwilling to fight to flee from the town. The Oulvgar don't care much for honour and simply want to vent their anger on the Humans who would go against the goodwill of the Goddess and don't care much for any civilian casualties that happen on the way.

Astur, much like the three in the corner of the hall, is watching the whole argument play out. But before long, the hot potato gets tossed to her as both the Oulvgar and Asterion settle on leaving the decision to her.

In her head, Astur wishes they could have settled that matter on her own, and this reflects in her words, "You may do as you please in regards to Hadrow, just don't destroy the entire town."

The Oulvgar take this as permission to attack Hadrow, but Asterion quickly realises that Astur never pointed out which party she was addressing and argues that she meant that they should wait a period of time before attacking. Essentially, Astur is too lazy to care and the situation is back where it started.

As the argument continues, the sun has already risen and no real conclusion has come of the argument. But this is fine, Asterion has already accomplished his goal. From the very beginning, he knew he wouldn't be able to change the minds of the Oulvgar, but they are also somewhat easy to trick. By getting them to engage in an argument with him, he can waste their time.

"I shall concede and no longer assay to forswear thy fight. That I but would bid of thou all to not dispatch those whom surrender and those whom do not crave to fight. Or thou shall be met by mine blade."

The Forest Guardians have a short internal discussion before compromising with Asterion. Agree that they would not kill any that don't resist and will capture, rather than kill, those who surrender.

As they come to an agreement, Elizabeth, Kretea, and Ystur, who had left the Assembly Hall at some point, return with several large serving platters full of food.

"If you're all done, then we've got food for everyone. I'm sure you're all hungry after arguing for so long. I know I am," Kretea says.

"But you just ate," Elizabeth says.

Ystur walks over to Astur who is sitting in her makeshift throne at the back of the hall, with her head resting in her hand "So what happened while we were gone?"

"..."

Ystur leans in close before letting out a burst of stifled laughter as she notices that Astur had fallen asleep with her eyes open.

Ystur shakes Astur slightly, "Mom wake up, they're done."

"Huh, I what's going on? I wasn't sleeping," Astur says sits upright and immediately realises what's going on, "Oh so you're all done now? What's the conclusion?"

"We will strike at the town of Hadrow as soon as you grant us your blessings," Sir Bearington says.

"In accordance to the agreement with the Warden, we will not harm those without the will to fight and not kill but capture the ones who surrender," Woody says.

"Alright. Eat first though. There is no fortune to be had on conducting an operation on an empty stomach," Astur says, "And take Ystur with you, it will be a good chance for her to get some combat experience."

"Huh?"

But Astur ignores her daughter in favour of the food she brought.