Necromancer's Descent

43 - Propaganda and Limits of Healing

Nao's Point of View

Joshua ended up sitting on top of Marengo's head, surprisingly obedient, once Henrietta let him free of being her little plaything.

He pointed down this road, and then didn't bother doing anything more, being surprisingly well behaved. The knights around us seemed uncomfortable seeing him move, so him just sitting there without moving, may be the best thing right now.

Which brings us to the current moment... as we arrive at... the first and only village I've been to... the one where I got found out...

But... everything is different from last I was here...

The houses might not themselves have changed, but they've been cleaned, and are decorated with dried flower wreaths, so as if to remove a bit of the dreary feeling that laid over the village, with whatever they had at hand... but despite the wreaths being dried, they're tossing petals at Mia. Fresh pink petals. There were no flowers in this village with flowers last I was here, and definitely not those kind of flowers with petals that big.

But that's not the only thing... the population has boomed since I was here last. The once almost deserted village, is brimming with life and smiling faces.

They wouldn't even fit inside the inn.

I don't even think they would fit into the inn, if you had them all stand up, and squished them in there, like a morning train in Tokyo.

They're cleaner than they were last I visited...

And if you look closely, you can see how the hems of some of the dresses, look finer than the dress on the outside.

I look at their eyes as they cheer for us, as we ride through, but it doesn't feel like their joy reaches their eyes.

I glance towards the back of the crowd, where I note the dirtier, poorer audience is placed... probably the original inhabitants of the village.

I glance to Azzo, and the priestess riding in front of me, but Azzo looks stiffly ahead, and the priestess waves back at them awkwardly, forcing a smile, though her eyes look sad.

I look back to the crowd, and then note soldiers hiding by the backs of the buildings, halfway out of sight.

Looking back to the faking euphoric audience, a nauseating feeling wells up in me.

I know what this is.

When a talk-show host is too boring, they hire an audience, and then puts a little screen that tells the audience when to clap, cheer and laugh, all to make the host seem just a little less pathetic.

That's what they are.

Hired people to make Mia look good on her hero journey out.

I look to Mia, who looks to be eating this raw, waving elegantly, smiling proudly, and soaking up the attention.

...but none of her harem seem even vaguely interested in intracting with the cheering people around them.

They're just parading Mia through the village.

I sigh, and glance to the back of the crowd again. Imagine having a bunch of strangers putting on a parade in your village, that always reeks of dead bodies, as dozen after deozen of dead soldiers and knights arrive every day to be burried.