Meanwhile, just as two orcs and two systems were attempting to survive the onslaught of excited attendees, and just as one bamboozled aide was actively trying to dissuade his lord from entertaining thoughts that would absolutely qualify as dangerous, the people who were actually supposed to be working were only just beginning to wake up.
One.
Then three.
Then four.
Groggy figures stirred across the grass, blinking in confusion as consciousness returned in uneven waves. Most of them sat up slowly, rubbing their faces and trying to reconcile the fact that the ground had apparently doubled as a luxury mattress.
To the growing horror of one particular duke, however, not everyone was waking up.
