Twenty-Second Oath -- Bend and Break

Chapter Two Hundred Forty-Four: 'Renewed anger...'

Hector Goffe had never seen them this way.

Thus far during their stay at Warrenhold, the Rainlords had been frequently restless and frustrated. He saw it in their body language, in their apparent need to constantly be working on something, and he heard it in their voices, underpinning every word in every meeting. Rarely had it seemed like any of them could relax, but he had thought that, perhaps, they were beginning to. Perhaps, a little, they were warming to his home, this place of rest and safety.

But that was all gone now. So much so, in fact, that Hector began to wonder if it had been there in the first place, if he'd just been seeing what he wanted to see.

The news from Sair had them in a fury.

There were calls for immediate deployment of all their forces to retake the country. There were calls to march into Calthos and take Abolish by surprise. There were even calls to attack the Vanguard in order to locate and recover their captive kin.

But one thing, at least, was clear.

They didn't know what to do.

With several of the family heads still stuck in Vantalay, they seemed to realize, begrudgingly, that they couldn't make a hasty decision here. The constant debates in the Grand Hall of the Night made a return, especially between the reapers since they didn't even have to sleep.

Their scouts in Sair had been trying to gather more intel, but none of it was good. Abolish's presence in the Drylands seemed to increase by the hour, and the scouts had to continually pull farther and farther back. Every town they passed was either abandoned or in the midst of evacuating.

The scouting team, led by one Isaac Sebolt, had begun setting up a position in Callum, the nation to Sair's south. As intelligence on Sair itself was dwindling, the scouts were shifting their attention to how Sair's neighbors were reacting.

Sair's largest neighbor, of course, was Intar, which covered its entire western and northern border, and considering all that he had recently learned about Intar from Prince David, Hector couldn't help but wonder how that continental superpower was reacting to this news.

Neither Callum nor Intar were directly involved in the war, at the moment, but Hector felt like that might change any time now.

Hector wished he could do more for the Rainlords. Sitting in on their meetings and listening to them agonize over what the best course of action was--that certainly didn't seem like enough, even if they seemed to appreciate his presence.

He was told that he had a calming effect on them. Apparently, before returning to Warrenhold, they were going at it like cats and dogs, whereas now they were at least managing to remain mostly civil in their discourse.

Hector kinda doubted that, though. He had a hard time imagining the heads of the Houses screaming at each other like that--and even more of a hard time imagining that he might've been the reason why they would have stopped.

More than anything, though, Hector was worried about Asad. He had of course tried to call the guy, but unsurprisingly, the Lord Najir had not answered him. Hector hoped he was just too busy with evacuations or something.

He desperately wanted to contact Rasalased again and perhaps learn something useful, but the Dry God had not appeared before him.

Which was baffling, quite frankly. How in the world could the conquest of the Sandlords' territory not be something that Rasalased wanted to talk to him about? Even assuming that Rasalased hadn't seen it coming, surely he would still want to discuss it now, right?

There must've been something else going on. Either he was doing something wrong himself, or there was more to Sair's conquest than there appeared to be.

Or Rasalased was just being incredibly callous, but Hector sincerely doubted that. If nothing else, he'd seemed much too interested in meeting Asad for that to be the case.

He voiced these concerns privately to Garovel, and the reaper seemed to be of the opinion that there was indeed something strange going on.

'Morgunov's presence there alone makes that a virtual certainty,' said Garovel in the echo of privacy. 'I doubt he would make a move just because he wanted to conquer some land. He's got some kind of plan for Sair, I'm sure.'

'Hmm. Think Rasalased might know what it is?'

'It's possible. But this is an emperor we're talking about. I wouldn't be surprised if Morgunov had some kind of protection against Rasalased's sight. You might recall that Rasalased wasn't able to discern exactly who the "shadow" following Emiliana Elroy was.'

Hector tried to think back and was struggling to. 'Shadow?'

'Back when we all met Rasalased, remember? He warned Emiliana that she was being followed.'

'Oh yeah... and then later, that shadow turned out to be Gohvis.'

'Mmhmm.'

It was a disconcerting thought, to be sure. The idea that Morgunov might have some way to counter Rasalased's abilities? Agh. Hector very much wanted to believe that the seemingly benevolent Dry God was more powerful than any living servant, emperors included, but was that really the case? Or just wishful thinking?

