Jaron, Roden, and Tobias stood staring at the map in the small hut. Jaron suggested, "We could sail along the coast to the north and build there."

Tobias shook his head. "Winter is coming in a few weeks. We'd freeze before we got established."

Roden asked, "What about that island chain? It is farther south."

Jaron argued, "It's too close to the mainland. It would be easy for another country to claim." He sighed. It seemed that there was no place for him to go. Part of him wished that he could just stay in Belland, where the people were kind and welcoming.

When the Shadow Tide had pulled along the dock a few weeks ago, the people had swarmed to meet them. Mott, with Trea beside him, was first to greet Jaron, but he had been joined by another man. Mott introduced him as Teleus, the new chief of Belland.

The man said, "Hail, Giver of Freedom!" The people cheered. Jaron felt a little embarrassed at the title. "We are delighted that you have decided to return to our shores. You are welcome here as long as you wish to stay."

Jaron formally accepted the offer and was escorted to Darius's old house. Then the people insisted on having a feast in his honor. Jaron accepted, and he and his friends were seated in the highest places of honor. The feast had been delicious, with everything from flaky smoked salmon to crunchy honey cakes. Towards the end, one of the women asked, "Is it true that you pretended to be dead for all those years?"

Jaron glanced sideways at Mott, who grinned and shrugged. Someone had been telling stories about him again. He said, "Yes, it is true."

"Tell us about it!"

Jaron told them how he had posed as an Avenian. Then the people asked more questions. Jaron found himself continuing the story with his encounter with the pirates and the great war, with his friends chiming in occasionally. They gasped as he told the story of his sword fight with Devlin and stared when he told how he was nearly hung. When he finished, they all stared at him in wonder. Imogen smiled at him and whispered, "Careful, Jaron. Better not let all this go to your head."

Jaron grinned and rolled his eyes. As if he ever would as long as she was around to keep him grounded. When the feast was over, he and Imogen left to go on a short walk. It did not escape his attention that the people watched them admiringly, and the children stared at them in wonder.

When they returned a little later, Fink ran up to Jaron, "Lavinta wants to see if I can go play with her and some of the other kids right now!" he exclaimed. "Can I?"

Jaron grinned. "Just don't stay out too late."

"I won't!" he called, already heading off. Jaron and Imogen exchanged a smile.

Jaron had really enjoyed his time here, and the others had too. Roden explored Belland, going hiking and climbing the old volcano, and Tobias and Amarinda spent much time interviewing the people about Belland's history. Jaron and Imogen had spent much time simply relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Even the pirates seemed to be enjoying their downtime, although Jaron still had to watch them closely to make sure they didn't cause any trouble. But now, Jaron was growing bored and ready to do something.

Now, as the three of them continued to scrutinize the map, Teleus approached. He said, "Your majesty, if you do not mind my asking, what are your plans now?"

Jaron said, "I'm hardly a king right now, so you can just call me Jaron. As for my plans, I don't really have anything firm right now."

Teleus asked, "Would you consider staying here, at least for the winter? My people need help. We would like your help in getting organized. When the Prozarians came, we could not resist them. We are only farmers; we have no training in fighting. We would like to learn to defend ourselves in case they return. We've heard how you built up your country's military, and you also restored her natural resources. Can you help us do the same?"

Jaron thought for a moment. It would take some work, but he was sure he could help. Besides, he had nowhere better to go. He exchanged glances with Roden and Tobias. Tobias seemed enthusiastic, but Roden seemed a little unsure. "I suppose we could," Jaron said.

Roden commented, "It would take a lot to teach these people to defend themselves."

Jaron said, "And I can't think of anyone more qualified to teach them." Roden's eyes widened. "You know that you are as responsible for the state of Carthya's military as I am. What do you say, captain of the guard?"

Roden shrugged. "Okay, I will start them on some sword fighting lessons."

Jaron said, "And Tobias, you can start helping them build up their natural resources."

Tobias nodded. "I've been reading some interesting treatises on crop rotation. Also, there used to be a volcano here, so it's possible there are valuable stones formed by the lava that we could possibly collect."

Jaron said, "And I will get the pirates organized. They can patrol the waters and keep watch for the Prozarians. And Imogen and I can organize a defense system if they try to attack again."

As everyone agreed, Jaron felt optimistic for the first time in a while. He felt as though he was finally doing something important.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.

Darius looked around the room at the regents. "You support my plan?"

Aris said, "Your majesty, we support whatever it is you pronounce."

Darius nodded and breathed deeply, feeling relieved that the regents supported his plan. Well, there had been one who opposed, but that had been dealt with. Harlowe, the prime regent, was the only one who had spoken against his plan, arguing that agreeing to their terms would only be perceived as weakness by their enemies. Darius had wondered how to get him to his side, but then he found out something terrible.

He had called Harlowe into his throne room. "Your Highness?" Harlowe had asked. "You wish to speak with me?"

"I do. Why did you keep Roden being your son a secret?"

The man blinked. "Your majesty, it wasn't a secret. It just wasn't widely known."

"I know you will not agree with my plan because I fired him. You are biased against me."

He shook his head. "I am not biased. I would have advised Jaron against it as well if he wanted to do this, not that he ever would."

Darius ordered, "You are relieved of your duties as prime regent."

Harlowe's jaw clenched. "You are making a mistake."

"Leave."

He turned and stalked away. Darius immediately appointed Aris, a nobleman who had supported his father, as his new prime regent. Now that Darius finally had the support of all his regents, it was time to address the people. He walked to the balcony and looked down at the crowd, who was eagerly waiting for news.

Darius stood at the balcony. "People of Carthya," he began, "I know you have heard of the demands of the Prozarians. I want you all to know that they have promised no harm will come to us as long as we agree to their terms. I have already decided to do as they ask. Half of what is produced this year will be sent to them."

The crowd erupted. One man snarled, "We will starve if we do that!"

Darius returned, "They will destroy us if we don't! We can afford to do without a little."

"That's hardly a little!"

Another man demanded, "But why do we not fight them? We are Carthya!"

Someone added, "They cannot push us around like this!"

Darius said again, "There are too many enemies. We simply cannot fight them all."

A woman called out, "Jaron fought against them all and won!"

"Jaron was reckless and impulsive. I am nothing like him."

The crowd booed. A man yelled, "No you aren't! Jaron would never stand for this!"

Darius ordered, "This is my decision, and you will all stand by it."

The people began to murmur, casting malicious glares at him. He stalked off the balcony. Even if they couldn't see it, he knew that this was the best course of action, and he would stand by it.