As Fire returned to the top of the hill, the voices of the congregation began swelling up again, this time in fear and anger. Those two emotions were frequently found together, not quite enough to be considered two sides of the same coin but two coins of the same metaphorical currency. Fire could hear some cries for protection, other cries for revolution. Fire had only rarely seen so many people in this kind of emotional turmoil before, partially because on the server there weren't that many opportunities for so many different people to gather in one spot but also partially because everyone on the server, even the NPCs to some extent, had at least a small amount of emotional distance to potentially life-threatening situations.
Even the Prophet himself had stopped preaching and was now looking across the masses with his white eyes, Steve stood right beside him. As Fire approached, Steve looked at him with something Fire believed to be expectation in his eyes. It only made sense, he was the Champion of the prophecy after all, Steve wanted him to do something to calm the congregation down. Perhaps Fire could do more than that.
He thought about what he would say, naturally he could understand why some of the people wanted a revolution against the Entity and in fact Fire himself was starting to think that confrontation was becoming an inevitability. As it stood, the congregation was no match for the Entity's forces, even if Fire personally equipped and trained each and every one of them, the numbers were simply against them. For now he decided that he wouldn't commit to any specific course of action but he saw that he needed to unite the people in Nexus under some common cause. This would help him gather information about what the Entity was actually doing, once he knew that he would decide which path to take.
Fire was used to leading, having been in charge of various groups over the course of his long life, even before he joined the server he had always been someone to quickly formulate a plan and make sure everyone followed through. On the server this had manifested in his indirect leadership of the Mencur-Besh in their early days before their collective became autonomous. Another powerful position he had held for a few hundred years was the guard captain of Rockhaven, responsible of all military operations there. He had also commanded many armies, though he was also no stranger to defeat, sometimes plainly due to his own mistakes, over time he had learned from them. Now would be the time to put his leadership to the test, the task was familiar but the stakes were severely raised.
He stepped past Steve and the Prophet, then began speaking in a loud voice: "We once were people of many different worlds, now with no way back we are people of Nexus. I heard your cries for revenge, I heard them not only from those gathered here but also those I met on my travels."
The crowd went quiet. Fire continued: "But it would be unwise to blindly charge the Tower in hopes of taking down some of their soldiers, it would even be unwise to attempt to kill their officers. In truth, as we are here we have no way to take this world as our own. We may have one in the future but for that to happen we will have to work together. I know that it might be hard trusting people you don't know, who even may be from a different world or from a different species. But enough about differences, there are things that unite us as well, no matter where we are from. Who of you here doesn't have a roof to sleep under or certainty that there will be a meal when you are hungry?"
About half of the congregation started making themselves known, gradually a large part of the rest joined in as well as they thought about their situations.
Fire called out: "That will be our first concern then, not war, not revenge! Survival is what we need to worry about! I may not be able to provide for all of your needs but I can do something better, I can help you do it yourself!"
At this point the entire crowd was cheering, Steve threw Fire an approving nod.
Fire was not done yet though. "In some time I will be here again, only then with knowledge of a place that will eventually safely house everyone here many times over. I will be honest with you, it will not be easy to make it a reality but I know that we will make it!"
After those words Fire turned around, walked back a few paces, out of the sight of the congregation. He took a deep breath, it had been a long time since he last had to deliver a rousing speech and it had been difficult to not completely crush the congregation with the harsh reality that he knew they were going to face. Building an independent shelter for this many people would prove difficult but it was necessary to at least have some amount of people he could rely on.
Fire was almost immediately approached by Steve. "Well then, it seems the prophecies hold some truth after all, at least in the respect that you know how to lead. What further plans do you have? What is this place you talked about?"
Fire sat down on a small boulder, then explained: "On the map the Ender showed me I noticed that there is a mountainous region some distance from here, according to the maps there are expansive caves within that reach deep underground, they haven't explored them and it's unlikely that they ever will. It'll be safer than anywhere on the surface once we clear them out. We're protected from the elements, hidden from sight and we're saving on construction work. As for plans… I don't particularly know yet, I simply don't know enough about the Entity or its plans to choose a course of action. Depending on that it's entirely possible that we go to war but also that we find a diplomatic solution, which admittedly is less likely."
Steve said: "So, you'll lead the congregation into the mountains? As you said, it's risky but I fear that we do need a solid following and a place to keep refugees safe."
Fire stood up and turned to go. "I'll be leaving now, I still need to take care of some things before I return. Stay safe."
Steve gave Fire a short wave, then turned back to the Prophet, who had meanwhile resumed his prophesying, currently about growth if Fire wasn't mistaken.
