Three of the women and two men were each marked by his interface as ‘Rebel Councilor.’ The leader of the Council was a dark-skinned, elderly woman named Cindy Weaver. She walked with a limp and her left arm ended at her wrist, but she had the energy of someone half her age.

  “I’ve had a room prepared for you and your companions to rest, Holiness,” Cindy said. “We’ll have food and fresh clothes delivered. We can talk when you’re ready.”

  “Call me Casey, please. And thank you. We need to meet with the council right away, but it would be pleasant to sit while we’re talking.”

  “Of course,” Cindy said. “Follow us, please.”

  The other council members looked at Casey with awe, like an angel had descended into their midst. Cindy was the only one who spoke to her like a person, not the avatar of a god, and even she seemed dazed by the high priestess’ presence.

  Devin was surprised to learn this council had been elected by the people in the caves. It was the first example of a representative government he’d seen, and it made him think there might be some hope for Teth.

  They passed through a cavern filled with dozens of children. The kids sat on the cave floor in groups as adults watched them, telling stories to the younger ones and teaching the older kids. Devin saw one man showing a group of teenage boys how to string a bow. Kids and adults all stopped what they were doing to stare at their leaders escorting two strangers and a dog through the caves. Most of their eyes were locked on Casey.

  “It seems like you’ve been here a while,” Casey said.

  Cindy gave her a sad smile. “My mother and father fled here when I was a teenager. We ran away from their village after one of the Patriarch’s thugs took an interest in my older sister. A few of them chased us halfway across the country. They caught us not far from here. That’s where I got this.” She held up her arm. “Papa tried to fight, but there were too many of them. They killed him and took my sister.”

  “May Rainford keep their souls,” Casey said.

  “Thank you.” Cindy stared into the distance for a moment. “Mom and I got away. The soldiers didn’t even bother to chase us. We wandered around these hills starving until the people living in these caves found us. At first, we thought they were outlaws, but they were just people trying to survive. There were only a few dozen of us living here then. It was like that for a long time, before we started getting more and more refugees every year.”

  “The nobles have been grinding the people down over the last few years,” Landon said. “The Patriarch’s taxes go up every year. Nobles are conscripting more and more men to expand their manors and build their vanity projects, so there are less people to grow food. More are fleeing here than ever before.”

  “It’s getting hard to feed everyone,” one of the other Council members said. “We’re going to have to start raiding for food soon.”

  “We should speak about that in private,” Cindy said. The woman blushed and nodded.

  They passed a tunnel that was boarded up with a skull painted on it. Landon explained that many of the passages ran deep, and they hadn’t all been explored. Sometimes people got lost and never returned, so they’d closed those off. Devin hoped he'd have time to explore them. What was the point of being in a fantasy world if you couldn’t do an old-fashioned dungeon crawl?

  They arrived at a small but cozy cave with a table, chairs, two cots and a pile of straw. Milo sniffed the straw, turned up his nose, and lay down on the floor next to one of the cots while the humans sat at the table.

  Devin suggested over Party Chat that they hide their purpose from the rebels until they learned more about this place, but Casey insisted on sharing most of their story. She won the argument, of course.

  Of the group who had met them, only Cindy, Landon and the unarmed woman joined them. She stood behind the General at the table.

  Cindy introduced everyone to the party. The woman’s name was Kye, and she was Landon’s stepdaughter. She was listed in her description text as ‘Council Assistant.’

  The rebels listened to Casey’s story without interruption. They asked a few questions, then Landon cleared his throat.

  “What do you need from us?” Landon said.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  “That depends on what you’re willing to provide,” Devin said. “We need a base of operations. If you have an army hiding somewhere, that’d be even better.”

  Cindy and Landon exchanged a look.

  “We need to discuss this among ourselves,” Landon said.

  “Of course,” Devin said. “But before you go, there’s something you need to know.”

  He’d spent the walk back from the cave going through every person in the caves and reading their descriptions. He’d found three people listed as ‘Spy.” He gave their names to the council. Landon was shocked and left in a hurry.

  Some rebels brought them food. Casey and Devin each got a plate of bread, greens and fruit, along with wooden spoons. Milo got a bowl of some kind of meat.

  Casey selected a fruit and ate it. She closed her eyes, and juice ran down her mouth.

  “What is this?” she said.

  “That’s an orange,” Devin said. He ate his own slice and his eyebrows went up. “Damn, that’s good.”

  The meal might have been the best he’d ever eaten. Everything was fresh, and the flavors were beyond anything he’d had back on Earth.

