Heresy Reaction

The word spread around like wildfire when the patrol returned to the town, so by the end of the day, it became the talk of the town. Most people were confused with some even demanding for the Boyar to revoke it, since no one knew what the long-term consequences would be. There was a major worry that the town might become cursed by that sole action.

Charsopir was met with a tense atmosphere once he returned from his successful trip. After ensuring the safety of the leopard cubs for the night, he entered the Merchant's House, feeling gleeful about the success of his expedition, only to be accosted by Evelina, who bolted to his side once she spotted him. "Unbelievable, am I right?"

Charsopir was confused, as he was clearly missing the context. "Unbelievable what? What's going on?"

Evelina picked up on his confusion. "Didn't you hear what just happened?"

Charsopir answered that with a smile on his face. "No, I was outside town all day on official business. Finally achieved my objective in this journey."

Evelina remembered that he left earlier that day to acquire his precious animals, so she praised him first. "Congratulations. You must be very proud."

Charsopir nodded. "They are quite beautiful animals, even more so than the books depict them to be. I am overjoyed to see all my efforts paying off."

Evelina then changed the subject and had Charsopir caught up to speed to what everyone else knew at that time. Afterwards, she asked him: "What do you think? Insane, am I right?"

Instead of the expected answer, Charsopir answered with his own question. "Only Beastwomen? No children present among their numbers?"

Evelina was confused by that. "Wha? Why? For what reason do you ask about children of all things?"

Charsopir answered calmly. "It would make no sense if only women survived the whole ordeal. Especially if there was a house to, well, house them all. I am sure that even Beastmen have some kind of self-preservation instinct."

Evelina angrily retorted back. "It doesn't matter if children survived or not. They shouldn't be allowed to live. Why did the Boyar refuse to order their deaths?"

Charsopir remained calm. "I will remind you that these are not Imperial lands. For all we know, she is acting well within her bounds as the ruler."

Evelina didn't share her partner's feelings. "I seriously doubt that. The first thing in the morning I will do is to go over to her home and make my grievances known."

Charsopir asked. "And then what? What if she decides not to act on them? Will you threaten to pull out from the town?"

Evelina almost answered that. However, she was reminded that at that moment that any threat she could make was basically empty. Her business was so new in the town, she didn't even have land assigned to her yet. So, she clenched her fists. "Is there absolutely nothing I can do to stop this?"

Charsopir nodded. "As I have said, these aren't Imperial lands, and we are merely strangers here. If you want to truly influence a decision like this one, you need time to gain the influence required for such decisions. The question is if this transgression is enough for you to change your plans or if you can work around it."

After more than a minute of solid thinking, Evelina made her decision. "Fine, I will stay. But I will make sure that they don't endanger my stock when I meet her tomorrow. That, and maybe she could be convinced to overturn her decision. Speaking of which, what is your opinion on all of this?"

"Me?" Charsopir pointed at himself, then he shrugged. "Too curious about the Beastwomen themselves to form an opinion about their fates at this point."

Evelina was surprised at his answer. "Curious? Why?"

Charsopir explained himself. "From what I know of Beastmen society, the women are rarely seen, especially outside herds. If for nothing else, I would take the opportunity to study them in their environment, natural or otherwise. Chances are, the Boyar had the same idea."

Evelina made an exaggerated sigh. "What else should I have expected from a guy who took a long trip away from his home just to buy some animals he saw in a book?"

"Now, now. Let's leave the matters outside our hands there and instead focus on more important stuff. Isn't it finally the time to celebrate our success?"

"Huh, I guess we have both accomplished  our trip's objectives already." At that, Evelina cracked a smile. "Fine, fine. Let's go. Drinks are on me tonight. Going for some harder stuff to try and wash anger away."

She then left for the bar area with Charsopir in tow.

What Evelina wasn't aware of at that moment was that she wasn't the only one who would loudly protest about Boyar's decision. As evening came, an unusual pair was marching towards the Boyar's home with determination on their faces. For those that encountered them, it was strange to see them together, as usually they had nothing in common, but they could have guessed why now.

The pair in question were the foundry chief Voldrik Miheis and the local priest of Ursun Gregor. Neither could fathom what exactly their ruler was thinking when she accepted the Beastwomen. In fact, the priest went directly to the chief's office, trying to get the info from Snježana's second-in-command, but to his surprise, the dwarf didn't know either. Not wishing to wait until the Boyar made the official announcement without their input, once Voldrik finished his work, the pair left straight for the Boyar's home. 

