A caravan could have come from any of the villages around them or from the town of Dewhurst. While the villagers were not restricted to the current zone like Alan and the Corellians were, they only were able to access the three other villages to the west of them, and the single town to the northwest. It seemed the tutorial was keeping things separate, even for the non-recruits, for future tiers.

The timing of the caravan suggested to Alan that it should be their returning villagers, but he wasn't sure why it was as big as he had heard. There were at least two carts and quite a lot of people. Making his way over to Roger, he joined the tail end of the conversation. The mayor was still giving orders.

"Make sure Tom and Stina know that there is a possible trading party coming in, and get Telax as well, just in case these are our people."

Alan knew who Tom and Stina were, they were the villagers in charge of trade. You could call them merchants, but they had more enthusiasm than experience. When founding a new settlement, you sometimes had to just assign jobs to people that wanted them. You couldn't count on finding people who actually knew how to do all the things you needed doing. As a busboy he had heard plenty of gossip, so he knew that people appreciated the job the newly crowned merchants were doing, but he also knew that they weren't as ruthless as real coin-rubbers could be. After the runner left to find the aforementioned people, Alan checked in.

"Who's Telax?"

"Telax is our healer. He doesn't have a class or anything, but he was an apprentice back on his homeworld. We are fortunate to have even that much."

Alan nodded before asking about the report. "Did they see our people?"

"The initial sighting was from a group of hunters and they weren't around at all yesterday, so they didn't know about your fight with Chrisly. The caravan should be in sight soon anyway, we might as well go and check it out ourselves."

Lyonel's group had been present for the launch of the irrigation system. Samson and Gerry had been part of the construction and the other two had wanted to see what they'd been up to. It was fortunate because it meant that Alan didn't need to go looking for them. If there was something up with this incoming group, he wanted them there as backup. It was a large group that set out to meet the delegation, their numbers were bolstered by some villagers who weren't ready to go back to their regular labor yet and were interested in finding out what was going on. Everyone likes to be in the know.

After reaching the southwestern end of the road, they had nothing to do but wait. Alan could have set out to find them himself, but he could already see the dot in the distance that must be the caravan. He would have his answers soon enough, and it would help his reputation to seem calm in such a stressful time. It wasn't long after they began their wait that three more people showed up.

One was a golemoid man. He didn't look exactly like the Bodarians, but there were definite similarities. The skin was darker, and he wasn't quite as tall, but he had the same thick build and it looked like he could headbutt a rock. The woman that arrived with him was a human, and he knew them to be the two merchants. That suggested that the third person was the healer.

From what Roger had said, Alan knew it was a male, but he never would have been able to tell otherwise. The man was an insectoid, and to Alan's eyes he looked like a giant wasp. He had two legs, plus four more appendages. The middle two were larger and more developed, while the top pair of arms were smaller. Still big enough to make a t-rex jealous, but they were currently tucked up so they didn't get in the way. He also had a set of wings on his back, but they seemed to be vestigial. It was doubtful they would allow him to fly.

The momentary distraction of the newcomers was enough to occupy Alan until he could make out some details of the caravan. There were indeed two carts coming in, and a crowd of people. One of the carts had actual horses harnessed to it, while the other was being drawn by several men. If he had to guess, those were probably the missing villagers and the other cart was from Dewhurst. Roger would be able to tell him definitively, but his eyes weren't nearly as good as Alan's, it was another agonizing two minutes before he got his answer.

"That's our people there with the front cart." Roger said, "The other one must be from the town. No one else would be able to afford horses."

Reputation be damned, Alan could no longer contain his nerves. "This is good news right? Are any of our people missing?"

The mayor was touched to hear the concern that their new village head had for his citizens. "Everyone is there, and if they're still pulling a cart, they can't be that injured. As for whether the other group is a good thing or not, we won't know that until we hear from them."

The caravan had no doubt already seen the welcome party waiting for them. It wasn't unusual for such a group to be met with a crowd, since trade expeditions were a relative rarity for new settlements like their own. This one was a little bigger than the standard welcoming party, however. The returning villagers drew strength from the sight of their comrades and increased their pace, while the rest of the group maintained their speed, allowing a gap to form between them. It only ended up being about thirty seconds of difference, but the gesture was appreciated.