There was no telling how strong Rasalased really was, especially outside the "space" within the Shards. Even if he was older than Morgunov, he didn't exactly have a normal body anymore. Hector had to wonder if Rasalased's power could even grow in such a state. If his soul was being "preserved" in those Shards, then it seemed somewhat logical that his strength could be "frozen," in some sense.

Or hell, he could be weaker than he was in life.

Perhaps it was all a matter of perspective. Whatever the case, Hector intended to ask Rasalased about it at the next opportunity.

In the meantime, there was at least one other person that he needed to talk to through strange and supernatural means, and that was Emiliana Elroy. He had hoped that she might be able to tell him more about the attack, but apparently, the whole thing was news to her.

In the end, she was the one asking him questions. Her telepathic "speaking voice" remained mostly calm, but he could sense her emotions through the Shards.

Her heartbreak.

Worry, sorrow, helplessness, and just... pain.

He wished he could do more for her. But that was nothing new, of course.

The only thing she was able to tell him about Abolish's movements was that Gohvis himself had not mobilized.

'I'll try harder to find out more about their operations,' she promised.

That just made him more concerned, though. 'Don't push it. Even if you found out something really useful, I don't even know if we would be able to take advantage of it. And I don't really have the means of passing it along to the Vanguard, either, so...'

She gave a mental sigh.

The silence drew out, and Hector struggled to think of what to say. He'd told her what he needed to, but he didn't want to just excuse himself and leave her hanging, either.

What was the right way to handle a conversation like this, he wondered? It wasn't the first one of its kind that he'd had with her, and he had a terrible feeling that it wouldn't be the last.

'...I'm sorry you're going through all this,' was the only thing that came to mind.

It did not elicit a response from her.

He tried again. Maybe something more reassuring would do the trick. 'I promise I'll do everything I can to help you and your family.'

'...I appreciate what you are trying to do, Hector,' she said, 'but let's not kid ourselves. What can you do? You are just as powerless as I am in this situation.'

He blinked, not having expected such biting cynicism from her.

Maybe he should have, though.

He'd been dealing with so many non-servants lately--and politicians, to boot--that he'd kinda forgotten that she wasn't like any of them. His growing "reputation" didn't mean anything here. To Emiliana, he was probably still just some random kid she met in the middle of all that craziness that went down in Sair.

Which was a more accurate assessment than anything else, honestly. Lord or not, "hero" or not, he was out of his depth. He'd been out of his depth for quite a long time.

He felt her let go of her Shard, and that was that.

The next couple days were agonizing as it felt like all he could do--all anyone in Warrenhold could do--was wait for more news to arrive. News of the treasure hunts. News of the Sandlords. News of the other fronts in the war. News of anything.

That was just the prevailing feeling of unease, though. There was no lack of work that needed doing, including but not limited to meditating, training, the Bank, the reconstruction, the land deal, and plenty of meetings, of course.

There was one meeting, however, that took him by surprise, as it arrived in the dead of night.

The Queen of Atreya paid him a visit.

Ms. Rogers had to come and get him out of bed. By the time Hector made it downstairs and over to the Entry Tower in order to welcome her, Queen Helen was already seated at a long, polished black table in the East Hall, the tower's most spacious chamber. Around the Queen were her reaper Mehlsanz and Lynnette Edith, as well as the Lord Dimas Sebolt and a handful of Rainlord reapers, including his own Iziol, Axiolis, and Mevox.

"I hope you will forgive the suddenness of my visit," said the Queen upon seeing him. She was wearing a black cloak with the hood still up, as was Lynnette--which was a little weird, since she usually wore white.

"It's no trouble at all, Your Highness," said Hector. He took the open seat by her side at the head of the table. "And, er... I appreciate your discretion. I know you're mainly doing it for the sake of my guests."

Helen gave him a smile, then eyed the small cluster of reapers around her. "I have been wanting to meet these Rainlords of yours ever since they arrived. I am glad to finally have found the opportunity."

Hector's face tightened a little as he tried not to wince at that mention of them being 'his Rainlords.' He was sure she didn't mean it in the same sense as, for example, Leo did, but it was still unfortunate phrasing all the same.

