Ten days had come and gone as Newell found him standing in the same spot as he had a week and a half before. Little suggested that something had changed, yet things had changed considerably since then. Men and women had been swayed, and he now knew the faces of most of the people who came into the Dawnhall to prepare for the vote. Newell looked across the room to find Taala sat talking to Basaran, and a small smirk crept across his face. The lieutenant was a well-liked man in the Dawn and an important figure at that. Likely the one who would be the closest thing to a leader people could agree on, yet the man had been known not really to care about who took the reins. A trait he had shared with most of the officer staff from what Newell had seen. Seemingly Taala had taken an interest and had been convinced to support Newell as one of the only officers. As Newell glanced across the room he saw a serjeant called Lhiam sat with Brammy, two people known to not support him. 'That one has been putting notions of leadership into Brammy's head' he thought to himself as he looked on how the two were whispering. It would likely not pose much of a problem for Newell's own schemes that they had been plotting themselves, as Brammy had little interest in leadership on his own. 'He cares little and less for the election, Lhiam wants to give him the power and he himself is rather content with not voting for me as long as Taala does.' He once more glanced across the hall pondering on the many people who had said little and less of their intentions, some even seemed more than pleased with no one in charge. Anya made her way up beside him silently in her own feline way, a most unnoticeable woman had she not been graced by beauty of body. "All hail Captain Newell" she said mockingly to him in the bittersweet tone only she could muster. Newell looked around to see if anyone heard what she said before realizing she had whispered it to him. The shock effect is everything when it comes to winning the undecided. Few people had actively gone to either side, and few knew of Newell running for the captaincy. Only those who had were certain to be convinced now and help gain support for him had been made aware of it for now, yet today was the day of reckoning and withholding it any further would be foolish beyond measure. Newell gave her a faint smile that never reached his eyes as he gave her a small peck on her cheek. He glanced around the room once more as people had started to discuss the future captaincy. Brammy was named as expected, along the likes of Basaran and even Blince. A girl looking to be in her mid-twenties was shouting their names. Looking well-built for her height with messy brown hair cropped up around her ears and a scar running along her left cheekbone she was easily recognized, though her name escaped Newell. All he could remember was her referred to as the Baker girl, a good steady girl who was seemingly content with both as captain. "It is time" Newell said to the Mute and Anya as they made their way to places in the hall to cast their votes.
The voting had been going for the better part of half an hour as Newell made his way to the plateau to stand near the officer. He gave Taala a smirk and a wink as he made his way up and a pat on Basaran's shoulder as a consolation for him having to deal with the shouting of the members congregated. Basaran looked at him weary before giving a faint chuckle to him. Newell gave a nod to Taala after he had made his way to a bench up on the plateau, seemingly taking a bit of bread and eating it. Taala was swift upon the nod as she got up and called out "I propose Newell being captain!" A swift silence went over the hall, as Newell turned around with surprise on his face hoping this mummery would be over soon enough. He noted a few hands rising in his support: Lucifen, Anyaris, Nora and Ayla. As the hands went up in the air, he noted some took it up a bit '8-9-10' he counted in his head before he spoke up. "I am.. honored that you would propose this Taala, you who are the daughter of our former captain." He spoke calm voice and eyes alive while counting around the hall as he noted Basaran raising a hand for him as well seemingly with a shrug '13-14' he counted. "I will not demand your fealty with oaths or promises. I would only ask you do your duty when called upon", he said his eyes making rounds as the 15th hand went up "I have taken contact to First Watcher Redwood of the Bree Watch as to reach an understanding so that we may do our part for the safety of Bree" he said, noting a few more hands going up at the thought of at least some morale guideline to the company. "Do not fear me leading your into battles you cannot win, or letting you die needlessly. There's little profit in dying, and that's why we're bound together as brothers and sisters, for coin" he said as a few more hands popped up, whether it was out of the promise of not letting them die or it was at the notion of coin he could not tell as the majority had their hands raised by now. He gave a faint smile before grabbing a tankard off of the table and raised it in a toasting gesture "Well.. if we can all agree then.. why let's celebrate!" he said, as Lucifen raised a tankard of his own, though not shouting any toasts given his condition, though others did echoed the cry of his name. Newell drank deeply from his tankard, somewhat smirking to himself as he looked to Taala again, before he glanced up at the people present taking note of those who still had not raised a hand. 'Lhiam, Blince and Brammy' he memorized for himself almost as if in a prayer, taking another sip.
