"The general meeting, of course, turned out to be very opportune," Pavel continued, "but now we'll raise a different topic. Tell me again, what's on their minds?"
"From what I've been told, I gather the following," Max replied. "A few village elders have formed a group and are quietly bringing the people under their control. They're separating us—those who came from this base—from all the newcomers. It's clear that in the fighting units, the vast majority of people form close ties; many of them know these elders well, and it's clear they understand each other better than we do. So, with their help, the elders are inciting the others to join them against us. According to them, we're cruel murderers and bastards. They need us to defeat the gang, but then, they say, we'll become more bandits
