“Aye, well, I dinna think LORD JAX cares about ye bein’ a ‘Reeve’, considerin’ ye didna bother to introduce yerself before now! Lord Jax does be the lord of this land; the Tower belongs to him, and the land itself acknowledged his lordship. Ye musta seen the notification? Old titles in these lands don’t mean shit if he dinna approve them!” Oren was visibly bristling now, the little dwarf in threadbare armor almost vibrating with indignation on my behalf.
“I saw it, and I don’t care! Lord Asher of Himnel` owned these lands, and his son Barabarattas after him! I bought the deed legally. I own the village AND its surroundings, regardless of whoever this imposter is!”
“Imposter?” I snarled, before stopping myself and holding one hand up, forcing myself to speak in as measured and calm a voice as I could manage. “Stop! Okay, everyone, stop right there and take a breath. Obviously, we’ve started off on the wrong foot here, somehow. So, let’s give it one more try to…”
“Why should I? I am a Reeve…” Lorek interrupted me hotly, hands on his hips as he tried to look imposing. The little shit looked more like Baron Greenback from Dangermouse than anything else, and I cut him off as he’d done to me.
“I don’t give a shit who you are, or what your pathetic title is! You’re an asshole that’s abused my hospitality since you arrived!”
“Your people seem terrified of you, and your title just means you supported that walking turd Barabarattas, as near as I can tell, so, for the final time, are you going to calm down and act like a civilized man, or are you going to get the fuck out of my Tower?”
I snarled at him, my rage clear. The naginata began to glow as I subconsciously readied my mana for a fight.
“What?! How dare you! I am Reeve Lorek! I…” he sputtered at me, his face going white as he noticed the glowing weapon being pointed at him.
“I heard you the first goddamn time!” I snarled, my voice dropping as I grew angrier. “Now, you hear me! I am the Lord of this Tower and you’re an asshole! I came here to extend an offer of protection to you, to ask if you wanted to join us, but…”
“Join you? Join this… rabble? No, a thousand times no! I’d sooner burn my village to the ground than allow you access to it!” he snapped; his terror being overcome by the outrage he clearly felt.
“The offer isn’t open to you anymore, you weapons-grade wanker!” I roared at him. “And good luck getting back to your village, it’s a long damn walk! Feel free to pack up whatever you brought with you and get out!”
With that, I turned around and stalked out of the room, still furious. Oren and Cai followed me, even as I began to silently pull myself apart, trying to figure out why that had gone so wrong so quickly. I didn’t make it a dozen steps before I heard running feet and Oren unsheathing his sword.
“Hold it right there!” he snarled, and I turned back to find a panicked Elf woman frantically coming to a stop, raising her hands and backing up slowly, shaking her head as she tried to force her words out.
“We... no, please… it’s not... I’m not…” Cai took pity on her and laid a hand on Oren’s shoulder, gesturing to him to sheathe his sword.
“It’s alright, miamee, don’t fear my friend, Oren, here. You just startled us. What did you want to say?” Cai spoke soothingly to her, and she took a deep breath and replied to him, her gaze flicking from him, to Oren, to me, and back, in rapid succession.
“I’m sorry! Please, we’re not all like him. Reeve Lorek is… he’s… well…”
“He’s an asshole. That what yer tryin’ to say, lassie?” Oren said loudly, making sure his words traveled as he glared back toward the rooms we’d just left. The elven woman squeaked and covered her mouth with her hands, shaking her head violently before replying.
“No! No! He’s a good master, is Reeve Lorek...” she said loudly before dropping her voice to barely more than a whisper and shooting furtive glances at me.
“I… we… we’re sorry! Please, some of us—most of us—we want to stay! Please! We’re not safe out there. Reeve Lorek, he has arrangements with the local bandits, but still, please!” She was visibly shaking as she stared at me, terrified I was going to say no.
“Hell. Look, what was your name, Mamee?” I asked, trying to calm her down, even as my own blood still boiled. Cai coughed into his hand and unsuccessfully tried to hide a grin.
“Miamee, my lord; it means ‘little dove’ in elven, and it’s not a name, it’s simply a term of endearment.”
“Okay… what was your name?” I said, looking from Cai to the woman.
“Isabella, my lord.” she said, looking uncertain.
“Okay, look: I’m Jax—Lord Jax, if you must—but despite how that went in there, I’m usually not particularly bad-tempered, okay? The offer is still open to you and your people. I literally came down here to meet you all, and to make the offer to all of you. I need people; you look like you need somewhere to live, and as well as protection, I can offer training and a chance at maybe a better life. I need to talk to my advisors, but yeah, the offer’s open still.”
“We accept!” she said quickly. “I can’t speak for everyone, but most of us wanted to stay already!”
“Really?” I asked
