Once the group had arrived back at the wagon, Buwaro went inside and began scrawling on some paper with a pencil tied to his claw, barely noticing that Sahne and Lakritz were finally back. He didn't speak to anyone for some time, writing out notes on more and more paper. It was almost half an hour before he looked satisfied, and slid the two pieces of paper he hadn't crumpled up to his right. He then began sketching a fairly poor drawing.
Kieri watched over his shoulder the entire time and, when she saw what he was doing, began to give him advice – as well as point out spelling errors.
Another half-hour had passed before he was satisfied with his work, and he walked outside with the papers. Lakritz, Sahne, Iratu, Kinako, Kazai, and Zahariah were all talking quietly in Angelic, but they all glanced over when he came out. "What was that about?" Sahne asked.
"Had to do some writing," Buwaro said. "I'll look at it again in a while. In the meantime, Iratu, could you tell everyone to meet at the Melli statue tomorrow morning, an hour after dawn or so?"
Iratu blinked. "...okay," he said quietly. "Why?"
"I need to talk to everyone," Buwaro said. "I need to make an offer."
Heathcliff sighed. "I can't take an entire army with me, Buwaro," he said.
"I'm not asking you to," Buwaro replied. "I'll ask only for a few supplies, at most. I want to set up a place for anyone wanting to leave the Stupid War."
Heathcliff slowly nodded, already realizing – likely ahead of Buwaro – that he'd need more than "a few" supplies. "Okay. Where would you set this up?"
"No idea. Know any places that'd work?"
The middle-aged man frowned. "Maybe talk with the local mayor," he said. "I'm sure he could get you in to see the Fragarian Council, if you were polite enough."
"Then I'll need some help with that," the young Fire Demon said, looking to Kieri pointedly. She nodded in understanding as Iratu left with a wave.
<So what's happening, exactly?> Kazai asked.
<It seems Buwaro wants to create a third group,> Kinako said, <one of Angels and Demons who don't want to fight in the Great War.>
<Admirable,> Zahariah said, <but I'm not sure if it'll work. I'd like it to, but...>
<Wouldn't we all,> Sahne replied quietly.
For Buwaro, the rest of that day was spent reviewing and redoing his notes. Kieri helped him sketch a better version of his drawing, and with his approval traced it so that they had several copies.
Heathcliff was feeling generous, and only made them pay for the crumpled papers.
@@@@
The next morning, Heathcliff woke the two lovebirds early, so that they could make it up to the statue in time. Rhea elected to stay behind with Melli, Meeros, and the Sinclairs, while Jake took to the road with Buwaro and Kieri. He intended to relay the message back to Rhea, and to keep an eye out for trouble.
Fritz and Sugar were both faster than he was, so in a worst-case scenario, he had a pair of notes he'd scrawled, saying that they were in trouble, to tuck in their collars.
Finally, the group made it to the statue. Now, it was just a waiting game.
Demons began to arrive. Even many Angels showed up, as Kazai, Kinako, and Zahariah had spread the word about the young Duke and his meeting. Buwaro grimaced as he saw Lazuli and a few other familiar faces show up – most of them Demons from yesterday.
And now that he thought about it, he recognized Azurai from Hell, too.
Finally, counting at least eighty people, Buwaro decided to start. "Thank you all for coming," he said finally, trying to speak as loudly as he could. Hopefully he wouldn't choke too badly. As he spoke, Kinako translated to Angelic.
"I have been, at best, frustrated by what most people think of as the 'Great War.' I can't imagine a war being great," he began. A few chuckles rippled through the crowd, even as he continued, "especially one that, according to my brother Iratu, has reduced the number of living Demons to five digits. Only tens of thousands at most. My friend and girlfriend, Kieri, says that Angels aren't faring much better, either. I wouldn't know in either case; I basically grew up isolated, away from any knowledge or understanding of what I've been calling the Stupid War. But what I do understand is this: we can't continue like this.
