Reaching the Endgame

The dark horizon flickered with an orange glow. Finally, it seemed like the chaos was dying down.
From his view from the rows of battered homes, Halmond looked on at the aftermath of the latest goblin attack at the east gate. He had heard the screams and clattering of weapons all the way from his home in the waterfront district. Usually during the recently reoccurring goblin attacks, Halmond chose to stay out of the sight and mind of the public, leaving the town to deal with the problem on their own. His lack of public allegiances in Mythrite don't necessitate that level of loyalty, and if things really get desperate Halmond thought to himself, I know the layout of this town better than the guards, I'll make it out alive. The goblin attacks hadn't been serious enough to warrant any worry, however. It was always a struggle, but the guards have managed to keep things at bay this long. 
Tonight, however, was not a run-of-the-mill goblin attack.
The chaos started long after night fell on the 11th of Uktar. Slow, at first, distant screams echoing through the valley, gradually growing in numbers as the sky began to take the afterglow of fire, the crackling of which lay as an undertone to the yelling and commotion of the guards becoming aware of the situation. Halmond sat under the light of a dim lantern at his only scrap table, he had not been able to find sleep yet that night and chose instead to meticulously sharpen his knife, the activity of which was cathartic to the worn-out thief. As the hours ticked on, Halmond had moved on to continue his fight with slumber once again with the soundtrack of the goblin onslaught persisting.
It should have stopped by now... Halmond thought sleepily. Damn guards, if they didn't stuff their stomachs so much they wouldn't be so lazy. He turned on his side, facing his back to the unrelenting noise as he pictured darkness in his mind, begging it to overcome his senses and lead him into the next day. But as Halmond lay idle, the commotion started to shift its tone. Rising up above the clashing and burning came a collective yell, starting with one voice, but then turning in a multitude of them. Halmond's ears brought him back to consciousness as he tried to make out what the yelling was about, but it was still too jumbled to understand. It mixed in such that it became like a drumbeat to the rest of the chaos, pulsing once every couple seconds, a chant which faded into cheers every time.
Halmond sat up in his bed, turning his head to the door. The direction of the sound was east, positioned so the sound leaked around the door and echoed off the stone walls of his compact home. He then stood up and grabbed his cuirass and headed to the door. Might as well.... he thought to himself.
Walking through the nighttime streets of the waterfront district he could hear the sound growing closer, he passed into the entertainment district and the yelling was just clear enough to start to make out. Halmond reached a courtyard and looked up at the horizon, which glowed with pale orange still, but at this distance he could see the tips of the flames licking the sky. Eventually, he reached the residential district on the border of the east wall. The shouting was all-consuming now, and as Halmond saw the crowd of guards come into view between the homes, it became clear what they were yelling.
CAPTAIN BEAU, CAPTAIN BEAU
Not wanting to expose himself to the crowd, Halmond sought to gain a better view of the action from atop one of the houses. Staying low and laying prone on the roof, Halmond was just able to look on past the crowd and see the waning goblin army surrounding a brightly lit bonfire. It almost seemed as if the fire itself was eating up the goblins and scattering their remains radially, but it was the man in front of it that was helming the slaughter. Captain Beau Kew stood as a monument to the safety of Mythrite as his sword cut so sharp the air itself the slashing was almost like a wounded cry from it. Goblin blood streaked the ground and flew every which way as the captain made his way through the invasion. By this time, the goblins were low in numbers, the army rushing through the bottleneck in the wall was becoming less dense until it became clear that they were retreating. The rest of the guards rushed forward to finish the battle, and Halmond started to make his way back to the ground. By the time he had climbed down and walked into the clearing, the majority of the goblins had been eradicated, the rest fleeing into the forest, dropping their torches along the way. The cheering had given way to the sounds of combat again, but the commotion was reaching its end. As the last sword arm fell, the silence was broken again by the victorious cheering of the guards, reaching levels beyond what it had before.
CAPTIAN BEAU KEW, CAPTAIN BEAU KEW
The guards lifted the captain upon their shoulders and began marching back through the walls. Halmond wasn't one for sentiment, but he couldn't deny the slightly heartwarming scene that he had witnessed that night. He looked on in mild amusement until he felt the urge of fatigue once again. But as he was turning to leave, he heard a voice call out,
"Mire!" 
Halmond turned his head to look behind him and saw a very battered guard approach him. The guard's armor was badly damaged, missing in some places, burns occupied large portions of their arms and neck. But that wasn't what surprised Halmond, it was the female voice which led him to recognize Merave Truevale, one of the more respected guards in the town. She stumbled forward and began to trip but Halmond reached out and steadied her, he walked her over to the wall of one of the houses and sat her down. 
"Bad day?" Halmond said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"I've had better" Merave retorted as she winced in pain. "Couldn't let myself be outshined by the captain."
Halmond took a seat next to her, leaning back on the wall. "Looks like you made yourself part of the wall they tore down. What, did you take the brunt of the attack?" He asked.
Merave chuckled, coughing in between. "Why are you making small talk, Mire? I figured you'd have already gone off to loot my home by now seeing as I can't defend it." Halmond smirked, "Don't have enough in me right now, been spending most nights out these days. Besides, seemed like you had something important to say, lest you're looking for death coming to me in your hour of need?" Merave let out a soft chuckle, this time lacking the energy to cause a coughing fit. "I'll recover from this, I always do. I just wanted to catch you before time gets away from all of us. Or, in this case, the town." 
Halmond turned and looked at her, curious. "So what are you trying to say?" Merave let out a grunt as she shifted herself to a more upright position before explaining, "You saw all this, you see a lot of things. I think you know the state of this town more than most of the people living here." She turned her gaze to the destruction of the east wall and gate, the rubble still simmering from the dying flames. "I think even you know that we can't have threats like goblins keep us down. Mythrite is a town with dreams of becoming a flourishing civilization, and everything in me knows that can happen." She paused, leaving the next few moments silent as she caught her breath.
Halmond turned what she said over in his head, "You know, I'm not the healthiest person for a flourishing civilization, what are you getting at telling me all this?" Merave sighed and looked up and in the distance. "Beau Kew is vital to Mythrite. Even if he's not the best politician, we need a strong leader that can take action like he did this evening. All the candidates for mayor have their own gears ready for all the grease they can get, but the captain..." She looked over to the crowd of guards, still carrying the captain as they made their way down the street leading south from the wall, she continued in a low voice. "I know you'd rather take down a government than help it, but if you assist me with this, I can see that your life can become...easier." She finished, letting out a labored breath and relaxing against the wall.
Halmond contemplated for a moment, before cautiously asking, "What are you asking of me?" Merave turned her head to him and locked on his eyes. "I would like nothing more than to gain the support of this town on the matter, but I know how...stubborn people can be. If it came down to it, I think it might be wise to do what's in the best interest of the town ourselves." Halmond absorbed her words and provided a small smirk. "What you're saying is you'd like the captain to have as little trouble winning as possible?" Merave's face shifted into an expression of guilt, "You have your ways of getting things done, will I be able to count on your 'support' for the captain this election?" 
Halmond's smirk turned into a full grin as he responded, "You might be surprised at how much support he already has."