"Mr. Mayor sir, are we ever glad to see you!" Said the strongest looking of the cart bearers.

"Almost as glad as I am to have you back, I'm sure. How are you, is everyone ok? Telax is here if you need anything."

Alan was already studying their aura as well as he could from where he was standing. He could have gotten a better sense if he was closer, but he was mostly a stranger to these men and he didn't want to intrude. From what he could tell, there wasn't anything significantly wrong, mostly just a slightly below average aura strength for a serf. That wasn't too surprising since they had just pulled a cart across the countryside, and their reserves were probably drained.

"We're okay. They treated us well enough, even if they wouldn't let us leave."

That seemed surprisingly decent of the Aristocrats, but then again they didn't operate in a vacuum, and it might have upset the rest of the townspeople if they had poorly used the innocent villagers. Also, they may have been hoping to convert them over to their side. Another set of strong backs was always appreciated in a developing population.

Roger had just enough time to get them headed over to be checked out by their healer before the town delegation arrived. At a word from Alan, Lyonel and his party stepped over and pulled the now unmanned cart off to the side, out of the way. He studied the horses as the second cart pulled to a stop in front of them. He didn't have much of an eye for such animals, but they looked healthy enough, even if they weren't the most impressive specimens he had ever seen.

From the horses, his eyes shifted to the men on the cart, and then the ones walking under their own power. One of the riding men was clearly the driver, while the other looked to be significantly more prosperous by the state of his clothing. The ones who came by the grace of their own two feet appeared to be some form of guard. Alan didn't think they had classes or anything, but all of them were armed with some type of weapon. It was another moment before he realized there were also people riding in the back of the cart. That was a surprise.

These people didn't have the affluent look of the man next to the driver, or the slightly harder look of the guards. They seemed to be regular villagers, and Alan was curious why they were here. Roger stepped forward to address the delegation. While he was now second in command to Alan, he was the person they would be most likely to recognize as the face of Elstree. Before he could speak, however, the man next to the driver made that consideration moot.

"Which one of you would be 'the busboy'. I'm sorry I don't know your real name, but it is all my lord's son Chrisly knew you by."

Roger was still going to take point, but even as he was opening his mouth, Alan put a hand on his arm and stepped forward.

"That would be me. I thank you for returning our people safely."

The well dressed man looked down on Alan from the top of the cart. He seemed to realize the impropriety of having a conversation from such a lofty position, and slid down to the ground. He made the transition well, showing that despite his middle-aged appearance, he was still in good shape.

"But of course, we were only concerned for their health and well being when we offered for them to rest up at Dewhurst. That is also why we returned with them, we wanted to make sure nothing untoward happened on the way home. By the by, my name is Keagan, how may I have the honor of addressing you, good sir?"

The man certainly put on a good front. He was managing to stick to the party line of only holding the villagers out of concern for their safety, and his language was flowery enough for Buckingham Palace. Alan didn't think he was going to like the man, it was just a feeling he had, but he'd acted with courtesy so far, so he would respond with it as well.

"My name is Alan, and I welcome you to my village."

There was only a small tic of Keagan's mouth to show he understood the import of that last sentence. Alan wasn't welcoming him to the village where he lived, but to the village he owned. It was confirmation of his status as a tutorial recruit and a failure of the Difmer family's plan to prevent any of the villages from being claimed. It was no doubt what they expected, but they had probably hoped that there was another explanation for what had happened.

"I appreciate that, Alan. I hate to bring this up, but before I left Dewhurst, there was a talk going around about some of our town's protectors being held here. After finally managing to assemble a sizable force of men to guard us, I was on my way out of town to return the men who so kindly brought our injured fellows back when word started to flow about the news of some disturbance. I didn't want to delay your fellow citizens' return any longer, and so I only heard a few of what I am sure are distorted rumors."

Alan didn't buy that for a moment. Saying that they were already planning on bringing their men back was simply a way of saving face. That way they wouldn't have to admit that their hand was being forced.

