Revolutions

131 - Legido

It's their wide smiles amidst the decay and degradation that you find to be the most unsettling. Still reeling from the shock of Xiatlidar's wretched state, the settlers around you now stand face-to-face with the two men who promised them paradise. Vitor Criato and Atelmaro Ulloa stride towards you, their expressions unnervingly bright, as if they've just stepped out of the grandeur they'd sold you on back in the homeland. But here, surrounded by the rot and ruin of their so-called utopia, those smiles feel like a cruel joke that the rest of you haven't heard yet—or worse, a truth that you are all too late to understand.

Criato extends his arms as if to embrace the newcomers. His cheeks are flushed, and he exudes a kind of oily charm, the kind that slides off him like sweat. Beside him, the younger renowned explorer, Ulloa, maintains his rigid expression, as if trying out the concept of smiling for the first time. The two men look almost out of place in their finery—Criato in his meticulously tailored coat, its deep crimson fabric untouched by dirt, and Ulloa in his elaborate vest, adorned with gold embroidery and numerous ribbons that catch the dim light. Their faces are clean-shaven and their hair carefully groomed, as if the squalor around them simply doesn't exist in their world.

"Welcome, welcome to Xiatlidar!" Criato's voice rings out, rich and booming, as if he's addressing a gathering of nobility rather than a group of haggard, disillusioned settlers. "You've finally arrived at the place we spoke of so fondly. The land of opportunity, the promise of new beginnings!"

The settlers exchange uneasy glances. The hollow-eyed, gaunt faces they passed on their way in, the stench of decay, and the sagging buildings—they speak of anything but opportunity. And yet here are these two men, standing with an air of pride as if they've brought you to a hidden gem rather than a festering wound in the heart of a foreign land.

Sensing the uncertainty, the veteran Criato takes another step forward with an unwavering expression. "I'm sure it must be overwhelming, seeing Xiatlidar for the first time. But fear not! With time, you'll come to understand the great opportunity that lies before you."

There's that word again, 'opportunity'. How could anyone see this desolate place as an opportunity? Your gaze once again drifts to the settlers already here—the hollow-eyed figures who watch from the shadows with expressions void of hope. They are the true testament to what awaits you, what Iker tried to warn you about.

Captain Lema looks about the setting warily. "What has... happened here?" he asks, struggling to conjure the question as he takes in the state of disrepair.

Criato's smile falters for a moment—so quick you might have imagined it—before he smoothly recovers. "Ah, the forest, my dear captain. It's a wild, untamed thing, you see. We've faced challenges, certainly, but that's the nature of exploration, isn't it? Any experienced adventurer would understand. We knew it wouldn't be easy, but the rewards... oh, the rewards are still within our grasp."

Your group looks at one another, confused. What rewards await in a place like this? Some are noticeably trying to convince themselves that what they're seeing is some kind of mistake, something temporary. But others don't seem as easily swayed, including Captain Lema, who inspects the settlement skeptically.

"I would've thought," the captain says with a tinge of suspicion, "that having the Great Xiatli present would have lead to a more... thriving settlement, no?"

"Paradise doesn't come without effort, Captain," Criato insists. "It is something to be built, to be earned. What you see now... it's merely the foundation. A place where the true glory of our Sapa will soon shine through."

Ulloa nods stoically in agreement, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. Speaking to nobody in particular, he proclaims, "Indeed, we were chosen by Xiatli Himself to lead this endeavor, to shape this land into a beacon of prosperity. And you, all of you, have been selected to be part of this grand vision."