Chapter Two Hundred Thirty-Three: 'The Mouth of Atreya...'

At the Queen's behest, Hector ended up spending considerably more time in Lorent than expected. After she heard his version of events so far, she told him that she was sending her best negotiator to meet up with him and that he should hold off on a formal meeting with the President until then. Apparently, it was going to be a few days.

Hector had of course asked for the name of this negotiator, and when she told him, a smile crossed his face.

In the interim while they waited, Hector had to find things to do. Thankfully, it wasn't very hard. He was able to explore the city a bit more and see some of the sights. He still couldn't really get over the fact that there were so many houses with trees growing out of them, but he did have to admit that they were usually quite beautiful, especially the larger ones.

He dined on more Lorentian cuisine, too, of course. Personally, he didn't think it was all that different from Atreyan cuisine, but Garovel pointed out that maybe he was being a bit biased after having tried some of the crazy food in the Undercrust.

And he made sure to meditate as well. He wanted to practice his materialization more, but this didn't quite seem like the time or place for it when there were so many strangers around. He tried out that "Sto" technique that Emiliana had mentioned to him, and even thought he got a handle on it.

But he wasn't really sure what to do with it. A so-called "storage" state of consciousness. There had to be some way he could use this, he felt. Just because it was designed for mutation users didn't mean that he couldn't take advantage of it at all, right?

Well, maybe not. Nothing was coming to mind, at least. Maybe he could store techniques in there? But in what way, exactly? And more importantly, for what purpose?

He spoke to Emiliana through the Shard, and thankfully, her circumstances seemed to be fine, still. With the war going on, he feared that she would somehow get thrown into it, but from the sound of things, nothing had changed for her at all.

It made him wonder if she wasn't even on the Eloan continent, right now. It was pointless to speculate, since he knew that she wouldn't tell him her location. And even if he did figure it out, what in the world would he do with that information? Telling it to Zeff would be tantamount to sending the man to his death.

Or at least, that was what Emiliana was obviously worried about. As time went on, Hector wasn't sure that Zeff would do anything that reckless. The man would have to know that a direct assault on the Monster of the East would be suicide, so he would probably take a different approach, right? Zeff was always lecturing him about making use of appropriate tactics in battle, after all.

Perhaps he'd been thinking too little of his teacher this whole time.

Well, it didn't matter now. There was nothing to be done.

During the downtime, Hanton "arrived" at Riverton Hall in his illusory human form, and Hector saw him making the rounds, probably trying to learn more about the current political environment here. He and Hector spoke a few more times.

Hector didn't feel like he'd achieved emergence in the battle with Chort, but... he did feel like something was different. It had to be this aura stuff that Pauline and now Hanton were talking about.

And after discussing it more with Garovel, the two of them came to the conclusion that Hector's own aura must have been the result of the blessing that Malast gave him, Domain.

It seemed to be the only explanation. They'd been trying to discern what the effects of Domain might be for some time now, so their lack of progress on that front made sense if those effects were all but invisible to them.

They didn't think that was all there was to it, though. From the way the Sparrows--and Chort, for that matter--talked about aura, it sounded like something natural to all life, like souls. And also like souls, it had its levels of intensity and variation. So while Domain was probably responsible for some of the things that Pauline and Hanton described to him, Hector had the feeling that Domain was not itself synonymous with his aura.

Malast's blessing had not granted him the power of aura. It had modified it. The specifics of that modification... were still quite debatable, Hector thought.

All in all, it was really fucking confusing. Had Domain just made his aura more powerful or something? Without knowing how strong his aura was before being granted the blessing, he had no way of figuring that out. And were there going to be other effects?

He sure would've liked to ask Malast about it, though he doubted that asshole would tell him anything. Rasalased might know something, if he could figure out how to talk to him again.

Which was yet another thing on Hector's mind. Rasalased had said his two blessings were "interacting" with one another, that they had created that "headspace." Despite sleeping a few more times, Hector had yet to speak to the Dry God again. It had to be possible, though. The timing of it was too suspicious. Right after the battle with Chort, when he'd learned about auras and shit? When it seemed like his might have... changed in some way?

That couldn't be a coincidence, Hector felt. He just had to keep trying.

More than anything, though, Hector was curious about the apparent ability of Sparrows to look into the past via locations of "geographic resonance" or whatever it was. To him, that seemed like an absurdly useful power--especially as it might pertain to treasure hunting.

According to Hanton, such locations were actually quite rare to find, especially without anyone around who was guarding them. Sparrows were known to cherish them, for obvious reasons, but many humans could also sense that they were in some way special, even if they couldn't necessarily discern why.