"To that extent, I want to end the war, without more people dying in it. I don't know if I can even do that, but I'm willing to try." He took a deep breath. "Iratu told me that there's some politics in this war, too. That there are Demons who are in charge, who want this war to continue until their 'enemy' is gone, and who can't be easily overthrown. I'll bet there are Angels like that too. So rather than deal with them, I want to, as Sno – Kieri, put it, undercut them entirely. If there are so few Angels anymore, and so few Demons, then there shouldn't be that many Demons and Angels willing to die for some jerks in charge who don't care about the people they're sending off to die.
"So, this is my plan," he said, then took a deep breath, while Kieri, Zahariah, and Kazai began to hand out the drawings – drawings of a banner. The picture was of a Demon's clawed hand, with an Angel's halo wrapped around its wrist, reaching towards a four-pointed star. "I want to start a completely separate group. One of Angels and Demons, working together to defend ourselves, our friends, our families. My hope is to draw the support away from the Stupid War, enough to make it impossible to continue – and impossible to attack us for so-called 'betrayal' of these 'war hawks'."
A murmur went up at that – to Buwaro's untrained ear, it seemed positive, so he took heart as he continued, smiling hopefully. "This would be, in a way, a revolution. A protest of the War, right in our own homes, and taking refuge somewhere we could be safe from the War as a whole. Friends, family, anyone and everyone is welcome, if they can stomach not killing their so-called enemies.
"You will notice some pages being passed around," he added. "These are a rough idea of the banner we would use – the clawed hand of a Demon, with the halo of an Angel, reaching to the stars. The two of us, united in the desire for hope, for a future – not just for ourselves, but for our children, and their children, and theirs. It was the best idea I had at the time," he chuckled, and a few more chuckles rippled through the crowd. "I am serious, though," he added. "I want this War to end, and I want it to end with as few people dying from it as possible. I want to know who is with me in this endeavor. I intend to do this, as the Shadow that Dances With Light, and I intend to protect you all should it come to that."
Silence slowly overtook the meeting. Buwaro finally stated, "You don't have to decide right away. But I would like to know where you stand sometime soon."
The crowd began to shift and part as Lazuli moved forward. She glared at Buwaro, who tried to remain stoic. "You really think this is going to change anything?" she asked angrily. "Your damned girlfriend killed my friend, my ally. Talus is gone because of her."
"And you did attack her before that, right?" Buwaro replied cooly. "I'm not saying you have no reason to grieve. I'm saying you have no reason to be angry with her. War kills people. That's why I'm against it."
The Water Demon hesitated, until Kieri came forward and stood before Lazuli. She then sat down on her legs and bowed her head. "If you intend me harm, do it now," she said quietly.
"Kieri?" Buwaro asked, having not expected this.
"I truly mean to apologize," Kieri said, her head not lifting. "I did not come here of my own volition, and I certainly did not come here to hunt Demons. I was originally terrified of you, and I lashed out unthinkingly because I feared my death." She hesitated. "Buwaro loves me, and I love him. I don't know if you and Talus felt the same way, but regardless of your feelings for each other, I truly apologize."
Silence reigned as Lazuli's face turned stony. "I've been hunting you for months," she growled lowly, "trying to avenge him...and you tell me now that you're sorry?" Kieri only nodded. Several tense seconds passed before Lazuli sighed, her guard dropping, her expression exasperated. "You're sitting there, like you're begging for me to take out my anger on you. Why?"
"For sincerity," Kieri replied. "Though, it would likely not be the most painful thing I have endured anyway."
"Why's that?" Lazuli asked.
"I would rather not say publicly," she murmured, "but..." A moment of silence reigned as she hesitated.
<In short,> Kazai said, having gotten the translation from Kinako, <her mother – our mother – is a monster worse than anything we'd even dreamed you capable of. Considering Heaven's official stance on Demons, that should say a lot.>
Murmurs rippled through the crowd again as Lazuli's eyes widened. <What?> she choked. <What'd she do, beat the girl daily?>
<Nearly,> Kieri snorted.
That almost caused an uproar. Outraged Demons began talking in loud, shocked voices, and Angels shouted in equal anger. "P-please, calm down!" Buwaro shouted. "The issue of Kieri's mother is neither here nor there. I have my grudges, you have yours. We all have our issues with each other. But we need to put them aside, if this War is to end."
