Quoted By:
"What are they doing?"
Metal Knight asks one of his soldiers. Out of sheer curiosity you decided to follow him as you are pretty interested in what's going on.
"M'lord they are coming to the castle! They vandalize everything that gets in their way!"
"Hmmmm. Ready the men. But do not do anything unless I order you to!"
"Yes my liege!"
Meanwhile his son is walking beside him acting like a busybody.
"Father! Why don't you just send out the men to crush them?! Those Birkans are nothing but lousy vagrants and criminals who do nothing but steal!"
"Silence boy! We will not do such a thing!"
"But-"
"But what? Why do you think they are the way they are? Sure, some of them are good for nothing thieves and brigands. But the rest are just people who lost their home. They only steal because they need to in order to survive and to take care of their loved ones."
"But that was years ago! And none of them even tried to earn an honest living! I'm telling you they are just dirty, filthy-"
Metal Knight then smacks his son with the back of his hand.
"And why do you think that is? They are hated and mistrusted. Nobody is willing to give them their time of the day. It'd be one thing if they refused to cooperate with us but they were never offered a chance! And so they had to resort to crime out of desperation. They now bear the stigma of criminals and the odds of anyone employing them is less than zero. Now they rightfully claim we mistreat them! We will NOT abuse them! Understood?"
The boy meekly nods after being chewed out by his father.
"Good. Now follow me. I want you to see this. See the desperation in their eyes."
Metal Knight steps out to the balcony and below him in the courtyard a small sea of people is visible. All the birkans with their goatish features are brandishing torches and pitchforks while they yell profanities. At first the king tries to calm everyone down but when that fails he takes his axe and strums the strings, unleashing a beautiful yet terrifying wail from it.
"PEOPLE OF BIRKA! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? Why are you terrorizing my kingdom?"
The one you presume to be the leader of the mob steps out. He is an old man with a very long but thin beard. Next to him stands a woman brandishing a red flag. From her dented armor and her voice you recognize her as the Angel Knight.
"Baaaaa! King Metal Knight! We the people of Birka have had enough of your abuse. For years we've toiled under you with nary a thank you for our work. Either kill us here and now or let us go! We will not be your prisoners any longer!"
"You are free to leave whenever you wish! Nobody is keeping you here!"
Now Angel Knight steps forth.
"You'd condemned us to exile, knowing we wouldn't last a day out there! We demand a months worth of food for everyone and a million bellies per person for what we suffered under your rule!"