Garovel interjected. 'Will you be able to stay the whole night? Or even longer, dare I hope? We have quite a bit here that we would like to show you. There's still a lot of work left on the restoration, but we're pleased with the results so far.'

Helen exchanged glances with Mehlsanz--and perhaps a few private words, as well. Then she addressed Garovel. "I had only intended to stay the night, but I suppose we could take the day, too, and depart tomorrow night, instead."

'Excellent,' said Garovel. 'I'm glad you're able to escape the media's gaze for a single day, at least.'

"Well, don't speak too soon," said the Queen, her smile suddenly growing faintly weary.

'No kidding,' said Mehlsanz. 'There's been so much going on lately that it wouldn't surprise me if some other terrible news arrived and forced us back to the capital.'

'That's very true,' said Garovel. He looked over at Dimas. 'I hope you've been treating our Queen well, Lord Sebolt. Hector and I are very protective of her, you know.'

Helen gave an airy laugh. "He has been a perfect gentleman."

'Bit on the quiet side, though,' added Mehlsanz.

Dimas looked as expressionless and stoic as ever. "I happened to be awake, and I thought it would be rude to leave her alone in this giant castle, as it is apparently her first ever visit here."

'He's understating things,' said Iziol. 'After getting to know King William so well, we've all been eager to meet the wife of such a charming man, especially after he spoke so highly of you.'

"Oh my," said Helen. "I shall tell him you said that."

'Please do,' said Iziol. 'I only wish I could've had a conversation with him directly.'

The Queen tittered. "No wonder William took such a liking to you. Hector, you didn't tell me the Rainlords were such smooth talkers."

"Uh..."

'We're only that way towards people we like,' said Mevox. 'Sadly, our reputation elsewhere is not always so pleasant.'

"So I have heard," said Helen. "I have met several Sandlords in my day, so I must admit that I had perhaps allowed some of their opinions of you to color my own."

'Ah,' said Mevox. 'Yeah. Historically speaking, we have what you might call a love-hate relationship with those guys.'

And the Queen's smile diminished somewhat. "I can only imagine how you must feel about the news of current circumstances."

'Well,' said Mevox, 'I'd like to say it's complicated, because that's the way our feelings toward them usually are. But it's not. In this case, I don't think it could be any simpler.'

"You wish to go to their aid?" said the Queen.

'Damn right we do. But we can't.'

Helen nodded.

'What DO you intend to do, then?' asked Mehlsanz.

'We are still rather torn on that point,' said Axiolis. 'But at the moment, we are trying to locate any Sandlords who managed to escape.'

'And how has that been going?'

'Not well,' said Iziol. 'Abolish seems to have moved very swiftly. Right now, it is not even clear if any of the heads of the Hahls made it out. We are hoping that one or more of them will try to make contact with us soon, but they are no doubt dealing with an oppressive communications blackout.'

'I'm confident that many of them did escape,' said Axiolis. 'They are a paranoid sort and would most assuredly have had many contingency plans for exactly this scenario. Whether or not they will actually risk reaching out to us, though--that is a different story.'

"You do not think they would?" asked Helen.

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'Not right now, no,' said Axiolis. 'I suspect many are already safely in hiding and feel that the wisest course of action is to wait things out.'

"I see..."

'Not all of us share Ax's optimism,' said Mevox. 'It's difficult to hope for the best when you fear the worst.'

'Have faith, old friend,' said Axiolis. 'You'll see.'

'Is that faith in Lhutwë you're asking me for? Or faith in your best bud, Qorvass?'

'Is it too much to ask for both?'

'Yes.'

'Hmph. Then have faith in how well I know the Sandlords,' said Axiolis.

'I'm just trying to be realistic here. I don't want you getting your hopes up, only to be crushed later when we learn the full truth of things.'

'On the contrary, I'm the one who's being realistic. You're just assuming the worst because you're afraid.'

'Hah. If you say so.'

'Let's not trouble the Atreyan Queen with our bickering, shall we?' said Iziol, turning everyone's attention back to her. 'Allow me to again thank you for letting us take refuge within your borders. It is our hope to not overstay our welcome, but with the war on, I fear we may have need of Warrenhold for some time yet.'

"As far as Hector has told me, you have all been perfect guests and exceptionally helpful in restoring the castle," said Helen. "If you continue on as you have been, then you can be certain that your welcome will never expire."

