Determination

The three armies of the three cities were all gathered in the dining hall for the feast their host, Glenn had prepared for them.

While straying his sight around him, Jamal realized how big was that room. In one sight, he counted that they were nearly one hundred people and still each of them was well installed on one of the two long tables which were occupying the dining room. Those tables were filled with many varieties of food; mashed potatoes, salads, meat, chicken, and many other meals. There were many fruit juices naturally prepared, and Jamal was happy to notice that he didn't put too much wine or any alcohol at it would have reduced the capacity of the soldiers in the war.

While they were enjoying that banquet, Glenn was humbly explaining to Jamal, Volga, Nelson, and Sania, who were sitting near him, where all the foods, which had been prepared and set on the dinner, were coming from. Jamal, like all the others, thought that they were their provisions, what it was true but not exactly. Glenn said that in fact he, or rather his family, owned a company of agronomy which had many farms all over Palet city and other cities as well, where they were producing many aliments whatever vegetables, meats, fruits, and other industrial products like milk and eggs and were reselling them to the markets.

When he gave the name of the company, Nelson even recognized it as it used to be the principal supplier of the majority of stores and markets in his hometown.

" After what you know happened 2 years ago, I directly thought about it before anything else many of our employees were among those who disappeared and I was afraid that the company would cease to work, because of that, and consequently lead to a famine. So as mayor and at the same the president of this company I gathered some of my remaining people and told them that we needed volunteers to take place of those people who were missing to ensure that we can carry on the food production and avoid the famine. Hopefully, they accepted, and even after the rise of criminality they kept on working to feed the people even until now " Glenn said.

If the others beside him took longer to understand, Jamal got immediately what he wanted to say. He gazed at him insistently and said while waving his hand around him " you mean that among them... ".

Before he finished, Glenn nodded " yes, there are some simple workers who don't wish to fight ".

Jamal's face changed. From the start, when he was still in Stainfall, he was worried about this matter. At that period, when Lina and he were planning about how would he deal with each city, they found that Palet city was among those whose case was the most complicated. And one of the reasons was that its mayor, whom he just met with, couldn't give them a real description of their situation. So using the little pieces of information they had, they concluded that they would have to base their strategy on the number of people he would gather along his journey.

" Mr. Glenn, when you told us about your situation you said that the criminals were divided into three clans, is it still the case? " Jamal asked him while entering in a state of concentration to establish a plan.

The mayor bowed his head desolate while he responded, " yes, unfortunately. Most of the time, we are battling with only one of them, the nearest, and even if we lost many of us thank god we managed to keep up. But lately, the two other clans who used to clash with us very rarely as they lived far away from us, enhanced suddenly the number of their attacks. I advanced the idea that maybe they decided to move because of the lack of resources in their previous areas. Anyway, now they're all around we will have to deal with the three of them ".

" How can you differentiate one clan from another? " Sania asked innocently.

The man turned his head and showed her a smile full of amusement and confidence when he replied, with a very kind voice, " I have spent almost my whole life living in this city, I have been its mayor for 20years, I know every single one of my people whatever they are criminals or not, so yes I can differentiate them because I know very well each of them all ".

For a short moment, she asked herself if he was saying that to impress her. [ Is he trying actually to seduce me? It may be finally my chance to find a partner, I'm tired of being single while everyone around has already found a lover ] she was telling herself but she put those thoughts aside to focus on the discussion [ there are things more important to care ].

" You said that there was a first group which used to attack you but then two others joined them and are they are three. Does that mean that from the start you're just going through their assaults and you've never fought back and challenged them on a battlefield? " Volga asked him, which from the tone she used, sounded more like a reproach than a question. Nelson seemed to have the same opinion as he made a sign with his head to show that he was supporting her statement.

Jamal, firstly, thought that Glenn would be going mad because of all those reproaches against him or at least a little upset, but he surprisingly remained calm while he was justifying himself.

" You surely think that I'm a coward because I've avoided the fight to my townspeople for all this time or maybe you think that I'm, rather, a hypocrite and an evil because I'm sending you, a group of strangers, to go win a battle against our own enemies, don't you? " he chuckled but immediately carried on before anyone could reply, " so I think you won't be surprised if I tell you that you're right. I'm a coward and a hypocrite. My first motivation has always been to protect my people. I have two houses, this mansion and another one which was owned by my parents near, even if this one gets destroyed now or becomes too dangerous to live in, there would be another one, enough big to contain the entire population which is remaining after the catastrophe ". He lifted his arms and made a move to show his surroundings, " it is well built, surrounded by tall walls, and thus, easy to defend. We are auto sufficient in terms of food, so our survival is guaranteed ". He landed down his hands and carried on, still with a calm tone, " so why would I have sent them in the battlefield with the high risk to die there, while there are already so few of them remaining? "

" Yeah, you're right, " Volga sighed " I find that pretty selfish and a bit stupid. Did you think about the alternative that we wouldn't come? You would have been resolved to live here for the rest of your life with your cherished people? "

" Yeah, I guess " he responded with less confidence in his voice than before while moving his sight from Volga to Jamal. " What would be the problem? "

" What would be the problem, huh ? " she repeated. She closed her eyes for a short moment, acting like she was thinking before she responded, " let's suppose like we didn't come and your townspeople accept to stay here hiding behind those walls and waking up every morning to defend this castle from the outlaws and let's see what would probably happen. We already know that you get the most difficulties containing them and therefore, you get too many casualties and lose too many of your men, which infer that one day they would finally crush your defense, but let's be more optimistic. Let's say all things go well, that you manage to maintain them away from you and live peacefully here for a moment without putting a step outside, however, it will come a moment where you will run out of munitions and you will no longer be able to protect yourselves and once the outlaws notice that, they will raid inside your castle and will start killing everyone, some of you will try to escape hoping to find security in the other cities or your second mansion but those hopes will be ripped apart when you will find that the outlaws have surrounded the whole castle... what will leave you no way out ". She laid her palms on the table and leaned toward him, " do you understand? In any case, you would have been killed, tortured and your women enslaved, reduced to mere sex dolls ".