Roger decided to speak up. "Perhaps we could help you determine the veracity of the rumors. What have you heard?"

Keagan's words were an answer to Roger's question, but his eyes never left Alan's. "There was talk of someone assaulting the party of brave adventurers who were sent to safeguard the village. I even heard that some of them were taken prisoner."

The mayor made to respond, but Alan got there first. This man knew exactly what had happened, and he was simply spinning the discussion to make Chrisly and his people look like the aggrieved party. Alan had now firmly decided his feelings on Keagan, and he wasn't going to pussyfoot around anymore.

"It does seem that the rumors got it wrong. They were not brave adventurers, but inconsiderate scum who sought to bully and take advantage of the hard working people of the village."

Keagan's face showed his outrage, although Alan thought it looked a little forced. "You say 'take advantage', but should they not expect some recompense for braving the wilds and the dungeon to protect this village from harm. They could have stayed at Dewhurst and protected us, while we willingly showered them with praise and gifts."

Alan let a little anger into his voice. "These people volunteered to come to this place and do a job. That job was to protect these people. They chose to be here, and you want us to thank them for doing a job they are already being paid for by the Network. Maybe the villagers would have been willing to give them gifts if they weren't such arrogant pricks who tried to force themselves on defenseless women. And they will certainly get no sympathy from me. I had no choice in being here, I was forced into this role."

Roger backed him up immediately. "And even though he might resent us for being part of the system that basically kidnapped him, Alan here has done nothing but support us and help us grow. And he did it without asking for anything in return."

That last part wasn't totally true. He had asked for the ownership of the village, which certainly wasn't nothing, but he appreciated Roger's support. Keagan's face had turned a nice shade of red. His outrage was genuine this time, but it was most likely because he was unused to being so blatantly called out on his lies. He opened his mouth to speak, but Alan wasn't going to let him interrupt.

"Other than the mischaracterization of those asshats as 'brave adventurers', the rest is pretty accurate. Chrisly is no longer welcome anywhere near this village, and we have the rest of his party here as prisoners. I had believed that Chrisly's behavior was that of a spoiled child whose parents had no idea of what heinous actions he was responsible for. It was my hope that once they learned of his crimes that they would deal with him appropriately and even thank us for enlightening them to the issue. We kept his men here so that he wouldn't take any rash actions in retaliation until he had reported back to his parents."

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Alan had no such belief in the reaction of the Difmer elders. Chrisly was certainly spoiled, and it was possible his parents didn't realize the extent of his actions, but he never thought they would rein him in. Even if they ended up showing some intelligence and dealing with his behavior, they would never thank those who brought the truth to light. The kinds of people who might, didn't raise sons like Chrisly. His parents were no doubt spiteful people who would desire an opportunity to pay back what they saw as an injustice.

He had been hoping to reduce the severity of that response by returning their son broken rather than dead, but Alan had always known there would be consequences. He was hoping to put this behind them for now, however, and deal with the repercussions in the next tier. To do that, he would need to make sure that they had no means of striking at Elstree. From Dewhurst they could cut off trade with the village, but with access to the Network store, and Alan's additional resources, that was not as big a consideration anymore.

Keagan finally managed to cut in. "Your words show how ungrateful and uncivilized you are. Mr. Chrisly has done nothing but help keep this town safe and you repay his efforts with violence. Not only that but you have held his compatriots prisoner, preventing them from keeping not only your own, but the other villages protected. I demand that you release them to my custody now."

Mostly ignoring the man, Alan continued to think. The real concern with reprisal was the adventurers coming back to get revenge. After how easily Alan had captured them, some on more than one occasion, he felt relatively confident in taking them on in a straight up fight. However, he had plans of leaving for a time, and even when present in the village, he couldn't be everywhere. Those adventurers would need to be disabused of any ideas of returning.

"I would love to do so, but they are currently in a secure location. It will take us a little time to bring them out." That wasn't true, they were currently tied up in town hall, being watched by a party of stern looking villagers. "Why don't you and your men have a meal in the tavern on me. I appreciate all the trouble you went to, bringing our men back. By the time you're done, we should have your people ready to go."