Fire stepped out of the forest, there were no more leaves above him to shield him from the rain. Judging by the darkening clouds it would only become heavier, Fire decided to hurry up since running on soaked dirt roads made it easy to slip, even for him. He reached into a small pouch he was carrying, it was significantly bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, he had enchanted it himself. Fire fished out a flask with a sky-blue potion inside. He drank about a quarter of the flasks content and immediately his legs felt a little lighter. The speed potion would allow him to move more quickly than normally while also removing the strain on his circulatory system that would come if he tried to move at that speed without the potion. Fire started sprinting rapidly down the road towards the village at a speed that would make most people pray for their dear lives.
The journey back to the village was uneventful save for having to leap over a very startled carriage driver and his carriage. Once the village was in clear sight Fire slowed down again. At this point the rain had progressed from the drizzle it had been before to a solid downpour, the street was starting to get wet and slippery. Fire once again searched his pouch for a potion, this time it was almost perfectly clear and the flask was tiny compared to the speed potion. After drinking the potion Fire felt a pull in his chest in the direction of the village. If everything had gone according to plan, this pull would lead Fire to the counterpart of the potion he had just imbibed, provided that he had been trusted.
He reached the village and walked slowly to be able to follow the pull more accurately. The streets were largely empty, nobody wanted to go outside with the pouring rain, Fire could also hear distant thunder and see lightning far off on the horizon. There was one hell of a thunderstorm coming.
The pull directed Fire through the streets, it got significantly stronger once he reached what one could call the richer part of the village, it consisted of a handful of bigger and better-built houses, Fire was directed to one of them by the pull. As he stood before the door, the pull stopped, this told Fire that he was within very close proximity of the potion's counterpart. He knocked on the door. A man of middle age opened the door, Fire knelt down in order for the man to be able to see his face.
The man asked: "What do you want?"
Fire plainly replied: "I'm looking for Lucy."
The man seemed to be surprised. "What do you want with our maid?"
"I'm taking her with me."
Instead of answering Fire, the man yelled back into the house: "Linda, one of those scaly things showed up. It wants to take Lucy!"
Fire said nothing and waited for a reaction from the woman who seemed to be the man's wife. Instead of replying, the woman came storming around the corner, a heavy crossbow in hands. She was aiming it at Fire but she was visibly shaking and the look on her face was everything but confident.
She said: "Leave. Now."
Fire was neither in the mood for long discussions nor for crossbow bolts. "Let's make this easier on everyone involved. Just call her."
Instead of calling for anyone, Linda pulled the trigger on her crossbow. Fire's sigh gradually slowed down in his own ears as the world around him almost came to a stop. Fire was not in the mood for displays of power either but what had to be done had to be done.
The crossbow Linda was using was old and improperly maintained, the bow limb had lost most of its elasticity over time, probably due to being stored while armed. This resulted in the bolt only being propelled with a fraction of the force of what should have been. On top of that, Fire also saw that the bolt itself was wooden and only tipped with copper, probably due to iron not being available. Even a direct hit between scales wouldn't do more than slightly puncture Fire's skin, and that was ignoring the fact that Fire was wearing armor. Yet Fire still decided to reach out with his hand and close it around the bolt as it came near, his claws dug into the wood to further slow it down. After catching the bolt time returned to its normal speed again.
Fire's sigh finished.
"I want to see Lucy, are we clear on that?" Fire said.
It took the couple a few moments to process what had happened but it seemed that they got Fire's message. The man then called Lucy's name with a shaky voice.
A few seconds later Fire could hear rapid footsteps coming down stairs, then the blonde maid he had chosen during his pyromancy show appeared behind her employers.
Fire said: "Hello again Lucy. I'd like you to come with me, we have much to discuss."
The man seemed to have mustered up enough courage to raise his voice again: "If you take her with you, who will look after our house? And besides, her contract is still binding."
Fire pointed to Lucy. "Lucy, would you be so kind and give those two the object in your pocket?" Lucy hesitantly reached inside and revealed a cut and polished diamond, the very same one she had found in the satchel Fire had given her. Fire continued: "You can hire as many maids as you want with that gem. As for the contract… I believe we are no longer in a world where there is any authority ensuring the validity of your laws, feel free to walk over to the Tower and discuss the binding nature of your contract with one Marinus Bul, I hear he handles their legal affairs."
With another gesture he signalled Lucy to step outside, she did after a few seconds of hesitation, neither of her now former employers did anything to stop her. Once Lucy was out of the house, Fire closed the door behind her, then once again reached into his pouch and handed her a rain-proof coat.
Then Fire started walking without a word, Lucy hurried to his side. Slowly, warily she asked: "What do you want from me?"
While walking, Fire said: "Here is no place to discuss details. All I can say right now is that I am very old and over my years I have learned to spot talents in people that they might not realize they have. As for you? I'm building a shelter for a lot of people and I need someone I can rely on."
Since Lucy didn't answer, Fire considered the conversation to be over and talked no further until they arrived at the tavern. Fire smiled to himself, he had doubts that Lucy knew the full magnitude about her involvement in his plan but what he knew for certain was that she would be ready for what was ahead of her.