The chief of the shelter, Baro, sat by himself, awaiting the rest to join him in his dark tent, there was a lonely wavering light keeping him in company, a single candle, its life was near its end, slowly dying in the silence, until it sank its own flame inside of what melted of it
Pharam was the first to join inside the tent, he went inside the moment the candle went off holding his own, new, shiny, alive, he put it by the map o the table, lighting the whole room on, he positioned it beside where their shelter was
Soon others join in, Noor the bodyguard, Sarom the tall haired, Ramo the trainer with his wiped eye
Each laid down his candle, they brought them along for the streets they walked were empty, dangerous, and dark
Pharam spoke first as everybody sat down, "The whispers in the streets are growing louder, with each second more and more are conspiring, what are your plans chief?"
The chief stared silently, he looked at the face of Pharam for a moment then said "That day, when the crowd appointed me the criminal, none of you spoke" he said as he looked at the people standing around the room, each of them avoiding eye contact
"That day, when I was named the king of the corner. Not a single whisper was heard from any of you" said Baro the chief
Silence, that was the answer, they knew he stood correct, although his actions were wrong, he was still the chief, "So? What is it that you heard outside"
"Some people, are thinking to over throw you" said Pharam
"That I already expected long ago, is that all you have to say? Do you want to discuss a solution with me?" said Baro the chief
They glanced each other, their eyes worried, Pharam spoke again "They say the first King never grew weak, nor did he become old and frail, not him or any of his blood that we know of"
The chief already expecting what is coming but refusing to accept it being the truth, he stared at Pharam, as if staring down at his soul, his core, his thoughts, then spoke
"Say it, speak of it already" said Baro
"They are questioning if your blood is the same as his, they named you, the false heir" replied Pharam
The chief's face twisted, eyes burning, teethes grinding each other like stone slates, the frustration was obvious, too obvious so he calmed himself down
"One day king of the corner, another the false heir, any other nicknames I don't know of?" said the chief, eyes blackened staring at the map, his hands covering his mouth and nose
Once more the place was silent, Sarom spoke trying to fix the mood, "What we should seek now is not the insults, but a solution, if this is to continue the last stand of ours will soon follow the rest"
The chief stared up at him, still in the same position, only his eyes moved "Any suggestions?"
That was the final thing to break them, any meaningless hope will only bring it to worse
Sarom spoke once more "Can't we somehow change the public opinion?"
"How? By lying to them even more? Or promising other false hopes of winning an already defeated war? We lost every commander and warrior that stood between us and the Varish, all that they need is to step and claim our lives" said the chief, finally admitting his own wrongdoings
"We can't just stand by and wait helplessly, single whispers can turn into talks, and if more talks appear we will be the ones facing the angry crowds" replied Sarom
"The crowd needs a motive" said Pharam, they stared at him awaiting the rest "Something to hate, fight, or fear at the very least, for respect is a lost cause"
"Do you have something to say in that topic?" asked Ramo
The look on his face showed that all he had was shallow words, but he looked away and towards the chief" Maybe the king dos have something" the group of them looked at Baro, awaiting an answer
He took a deep breath closing his eyes, "If they no longer see the Varish's as more of a threat, then we need to make them"
"Are you suggesting we make this safe place a slaughter house?" asked Sarom in shocked as he stood up, palms flat on the table
"There is no other way" said Pharam in agreement
"You two? Weren't you the one who despised these acts the most?!" said Sarom
"Yes, but what is more important is the good of the people, and I will do anything for their sake" replied Pharam
"What good people, you mean the dead corpses you wish to create for your own greed" replied Sarom
"But we are not the upcoming demise we will be the hero's, the Varish are the ones who will be bringing us death, or at least that what will be known for who remains," said the chief Baro
"You are going to create more lies while slaughtering the innocent!!, didn't we just agree that lies is the reason we were brought here in the first place," said Sarom
"These lies will have a greater purpose then any of the rest" said Ramo the Wiped eye old man
"You can never reach the surface by Diving deeper into the dark!!!" said Sarom, "I will accept more lies if it is the only choice even though I do not agree with it, but why kill them?"
"Resources" said Pharam, "We don't have much left, and these mountains that shelter us are not agricultural land"
"Even so, can't you send who ever wants it away, they will be coming back once they taste the might of our enemies" said Sarom, but the eyes that stared him were ones of determined monsters, he bit down on his helpless jaw and sat silent
"When the time comes, you will be informed" said the chief Baro as he moved his head to the guards, they went to Sarom and held him like a criminal "Until then, you are not trusted with this info, any leaks and this will be our last stand"
They took Sarom who fought back out while the chief spoke
"We will take the survivors and start a new shelter" he said before as he stared forward, speaking the thought that towered the highest in that shell full of mixed thoughts and feelings
"The king's blood shall be passed down, no matter the consequences"
In the nurse's tent, Fara's, the chief's only daughter, there sat Jason alongside here, she was treating his remaining wounds, checking if any had ruptured
"I guess we are done here" she said as she removed the last bandage, she went to tickle him but no response, he looked at her jaw down eyes tired, realisation came to her mind as she spoke
"Oh, yes? I keep forgetting that you or no child, it just that you are smaller than your peers"
He sighed shaking his head and said "Trying to fix it, you only made it worse"
"Anyways take care of yourself going outside in this dark, I would have given you a candle but it would only make it worse"
As he walked out his eyes adapting to the dark he noticed from a far the guards taking someone inside the prison carved in the mountain side, he couldn't see who it was properly so he stepped forward
"Where do you think you are going" said a male voice behind him putting his hand on Jason's shoulder
As the boy looked back, he saw it to be Pharam who continued "At this time, boys like you should be a sleep"
"I was with the nurse inside" replied Jason as he looked behind Pharam, there was still light inside
Pharam looked back noticing it and said "Go to sleep then, tomorrow is a long day", Jason went away glancing behind him at that creep who stared for a moment making sure the kid went to sleep, before going his own way
The next morning Jason woke up to the sound of crowded voices, they seemed to be not too far away, washing his face and wearing his clothes Jason walked outside
The chief on a log addressing the people, beside him the ones from the tent alongside his bodyguard stood sharp like nails, it was as if they were confirming whatever he said
"My people, I stand here not as the chief, but as a brother, as one of your bloods, as one who seeks the living to continue on their lives in peace," said the chief
"I am only here to inform you that the Varish made their decision, and is heading our way"
"Lies, when will you even tell us the truth" a sound from the crowd shouted, talks broke out as people looked beside them
"My people" said the chief to get back the attention
"I may not be the best of rulers, you may despise my deceiving acts up until now, but what comes is far more dangerous"
"I don't ask of you to obey me, I ask of you to survive, here lies our last hope, if these walls fall, our kin will be no longer" he said, the people started seeing him in the light for the first time in a while, whispers that were not against him faintly appeared
The chief hided his smile and continued
"All I ask, is of you to create little shelters in each of the houses, holes in wish will set the women and children, if the Varish's might reach these grounds"
"I ask of you; to stay alive, the false king wishes us to be no longer, here will be our stand, outside lays death, inside lays hope, and you are that hope"
"Do not fight for me, fight for your blood to live on, same as I do"
The people even though they hated him, they moved in agreement, their morals were down, wish might affect their production, but the chief doesn't care about that, for it won't affect his plans anyway
Leaving him and going their own patches, Baro grinned hideously, the embodiment of the devil stood behind them, and none noticed