The protagonist is doing something I find particularly annoying. They're asserting that they've collected allies, based on presumptions built on very flimsy ground. Some hinge on past relationships that were seeded as rock solid, but the new one is mired in his utilitarian mystery. Somehow he seems to be celebrating victory of earning their allegiance before ever demonstrating that they've shown it to be held.

Why is this annoying? Because our protagonist is supposed to be a super capable, regressor with a gameplan for eventualities. This potential problem is never brought... more>> up, hinted at... or assuaged in my opinion for the reader.

The protagonist is certain of this, but for our part in the story? These relationships are superficial and contingent on easy shifting notions, and the writer is slapping plot armor on their cohesion as a party... when these characters are core and their relational dynamics are core to pressuring us with their survival when our competent protagonist no longer seems threatened by circumstances.

This weak relationship to my perspective, creates a very flawed formula to build the rest of the narrative on, without directly commenting on the protagonists faith rooted in his past. <<less