  “How’s yours?” he said to Milo.

  “Quite tasty,” Milo said. “I believe this is deer.”

  “I wonder where they get this food?” Devin said.

  “We’re guests,” Milo said. “I’m sure they served us the best they have.”

  “Unless they’re lulling us into a false sense of security before they lock us up as crazy people,” Devin said.

  “Why would they do that?” Casey said, scooping up the last spoonful of greens.

  “That story we told might be hard for someone who wasn’t there to believe it,” he said.

  “Don’t be gloomy,” Casey said. “They believed us.”

  “I kind of don’t think they did,” Devin said.

  “I assure you they believed us,” Milo said. “You’re still thinking in terms of your world. Priestess Casey is an avatar of the leader of the Pantheon that is still worshipped by most people in this land. They interpret our arrival as a miracle.”

  “That didn’t happen in Horgoff,” Devin said.

  “I got a new Boost when I leveled,” Casey said. “It affects how people interact with me.”

  “Oh, cool! Can I see?”

  Boost ‘Ex Cathedra.’ You are Rainford’s chosen representative among mortals. You serve the god directly as his spiritual leader on this world. People will see your soul shining through, with beings of lower levels being more affected. You will be revered by those who follow Rainford and hated his enemies and by those who corrupt his teachings. Religious proclamations and agreements made by you carry the weight of your deity behind them. You can also provide small blessings to worshippers of the Pantheon. You are eligible for Holy Quests to gain additional bonuses for this Boost.

  Namaste! This is a Celestial Boost!

  “Woah,” Devin said. “You can actually speak for your god?”

  “I can,” Casey said.

  Devin rubbed his forehead. It was all a bit creepy. He hadn’t attended church since he was a kid and had never gone in for organized religion. On the other hand, he’d met a god earlier, so all that was out the window.

  He looked at Milo. “You’re sure we can speak here without being overhead?”

  “I assume you mean magical scrying,” Milo said. “In that case, the answer is yes. That doesn’t apply to any mundane form of eavesdropping.”

  “That’s exactly what I wanted to talk about,” Devin said. “Those three people I mentioned are spies for Patriarch Felle. That means he knows these people are here.”

  “Of course he does,” Milo said. “Do you think an enhanced ruler wouldn’t be able to find a bunch of rebels because they’re hiding in a cave?”

  “Then why doesn’t he send his army in here to clean them out?”

  “I doubt he’s very concerned about them,” Milo said. “Especially if there are no enhanced here. It’s good you located those spies, because I expect he would start to care if he learned we’re here.”

  Devin frowned. “Honestly, I’m not sure these people are up to the task we need from them. I was expecting enhanced fighters, or at least soldiers. General Landon seems to know his stuff, but most of these people seem to be civilians. I’m not sure we can count on them for much.”

  “I think you’re underestimating the rebels,” Casey said. “They don’t have a chance against the Patriarch, and they know it. Instead of fighting a battle they can’t win, they built a sanctuary for people, even though they had to know the Patriarch could march in here and wipe them out anytime.”

  Devin blinked. Before he could respond, a knock came at the door. The three rebel representatives were back. Everyone sat down at the table except Milo, who curled up underneath it, and Kye, who again stood behind her father.

  “Before we begin, you should know that we arrested the three people you identified,” Landon said. “Two of them are in custody.” His face got hard. “The third was one of my officers. He killed one of the guards sent to apprehend him, and the other two had to kill him to keep him from escaping.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Devin said.

  Landon nodded. Cindy cleared her throat.

  “The Council has voted unanimously to give you whatever assistance we can,” Cindy said. “From this point on, all of our resources are at your disposal.”

  Achievement Unlocked! For the People! You’re a rebel leader now. For better or worse, the fate of the people of Teth are now tied to you. Try not to choke.

  Reward: Buff: For the People! - You receive a +5 bonus to all non-combat abilities associated with the Social attribute when dealing with the common people of Teth, and a -10 penalty when dealing with the nobility and their running-dog lackeys. This is a party-wide buff that will remain as long as the reactionary monarchists continue to exploit the people of Teth. Sí, se puede!

  Reward: 10 Life shards.

  “We appreciate your help, but I want to make sure you know what you’re getting your people into,” Devin said. “This is only going to end one of two ways. We either beat Felle and remove him from power, or we’re wiped out. You’ve been hiding in these caves a long time. If you join us, it means you can’t hide anymore. What you’re signing up for is a full revolution.”

  “We understand, High General Stringer,” Landon said.

  Devin blinked and looked at him. “Excuse me?”