'That is comforting to hear,' said Iziol. 'Thank you.'

The pleasant exchanges continued to overwhelm the conversation, but Hector could hardly be disappointed about that. He had a feeling that the Queen hadn't shown up in the middle of the night like this just to meet the Rainlords and have a nice chat. She probably wanted to talk about Lorent but not with an audience. He kept expecting her to ask for a chance to speak in private, but she never did--not before Garovel offered her a room in the Tower of Night, at least.

Perhaps she'd had a long day, because she accepted and retired to bed soon afterward--or tried to, anyway. More reapers kept appearing on the way up to her room, and naturally, they all wanted to talk. At length, Mehlsanz took over her conversational duties.

If nothing else, Hector was glad to see her hitting it off with the reapers. The last thing he wanted was strife between her and the Rainlords.

Before he could return to bed himself, however, Lynnette grabbed his shoulder and made him turn to look at her.

"Hey," she said. "You'll have to tell me about this Beast of Lorent you fought. I want all the details."

For a moment, Hector just stood there, looking at her. "Ah... sure..."

She retracted her hand. "Um. Later, I meant. Not right now. You're probably tired, aren't you?"

He didn't know what to say. Garovel was talking to the Rainlord reapers and seemingly not even paying attention to him.

Uh.

He was tired. Not anymore, though. Should he tell her that? He should, right? He didn't get many opportunities to talk to her, after all.

Oh god, he wasn't prepared for this.

"...Hector?" she said, giving him a sidelong look. "Are you tired?"

"...Are you?" Shit, what was wrong with him? He'd learned that strategy from Garovel--how to answer questions he wasn't sure about by just repeating them back at the asker--but now was not the time. It was totally unnecessary.

"Um. Not really, I suppose. But I'm accustomed to guarding the Queen while she sleeps."

He just nodded stupidly.

Now Lynn also seemed like she didn't know what to say, anymore.

Well, fuck.

They were already quite high up the Tower of Night. The Queen's designated guest room was only one floor above his own quarters. He was trying to remember the layout of the Tower and failing. These floors were huge. He was certain there was a common area where they could go to talk. Nearby. Somewhere.

Fucking fuck.

They ended up just kind of standing there in the middle of the big, open hallway.

Where did everybody go? When did it get so empty in here? Should he call Garovel for help?

Oh, man.

"Oh!" said Lynnette suddenly. "Madison asked me to talk to you about something a while ago. What was it, ah...? Er..."

"Madison?" said Hector. "You mean Madison Reach? Lord Dimas' girlfriend?"

"Yeah. She wanted Gina and I to ask you about sending someone out to investigate some kind of shady group or something..." Lynn rubbed her neck. "I kinda forgot..."

"The Andalero group," said Hector. "Yeah, Gina mentioned it."

"Oh. Um. Okay. Good."

And the awkward silence returned.

There had to be something he could talk about. Wasn't he always feeling like he was juggling a billion different things? He could just pick one and go from there, couldn't he?

Or could he?

What if it was boring and just led to more of this shit?

Oh no.

Oh shit.

Agh.

No, he shouldn't talk about himself. He should ask about her. That was way smarter, right?

"S-so how's your family doing?" he blurted. There was nothing smart about this at all, was there?

"Oh, um, they're doing well. Thanks for asking."

He nodded again.

"I bought my mom a new sword a couple weeks ago. She, er, collects them. It's kind of her hobby. And mine, I guess. But, um, she really seemed to like it. It was an ancient Melmoorian warblade. Or a modern recreation of one, I should say. Heh, a real one would be, like, insanely expensive. And probably be in a museum. Um..."

Hector listened like she was giving a lecture for an upcoming exam that he really needed to pass.

She trailed off, though, having perhaps grown uncertain if he cared about a single thing she was saying.

Hey, that was one of them social cues, wasn't it? He needed to say something here and let her know that he actually was interested in the conversation.

No sweat. He knew just what to say.

Uh.

Something to do with swords...

Aw, fuck, dude, c'mon!

"Uh--h-have you ever heard of something called the Sword of Unso?" Oh god, was that right? It wasn't, was it? He should've just said something simple and reassuring.

Lynnette blinked at him with her one eye. "You mean from mythology?"