Hector's hopes of finding more of them and discovering the secrets of history were somewhat dashed upon hearing that, but if nothing else, he was still curious to know what they actually were. What made those locations "resonate" more than others?

Hanton said that no one really knew the answer to that for certain. He seemed to believe that they were simply a naturally occurring phenomenon, an effect of the planet's own life force spilling out into nature, but he also mentioned a contradictory theory that resonance might be determined by some unknown historical factor related to each location.

Whatever the case, it fascinated him. And it kind of reminded him of the mysterious holes to the Undercrust. Those were also rare, highly valued, and of dubious origin. He might've asked Hanton about them, too, if he wasn't so concerned about keeping the one in Warrenhold a secret for as long as possible. While he did want to fulfill the wishes of Warrenhold's founder and make it a thriving center of trade between the surface and the Undercrust, that goal still seemed like a long ways off.

So until then, all he had was this dreadful feeling that, for one reason or another, that hole would become a really big problem if too many people learned of its existence.

During the wait, Hector was also able to meet the Vanguardian servant and reaper pair that were stationed here. Their names were Carl Rondel and Joviza, and they were about as stiff and formal as could be. Roman and Voreese had departed before that meeting, and despite Garovel's best efforts to lighten the mood of the conversation, the Vanguardians did not appear to loosen up at all.

They didn't express any gratitude to Hector for killing the Beast of Lorent, either. Which was perfectly fine with Hector, honestly, seeing as he'd actually grown a bit exhausted of hearing people praising him about that. He might not have even noticed if Garovel hadn't brought it up after the fact.

'What difference does it make?' said Hector.

'Not much, perhaps,' said Garovel. 'But I do feel it demonstrates a concerning lack of political savvy, if nothing else. That Rondel guy is supposed to be an advisor to the President. It's not very comforting to me when the Abolish advisor is seemingly much more personable than the Vanguardian one.'

Hector found that logic difficult to argue with. Ravi had been pretty polite and charming, which probably went a long way around here. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more Carl and Ravi seemed like complete opposites of one another.

It made him curious to see the two of them interact, but he never saw them together. Maybe he would get to see that either during or after his meeting with the President--which drew close when the wait for the Atreyan negotiator finally ended.

Prince David of House Lumenbel was a man that Hector had come to know fairly well but not seen in quite a while--or what felt like quite a while, at least. Hector was only too happy to have him here now.

Briefly, Hector had thought that the Queen might have changed her mind without telling him and sent Hanton as the negotiator instead, but no, the Sparrow had simply decided to show up in his human form all on his own, citing the reason for his visit to the Lorentians as "a wonderful coincidence."

Oddly enough, they seemed to buy it, which made Hector wonder if Hanton was influencing their minds in some way.

"Apologies for the protracted delay," said Prince David upon seeing Hector and exchanging handshakes and smiles. The latter of his seemed noticeably strained, and the rotund man paused for a heavy sigh. "My time in Intar has not been nearly as pleasant as it was in my youth."

Hector locked gazes with David's stout bodyguard as they all walked together toward Hector's room.

The bodyguard returned a knowing nod. That man was one Vito Sebolt, and his reaper, Kerikos, floated alongside him.

Back at the Gala, Prince David has expressed some trepidation regarding his safety while serving as an ambassador to Intar. He'd even gone so far as to ask Hector to accompany him personally, which Hector would have certainly agreed to if not for all his new responsibilities as Lord of Warrenhold at the time.

So instead, Hector sought out the most powerful servant-reaper pair who were still unknown to the wider world. And that had been Vito and Kerikos here. Hector had even sparred with them personally before ultimately asking Lord Dimas to let them accompany Prince David.

This was all before the outbreak of the Second Continental War, however.

"Intar is still at peace, isn't it?" said Hector.

"Technically, yes, it is," said David. "But there is so much infighting going on right now that it is a madhouse nonetheless. And there was a time, not so long ago, when I was merely happy to not draw too much attention to our humble little nation to the south, but as time went on, I felt that I could not play the role of demure wallflower any longer."

Hector wasn't sure he understood most of that. So he said so. "What do you mean?"

The Prince released a tired chuckle. "I mean, I opened my big mouth and started speaking my mind."

Hector snorted. "Is that supposed to surprise me?"

"Heh, perhaps not," said David. "But as a result, they have begun calling me the Mouth of Atreya. And while a part of me finds that moniker to be actually quite funny, I cannot say that I appreciate the overall impression that it gives people of my character."

Hector blinked. "The Mouth of Atreya...? That's, uh..."

