As Aris moved around the room greeting people, I took a look around myself. It was an eclectic group. They ranged in ages from early twenties to mid-fifties. There were fewer women than men, but not by much. One thing that struck me though, they all looked physically strong and capable, and determined. Eventually I did a head count, and just as I concluded that there were twenty-nine people in the room, I heard Aris call for attention.
He began by thanking everyone for making it on such short notice. Then he told them about Vokkel"s threat and began to lay out his plan, complete with his lie about his source in Vokkel"s camp. I tried to catch everyone"s reaction, hoping to see someone"s expression betray their allegiance, but there were just too many people to observe at once. If we had a