Keagan didn't seem to appreciate Alan's reply, but there was little he could do about it, and he knew it. He could embarrass himself more by making demands they both knew there was no way he could back up, or he could gracefully accept the free meal that had been offered. Alan did appreciate that the villagers had been 'escorted' back because it had meant they were safer, but that wasn't why he had made the offer. He wanted some time alone with the adventurers before they left.

"On behalf of my men, I accept your generous offer. Before we take you up on that, however, there is another matter to attend to." Here Keagan paused and gestured back at the eight people in the back of the cart. "These are some citizens of Dewhurst that felt town life was too hectic. They longed for a more simple life, like that in one of the villages, and they begged me to let them come when they discovered my destination."

Alan didn't trust this for a moment, and judging by the look Roger gave him, the mayor agreed. There had been a few people who had shifted their residence from one settlement to another. That was what the people of Elstree had originally thought Alan had done. However, no one moved out of Dewhurst. The towns had too many advantages, and it was generally a more desired location to live than any other. Given the choice, almost everyone would have preferred to be placed there originally, but most people were also more willing to stay where they had been placed. Immigrating would mean having to start over. Most people chose the settlement they knew and the status they had earned, over having to begin from the bottom. No one would leave the relative comforts of the town to start over in a village. Unless of course conditions in the town were horrendous, but then there would be more than a few leaving.

These people had no doubt been offered some generous reward to come here and be the insiders for the Difmer family. They could be anything from spies to assassins, or possibly saboteurs. The smart move was probably to refuse their entrance and send them packing. A more daring alternative was to accept. Chrisly and his parents wanted revenge, that was a given. If they let these people in, they may delay any further efforts at retribution until the tier ended, counting on these 'traitors' to betray Alan and the other villagers at a key time.

If instead Alan and Roger denied them the right to move in, then Dewhurst would no doubt find some other way of making trouble. Better the devil you know wasn't a saying for no reason. Alan tried to signal his intentions to Roger at the same time he spoke.

"Mr. Mayor, if these people truly desire a more humble life, then I hope we can accommodate them here. Do you think we will have room?"

Roger was definitely a smooth operator and had read Alan's look correctly. "Of course, we can always find something for new people to do. If they come with me I can find out what talents they have and get them situated. Thank you Mr. Keagan for bringing them here. I am sure they, and myself, appreciate it."

It took a few minutes for everyone to introduce themselves and for someone to take Keagan and the guards to the tavern. The man made a last minute attempt to insist on checking on the prisoners first, but he was told that they were too far away for that to be feasible. After they had left, Alan told Hector and Samson to keep an eye on the tavern and the townies while Gerry and Lyonel came with him.

Normally Roger would have taken the new 'citizens' to his office to talk to them, but because the tied up adventurers were being kept there, that wasn't an option. Instead he took them out to one of the wheat fields and interviewed them there. Alan was the one to make use of the mayor's office.

Alan sat himself behind the large desk and had a chair placed in front of it. Lyonel carried the adventurers in one by one for him to talk to. The villagers guarding the rest of the prisoners were told to have a loud conversation. It would prevent them from hearing what was discussed before it was their turn.

First up was Caleb. Lyonel carried him in, and then the two Corellians worked at untying some of his bindings. His hands and feet were now free, as was his head, but his arms and legs were still tied up. It made sitting in the chair slightly easier, and would allow him to talk. Once Caleb was seated, Lyonel took his place behind the warrior and Gerry leaned against the door. The tied up warrior took a quick look around the office before his eyes locked on Alan.

"So, Caleb is it?" He paused until the man nodded. "You have no doubt determined that your presence is no longer welcome here."

His words felt a little too formal, probably a result of his interactions with Keagan. They also weren't working well on Caleb, who seemed to have trouble parsing what it meant.

Lyonel picked up on that as well, so he translated for him. It wasn't quite 'good cop/bad cop', but it might help with his plan. "He's saying that we don't want you here. Go home and never come back."

