After the two vampires appeared, there was a long spell of silence before the greatest uproar so far occurred. Many fellows rose to their feet wanting to either expel or subdue these monsters that had infiltrated their meeting, especially the priests.
However, Mikey and Joneson simply released a blast of their auras, allowing the crowd to gauge their strength thoroughly. Capable of quickly calculating how many of them would die or at least get heavily wounded, the chaos slowly died down as many parties returned to their seats with ashen expressions, nobody eager to become the first sacrificial pawn.
Before the priests could rage, Sothe coughed and spoke up. "Lord Stone, care to explain? Could it be you're a necromancer?"
Darius chuckled. "I assure you, although I am a magical genius who can use any element I wish to cast, with talent beyond the understanding of anyone here present, I have not dabbled in necromancy, nor do I plan to. No, I met these two when they were weak and established a contract of servitude with them."
"Now that they are strong, they finally have some use to me in helping this entire camp with the issue we are facing. I ask you to put aside your reservations and prejudices ladies and gentlemen. For those who have seen the Bone Dragon, please tell me, how do my two servants match up?"
Many eyes turned to select few fellows like Elijah, Sothe himself, and some others who had engaged the Bone Dragon to test its weaknesses. They were all slightly pale thanks to the two vampires' show of power, but they nodded firmly.
"The two fellows appear to be slightly stronger than the Bone Dragon. At least compared to its perceived maximum output." Elijah confirmed stoically.
"Even if the Bone Dragon is hiding some trump cards or power somewhere, it should only bring it slightly above these two at best. Lord Stone is right, our success rate is extremely high with the two of them on our side!" Sothe also added while stroking his beard.
Those who were in the know agreed as well, making the non-combat leaders on the council have more confidence. As such, they began to murmur to each other rapidly about how to go forward.
This was until a hand smacked the table with such force that it almost cracked. All eyes turned to the three men in white robes that were seated by each other, their expressions livid and full of righteous anger.
"Surely this is must be a jest. I must be getting old, but Lord Stone, did you really just suggest that we, the servants of the light, are to work together with those vile undead? " One of the calmer fellows asked through gritted teeth.
Darius' lips twitched and many on the table smiled bitterly. Here came the big trouble…
He nodded with a solemn expression. "That is correct. For the betterment of the encampment and in order to reduce the casualties, it is necessary to-"
BAM!
Another priest slammed the table and stood up. "Forget it, that's all we needed to hear! Us priests will adhere to Lord Seneschal's idea and withdraw from the encampment until sense returns to your heads."
In a strong show of solidarity, the other two rose and were prepared to leave with the rash fellow. Darius sighed and rubbed his forehead, for he did not think these fellows would be so blockheaded.
The priest faction was needed as they contributed about 20% of the success rate. Their light spells and attacks bombarding the Bone Dragon would be enough to weaken its Death element so strongly that Mikey and Joneson could deal substantial damage.
However, there was nothing he could offer them to stay... well, that wasn't entirely true. There were about 30 things he could offer them, 10 from Foldo and 20 from Darla, but there was no way he would ever part with any one of them unless it was absolutely necessary.
Besides, Darius knew that the priests were far from being as noble as they claimed. Otherwise, would they be here, rushing to swallow his rewards with avarice? That was the one word to definite the priests of Fallon, greedy!
They took money to perform what should be a basic duty and furthermore used it as an excuse to avoid the battlefield. Shouldn't that be enough to tell you whether they were truly miffed by the presence of undead that could secure their interests?
Their outburst right now was most definitely just an act, telling Darius; "Hmph, lad earlier you cut our source of funds! Quickly come to our tent and negotiate a deal with all that money you have and we reluctantly might help you out this once!'
Ultimately, this was the outcome he had been going for, yet he was annoyed by how quick they were to leave. He couldn't stop them right now as it would cost him the momentum he had just gained in this meeting.
All his well-prepared arguments to weaken their position so that he could end up lowering the 'costs' for bribing them had all gone to waste now.
He might still be able to negotiate a little bit, but them being so proactive meant he would be paying premium prices… sigh.
After the priests stormed out, the tent remained quiet for a bit before Darius smiled awkwardly and called for a vote on the utility of the undead. Unsurprisingly, the usage of the duo received overwhelming approval, leaving Darius pleased.
As the meeting was adjourned and the various representatives returned to their camps, Darius knew that he had done what he could. The stage had been set, the incentives presented and now he would have to wait for the climax of the show.
Whether or not he would be able to survive that climax was up in the air, truly. However, Darius had faith that he would overcome this trial, as it was the first in his path to becoming a Supreme.
This was his first real obstacle since coming to Faust, and he had exhausted a lot of brain- and man- power to try and resolve it. The amount of funds, energy, and CP he had wasted on just this was enough to make any onlooker sputter with rage.
However, he had no choice. He had to make these extravagant sacrifices in order to increase his own survival chances, otherwise what would be the point of having all this good stuff if he wouldn't stay alive to use it?
With another sigh, Darius escorted Gunner and the two undead to the central tent of Elijah, where the majority of the administration was held.
He had big shoes to fill in the meantime.
