"Hart, you betrayed us!?"
When Volod learned that Hart had sent the message through the snowstorm last night by a special means, he glared at him in the corner.
Hart nearly laughed at the baseless accusation. "You betrayed President Phelan. What right do you have to question me?"
"Phelan hired us! We're not his lackeys, ready to die for him!"
"Enough."
Captain Reyne stood in the doorway, blocking out all the light and snow outside.
"The forces of the Broken Mountains are on their way. You have two choices: die as our enemies or stand with us."
"Reyne, you know me."
Without hesitation, Volod stepped beside Captain Reyne.
Hart spat at him, but Volod showed no shame. "We're paid to do a job. Why die for it?"
Seeing Hart hesitate, Rofi grew anxious outside the door.
If he surrenders too, I'll lose another Master Level corpse...
Deputy Captain Skeeter glanced at her. "You've got enough keels to assemble a whole squad of Chromatic Dragons. Isn't that enough?"
"Would you ever think you had too much wealth?" Rofi counted on her fingers. "Besides, bones need refurbishing, polishing, fitting, replacing... You can't just grab any old bone and use it, okay?"
Captain Reyne gave Hart time to think, then looked at the last Archmage.
"How much will you pay?" the Archmage asked bluntly.
"The same as us."
The Archmage quietly moved beside Volod. "If you lose again, I'm not giving the money back."
Hart was the only one left again. He said firmly, "President Phelan helped me. I won't betray him."
"All right. I respect your choice."
Captain Reyne spoke with respect. "I'll give you the honor you deserve."
A few minutes later, Hart was pushed onto the open ground, bound by Magic Shackles.
The miners who had chosen support work gathered