Alan just stared back at Caleb, whose eyes never left his while the hamster man spoke. He flinched at Lyonel's harsh tone, but he kept staring at Alan. He sure was getting a lot of attention today.

"Now, I understand you might feel like maybe this village owes you something for all the trouble you've gone through, and that you might desire to return and take payment with force. I would like to disabuse you of that notion. If we catch you anywhere even close to Elstree, you will have to be dealt with most severely. What do you suppose we will have to do to you?" It was always best to let the other person think up what the punishment might be. Their imagination would almost always come up with something much worse than you would have.

Once again Caleb's face slackened in incomprehension, so Lyonel translated. "If you come back, guess what we're gonna do to you?"

Now his face paled as the blood fled his cheeks. "I'd never…I mean, I won't…I wouldn't…I'll stay away."

Either the man was a consummate actor, or he was truly terrified. Alan studied him for another moment, trying to decide if he had done enough or if he needed to be pushed a little farther. He was pretty sure the man wouldn't return if given the choice, but what if he was ordered too? That was the question.

"Just remember how easy it was for me to catch you the first two times. Losing your gear again won't be a concern for the next time I find you around here. Instead you will lose your life, but very slowly." It didn't give Alan a good feeling, but he managed to smile sinisterly as he delivered the last line. He wouldn't really torture the man, but he wanted to frighten him enough that he wouldn't have to worry about him returning.

With the repercussions of coming back now firmly planted in Caleb's mind, Lyonel tied him up again and dragged him back out to the front room. He selected Brynna next and then they repeated the process with the rest. The first two were the easiest to intimidate, but Selir wasn't too difficult either. That was the name of the last member of Chrisly's squad. He was made of sterner stuff than the warrior, but he was also smarter than Caleb and understood better the predicament he was in, and how outclassed (literally) he was.

Gaf was the only one whose debrief didn't go as planned. He didn't act out or threaten them, and it wasn't that their threats weren't effective. Instead, it turned out the man wanted to defect. Apparently after seeing how Chrisly treated him after his first capture, he had no illusions about what his life would be like if he returned after this fiasco.

Alan had to give it to the man, even though he was begging for help, he kept his dignity intact, for the most part. "You don't understand just how bad that kid is. Not only are his parents rich, but they have told him what a precious and intelligent boy he is for so long that he actually believes it. That wouldn't be so bad if he actually was smart, but he's barely qualified to hold a conversation, let alone a leadership position. If I go back there now, I'll forever be under his heel. And there's a lot of crap on his heel."

Alan felt for the man, but he didn't know what to do. "You realize how hard it is for me to trust you. I fully agree that Chrisly is a worthless piece of scum not worthy of gracing a pile of feces." He carefully watched Gaf's expression as he ripped into his boss, but the man didn't flinch, shudder, or redden at his words. "You, however, followed his orders. You have been his man for months, why should we believe that you would change now?"

Gaf was an intelligent person and had no trouble following Alan's speech, so Lyonel didn't have to translate. "Yes, I've been his man, but what choice did I have? When you volunteer for a tutorial, you can only do it in groups of four or less. It's some kind of measure to try and prevent what Chrisly's family is doing. So you have to know I didn't come here with them, I had never heard of the Difmer family before coming here. Once I was here, though, what was I supposed to do? They were the only game in town."

He wished he could talk it over with Tamee, but what he was saying sounded like something the Network would do. It would also explain why almost none of the villagers had known each other before arriving. This was a golden opportunity to add another adventurer to his side, but it could also be a terrible mistake. It wasn't a risk he really needed to take, his plans didn't require the man's help, but it would be a terrible waste if Gaf was speaking truly and they sent him away. In the end, Alan decided to punt the decision.

Lyonel trussed the man back up and he was taken out with the others. When he returned, Alan beckoned the two beast people over.

"You both heard what Gaf had to say, and I think I believe him, but I can't be sure. What are your thoughts?"

Gerry was the first to answer, and it wasn't much of a surprise that he believed the man, he was the most trusting of the Corellians. "I think he was telling the truth too. He seemed sincere."

