“I wish I could say that the Head wasn’t always this way, but the seeds were always there,” Balar began. “He won his position fifteen years ago the way many Heads have in the past: brute strength. He overcame his predecessor by besting his champion, then destroyed him in single combat. He’d been a proud man before that, boastful of his own strength and generally, well… an ass.”

Len nodded along politely. He hadn’t really said anything unexpected or interesting yet, but it was only fair to show that she was paying attention.

“After he won, he Banished not only his predecessor, but his entire family, a punishment that used to be reserved just for the loser, and declared that ANY who lost a challenge would face a similar fate. It instantly cemented his position as feared because you weren’t risking your future alone anymore, it was everyone who mattered to you. It kept people in line for a time, but bit by bit, he started facing challenges to his authority. Initially, he had no problem fighting off the challengers on his own, but he’d started to get fatter, lazier, and one time he very nearly lost a challenge. He used desperate and dishonorable tactics to squeeze out a victory, but that was the last time he fought his own battles.”

“Charming.”

“He resorted to training not just one champion, but dozens, giving special consideration at first, and then outright favoritism and blatant bribery to keep their loyalty. So long as they fight for him, his Rekkans can have anything they want. Food, women, darker pleasures, anything, it’s theirs.”

Len’s eyes snapped up at the ‘darker pleasures’ part. She suspected she very much wouldn’t enjoy hearing specifics on that part. Balar nodded at her unasked question.

“And people just allowed this?”

“Some objected. They were defeated and banished.”

“That’s horrible,” said Keseryn.

“It is. Lady Lenore, when you first arrived here I said that your fort was left alone because we felt that you weren’t worth the energy to deal with. That was a half-truth. It’s true that you haven’t been seen as a threat for quite some time, but there’s more to it than that. The Head explicitly forbade his troops to risk combat with you, figuring that if we ignored you, we’d be ignored in kind. That was the beginning and end of his strategy against the Demon Army. Once he’d established that, he began forcing challenges on anyone who even slightly questioned his reign, anyone who looked like they might be considering challenging his reign.”

“If he’s so paranoid, why haven’t YOU been challenged?”

“I’m careful,” Balar said with a shrug. “I manage a few trade routes that bring in exotic goods that he knows he couldn’t get without me, and I flatter him outrageously. I’ve spent years at his side waiting for a chance like this, and I don’t intend to waste it.”

“Say I actually pull this off, get rid of him for you. What then?”

“I’ll help you get set up as best I can, then I’ll leave these lands forever.”

“What?!” Len blurted, shocked by his response.

“The things I’ve done for that man can’t be forgiven. Simply removing him will do nothing to wash away the damage I’ve sat by and allowed. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought of plunging a dagger into his throat, but stayed my hands because I knew that without careful preparation, that would only destroy my people.”

“Jesus, man, that got heavy. I know I said you should’ve just killed him, but I was mostly joking. You would’ve gone that far?”

“If I thought it would’ve solved things? Absolutely. But if that happened, one of his champions would’ve taken his place, and some of them are as bad or worse than he is. No, a coup takes time and the right set of circumstances. You happen to be exactly those circumstances and I’m betting everything on you. Please don’t let me down.”

“I won’t,” Len said, nodding gravely. “I don’t love being dragged into this, but I’m here now, and I intend to succeed. If the things you’ve done are as bad as you say, I can’t promise that I’ll be able to just let you off the hook, though. You say that this is for your people, and I’ll take you at your word, but I don’t know how deep the scars that you’ve helped make are.”

“That’s fair and understood. If you succeed in this, my fate will be yours to decide like all the rest of my people. I only hope that you judge fairly.”

“Cool, no pressure. Overthrow a tyrannical overlord and institute reforms that can last for generations while simultaneously bringing your people into an alliance that’s technically led by a tyrannical overlord. I see no ethical dilemmas here.”

She joked, but it was a little nerve-wracking to consider just how much responsibility she’d be taking on if she managed this mad scheme. Sure, there was no one else to do it at the moment and it was the best possible chance to avoid the mass casualties that were imminent but still… heavy. She did her best to keep those thoughts off her face while she pondered what it all meant. It didn’t sound like this Head guy was a terribly complex individual. She’d known the type, though only one or two had ever had the power to so ruthlessly destroy livelihoods permanently (outside of law-enforcement). Typically, getting that sort of person mad enough to make a mistake wasn’t a difficult task. The challenge was surviving after you’d gotten them riled up.

She might’ve continued to worry about the details that, strictly speaking, weren’t her problem just yet except for the fact that she noticed something on Kes’ face. The girl wasn’t exactly prone to worry, so whatever was nagging at her seemed like something worth mentioning.

