Episode 5 Summary

Dec. 31st
-A town council meeting is due to take place in an hour, the first with Jeff newton returned to his post.
-Ophelia gets information on Cody and Greer being upset at Newton, bandits (other than the big force) vanishing, and William Newton becoming a point of contention in Laurel.
-Dutch gets information from his inside man with the bandits; they're still moving around, but they're waiting for equipment.
-Ophelia gets urgent information as she's waiting to talk to Corwin that the bandits have purchased 30 mortars.
-Lucius leaves a meeting with Corwin as Dutch and Ophelia come in.
-Corwin is worried about someone behind the scenes pulling the bandits' strings-the intelligence corroborates this.
-Dutch prepares a new operation to search for the bandits.
-Corwin decides to declare the council meeting secret because of this intelligence. Lorraine agrees.
-At the meeting, Jeff becomes the administrator again.
-Corwin presents his new information. Jeffery challenges it because Corwin cannot confirm it or reveal his source; Jeff finds it very convenient that it would come up just as he's returning to office.
-After a tense argument between Corwin and Jeff, Jeff decides to act on the information.
-A general draft is proposed. Jeff is opposed, but is overruled and the draft is implemented.
-As the meeting breaks up, Jeff tells Anders that he believes that all that is happening is because someone is trying to push Newton to mobilize the way they have been.
-Commander Cervantes gets the order to institute the draft; decides to threaten seizure of property for dodgers.
-Lucius gets word from his informant that Jeff is planning to speak publically against the draft the next day.
-Lucius goes and talks to Anders, asking him to expedite the auction of Parks' seized land.
-That night, Anders finds that the sheriff station has been broken into and the evidence locker cleared out, including the explosives that had been stored there.

Jan 1st
-Anders talks to Jeff, warning him that he suspects an attack with the explosives; Jeff refuses to cancel his speech.
-Anders sends out his deputies to search for the explosives.
-The town is unhappy about the draft.
-Jeff makes his speech. Though he does not say anything too inflammatory or particularly make a call to action, he does attempt to drum up public support for himself.
-Lorraine, Sam and Lucius respond to his speech, and an impromptu debate starts. Jeff starts out defensive, but things turn ugly when he goes on the attack by paranoia-mongering, including revealing town secrets. Jeff is shamed when Sam declares that he's going to enlist in the militia, and the crowd turns on Jeff.
-Just as the debate ends, there is an explosion. Jeff Newton's temporary domicile has been blown up. Curiously, all the servants were absent.
-The council decides to oust Jeff as administrator (Jeff himself is absent), making him only a normal council member. They elect Lorraine in his place.
-They additionally vote to censure him, but to excuse him on account of the strain of his situation.
-The council agrees that in view of the threat of a mortar attack, the conflict with the bandits must be ended quickly.
-The meeting ends, but Corwin presents, off the record, the information from his sources, now that Jeff is no longer present.
-Lucius updates his ledger with the cost of half a dozen mercenaries, equipment, and heavy weapons.

Session ended late on Jan. 1st. Next session will most likely pick up late on the 2nd.