As Blight rambled on about the rebels' history and how their addition to Revalty's forces would benefit both sides greatly, Mira covered her mouth to let out a soft yawn. This, unfortunately for her, was spotted by Blight, who immediately turned to her and asked, "Is there anything you'd like to add, Miss Hoffman, or should I say, the true leader of the rebels?"
The volume in the room was dead silent; this unexpected accusation froze everyone with the sole exception of the president himself, Mr Arden, who seemed neither surprised nor confused. Mira said nothing, even as her aged companion started to fidget slightly, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead; her unfazed grey eyes pinned on Blight as if she were bored of listening to him talk.
"Well?" chimed another official seated directly across her, his portly face shining with a challenging stare. He quickly shut up after receiving a deadly look from the rebel leader.
"Yes, I am their leader," admitted Mira, facing the others with an expression far too serene for somebody who'd just been caught. At this, the entire room began to ring—ripples of speech propagated here and there, renewed by this confirmation. Blight picked up his glass and tapped it yet again, drowning out the scattered chatter.
"I know many of us are distrustful towards the rebels, but please remember, without help, Revalty will never be able to pull back from defeat," said Blight, addressing the dubious crowd.
"How can we work with them? They just tried to trick us!" cried a voice among the row of black suits.
"Calm down, Mr Avery," returned Blight, perhaps a little too sternly for the man's liking. He shrank back but not without another doubting glance at the rebels first.
"There is no reason why the rebels shouldn't have hidden their leader to us; in fact, that goes to show how meticulous and well-prepared they are. Put yourselves in their shoes. If you were attending a meeting with a group of unknown leaders in a neighbouring country, would you risk having your one and only leader enter unknown territory so easily?"
This caused the crowd to relent in their ceaseless muttering, though many were still uneasy. Having secured silence, Blight continued to explain the terms both sides were to agree on.
"We will send you resources, food, and shelter for your combatants if you wish to station some of your group here in Revalty," he said, speaking directly to Mira. "All we ask of you is to disrupt Grock's forces from the inside to make our defence more effective in order to push the Ecclesian army back towards the border."
"If your goal is to defeat the Ecclesian army, we have no qualms in aiding you, however—"
Here she tossed her aside like a silvery silk scarf. "I need to know what we, the rebels, will get from assisting you."
Of course, the audacity of this question was not to be dismissed by any of the other officials present; none of them appreciated the demanding but understandable tone Mira used when speaking to Blight. He waved his hand to restore peace for what seemed to be the hundredth time.
"It's only natural to know your wages before a difficult job," he said, dismissing this recent uproar. "What about this?"
He took from the president a shining new treaty with a blood-red seal stuck to it, featuring a ferocious lion, jaws wide open and eyes flaring. Reading off it, he said, "In the event of us overthrowing the Ecclesian government, we, that is, Revalty, will transfer the position of leadership to a democratically elected leader from the citizens of Ecclesia. We will not meddle with the affairs of your country after defeating Ecclesia."
Mira requested to read the treaty herself, as if doubting Blight's credibility; it was promptly given to her with a smile. Upon seeing three lines crouching near the bottom of the page, she asked, "Are there meant to be three signatures, Mr Arden?"
Arden, who was surprised that he was required to speak at all, answered, "Yes. You and I are to sign the treaty, although…"
He raised his eyebrows at Blight. Taking this as his prompt to speak, Blight coughed softly and announced, "The third signature is to be signed by Mr Elias Basil, the Minister of Defence from Sardis."
"What?!"
Noise erupted, more violent than the first times, deafening the ears of all who were inside. The walls trembled in response to this great outcry and even Blight had little chance in restoring peace to the room.
"Have you brought him here to bring about our ruin?" demanded the pale-faced minister seated next to the president. Others spat similar remarks, forcing Arden himself to rise from his seat and send a bellowing shout to silence the crowd.
"But, sir," inquired the same minister, who seemed even more shocked at this shout than the reveal of a possible enemy in their midst, "how can you trust anyone from Sardis if they're allied with Ecclesia?"
Arden turned to Blight for help, who said calmly, "Maybe it's best if we hear it from the man himself."
His eyes wandered across the room and singled out a broad-chested man dressed in the same monotonous suit as the rest of the officials, blending in as well as a zebra in tall grass. The man, Elias Basil, nodded in response to Blight's glance before saying, "Today, I am here on my own accord, not under my president's command. I believe Paulos is far too weak to keep his presidential position; that is why I wish to work with Revalty in bringing down Ecclesia. If one of Sardis' strongest allies were to fall, or if they were to split apart, I could no doubt take over the country easily and further support you."
"I can assist in breaking the alliance between Ecclesia and Sardis," he added, facing the Revaltian president and Blight eagerly. Blight looked upon him approvingly, while Arden begged the restless crowd to put their trust in their guests.
"Gentlemen," he implored. "We must put aside our differences for once and join hands with any allies we can gain; even a simple man like me can see this, so I ask of you all to understand this."
"What if they try to betray us?"
Mira and Basil both tried to reassure the speaker, but Blight, knowing it was futile if it came from their mouths, assured the skeptical official warmly.
"We'll be keeping a close eye on each other, so there'll be little room for secrecy. Besides, there's nothing to be gained if we all work individually, while everyone in our alliance will gain something from collaborating together, so I don't see why there'd be enmity between our groups."
The truth of this simple statement sunk deep into the skeptics.Taking advantage of this temporary ray of agreement, Blight kept up the momentum to convince the officials to seal the deal.
"If you will, gentlemen, please sign this as our witnesses."
He took out a separate sheet of paper, laid it next to the treaty, and requested for their signatures.
"You are all witnesses to this treaty," said Blight as each man rose up and waddled over to sign his name. Once the signatures were added, the three leaders of the newly allied party each signed their own names, then drinks were served. It didn't take long until the officials gradually dismissed themselves one-by-one, returning the cavernous hall to its former tranquil state.
The air now crystal clear without the sonorous interferences, Mira took this opportunity to ask, "How did you know I was the leader of the rebels?"
Blight chuckled, though this act slightly irritated her.
"I'd suggest relying on a better actor next time," he smiled, referring to the stony-faced man next to her. "His lack of confidence led me to guess what I had claimed earlier."
Elias Basil smirked; it was going to be one chaotic team—that he could tell.
Noticing a speck of resentment etched on Mira's expression, Blight extended a hand and said, "I hope there are no hard feelings? We are in a coalition now so I want to make sure we all get along with each other."
Mira flicked her long lock of hair, partially hiding her face, to reveal her sincere countenance.
"I look forward to working with you, Mr Blight, Mr Basil, Mr Arden."
She shook their hands then took her leave after Blight reminded her to return to discuss tactics the next day. With the coalition formed, the tides of the war were soon to be shifted…
A new power was emerging from the ashes within the battered country of Revalty.