All of these treasures---
There was so much money here, all sucked up by this woman like she was some kind of leech. The sheer amount of wealth in this one room was more then Robin had ever seen.
There were some people who suffered terribly. Some people who were constantly on the verge of starving.
And yet this enormous amount of wealth lay in this room, horded by criminal greed.
Didn't those people left in the slums deserve it far more? Didn't the people living from day to day, desperate for a full stomach, desperate for a secure tomorrow, deserve it beyond anyone else?
These were the thoughts playing through Robin's mind.
Wouldn't the only acceptable action for one who called herself a hero to be distributing this wealth to those who needed it most?
Not that heroes didn't claim treasure for themselves. There were plenty of stories of heroes finding wealth and taking it for their own. But in this case, when there were so many people being crushed by poverty---
There was only one response that Robin could even fathom.
After all---
Hadn't she suffered in just the same way?
She'd have to speak to the others about this as soon as possible.
---But there was no way she could even mention it. Not now.
She hadn't seen what happened, not exactly. But she'd learned plenty in the past few moments.
Robin wasn't sure what to say. It was kind of overwhelming, but Esben had laid out Ciradyl's entire history.
She'd done so many things that Robin had never even begun to expect. Working within Valheim's structure wasn't something she felt as if she could condone. A hero didn't do such things, did they?
---Did they?
What would she have done?
Robin couldn't say. She couldn't know.
It wasn't something she'd even thought of before.
If these actions were to try and shield innocent people, the very same people that Robin desired to help, could they be called heroic, just as the stories she envisioned in her head at those words?
But she threw away the lives of others who opposed Valheim to achieve her goals, didn't she?
"I---..."
Robin hesitated. Could she even speak about this? Did she know what to say? She wanted to say that she did. She wanted to speak confidently. She preferred to project that kind of image. To feel certain of every action she said, every word she spoke. It was a the root of her behavior.
Her confidence, her assuredness. It was the way in which a hero behaved, after all.
But at the moment, she couldn't find such confidence. Not in the face of a situation that was so knotted up in on itself.
But she did know one thing, at least.
She couldn't agree with Arton's approach.
Robin took a deep breath.
"I don't know if I can say I agree with anything you've done," she began, "Not really. It's not the sort of thing I can claim that I'm alright with. But if it was for the sake of innocent people who could have suffered, I---"
Robin's gaze shifted downwards. She had stepped into this conflict so recently, could she really say anything?
"---I don't know if I can say they were wrong, either."
Her head hung.
"I don't know if I can say I know anything about this at all. But trying to help people who are weak and suffering is something I can't condemn, even if I don't know if I agree with how it was done."
Robin's words faded into silence.
She wasn't sure if she'd helped. She wasn't sure if she'd achieved anything at all. This was so far out of her expectation, so completely overwhelming, that she didn't know the first thing about what to do.
But she had to say something.
There was so much money here, all sucked up by this woman like she was some kind of leech. The sheer amount of wealth in this one room was more then Robin had ever seen.
There were some people who suffered terribly. Some people who were constantly on the verge of starving.
And yet this enormous amount of wealth lay in this room, horded by criminal greed.
Didn't those people left in the slums deserve it far more? Didn't the people living from day to day, desperate for a full stomach, desperate for a secure tomorrow, deserve it beyond anyone else?
These were the thoughts playing through Robin's mind.
Wouldn't the only acceptable action for one who called herself a hero to be distributing this wealth to those who needed it most?
Not that heroes didn't claim treasure for themselves. There were plenty of stories of heroes finding wealth and taking it for their own. But in this case, when there were so many people being crushed by poverty---
There was only one response that Robin could even fathom.
After all---
Hadn't she suffered in just the same way?
She'd have to speak to the others about this as soon as possible.
---But there was no way she could even mention it. Not now.
She hadn't seen what happened, not exactly. But she'd learned plenty in the past few moments.
Robin wasn't sure what to say. It was kind of overwhelming, but Esben had laid out Ciradyl's entire history.
She'd done so many things that Robin had never even begun to expect. Working within Valheim's structure wasn't something she felt as if she could condone. A hero didn't do such things, did they?
---Did they?
What would she have done?
Robin couldn't say. She couldn't know.
It wasn't something she'd even thought of before.
If these actions were to try and shield innocent people, the very same people that Robin desired to help, could they be called heroic, just as the stories she envisioned in her head at those words?
But she threw away the lives of others who opposed Valheim to achieve her goals, didn't she?
"I---..."
Robin hesitated. Could she even speak about this? Did she know what to say? She wanted to say that she did. She wanted to speak confidently. She preferred to project that kind of image. To feel certain of every action she said, every word she spoke. It was a the root of her behavior.
Her confidence, her assuredness. It was the way in which a hero behaved, after all.
But at the moment, she couldn't find such confidence. Not in the face of a situation that was so knotted up in on itself.
But she did know one thing, at least.
She couldn't agree with Arton's approach.
Robin took a deep breath.
"I don't know if I can say I agree with anything you've done," she began, "Not really. It's not the sort of thing I can claim that I'm alright with. But if it was for the sake of innocent people who could have suffered, I---"
Robin's gaze shifted downwards. She had stepped into this conflict so recently, could she really say anything?
"---I don't know if I can say they were wrong, either."
Her head hung.
"I don't know if I can say I know anything about this at all. But trying to help people who are weak and suffering is something I can't condemn, even if I don't know if I agree with how it was done."
Robin's words faded into silence.
She wasn't sure if she'd helped. She wasn't sure if she'd achieved anything at all. This was so far out of her expectation, so completely overwhelming, that she didn't know the first thing about what to do.
But she had to say something.