The long night finally passed.
The light of dawn rose little by little.
Nearly half of Abidos had suffered damage.
Fortunately.
The most densely populated district had survived the fighting.
Now.
All the residents of Abidos, along with the surrendered soldiers.
Were gathered in the grand square.
Abidos Grand Square lay in the south of the city, a place for major announcements and public gatherings.
Yet the square had never been so crowded.
Now.
It was a sea of people.
Under the guns of the Sifa Army, the residents and surrendered soldiers remained perfectly docile.
Eight out of ten people there had seen the "fireball" when Sifa breached the city last night.
It had left a deep impression on them.
An impression of something they could neither resist nor defeat.
Laskin's eventual surrender, and that of Abidos itself, had only reinforced that impression.
Now.
They hung their heads, filled with unease.
They had no idea what fate awaited them.
Just then.
A familiar voice rang out.
It was the voice of Laskin, the city lord.
Laskin stood on the raised platform, the flab around his waist plainly visible. He looked around, cleared his throat, and began.
"Citizens of Abidos, I believe you already know what happened yesterday."
Laskin desperately recalled the speech Abrio had given him last night. He had spent several hours memorizing it.
Afraid he might forget, he had even copied it out, but he had been so nervous when taking the stage that he had forgotten to bring it.
Now he could only rely on his memory.
Abrio had already warned him that if he delivered the speech well, he could remain the city lord of Abidos.
He would only have to answer to Sifa.
If he delivered it poorly, however, Abidos would have to find another