Around noon that day, the players who had left the military camp to enjoy themselves trickled back. After Not Playing If I'm Not Having Fun explained the situation, they were furious.
Players could accept difficult quests, even ones that sent them to their deaths. They could respawn, after all. But they could not accept NPCs trying to exploit them for free.
Governor Almeida's behavior was disgusting enough.
So when the envoy arrived outside the camp again and tried to enter, the players turned him away.
Not Playing If I'm Not Having Fun could lead the others in reinforcing the camp's wooden walls.
That afternoon, unrest broke out around Casarina's docks. There was even the boom of cannon fire.
Had the snake-men arrived?
Not Playing If I'm Not Having Fun was puzzled, but he did not dare ignore it. He immediately sent a player out on one of the camp's mere five fast horses, ordering him to ride to the docks and investigate.
Before the dust kicked up by the horse had even settled, the scout returned, panting, with an expression that mixed excitement and disbelief.
"Boss, it's not the snake-men. It's... it's the people at the docks fighting each other!"
The player hurried through his report between breaths.
"Fighting each other? What happened? Explain!"
"It's the people from the Governor's Residence!"
The scout explained.
"That dumbass Almeida must have been scared out of his mind. He sent a squad of soldiers to the docks to forcibly requisition every armed merchant ship still seaworthy, to replenish that fleet of his that's already finished!"
"And then?"
"And then all hell broke loose!"
The player gestured wildly.
"The Makon Alliance's own merchants were manageable. They weren't happy, but they didn't dare openly defy the governor's orders. Mostly, they just cursed and complained.
"But