"We're the descendants of the first crusaders! This is what we were born for! If we don't try to help, what's even the point?"

"If you don't enjoy living underground then attempting to migrate to the surface is a reasonable thing to do. Even your civilians can still support a war effort by producing the supplies a military needs, by having some of their number enlist, by paying taxes to those who organize those projects - but today a demon lord attacked in person. The effort of getting you integrated into whatever response is going on up there and provisioned and trained and so on would better have happened a year ago. A month ago, even."

"I've tried to get a group together to fight through the Shield Maze before, but no one listened. There hasn't been another way up in thousands of gongs, until today. But if things up there are as bad as you say, that makes it more important to help, not less."

"It is easily possible for untrusted new recruits, especially ones who come with a large civilian population, to be more trouble than they are worth if they come at a time when everyone has more important things to do than evaluate and settle them. If you had already been there when the demons arrived, you could have been of some help. But whether your arrival now aids or hinders the response depends on a lot of things we do not know."

"Most of us are hunters, not civilians." He sighs. "But if you really think we should leave everyone else here for now and come back for them later, it's not like I know how uplanders run their armies."

"My perspective as any single perspective is limited. I think this is not a time for the lot of to rush into Kenabres bow already drawn trailing children and elderly behind you. An adventuring party's worth, or even several of those, could more easily find a place, I'd expect."

Nod. "We can point out the best hunters, but if most of the tribe is staying here, enough of the hunters need to stay back to keep everyone fed..."

"The rats and fish are hunted, not just - trapped or netted? Or they aren't the standard fare?"

"We catch the fish in nets. We hunt the rats, and other game when there is any, and it's also the hunters who keep the giant bugs away from Neathholm."

"And here I thought you were about to tell me that mongrels consider the corpses of giant flies to be a delicacy."

That reminds Blai, maybe now that they're in something like a civilization they should see if the mongrels are equipped to lawfully arrest Camellia on suspicion of murder. ...he's not sure it's a great idea. She's docile right now, and the mongrels do not seem to be a powerful people easily equipped to hold casters, even novice ones. So instead. "That reminds me, we should set a watch. Do you normally do this - I suppose perhaps except for the Fiducia you have no particular connection to the time of day so perhaps someone is simply awake at all times?"

"Most people sleep at around the same time — makes it easier to plan meals and so on — but there are always some people awake at night. We won't be offended if you'd rather keep your own watch, though. —There's an empty hut you all are free to sleep in if you'd like."

"What is the added benefit of sheltering in a hut while already in a cave?"

"Keeps out the bugs. ...The little bugs, not the man-sized ones. And it's warmer."

"That makes sense. It's room enough for how many at once?"

"It should fit all of you if you don't mind getting cozy."

"We are not most of us previously acquainted. So, another reason to have a watch rotation."

Right. Well, obviously they can't give Camellia a watch by herself, but leaving her out entirely would be more conspicuous. It's probably safest to pair her with... Blai, he's the hardiest, and if she decides to go for someone who's sleeping he should be competent to stop her long enough to rouse everyone. They should still be far enough out from dawn that they can split the schedule three ways and get everyone at least six hours. If she really needed Gwerm to take a watch, she could probably spin it, but it'd involve horribly insulting the mongrels, and that doesn't really seem worth it.

"Right, Camellia, Select Artigas, you two can take first watch, so you can get a nice unbroken block of sleep before you have to prepare your spells. I'll take second watch. Seelah, you can take third. Any objections?"

"Fine by me."

"I suppose that is acceptable."

Clerics do not need unbroken sleep to prepare spells and he's not sure if shamans do but he certainly likes unbroken sleep and if she stays up late Camellia's that much less likely to decide to pull something instead of crashing when it's her turn to lie down. "Very well. But first I should Create us some supper. Ten minutes."

And everybody's suggestions can be incorporated into a nice big feast spread.

Everyone is extremely enthusiastic about this!

Some of the children in the village want to know if they have stories about fighting demons. Or other monsters, that would also be okay, but they especially want to hear about fighting demons.

He can probably adequately sanitize some stories about fighting demons so they are still true and do not call into question how exactly he spent most of the last twenty years, sure. Especially if they don't have to be firsthand stories.

The children are so excited about this!