Glenn tightened his fists and everyone noticed that he was losing his calm. " So where is the meaning if in any case, whether we fought or not we would have died anyway? " he said, irritated.

Volga intended to respond to him when Nelson raised his hand as to ask her to let him continue from there, which she gladly accepted with a nod.

" Can you tell me please the reason why you've stayed here and didn't flee to hide in Stainfall with the rest of your companions you've sent there? For what reason do you think all of us have stayed to continue the war and didn't run away, even though many of us already knew that we would have died there if Jamal didn't come to help us? Why do you think we didn't run away? "

" ... " the man gazed down without responding even though he did know the response.

" If you don't know, let me tell you why. Because if we didn't the criminals would have moved, looking for other places to put the chaos, they would have followed us until Stainfall and thus we would have brought the war there and our townspeople, as well as the other innocent people, would have no longer be safe, " Nelson lowered his voice, " do you realize now how irresponsible it was to let them be, what if they got tired of attacking this house day after day vainly and decide to move to another city until they reach Stainfall, you would have been the principal responsible for the deaths they would have caused ".

At those words he lost control, he stood up and burst out, " so what is the point to tell me all those things!! " he shouted, catching the attention of all the people who were there. A woman, the one they had seen earlier, as they were looking for their room, left her seat and walked toward him in the intention to calm him down but Jamal stopped her and indicated to her that she shouldn't interfere.

" Do you want me to regret having preserved their lives! " Glenn carried on while waving his hand to point the people around " Why do you tell me that? You want me to tell them to go lose their lives on the battlefield while waiting for some helpers to come?! "

" We want you to tell them to go win this war for you, for their friends and families, we want to tell them to fight to stay alive... not just staying waiting to die, " Jamal replied as he thought it was finally his turn to intervene after Volga and Nelson had fulfilled their part of the job.

" To say the truth, even though we do think it was irresponsible to avoid the fight, we were also pretty glad you did that because we thought that your intentions were to preserve the number of your soldiers for the final battle. But honestly, look at them, " he said while pointing the Palet's citizens " from the start they were listening to us but no one could stand to defend you, not because they don't love you but because they are scared, intimidated by us. We are about to go on your town final battle but your men are very lacking in fight spirit, at this state they will be useless on the battlefield, just a stack of dead weights. It's your responsibility to motivate them to be able to fight with all their hearts and to defend their city, instead of being just an encumbrance to us. And unless you make up your mind to be ready to put your lives in the line we will not work with you. Don't expect us to clean your trash for you. As I told you earlier I'm a helper, not a hero ".

Jamal left the table and walked silently toward the exit, then, Volga, Nelson, and Sania stood up one by one to follow him and later all their men imitated them. Glenn and his townspeople were left there, silent while gazing down shameful without knowing what should they do.

•••

" What's the meaning of all this show? Why go this far until upsetting such a lovely man? " Sania asked the three main leaders, more annoyed than intrigued, while they were walking through the hallway.

" His men. Didn't you see? They were acting as if it was more our combat rather than theirs. They didn't even act like people who were about to go in a dreadful war, it was as if they were already celebrating, " Nelson responded while staring forward him without glancing even once at Sania. " We had to do that to shake their spirits, they had to stop relying too much on us and more on themselves, " he paused while glancing at her from the corner of his eyes before he added, " you could have noticed all that if you were not busy staring at the eyes of him ".

Her face turned red, not of embarrassment but anger. Even though he was two times right, she didn't like the way he spoke to her, as if she was one of his subordinates whom he had the responsibility to correct. She promised herself that one day she would make him pay.

They penetrated in the wide room where they had decided earlier to make it their strategy room. The captains of the teams were surrounding a table on which a map was spread out and started plotting about how should they proceed to deal with the three clans of outlaws while the rest of the army was behind them listening attentively.

•••

A few moments later, someone knocked on the door. They all turned their heads and found Glenn standing at the entrance, his whole army behind him, looking more motivated than they were earlier. He had replaced his calm face and his warm smile with a serious face while his two eyes were illustrating all his determination to fight.

" We came to firstly apologize for our cowardice. We are resolved to fight against the outlaws and to end up this war which has lasted too long. So in the name of Palet city, I'm asking you to come helping us to accomplish this goal " he said with a strong voice.

A smile slowly appeared on Jamal's face while all the attention was slowly drawn toward him. They were waiting for him to answer their request in the name of the alliance of both armies from Short-river and Montclay.

" Man, you really have taken your time, " he chuckled before he shouted, " of course we will help you, we came here for that after all! " All the people around screamed happily while applauding Glenn and his people for their proof of courage. Jamal made a sign of the hand calling him to approach while saying, " come on here, we still have many important things to discuss and clarify before our plan becomes complete. We don't have time to waste, I recall you that tomorrow we have to wake up early to go kill some villains ".