Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Drew found himself standing at the stone dais in front of the gathered crowd at three-thirty in the morning. It had been brought to his attention that an operation of the magnitude that they were about to begin usually required a speech. He was pretty sure Beefcake was just pulling his leg when he recommended it, but his friends and family thought it was a great idea to boost morale, and to give people the correct information rather than having them rely on rumors and hearsay. There was only one major issue, Drew hated speeches. He didn't like the idea of being put on a pedestal, or being viewed as being 'above' anyone.

Yes, technically he was the leader of the little community, but that was only due to it being his land that everyone had settled on. Or, that was his thought process prior to Robert also ganging up on him. Pretty much everyone he trusted conveyed to him that the people staying on his land viewed him as the leader, and when Robert agreed with that statement, it put Drew ill at ease. It was one thing to think of himself as a leader due to the community being on his land, but when he was told that the people viewed him as the leader for wholly unrelated circumstances, it made him uncomfortable.

Robert had been the one to specify why the community put Drew in the spotlight. He had prepped for The Descent, he'd sent rescue parties out to save people, he'd organized renewable food sources, shelter, and led the fights to defend against the waves and hordes of beasts and monsters. Then he had somehow gotten a job from a living goddess, who sent an angel to help the people adapt to the new world, he'd collected the souls of the lost and damned, and sent them onto the afterlife while giving the people those souls left behind a form of closure. He'd 'brought people back to life', and used his minions to constantly safeguard the community itself. Finally, they were about to begin a mission to rescue kidnapped people in town and put down the threat of the bad guys.

The whole situation was blown way out of proportion. Drew had tried explaining to Robert that he had only done those things for selfish reasons. The rescue parties were never meant to be rescue parties, they were hunting parties to destroy the leftover goblins before they became an even bigger threat, and the rescuing was only a happy accident. He prepped for doomsday because it would help ensure the safety of his loved ones. He'd gotten a job from the goddess out of pure luck. It made him more powerful, and it just seemed like a job that needed doing. Sindra wasn't an angel, she was a Valkyrie and she only came to deliver his armor and weapon, and ended up staying for vacation. The operation to rescue the town's people was only because it was the right thing to do, and he couldn't afford to leave such a major threat on his doorstep unhindered.

Drew's arguments fell on deaf ears however. Whether he liked it or not, the people viewed him as a savior, a prophet, a God-sent messenger, a miracle worker, a defender of the innocent, and a leader. Drew hated it. He didn't deserve any of the praise or awe that the people felt for him. Sure, maybe he did things that other people wouldn't, or couldn't, but that didn't make him any of those things. He was just Drew. He loved his family and friends, he liked animals, he lived out in the country, and he was doing his best to make a shitty situation, less shitty. But all the logic in the world wouldn't convince those people.

He wouldn't have believed any of it either, except that the words came straight from Robert, who had said them with thin lips and a grim tone. If the religious man was willing to say things that were straight up blasphemy and heresy to his religion because that's what the people thought... then they must be true. Robert wouldn't lie, he had no reason to, and Drew knew that Robert was not happy about the people treating Drew like a being similar to Jesus. Hell, Drew wasn't happy about it either! He couldn't walk on water, he couldn't turn random crap into bread and wine, and he didn't want nor deserve any of the respect the people felt for him.

The most he'd really done was offer those people a place to stay. He made sure they stayed out of trouble and weren't dicks, and he helped fight off the monsters and beasts. He did technically raise the dead, but they weren't truly alive! Even the soulflames were just souls attached to dead bodies that were held in magical stasis of some kind.

Drew sighed internally as he silently cursed his situation. He looked out and regarded the gathered faces of people who looked at him with awe, respect, and worship. Bitching about his situation wouldn't change it. He decided to take a page out of the book of being an average American citizen, he'd ignore the problem and hope it went away on its own. It would be a problem for future Drew. Drew nodded his head as he made that decision. It was time to get this show on the road.

Drew cleared his throat.

"Hey folks." Drew said.

The whispers that had run through the crowd fell to the wayside as everyone's attention snapped to Drew.

"Speeches aren't really my thing, but let me fill you in on the information that we've gathered. Myself and a few others recently rescued a family that was hiding out in the woods near the town. They came to us with horrifying accusations, that the town council, and people acting as a security and police force there had committed atrocities against their fellow man. I sent out my bird minions over the last few days to gather information, and with their assistance, and the help of other people here, we captured one of the town's hunting parties to secure confirmation on said atrocities. Unfortunately, we learned that the accusations against the town's leadership and their security teams proved to be true..." Drew started.