After their arrival, the servant let them in. They encountered the Tomašević family having dinner. Snježana, knowing why they arrived, decided to stop eating and led the pair into her throne room, away from her children.

Once there, Gregor spoke first, with anger clearly present in his tone. "Alright, do you mind telling us what in the world you are thinking?! For what reason did you spare those unholy beasts?!"

Voldrik matched his tone. "Lass, are you trying to provoke us into a reaction or something?! What the fuck possessed you to do such a thing?"

Snježana remained calm. "Gentlemen, there is no need for such a tone. We can converse about this without feelings driving our responses."

Gregor made a clear restraint not to punch Snježana. "WHAT?! Are you asking for divine punishment?! Of course there's a reason for this tone! Accepting those unholy beasts! Back me up here, dwarf."

"You don't need to ask. Trust me, I am already halfway there on picking up a torch and burning down that house they are in." He then stared Snježana down. "Tell us why. Now!"

Snježana raised her tone. "I will remind you that it is my call in the end, you two. But fine. If you want to know my main reason, it would be scientific curiosity."

Both men were confused so Snježana continued. "Tell me, Voldrik. How often are Beastwomen seen outside their herds?"

Voldrik looked at her as if she asked something very strange. "You know that full well. They are rarely seen. In fact, I even recall some questioning their existence and trying to figure out how else they would reproduce."

"Exactly. It means very little is known about them. In fact I was surprised at just how docile they appeared to be today. Never expected to see that from a member of the Beastmen race."

"Nevertheless, you know full we-" Voldrik suddenly stopped talking as if he started to realise something. A moment later, he started laughing out loud. The priest, utterly confused, asked if Voldrik was alright. Voldrik, unable to speak, just nodded and, after calming down, continued speaking. "You bastard! You want them alive for long enough until dwarves arrive again, don't you?"

Snježana smirked. "I did specify it was my MAIN reason. That would indicate that I had more of them. Besides, I would believe that the destruction of an important convoy would be worthy of a dwarven grudge, don't you agree?"

"Yes, but you do also realise that there won't be much eagerness to achieve revenge on women and children. I doubt it is as useful of a bargaining chip as you hope it would be."

While the priest remained lost in the conversation, Snježana shook her head. "It doesn't matter. They have one year to justify their existence here. If not, I will gladly give them to the dwarfs to do with them as they wish. And yes, they have to achieve this outside the city walls. They are completely banned from entering regardless of circumstances. Is that agreeable, Voldrik?"

Voldrik slumped his shoulders. "Fine. I am still not happy, but fine. If you order it, then I have no choice but to accept it."

The priest spoke up again. "Well, I don't accept it. You truly wish to risk the health and safety of your citizens on a scientific curiosity?" He spoke about it in an exaggerated tone. "I must protest about this."

Snježana just nodded. "That's fine. In fact, I wish that you remain opposed to it. If for no other reason than to have someone represent the other side. It is acceptable under one condition. You aren't allowed to do anything to them."

"But-" The priest tried to sputter out an answer, but Snježana interrupted him. "No buts. It is my final decision and you can take it or leave the city. What will it be?"

The priest couldn't be said to be in agreement, but he also didn't want to leave the citizens so he nodded which Snježana interpreted as yes to the first option. "This isn't over yet."

Snježana just brushed him off. "It might not be, but for now, I call this impromptu meeting adjourned. Now, unless you wish to join me for dinner, you are free to leave."

And so, the pair left, with their opinions heard and their unhappiness at the situation shown. And as expected, more people expressed the same feelings in the next several days as a public uproar and even few incidents happened. Despite all of that, the survivors showed no reaction as they took the abuse without fighting back. That alone convinced many to drop the matter as attacking them left a poor taste in their mouths.

By the end of the week, only a small stubborn minority with the priest as their leader continued to protest to both Alex and Snježana. Most of the complaints ended up going to Alex as he was an easier target and most of them left the Boyar alone. At the very least, the violence against herd survivors ended.

Alex accepted the fact that he became a social pariah in the city and decided to give his best to give the survivors some semblance of life as their small village was quickly built outside the city walls. And so 40 Beastwomen and 15 children who were too young to be thrown at Kislevites were allowed to live.

After 10 days of interference, life had mostly returned back to normal in Vukograd. It returned back to winter sleep as any future projects would need to wait until spring. However, for Boyar there was one duty she had to do as she prepared for the journey ahead.