It’s time for the next wave to move out, which includes the dwellers. While I’d rather they stay back and maybe go with the medics, I’d just have another excuse to try to keep them back when the healers head on out. There’s nothing I can think of to actually keep them home, or at least not anything I haven’t expressed already.

My denizens are ready to go, this batch of reinforcements mostly has tundra wolves and basilisks, with a smattering of more arcane hands, too. There’s a few of my other denizens preparing to head out, including a twinsnake that really wants to go, but I don’t think they’ll manage it. They’re having trouble just exiting the mausoleum with how cold it is outside right now.

Rocky is looking reinvigorated, and I’m pretending I don’t notice he has his gloves hidden inside his lich robe. He’s had a few more challengers to play with in the arena, but nobody has put up the kind of fight the kids did. I think partially because they don’t think they can win. The kids were pretty sure they’d lose, but they still had that youthful optimism to still give it their all. The other delvers haven’t been digging as deep, so Rocky hasn’t been digging as deep for their rewards, either. Still, he’s been enjoying the fights, and I think the delvers have, too.

My dwellers are having just one last hiccup before they can get going. While Larx has grudgingly accepted he can’t go off to war and potentially leave the ratkin leaderless, my spiderkin happen to have three leaders, two of whom are very good in a fight. Norloke doesn’t want either of Folarn nor Vernew to go, but they’ve outvoted her on that front. She was, however, able to get them both to accept that only one can go.

It’s kinda getting to the point where I wonder if she’ll actually have success in keeping them both home. She keeps siding with the other to keep them there. If they can’t actually make a decision soon, they’re going to miss the boat, which I’m sure is all according to Norloke’s plan.

Right now, they’re all three outside a mausoleum, watching the army muster and arguing. Sorry, debating.

“Why can’t you both just stay?” asks the matronly spiderkin of her fellows, not bothering to pretend at this point. Folarn sighs and speaks up as Vernew stumbles over herself to try to answer.

“Because we can’t send them off without one of us. Even with the guidance of the Weaver and Warden Leo, it smacks of callousness and cowardice to not have either myself or Vernew there.” The huntress nods and folds her arms as she finally secures her verbal footing.

“Yeah, if we don’t go, it’ll look like we don’t want to go. It’s one thing to tell someone to do something you can’t do on your own, but it’s just laziness to send someone to do something you can do, but just don’t want to. Lots of my new hunters act like gutting a fresh hunt is optional and they only get assigned to it as punishment, at least until they see me dressing my own kills. They need to know it’s important by seeing us do it, not just being told to do it.”

Norloke sighs and reluctantly nods. “I know. While my weavers don’t get as messy, some of the process is incredibly tedious, and they only ever accept it as necessary after seeing me do it personally. I just…”

Folarn smiles and pats her fellow triumvirate member’s shoulder. “I know. And you’re not wrong that we can’t both go.”

“You guys really should just let me go,” speaks up Vernew, earning a flat look from them both. She doesn’t let that stop her, though, and barrels forward. “I’m serious! I even have good reasons! It basically boils down to them not actually needing you in this fight, Folarn.”

At the large spiderkin’s frown, Vernew quickly continues. “I mean, sure, you’re good at military planning, but that’s Warden Leo’s job. You’d need Teemo there to be able to actually try to make plans together. He’ll probably be there, but I don’t think he’s just going to be there just to translate for you two.

“I’m not good at planning, but I know to listen on a hunt. I don’t need to try to make a plan, I just need to do the one they give me. And I can help scout, at least until it’s time to actually fight!” She pauses and glances away, looking uncomfortable for a moment, but not shying away from her reasoning.

“And… we need you here, Folarn. The outsiders, the delvers and townsfolk, they know you. You’re good at talking to them and getting them to listen. If the worst happens… we’d be in a lot more trouble without you than without me.”

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“No!” objects both of the other two, but Vernew isn’t backing down just yet.

“I’m not putting myself down, ok! I’m just… just looking at the whole web. If we lost Norloke, the enclave itself would be in shambles as we try to learn how you can juggle all those domestic problems without losing a stitch! And if Folarn was gone, the townspeople wouldn’t know who to talk to. There’d be no big gruff secret-softy to approach for negotiations.