Lyonel took longer to respond. "I don't want to believe him. His group has certainly caused enough trouble from what we've heard, but I agree he sounded believable."

That was another point in Gaf's favor. Alan outlined his plan, and left the final decision to Lyonel. "Your team is currently down a man. If we let Gaf stay, I can't trust him enough to wander around on his own, so here's what I'm thinking. He could join your party as the fifth man. It would give you a little extra punch in case you run into more of a challenge than you thought, and it would let me rest easier knowing someone was keeping an eye on him."

"I'm not sure I like it. Yes, it could make us stronger, but it could also get us killed. If he turned on us at the right time in a fight, he might be able to eliminate us all." Lyonel's concerns were everything that Alan had expected.

"You're not wrong, and it's why I am going to leave the decision up to you. I would suggest that you test him out for a while, take on easier fights than you have to and make sure he's being watched carefully, but eventually you may end up in a situation just like you described. So if you don't want to take the risk, I will fully support that and we can send him home with the rest. If you think he's telling the truth, and you believe your team can manage the risk, then we can give him a chance."

Lyonel's eyes got the distant look of someone reading messages and he and Gerry started mumbling, a sure sign that they were using their party chat to discuss with the whole group. That was a good sign, both of Lyonel's leadership and the outcome of their discussion. If Lyonel had accepted the man without talking with the rest of the team, it might have caused a good bit of friction that could have led to negative feelings. Also, the fact that he hadn't unilaterally decided it was a bad idea meant that he might be swayed. After about three minutes, Lyonel's eyes regained their focus and he agreed to give Gaf a chance. There would be a dagger hovering over his head, looking for the first sign of betrayal, but he would get an opportunity to show his character.

With that decided, things moved rather fast. Gerry left to find Roger, while Lyonel brought Gaf back in and they told him of their decision. He seemed grateful, but so would a double agent. They let him out of all of his bindings and Alan returned his gear. Hector had stripped them of their equipment before tying them up originally, and Alan had put it in his necklace. It was too much of a risk to allow them access to their items, but if they were going to give him a chance, they would have to trust him with his equipment.

After Roger returned, Alan ran through the new twist in the plan. It was easy to tell he was hesitant to believe in Gaf's conversion, but he didn't say anything in front of the man. Then they dragged the remaining prisoners out to the town square and Lyonel sent Hector a message over party chat. The ferret man scout went into the tavern and let Keagan know that he could collect his missing adventurers at any time. It was only a few minutes before the guards and delegation leader stood before Alan and the mayor once again. Their cart now had Caleb, Brynna, and Selir in the back, still tied up. Gaf was standing off to the side between Lyonel and Gerry. Having him there with all of his gear was a risk, but the Corellians were ready to respond and it would serve as his first test.

Keagan quickly noticed that there were only three people in the cart and his eyes soon found Gaf.

"What is the meaning of this, why are you still keeping him prisoner?"

Alan already had his answer prepared. "I'm sorry for the confusion, but he's not a prisoner. Just like those people you brought with you, Gaf too longs for the simpler life that he can find here. The pressure of working for such an august family as the Difmers was too much for him and his health was suffering from the stress. He expressed his desire to remain here where he can return to being the simple man he is. Since you had no problem with the others moving, I assumed this wouldn't be an issue. Did I err in my judgement?"

It would be hard for Keagan to deny Gaf's defection without admitting to the duplicity of the villagers he had brought. Also, he wasn't really in any position to do something about it. Yes, he had around twelve guards behind him, but without classes they would be little challenge for Alan and Lyonel's team. In the end, the man had to grit his teeth and bear it. He climbed aboard the wagon and the driver joined him.

They got the horses turned around and headed back towards their town. Alan had warned them not to untie the prisoners until they were out of sight of the village. He claimed that he didn't want any potential tempers to cause a situation that might result in an unfortunate incident. In truth, at this point he didn't really care, he just wanted them gone quickly. It seemed like the Difmer family would leave them alone for now, and that would let him get on with his other plans. They would need to carefully watch their new citizens, but overall the situation had ended up about as positively as they could have hoped.

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