"Er, yeah... I think. Do you know much about it?"

Her singular gaze drifted up and left. "Um... it's been a while, but yeah, I remember reading about lots of mythical swords when I was younger. They're pretty fun to imagine."

"Right," said Hector hesitantly. "Because... it's not... real..."

She paused. "What's with that tone? Are you trying to tell me that the Sword of Unso is real?"

"Well, I mean... yeah, I'm pretty sure it is."

She just returned a blank expression with her mouth slightly agape.

"At the moment," Hector went on, "it's supposedly in the possession of a really dangerous guy named Thaddeus Croll. Also known as the Killer of Krohin."

Her eye drifted away from Hector's face. "I... huh... it never occurred to me that all those legendary blades might actually exist..." Her head snapped back to Hector. "Why do you know so much about the Sword of Unso's current whereabouts?"

Hmm. Was it okay to tell her about the treasure hunting mission in Vantalay? Probably. But...

It wasn't just his secret, now was it? If it was his own safety on the line, he would've been happy to tell her everything, but he was also mindful of the team's operational security, too. Lynnette was obviously trustworthy, but he still wanted to be exceptionally cautious.

If word ever got out that the Lord of Warrenhold was actively hunting rare artifacts of power around the world...

Well, that seemed like the kind of thing that could bring a lot of trouble down on his head from some very dangerous parties.

"That's... kind of a sensitive subject," said Hector.

She frowned. "Hmph. You've gotten a lot more mysterious lately, you know that?"

He didn't know what to say to that.

"I mean, you were always quiet, but now, it feels like you have all sorts of secrets."

Well, she wasn't wrong. He still didn't know what to say, though.

Her frown twisted up into a half-smile, and she breathed a quiet laugh. "It's kind of annoying, is what I'm trying to say."

That pulled a small laugh out of him in return. "I, uh... I wish I could share more with you."

Lynn exhaled an exasperated breath and folded her arms. "Are there any other mythical swords that you just 'happen' to know the locations of?"

He scratched his brow. "Uh... hmm."

She waited but not for very long. "You're not going to answer that question, are you?"

"I probably shouldn't..."

She backed up a few steps and leaned against the pitch black wall behind her. "Why did you even bring up the Sword of Unso, then? Just to tease me? That's pretty mean, you know."

Oh, shit, uh. "Actually, I was wondering if you knew anything about what powers it might have."

"You know its location but you don't know that?"

"Well, I've heard some things, but I'm not too sure..."

"What sort of things?"

He supposed he could part with that much intel, at least. "Like... it can cut through almost any material."

"Hmm. That might be one way of describing it. As I recall, the Sword of Unso was special because it could create 'pathways.' By cutting. Through just about anything, like you said. Even air."

"Huh..."

"In the hands of a skilled warrior, it was supposedly able to carve out an entire tunnel through a mountain--or even make a bridge over a river."

"Whoa. But wait, it could actually build a bridge? Like out of stone or something?"

"No, I think it made it out of air. Like the bridge would be invisible to the naked eye, but you could walk on it. I guess. It was just a cool story, I always thought. I have no idea how it would function in reality, but that was how it was described."

"Interesting..." That didn't quite track with what the team in Vantalay had reported of its capabilities after fighting the Killer. Was that because the tale was only half-true? Or could it be that the Killer just hadn't revealed all of its powers to the Rainlords yet?

He supposed he should pass that information along, just in case. Better safe than sorry. And heck, maybe it would help them take down Croll.

And now that he was thinking about it, that was a pretty good excuse to flee this conversation. He needed to go tell the Vantalay reapers about this critical piece of new intel. Yeah. Putting it off for even a moment longer wasn't wise. The Rainlords could be fighting Croll this very second, and this could be the information they needed in order to turn the tide of battle in their favor.

Definitely. That was pristine logic. Not motivated reasoning at all.

"I should go tell Arumoro what you just told me," said Hector, straightening his back and looking toward the staircase down the hall.

"Who's Arumoro?" said Lynn.

"Oh, uh. He's a reaper whose servant may, uh... benefit from what you just said."

"Really? I thought reapers knew pretty much everything already."

"Ah. Heh... well, they certainly act like they do." He started ever so slightly turning his body to leave. "It might be a time-sensitive situation, so I shouldn't delay..."