"I agree." All eyes turned to Lazuli, who stared at her feet, her clawed hands balled into fists. "I think you're right," she continued, her head raising again. "She's right, much as I hate to admit it. It's not her fault we're at war. It's not mine either. I wish Talus hadn't died, but I can't do anything about it now." She swallowed, taking Kieri's hand and hauling her up. "I don't think I can forgive you just yet. But I'm willing to hold back my wrath, at least. Especially if it means no one else dies."
Buwaro waited for the murmurs to die down. "Thank you for your time," he said. "If you have any questions, or want to help me set this up, please, come to the Sinclair wagon. I'll be there for the time being." He bowed deeply, as he'd seen Kieri do, and the huge crowd dispersed. The boy held onto Kieri the entire way back to the wagon, clinging to her like a life raft.
Perhaps she was, with the winds of change blowing as hard as they were. And he'd been the one to set them into motion. He wasn't sure he was really ready for the responsibility, but he had to try.
For his sake, and for Kieri's.
@@@@
The day didn't see many visitors. Buwaro began to get nervous, and when no one had shown up by nightfall, he was visibly stressed, pacing and drinking water. Kieri was able to calm him by saying, "They may be working on their questions. It's alright, Buwaro – what will happen will happen."
He still didn't sleep well that night.
The next morning, about a half-hour after the sun rose, three Demons approached him – an Earth, a Water, and a Wind. The Earth Demon was the first to speak. "We did some talking," he said, "and we might have some ideas, dependin' on how you wanna do this."
"Alright," Buwaro said, "just a moment." He quickly got some paper and a pencil, and began scribing for them at a separate table.
One thing that would be important was a place to base their operations from. With skilled Earth mages, they could form stone bricks to make into walls, and construct the walls with those bricks and stones. Plenty of lumber would be needed for homes, as well. "It might be best to make an outright town or city, and make it well-fortified," the Wind Demon shrugged.
"A good idea," Rhea nodded as Buwaro wrote it down.
"And we'll want a good neutral territory to stake out," the Water Demon said. "Median governments wouldn't take too kindly to a sovereign power like this in their land."
"Fair, I guess," Buwaro muttered. "Rhea, any ideas?"
"Heck, go back west to Farun and stuff," Rhea shrugged. "There's plenty of unsettled land out that way. Make a trade deal with Fragaria maybe?"
"Sounds good to me," Buwaro smiled.
At that moment, a small contingent of guards approached the wagon from down the street. They looked to be well-armed and armored, and Buwaro grimaced at the sight. "You might want to leave," he told the three Demons, standing up and walking out to meet them. The three Demons took his advice, nervously glancing back at the guards and their hopeful leader.
A woman stood at the front, armed in breastplate with thick chainmail underneath. It looked heavier than most armor of the same style, but it looked well-made as well. "Are you the Shadow that Dances With Light?" she asked, her voice strong and clear as she came within easy speaking distance of Buwaro.
"Yes ma'am," Buwaro replied, his voice barely clear of tremors. "And you?"
"I'm the one putting you under arrest," she replied. "We are under orders to take you to Ghardin City for questioning."
Buwaro frowned. "Is there a reason for that?" he asked. "I don't recall committing any crimes, unless you count a couple fights I got in."
She blinked for a moment, surprised, and said calmly, "I'm just following orders, sir. Please come with us."
"May I have some friends come with me?" he asked. "Without putting them in chains?"
"...fine," the guard-woman said. "Anyone who wishes may come with us," she called to the surprised wagon of friends.
Heathcliff sighed. "So much for enjoying the festival," he said with a shake of his head. "Kinako, Sahne, Lakritz," he added, "tell everyone that we're going to be gone for a while. We'll be back as soon as possible – promise."
"Yes sir," Lakritz nodded seriously.
Within five minutes, the wagon was packed up, and the guards were escorting the Sinclair wagon down the road. Kieri was concerned at the interruption – why would Buwaro be under arrest?
Did it have something to do with that dreadful assassin? She hoped not.