The crowd hung on every word that he said, listening with rapt attention.

"They took people's pets. Their dogs, their cats, their bunnies and chickens. They then killed them for experience points to level up faster."

The gathered people began to whisper and mumble to each other.

"This was only the beginning however. When people began to go missing, and voices called out questions on why investigations over those disappearances weren't happening, those people began to go missing as well. Slowly, over the past four weeks the town has been depopulated. The town council, tired of the people voicing criticism against them had innocent people kidnapped, and held at secure locations, where the captured innocents are being slowly killed off to increase the levels of the council members and the people loyal to them."

The people were now in a uproar and Drew had to stop talking as his voice was drowned out by the peoples' rage. Drew let it continue for a couple of minutes, until he decided that the speech needed to finish so they could get a move on to stay on time for their operation. He held up a hand, and the people began to quiet down.

"As I was saying, these accusations are severe, and that's why we captured a hunting party who collaborated the original family's story. We've done everything possible to confirm this information before we chose to act. Which is why we're all here now. Many of you have met and grown to know Robert over these past weeks, he has it in his head that these people can be reasoned with. I don't agree with his belief. He will be travelling ahead of our group to try and engage in diplomatic talks to release the people being held. Should that fail, as I suspect it will, that's where we come in..."

"...We have three jobs, and participation in these jobs is strictly on a volunteer basis. Number one, is to rescue Robert's ass when shit hits the fan. Number two is the rescue of the people being held against their will. Finally, number three... is to end the threat to ourselves and others that the council and its lapdogs represent. We cannot allow a threat that's actively killing human beings near our doorstep, especially over something as stupid as experience points. We will put them down, without mercy."

The whispers began again. People were talking amongst themselves. But Drew didn't have the luxury of time at this point, they needed to get going soon. Talking over the voices, he began to speak again.

"It is up to you, the people of this community, on whether you'd like to join us on this mission. No one will be forced, but your assistance will help save lives, and prevent others from being lost. I won't sugarcoat this, chances are high that people will die, both on the enemy's side, and our own. My friends, my family, and I will be leading this operation. We will not leave a bunch of murdering corrupt leaders to come knocking on our front door. We will not leave their complicit lapdogs and their crimes go unpunished. They've snuffed out the lives of our friends and neighbors, and for that, they must be put down. One way or another. The innocent people there could use your help, the houses need to be searched for survivors, and we need help to ensure Robert's safety."

"We will head out shortly. If you wish to join us, meet us at the gates in ten minutes with your gear. Every single person that joins us could mean the difference between saving just one extra family. Thank you for your time." Drew finished.

He stepped off the dais and left the area to head to the gate. He was glad the speech was over and done with, and hoped he wouldn't ever have to do something like that again. The decision to not make the mission mandatory was something that weighed on his mind heavily. He knew people would die, one way or another, and he really hoped it wouldn't be anyone he cared about, but he wasn't going to force people to participate in what was essentially an offensive raid. Defensive operations to defend the community were one thing, but it was entirely different to perform a preemptive strike of aggression.

Drew wanted to leave it in the hands of the people, he wanted them to join because of their own choices, rather than feeling like he, as a leader was forcing them into it. The plan could always be adapted if they had a lower turnout than expected. Robert might not make it, if that's what happened, but Robert had been told multiple times of the idiocy of his plan.

Ten minutes passed, and a rather sizable group of people had decided to join his group at the gates. It was a larger group than he expected, and he was leaving it up to Miranda, Mark, Amber, and Beefcake to decide the best way to assign people. If there was anything that was reinforced in his brain over the past several weeks, it was that delegation was necessary to maintain his sanity, and keep stress levels to a minimum. He was only one man, there was only so much he could do, even with his superhuman stats. Delegation allowed him to focus on the bigger picture, and make decisions with a clear head. It was something Sindra had drilled into him during there sparring matches, and he was thankful for her help.

With everyone gathered, it was finally time to set out. They had a time-table to keep, and Robert had already left during his speech. The scouting birds had assured Drew that the road was clear, and no monster or beast activity could be seen. He turned to his friends and family.

"Let's begin."