Lynn nodded understandingly. "Oh, okay. Let's go, then." And she took a step closer.

Ah.

Hmm.

She intended to come with him.

Shit.

He supposed he could play up the mysterious, need-to-know-basis thing again, but... aw, fuck.

Wait, no, there was something better. "I-is it okay for you to leave the Queen's side?"

"Ah, no, I'm off the clock, technically. She told me that I should try and relax while we were in Warrenhold."

"Wow, uh, really?"

"Yeah. She seems to think I don't get enough rest or something." She started moving ahead of him, as if to urge him along, and he figured that he couldn't justify standing around like a stump, anymore.

This had not gone as planned. Now they were just walking together.

"Hey, tell me something," said Lynn. "Do I seem like an uptight person to you?"

Oh, boy. "Uh..."

"Hector."

"Er, what?"

"Do I seem uptight?" she repeated, more slowly this time.

"Ah, I mean... n-no?"

"Hector, that wasn't convincing at all."

"Y-you don't seem uptight," Hector tried.

Lynn just gave him a flat look.

Yeah, she didn't believe him. Hmm. Maybe he could turn this around on her, though. "...Why does the Queen think that you're not getting enough rest?"

Lynn put her eye forward as they descended the dark stairs. "I don't know."

"...You sure about that?"

"What are you implying?"

"I'm just wondering if you actually are getting enough rest," said Hector.

"Hmph. You're one to talk."

"Maybe. But I'm also undead. You're not."

"I'm fine."

"...Really? You're not pushing yourself too hard with your training?"

"Of course not. I know my limits."

"I don't know. I'm inclined to trust Her Highness' judgment on this one..."

She snorted. "Are you seriously trying to use the Queen against me?"

"You need your rest, Lynn."

"What're you, my mother?"

Hector snickered. "Oh, there's an idea. Maybe we should give her a call. See what she thinks."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. There's no need for threats."

A related thought occurred to Hector. "Were you able to try out the hot springs when you were here with the King?"

"Oh, no, the renovations weren't done yet. Are they finished now?"

"More or less. They still need some final touches, but they're functional now, at least. If you're supposed to be relaxing more, then you should give them a try."

"That does sound pretty nice. And I'm curious to see what they look like, too."

They kept talking as they made their way down, which was quite a lengthy journey, because the Tower of Night was still lacking one important feature.

Elevators.

Of Warrenhold's eight great towers, the Tower of Night was the largest and most secure by far. That was thanks entirely to the nightrock from which it was built.

But unfortunately, the strength of the nightrock also made it incredibly difficult--if not impossible--to work with in renovating the place.

At first, Hector thought it was just too much of a problem for a normal construction company. He thought maybe he would be able to find a servant-run company that could deal with the nightrock; but now, after letting the Rainlords assist in the reconstruction effort for quite a while, he was starting to wonder if even that was doable.

Thus far, none of the Rainlords had been able to put so much as a dent in the Tower of Night.

It was a bit of a delicate situation, though. Since there were so many people currently living in Warrenhold, there was understandable concern about using too much power and accidentally hurting someone with flying debris.

When news of the continental war broke, they had been in the process of organizing for a new, more ambitious attempt at breaking through the nighrock, but that had since been indefinitely postponed. The most powerful servant at their disposal, Melchor Blackburn, had been a key part of that plan, and he was now in Vantalay, along with several others who would've proven very helpful in mitigating damage.

All in all, though, it was pretty shocking.

When Voreese first described nightrock to Hector and Garovel, she had made it sound tough but not this tough. She'd mentioned that it would require someone on the level of Harper Norez to break through it, but this was far beyond that, Hector felt. Harper was a powerful Lieutenant General of the Vanguard, yes, but Hector was reasonably certain that there were several people here among the Rainlords who were stronger than him.

And yet the nightrock had bested them all.

So far, at least.

After talking to Voreese about it again, she expressed surprise as well.

'Huh,' she had said. 'This stuff seems a little sturdier than I remember...'

Hector hoped they would be able to find a solution to this problem soon, because trekking up and down these stairs every day was kind of obnoxious.

Plus, it wasn't exactly friendly to the disabled or injured. That wasn't a big problem at the moment, but Hector wanted to be prepared if it ever was.

