"Please carry out the reorganizations according to yesterday's plan. While the infection among these workers isn't critically severe yet, we still need to exercise caution. We can't afford to trigger any new Oripathy outbreaks."
A new day dawned, and the Doctor reluctantly plunged back into the exhausting grind, directing the uncooperative crew assembled before her.
"The daily conditions for the residents here are far too chaotic. Our goal today is to survey the exact number of infected, determine the severity of their Oripathy, and mark out a redesigned living district for them..."
Standing before the crowd, the Doctor patiently explained what needed to be done and how to approach the task without igniting open conflict, entirely unbothered by the sneers and glares thrown her way.
"Isn't this way too much hassle? They're just a bunch of sick invalids! They're just... what did you call them, Oripathy workers? Why should we bend over backward for the likes of them?"
Even with explicit orders from their respective heads, the retainers from Clan Browntail and Clan Paleroches grew increasingly restless under the Doctor's endless lecturing—especially when they looked at her frail, slender frame.
"This is essential work," the Doctor replied evenly. "I accepted a commission to settle these workers. Naturally, I will do everything in my power to help them rebuild a functional life..."
"Their normal life is sitting right here and staying quiet! They don't need settling! Catching that damn Oripathy is their own damn fault, so why should we care?!"
A hot-tempered Ursus slammed his heavy fist onto the wooden table, splitting the surface cleanly in two. Clearly lacking in the brainpower department, this thug was an enforcer from Clan Paleroches. Being forced to handle administrative tasks felt like a personal insult to him.
"I don't get why we're standing here listening to this pathetic twig lecture us on how to treat a bunch of self-destructive pariahs—a bunch of heretics who brought this on themselves by going to those factories..."
The Ursus enforcer scoffed, his anger boiling over as he took a menacing step toward the Doctor. "Especially a soft weakling like you! Who do you think you—AAAAGH!"
Before he could lay a single finger on the Doctor, a sudden sensation of weightlessness washed over him.
THUD!
"Keep your hands to yourself," Blaze growled, pinning the hulking Ursus face-first to the floor with a vicious shoulder throw. Her arm locked his neck in place as her cold gaze swept across the room. "We are here as advisors to guide you, not as servants for you to beat around! If anyone else wants to try their luck, I don't mind drawing a little blood!"
If an Elite Operator allowed someone to harm the Doctor right in front of her eyes, she might as well hand in her resignation the moment they returned to Rhodes Island.
"So," the Doctor said calmly, stepping forward and adjusting her coat. "Does anyone else have any questions about today's tasks?"
Instantly cowed by Blaze's raw physical force, the crowd regained a sudden appreciation for reason. They quickly scrambled out of the room, hurrying to get started on their assigned duties.
"What a nightmare. These people are stiffer than the mountain rock," the Doctor muttered, sinking into a chair with a heavy sigh and taking a sip of warm tea once the room emptied out. "Thank goodness they still fear their Clan Leaders' authority. Combined with your protection, Blaze, I actually managed to talk some sense into them. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare raise my voice around those muscle-brains."
As a non-combatant, dealing directly with brutish enforcers capable of breaking bones with a single swing was certainly an unpleasant chore.
"Must be tough, having to manage a bunch like that," a lazy voice called out from the doorway.
Sciurus and Yukon stepped into the room, accompanied by an unfamiliar, sharp-eyed figure.
"Even my sister gets a headache trying to order those thugs around. You've really got your hands full," Sciurus added with a faint smile, greeting the Doctor.
"It's been a couple of days. What have you been up to?" the Doctor asked, nodding in greeting.
"Oh, nothing much. Just running all over the mountain on tedious errands for my sister," Sciurus replied. Though her tone sounded like a complaint, her cheerful expression betrayed her satisfaction with the assignment.
"I see. I hope your work goes smoothly," the Doctor said, before turning her gaze to the spectacled Liberi standing silently behind them. He had been quietly observing her since stepping inside. "And who might this be?"
"Just a guy kicked out by the Silverash family. He's working for us temporarily," Sciurus offered casually. Not wanting to dwell on the topic, she exchanged a few brief pleasantries before taking her leave.
"You seem very curious about that Doctor," Sciurus noted as they walked down the snow-covered street, glancing back at Gnosis, who was carrying a stack of files for her.
"Enciodes mentioned her before," Gnosis replied smoothly, adjusting his glasses. "He said she was a fascinating individual, so I took a closer look. I didn't expect her to notice so quickly."
"Well, with the way you were staring, it'd be a miracle if she didn't notice," Sciurus snickered, shaking her head. "I'm starting to wonder what you were even doing back at Karlan Commercial."
As they walked, panicked whispers from passing townsfolk drifted through the icy air.
"The Tschäggättä... The Tschäggättä actually appeared! It's not just a myth! People saw the footprints right outside the gates of the Vine-Bear Court..."
"The Tschäggättä? People actually still believe in those fairy tales?" Sciurus paused, looking at the gathering crowd in utter disbelief.
Ever since she discovered at age six that the legendary mountain monsters were just a ghost story her older sister used to scare her, Sciurus had completely written off those old Kjerag myths.
"Maybe something happened up on the Sacred Mountain?" Yukon observed, scanning the uneasy crowd with a slight frown. "A few of those men are supply drivers who deliver goods up there. Should we send someone to quiet them down?"
"...Forget it. It's not worth our time," Sciurus sighed after a moment's thought. "If rumors like this didn't spread a few times a year, it wouldn't be Kjerag. Besides, Enciodes is still missing, and we don't have the spare hands to deal with local gossip."
While Sciurus disliked seeing the townspeople worked up over foolish superstitious fears, their shortage of personnel was a far more pressing issue.
"True enough," Yukon agreed quietly.
He fell into step behind her as they headed toward the open snowfields to search for any trace of the missing Silverash chairman.
Behind them, the Liberi stood frozen for a brief moment, watching the hysterical crowd babble about the mountain monsters. Then, with an unreadable, icy look in his eyes, Gnosis silently followed after the two.
Unbeknownst to most, unpredictable variables were already quietly taking root in the dark corners of the snowy valley. These small, unnoticed seeds possessed a terrifying potential to alter the board entirely.
For now, no one paid them any mind—just as no one realized that the retainers sent out to manage the workers had no intention of following the Doctor's orderly instructions. They preferred a far simpler, far more violent approach.
"Doctor, those thugs are using force on the workers again," Blaze reported, peering out the window with a deep scowl. "Should we step in and put them in their place?"
The Doctor didn't look up from her Terminal. "There's no need. We are here as advisors, not commanders. Don't overstep our role."
Swiping through the reports on her screen, the Doctor added casually, "I expected this. The retainers from these traditional families were never going to follow my guidelines peacefully, and the local workers are already used to being pushed around."
"But it's cruel," Blaze said, her eyes darkening as she watched the poor workers being harassed in the yard below. "If this keeps up, they're going to break."
"Sometimes, all it takes is a single push to break a person," the Doctor murmured, tapping the edge of her helmet thoughtfully. "But if you guide that pain correctly, that despair turns into a spark of change."
She paused, then stood up with a light sigh. "Still, we should probably go lend a hand. Let's go show those brutes how things are supposed to be done."
Besides, the Doctor thought, I need to figure out what Jeanne meant in her letter about those 'Tschäggättä' sightings.
Muttering another complaint about the abysmal signal quality in the mountains that blocked her Terminal calls, the Doctor headed outside alongside Blaze, ready to use her own methods to make the stubborn locals listen to reason.
After all, as the Doctor well knew, a firm explanation backed by an Elite Operator's fist was often the most effective persuasion of all.