Outside the settlements, on the rough road, Sara walked straight into the standoff with calm confidence. The dirt road felt hot under her boots, dust and some long grass clinging to the hem of her skirt as she moved.
Here, the afternoon sun beat down on everyone, making sweat run down faces, making everyone's tempers flare even hotter than they should be. Sara raised her hands slightly, palms open, trying to cut through the noise.
"Everyone, please listen for a moment," she said, her voice steady and clear. It carried over the raised voices without shouting. "I know you've heard the adventurers already. I'm not here to repeat the same things. Let me tell you what a dungeon break actually looks like."
The crowd didn't quiet down completely, but some people turned toward her. The adventurers stepped back a little, giving her space to speak. They looked relieved that someone else from their side had come to convince these people, as they were clearly failing to do so.
Sara kept her eyes level, looking at the settlers one by one. "As some of you might know, this dungeon break is not going to be like others. Inside the forest, lower-floor monsters were sighted already. And lower-floor monsters don't just attack and leave. They flood out. Death Knights, things with armor and swords that don't tire. And not to mention the packs of creatures that hunt in groups. They tear through anything without walls or organized defense."
"If you guys are thinking of waiting out the dungeon break out here, then you couldn't be more wrong. This will be a catastrophe in itself. Everything in those monsters' way will be crushed to the ground, and this settlement will be the first in its way."
A burly settler woman in a patched tunic came forward. "We know what dungeons are. We're not idiots out here. You villagers, think we sit around doing nothing, don't you? We've dealt with forest beasts for years. We can handle ourselves. Go away, leave us alone."
Another one nodded hard beside her. "Exactly. You come out here talking like we're helpless. We built these homes ourselves. Our lives are here. Why should we drop everything and run behind your walls just because some new guild says so? Does this make sense at all, huh?!"
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the outer settlers. An old woman holding a water jar shook her head, while shouting as best she could. "We don't need your help. We'll figure it out like we always have. Go away."
Sara tried again, keeping her tone practical. "I'm not saying you're helpless. But this isn't normal forest beasts. The guild has scouts confirming it. Staying out here means fighting without support, without walls, without enough fighters organized together. Coming inside gives us all a better chance. It is temporary. We can work out the details later."
But all of her talk seemed like it was for nothing. It clearly wasn't working. The settlers grew more agitated. A younger woman near the front raised her voice. "What does the village think of us outside people anyway? That we're weak? That we need saving? We don't want your charity, and we don't want your rules once we're inside."
"... Yes, we don't want you. Go away."
"GO away."
Seeing the crowd getting more unruly and agitated over time, the adventurers tried to jump back in, but the noise only got louder the more they tried.
Sara felt the situation slipping. These people weren't irrational. They knew the risks as far as she could tell, but they had built something here. Their houses, their routines, their pride in surviving on their own. She could clearly guess that to them, leaving this place might feel like admitting they never mattered in the first place. So, of course, quick words wouldn't fix that feeling.
Just as Sara felt she was out of her depth here and it was pointless to try to convince them, she noticed something that shifted her focus.
Toward the back of the crowd stood a cluster of people whose bearing was different. They stood still and watchful, moving with the quiet efficiency of those who spent their lives in the wilderness. Among them were hunters and trackers.
She recognized the style immediately. It was the Tribe of Fiora.
Their reputation was well known even inside the village, as they were skilled hunters, powerful warriors, and fiercely self-sufficient.
Then she noticed a strong-looking woman with braided hair and sharp eyes, standing at the front of that group.
Seeing the tribe, Sara instantly thought she could work with this. If she convinced the Fiora people, the rest of the settlers might follow. In this region, this tribe's word carried heavy weight. People listened when they spoke. How it worked, she had no idea, though; most people from inside the village didn't know the reason. She just knew people in this region respected the Fiora Tribe's leader very much.
Sara turned toward them, raising her voice a little more. "The Fiora tribe knows better than most how dangerous the forest can be. Standing together with the village and the guild would make us all stronger. No one has to face this alone. We can combine our strengths, your tracking skills, and our walls and supplies."
But instead of supporting her thoughts, the Fioran leader turned a cold look on her. The woman's expression hardened. "Woman, you speak as if we cannot protect our own. As if we need village walls and guild people to survive. We are not weak. And we certainly do not need outsiders telling us how to live or die."
Sara realized too late how her words had landed. She hadn't meant it that way, but in her words, the pride of the Fiora tribe had been touched. And now, on top of the settlers not agreeing, the Fiora people felt insulted, too. With that, her remaining hope of convincing people to bring them to a safe place got crushed instantly.
The situation started tipping. Sara felt the moment when backing off would be safer, but she also knew leaving now would make everything worse. They might not get another chance to convince these people before it's too late.
The crowd got louder. More settlers joined in, voices overlapping. Through them all, one strong-looking woman from the Fiora Tribe's side spoke up, "Even if monsters come, we'll die here rather than hide behind your village walls!" As soon as she said it, many women began to shout similar words like hers.
Even after feeling like her words might only fuel their rage more, Sara was about to open her mouth to try one more time, knowing if she failed to get them inside, they literally would die. And just when she was about to say something, another voice answered from behind the crowd.
The settlers shifted all at once. Not gradually. It happened almost instantly with this unknown woman's voice from behind.
Heads turned. The movement in the crowd changed into the particular stillness that came when a respected presence appeared behind them.
There were three people who appeared behind the crowd, and among them, Lys was present too. Seeing Lys, for some reason, Sara exhaled a relieved sigh from her mouth without realizing she did.
Lys was walking back through the settlement. And he wasn't alone. One pace behind him on his left walked Tresta, moving carefully but steadily.
And on his other side was another woman, sharp-eyed, moving with coiled energy. Maya.
Sara felt some of the tension leave her shoulders just seeing him with these two women. And before she could say anything, Maya spoke first, her voice carrying clearly over the noise.
"No, Drosha," Maya said, looking straight at the woman who had just said they wouldn't go inside the village walls earlier. "We're not leaving any people here to get attacked by monsters. So, we're going with them. Inside the village walls. All of us."
Everyone in the crowd shifted at once, hearing those words from Maya.