“What is it, Kes?”

“It’s nothing,” the girl said sullenly.

“Nope, spit it out.”

“These people have let themselves be pushed around by this maniac for years. They’ve let him do anything he wants based on a small group of fighters that keeps him in power. They’ve let anyone who tried to take a stand get either killed or chased off. Why the hell would you do a single damn thing for them?”

Balar looked like he wanted to say something, but Len shot him a look before turning her full attention on the girl.

“Like I told you before: I’m doing it for ME. Saving them pushes me closer to my goals, and that’s the biggest issue here.”

“But-”

“Not. Finished.” Len silenced her. “Even though I’m doing it for me, that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be the right thing to do. People let jackasses like this win for any number of reasons that can snowball out of their control before they realize it. Sometimes it’s fear of the alternative, sometimes it’s fear of becoming the victim of the cruelty that’s being focused on others. Often as not, it’s complacency and being convinced that the status quo is just good enough that it’s not worth rocking the boat. None of that means that they should just be left to their fate.”

“Why the hell not? Seems to me that all of those are pretty damn good reasons to do exactly that.”

“Only because you’re not thinking things through. First: do you think that a child born into that system deserves to be trapped in it without having the slightest clue that there’s something better out there as soon as that jackass is removed?”

“Well, no…”

“Second: do you think that the elderly, the weak, the ones who couldn’t possibly stand up in any meaningful way to a man who’s happy to crush them deserve to be ridiculed and condemned simply because they choose not to volunteer to be destroyed?”

“I suppose not…”

“Of course not, but even if you ignore those two questions, here’s a final one: everyone that’s been forced out, forced to struggle for survival on the edges of this society, desperate for any scrap to get them to the next day, do you think that they deserve to be trapped in that existence with no hope of return because you’re willing to write the society off for not being strong enough?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“It’s easy to look at things in black and white, to assume that the easy answer you come to out of rage at injustice is enough. That they deserve to live with the consequences of their actions. Thing is, there isn’t a life on this planet that’s truly independent. You can’t pick and choose punishment on that scale without hurting yourself just as much. Anger’s good, it gets stuff done, but it can’t be the only thing you use to get stuff done or you’re going to burn up.”

Len held Keseryn’s gaze firmly, making sure that the girl understood the weight of what she was saying. Slowly, the girl’s defiant gaze melted into something softer. Not full acceptance, but not denial either.

“All right, end of the lecture, we’ve got a long way left to go so let’s pick up the pace.”

They trudged along in silence for a while, no one really feeling inclined to say anything else after the rant Len had unleashed. Internally, she was screaming at herself. The girl had been through a lot, she had more reason than most to hate these people, and preaching wasn’t what she needed. The whole point of this trip was to get the girl to reconnect with her humanity, not earn her resentment on top of everything else. Still, after fifteen minutes or so of silence, Keseryn spoke up.

“Len?”

“Hrm?”

“I get it.”

Len let out an explosive sigh of relief, startling herself as much as Keseryn.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not about to forgive them for what they did, but you’re right. We shouldn’t leave them like this.”

“Hey, your forgiveness is yours to give where you feel like, it’s not something anyone has a right to demand.”

The girl smiled at that and, like a lever had been flipped, the gloom of the trek evaporated. The rest of the day passed pleasantly enough (considering the weather), and things became almost enjoyable. As long as Len ignored the near-certain doom that awaited her at the end of the journey, at least.

Setting up camp that night was an easier affair than the last, with less wind whipping about them, their tents only blew down once before they could get them assembled. They had time to sit around the campfire and listen to Balar tell tales of some of his trading adventures. Len was personally skeptical of his regaling of his experience dealing with the talking narwhal and the trio of harpies that nested upon the Web of Fate, but Kes was enthralled, so she bit her tongue.

As had to happen every night, things began to wind down and Balar took to his tent. Len pulled out the board for their customary evening game and Kes proceeded to crush her mercilessly. As the game came to a close and they gathered up the pieces, the girl turned to Len and spoke.

“I know that a part of why you’re doing this is for me. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but you shouldn’t be. I don’t care in the least whether I have anything to do with them. The Hovel was already just fine for me.”

“Not to get preachy again, Kes, but you’re still very young. You haven’t the slightest clue what you’re going to want a year from now, let alone ten. Hell, I have a pretty singular advantage here in that I DO know exactly what I want, it’s just that I have no idea how I’m going to get it. All this is just a very small step on a much longer journey. Yes, I’m doing this in part for you, and I hope that one day it’s actually something you’re glad to have.”

“If you say so,” the girl said skeptically.

“I do,” Len said with a smirk. “Now, let’s get to bed. Gotta get my beauty sleep.”

Kes snorted at that.