Jeff Inlo - Pure Choice

Sy waved a dismissing hand to the remaining soldiers in the room.

"The rest of you need to leave us alone. Thank you."

"I think they should stay," Ryson requested before anyone could move.

Sy glared at the delver. A tense silence gripped the room, but only for a moment. Through gritted teeth, the guard captain demanded an explanation with one word.

"Why?" he growled with a dubious expression and a growing annoyance at having yet another of his orders questioned by the delver.

Ryson noted the hostile emotion of the town's captain. He didn't fear being left alone with Sy, wasn't worried about being admonished or reprimanded, but Sy was his friend-one of his very few close friends-and the delver believed that the situation had simply grown too tense. He wished to avoid an angry confrontation.

"Because I don't think this should be a private conversation. You've obviously got a problem with me about what happened tonight. Personally, I think this is a bad time to discuss it. We should take some time to think about what happened, but it's clear you're not going to wait. If we have to have this out tonight… alone… both of us may say something we regret, and I don't want that to happen. If you want to talk privately, it should wait until tomorrow."

"Last I checked, this was my office. If I want privacy, I think I'm entitled."

"And last I checked, I'm not one of your soldiers. You can't order me to stay. You want privacy? I'll leave as well."

Sy shook his head. The delver was doing it again; inserting his independence in a way that contradicted the captain's authority. He didn't like it, but short of having Ryson arrested-and that would have been a grave mistake under the circumstances-there was little he could do about it. He glared at the delver, but only for a moment. He would not be goaded into an outburst, especially in front of his soldiers.

He accepted the situation as it was, but he would not relinquish his authority. He was going to take control of the situation whether the delver accepted it or not. He called out to the sergeant that was making his way through the front door.

"Fine," Sy offered with a resolute nod. "Klusac, stay here. This shouldn't take long. You can handle my orders when we're done here. The rest of you can leave. Again, thank you. Your service tonight is greatly appreciated." He placed heavy emphasis on the word 'service' and made it obvious he did not hold the delver's actions in the same high regard. He made it a point to give them the credit he believed they deserved and that others, namely Ryson, did not. "You may not get the recognition others do, but I am grateful for your loyalty."

Sy waited for the messengers to depart and then turned a frustrated expression back to Ryson.

"You wanted soldiers here, you get one. That's it, no more. I'm not going to have this out with you in front of an entire audience. You want a witness, it's going to be Klusac." The captain paused out of respect to ask a question of the man he knew would follow his orders. "Is that alright with you, sergeant?"

Klusac simply nodded and took a position off to Sy's side, making his loyalties obvious.

The captain turned back to Ryson and decided to make his own position quite clear.

"If you don't like this, you're free to leave, but when we talk again, it will be in private and I can guarantee you I won't be any less angry than I am right now. If anything, I'm going to be more annoyed that you made me wait to deal with a problem that I feel is critical to the safety of this town."

Ryson decided the sergeant was sufficient. As he said, he didn't want to have the conversation in complete private. People often said things they regretted when there was no one else around. The presence of Klusac was enough to keep things civil, or so he believed.

"I'll stay." Ryson acknowledged. "What is it you want to say to me?"

Sy almost blurted out every angry curse he could recall, but he held his temper in check. He didn't want to admit it, even to himself, but he was actually very thankful Ryson requested someone to remain. Having the sergeant present forced him to address the issue with a greater degree of control.

He decided to cut right to the most important aspect of what he believed was more than just a valid concern, but a matter that could no longer be ignored. He focused not on what he saw as the delver's near insubordinate behavior, but on the consequences of Ryson's actions.

"You put my soldiers in unnecessary danger tonight."

It was a rather broad accusation, and to the delver, an unfair one. Still, he understood the underlying cause. Ryson knew that Sy was referring to his refusal to allow the soldiers to simply kill the rogues. Rather than argue the complicated ethics of his decision, he offered what he felt was a more diplomatic response.

"We all put ourselves in danger. It's part of what we do… part of life. You don't think your soldiers realize they face danger every time they step outside?"

Sy was not deterred.

"Not unnecessary danger. You can try to paint in any way you want, but that's inexcusable!"

Ryson realized his attempt at diplomacy was not going to be effective. There was too much hostility. He felt it himself; a swelling dissatisfaction that he believed came from Sy's lack of appreciation for the delver's service… and beliefs.

"Why don't you come out and say what you mean?"

"Fine. Your unwillingness to utilize appropriate force with the river rogues hindered us tonight. It wasn't just the rogues that got through some broken drainage gate; a goblin raid broke through our defenses. That's totally unacceptable. Things spiraled out of control tonight, I'll take ownership of that. My soldiers were distracted because I didn't prepare them properly, but that doesn't change the issue I have with you. You cannot dictate to me how I protect this town, especially when it puts people in danger. Rogues came into this town to kill us. We have every right to protect ourselves."

"I'm not trying to dictate what you do. I only told you what I was willing to do. You asked for my help. I wasn't going to help you find the rogues so you could kill them. If you wanted to shoot them down, you should have gone after them yourself."

"And that's exactly what I'm talking about. You're putting your own preferences ahead of the safety of this town."

Ryson felt the charge was not only unfair, but completely ludicrous.

"The safety of the town? I've saved this town more times than I can count. If I'm not mistaken, I saved it again tonight."

"You keep trying to change the subject. This is about your decision regarding the rogues!"

"And that's just a matter of opinion. You see it one way. I see it another. I said it before, I'm not a soldier in your guard. I don't have to follow your orders."

"You may not be an official soldier, but we pay you to work as a scout."

"Pay? This is about money? Unbelievable. Go try to hire another delver to do everything I do for what you pay me. Good luck."

"No, this is not about money!" Sy responded with growing impatience. "Whether you are paid or not is irrelevant. You're a member of this town. Everyone else does what is expected of them. Civilians follow orders, just like the soldiers… everyone but you!"

The delver quickly became as equally annoyed as the captain. He did not appreciate Sy's tone or his claims.

"And that's what this is really about, isn't it?" Ryson shot back. "You have everyone under your control, but not me. You tell people what to do and they all just jump right to it, but not me. That's what's really bothering you. Isn't it?"

Clenching his teeth in mounting resentment, Sy found the accusation totally unjustified. He was not some dictator that issued edicts at a whim. He was willing to give his life to protect the people of Burbon. If it was simply control he was after, he could have clapped the delver in irons and let him sit in the stockade for several days. Rather than make that threat, he pointed out a very clear truth as to the consequences of several mistakes made on that evening.