Little Ramira Elroy had been something of a warning, in that regard. Her foot had been wounded back at Dunehall, and she'd been on the mend ever since. Luckily, she was small enough for Zeff or even Marcos to carry her up or down the stairs without any trouble, but seeing her roam around on her tiny crutches had caused Hector to imagine much worse scenarios.

Warrenhold was supposed to be a place of safety, after all--and the Tower of Night, the safest building. There might very well come a day where they needed to take in a large number of injured people. Sure, they could be placed in the other towers--and probably would--but what if this place ever came under siege?

The more he'd thought about it, the more important the Tower of Night seemed.

The other seven towers all had nightrock inside them, too, but only in small amounts--a single, black chamber in the heart of each building, to be precise. The rest of their stone, while still not entirely normal, was at least malleable. The new elevators in the Entry Tower had been especially welcome, since that was the tallest of all eight towers.

Their current destination, the Bell Tower, would soon have working elevators, too.

Renovations on it were coming along pretty well. The first floors were pretty much down, and it was turning into quite a handsome building. The light gray stone here now looked pristine, and the edges of each room had been lined with a dark walnut wood that provided a pleasing degree of visual contrast, Hector felt.

The reapers for the dispatched teams were almost always gathered together in order to share information with one another and relay it back to their respective servants on a moment's notice. They'd swapped between various gathering spots over the last few weeks, but their most recent one was here on the Bell Tower's second floor.

When Hector and Lynn arrived, Lynn paused in the open doorway, seemingly surprised at the sight before her. She'd donned her Hun'Kui made goggles and was therefore able to see all of the reapers clustered together like nowhere else in Warrenhold.

Hmm. Hector wondered if he shouldn't be showing her this. She was obviously going to wonder what they were all doing.

Eh, it was fine. Lynn was trustworthy, and she still couldn't hear anything the reapers were saying, anyway. There was zero risk of her accidentally compromising one of the missions.

There were four circles, one for each team, but the reapers were still occasionally intermingling with one another. As Hector understood it, they all wanted to stay up to date on the status of each others' missions. That seemed needlessly confusing to him, but apparently, the reapers didn't feel the same way.

So essentially, the reapers for the Vantalay team knew everything that the reapers for the Qenghis, Ardora, and Sair-scouting teams knew--and vice versa. They claimed that it was because there was always a slight chance that one mission might somehow affect another or that something learned in one part of the world might be useful to pass along, but Hector didn't entirely believe that.

He thought it a lot more likely that the reapers just wanted to know everything going on, because that was how reapers were.

And of course, with the developments in Sair, they had plenty of extra reason to be interested in what the scouting team had to report.

The atmosphere in here was tense. Normally, when so many reapers gathered together, it was a jovial affair--or at least, in Hector's experience, it was. Even when talking business or otherwise discussing quite serious subject matter, reapers always seemed to find a way to enjoy themselves.

But not this time, it would seem.

The news of Sair's defeat had affected their spirits. The same could be said of all the Rainlords in Warrenhold, of course, but these reapers seemed to be particularly different, Hector felt.

It was a little hard to explain why, though. Their collective demeanor was more serious. They didn't joke around with each other very much, anymore. But there was something else, too. Something Hector couldn't quite articulate.

A vague feeling. A kind of heat in his mind. It was both familiar and unfamiliar to him, like he should recognize it but couldn't. And it was bothering him enough that he often devoted a background thought process to just trying to puzzle out what it was.

In any case, Arumoro was at the back of the room. Hector could've gone to any of the reapers from the Vantalay team, but Arumoro was the one he'd grown the most personally familiar with. He was the reaper for Raul Blackburn, one of the mildly infamous Blackburn Triplets.

'Lord Goffe,' said Arumoro as he watched them approach. 'And Lady Edith. What brings you here?'

Hector relayed what Lynn had told him about the Sword of Unso. He made sure to qualify his statements with a level of uncertainty, wanting the reaper to take them with a grain of salt. Lynn chimed in as well, reiterating her points, and Arumoro thanked them for the information.

And that was it. That was all Hector had wanted to do here.

But before they could leave, one of the reapers from the scouting team said something that made the entire room full of reapers go quiet.

'We've just made contact with Abbas Saqqaf.'