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Stralchus, without a doubt, is your rhetorical superior, having spent his whole life training for just this sort of thing. But he lacks your facility for language, and in the end, he's a fanatic devoid of subtlety. You needle and harp, mock and castigate, jabbing him with rhetorical flourishes until he risks losing his temper.

Still, you have to fight for every word, every point, as Stralchus turns all his brilliance against you. And he is brilliant, for all his zeal, with a lifetime of rhetorical tricks to call upon. Nonetheless you persevere, hour after hour, as people sway back and forth, uncertain of what to do but mesmerized by the debate. In the end, Stralchus wins over most of the River People's liminal and frustrated members, including those warriors who saw Keimia kill the Apostolic Mound. He also claims Losh, whom you suspect he has specifically targeted. Chief Kothis lets them go without a fight. They don't take much, only supplies and a fanatical vision for the future.

When it's over, Alexius gasps for breath. You notice he's retrieved his rifle.

"You did well," he says. He rubs his jaw. "Stralchus got a lot of people, but most of them wanted to leave anyway, and he just gave them an excuse."

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