“But without me… you guys would be sad, I know, and the hunting might be a bit lean, but my hunters would be able to step up. There’d probably be some drama, but nothing you two couldn’t handle.”

Now it’s Norloke and Folarn’s turn to look uncomfortable. While Vernew is of course more than the hole she’d leave behind, should the worse happen, they’re all close enough to be honest with each other, so it’s difficult to argue against her logic, heartless as that logic is being.

And, like the master huntress she is, she has a finishing blow to land. “I just… I want to show Him I’ve gotten better. I failed to stop the kids. Sure, it worked out, but I still failed. I need this.”

Folarn rests a hand on her shoulder now, too, though she doesn’t put too much of her weight on it. “You know that, if you go, the only way you could fail Him would be to not return, right?”

Vernew inhales deeply and nods. “Yeah, I know. I know it’s not just me out there. If Leo says the best way I can contribute is to dig latrines the entire time, I’ll do it with a smile on my face.” She pauses for a moment. “Ok, not a smile, but I wouldn’t try to weasel out of it, at least.” She takes another few seconds to straighten herself. “So, that said: I call for a vote on allowing me to join our forces and march under the Weaver’s banner. I vote aye.”

Norloke looks to Folarn, who crosses her arms as she considers the vote seriously. “...Aye.”

The weaver deflates a bit and nods. “Aye. I’m still worried, but aye. The decision is unanimous. Huntsmistress Vernew will accompany our forces, rendering whatever aid the Weaver and His scions ask.”

All three nod, and the officious air remains for a few moments before Vernew moves forward and hugs Norloke, with Folarn joining in not long after.

“I’ll be careful, don’t worry. I hope they’ll have me scout, but I really will do whatever they tell me to. Uh… I’ll probably suggest they don’t have me cook, though.”

That earns her a laugh from them both, with Folarn recovering first to speak. “I still don’t understand how you managed to burn tea!”

“I thought I’d only need a cupful of water! And I like it strong! So I tossed in the leaves and only turned my back for a few minutes!” she exclaims, trying to defend herself, but only earns another laugh.

“Well, make sure you have all your stuff, Vernew. The vote is one thing, but I don’t know if the Weaver will delay the whole army just for you,” points out the Norloke, earning a scoff from the small spiderkin.

“He’d probably love the excuse, but yeah, I shouldn’t tempt Him. I brought my whole kit, but I’ll check it now and hope I haven’t forgotten anything.” She heads back into the mausoleum to check over her gear, leaving the other two outside. I nudge Teemo, who points Aranya and Larx towards the spiderkin, all three wearing encouraging smiles.

“Boss says you finally decided on who will go?”

“Yes. I’d still prefer it was me… but she’s not wrong in her reasoning. Somehow, that makes me feel worse about it,” grumbles Folarn as Norloke nods.

“I still wish she didn’t need to go. It’s one thing to watch the others prepare to go, but another to watch a close friend do it.”

Larx nods at that. “Indeed. I don’t like letting them go, and I don’t like not getting to go with them, but I can’t change either of those facts.”

My Voice smirks at the unhappy faces. “Sounds like you guys know what the Boss is feeling, then. He’s gonna do his best to bring everyone back safe, even though he knows that’s not a reasonable goal.”

That earns a laugh from Aranya. “Since when has a goal being unreasonable kept Him from striving for it anyway?”

Teemo chuckles, as do I. “Yeah. If anyone can pull it off, it’d be him. Still…”

Norloke sighs and nods. “Better to be prepared for the worst, than to be ambushed by it.”

The somber mood is waylaid as Vernew rejoins everyone, carrying a large pack and wearing her warm gear. “Alright, I should have everything! Oh, Teemo!” She raps her right hands against her spear in a salute. “Vernew, reporting for duty!”

He smirks at her. “It’s about time! I think everyone is about ready to go, too. The Boss says you volunteered for latrine duty, right?”

That earns grins from everyone except Vernew, who is trying to hide her horror at the idea. “Uh… I guess?”

“Good! It’s important work, you know?” Teemo hops to her shoulder and points her towards the rest of the dwellers as they prepare to move out, extolling the virtues of the unpleasant task. I wonder how long he’ll string her along? He probably can’t manage it for the entire march, right? From the gleam in his eye, I get the feeling he just might try.