"Not very flattering. You can say it."

"Oh, ah, I mean--it's kinda flattering, though, isn't it? In its own way? They're saying you have a way with words."

"A generous interpretation if ever there was one."

They arrived at the room, and Hector showed him in, after which Matteo and Vito followed. Garovel and Kerikos just phased through the wall without waiting for anyone, of course.

The Prince plopped down on the couch with an impressive thud and sighed.

In truth, there was one question that Hector most wanted to ask, and he'd been waiting until they had some privacy in order to do so. "Has there been any... developments on the matter of Atreya's annexation?"

For a moment, Prince David just stared at him. "Funny you should mention that."

Hector cocked an eyebrow, uncertain if he would like whatever he was about to hear. "Why?"

"My little venture to Intar was only supposed to be for a week or two, at most. But then this annexation offer arrived, which complicated my job greatly. And now, of course, there is the war as well, complicating it further. In fact, for a while, it seemed like the business of annexation had almost been entirely forgotten, as the war tended to overwhelm all other discussions. At that point, only a bit of progress had been made--minor haggling here and there as, in truth, I was simply buying more time for my sister to come to a final decision.

"Oh, and how could I forget? A certain bank opened up at some point in the middle of all that as well. I honestly cannot remember the proper sequence of events now, because to me, it has all been a series of monkey wrenches being thrown continually into the machinery which I, alone, have been attempting to operate."

Hector just pressed his lips together flatly.

David still wasn't done, though. "And then, not three days ago, I discover that there has been yet another wrench thrown my way in the form of one Lord Darksteel of Warrenhold receiving international acclaim from the Lorentian government."

Hector scratched his cheek. "Ah..."

"You were aware that Intar had previously sent multiple warriors to deal with this monster problem, yes?" said the Prince.

"Er. Yes..."

"Mmhmm. And so, of course, the fact that you have succeeded where they failed has brought you to the attention of Intar."

Yeah, Hector had been a little worried about that possibility. Prince David's mildly exasperated tone almost made Hector want to apologize, but he refrained, because he didn't really see how he could have handled the situation differently. Innocent lives had been at stake, and he'd come here with the Queen's approval, so...

David's frustrated expression melted into a smile as quickly as it had appeared, though. "Intar has sweetened their offer of annexation by a substantial amount."

Hector blinked. "They have? I, uh... I kinda thought they would lose interest, what with the war going on."

"That is what I thought as well," said David. "Especially because my sister's bargaining power has only continued to increase, thanks to your exploits. But apparently, they are not deterred by the rising costs. If anything, they seem more eager than ever."

"Why?"

"Why, indeed. Only Intar knows what Intar is thinking--and at the moment, even that is debatable." The Prince broke for a weary laugh. "But I must say, it does worry me. Perhaps they are thinking that they would like to bring the new Lord of Warrenhold under their command."

Hector exchanged glances with Garovel, who was still just listening quietly. "...I doubt that's the reason," he said. "Or if it is, then it's probably not the only one. Intar has plenty of servants already at its disposal. And from what I've heard, Intar has a great relationship with the Vanguard, too, so I can't really imagine that they would have that much use for me."

"You surprise me, Hector," said David. "You think quite lowly of yourself despite all you have accomplished."

That wasn't it. Well, okay, maybe it was, partially. But Hector still remembered the conversation that he'd had with the Queen back at the Gala, when Garovel had explained his thoughts regarding why Intar might be interested in acquiring Atreya. Prince David hadn't been present for that conversation; and even if he had been, he wouldn't have been able to hear Garovel, so now Hector was thinking that perhaps he should try to reiterate the reaper's points as best he could.

'Heh,' said Garovel privately. 'You thinkin' about explaining what I told you guys before?'

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'Er, yeah. How could you tell?'

'Just a guess, based on the conversational context combined with the sneaky looks you're givin' me. Go on and tell him, then. Don't worry. I'll correct you if you fuck up horribly.'

'Thanks.'

Hector took a seat in a maple wood chair across from the Prince. "So... we have a suspicion that the reason Intar wants to annex Atreya... is because it wants to prevent Atreya from paying back its debt to Intar's enemies. Specifically, Dozer."

Prince David's eyes went vacantly down to the coffee table in front of him as he processed that thought. "I see..."

"And, er, if that's been their motivation this whole time," said Hector, "then it would make sense why the budgetary problems of the war aren't making them change their mind."

"Because in their eyes, the annexation is part of the war," concluded David, rubbing his chin. "Yes. That may well be the case."

'Good job,' said Garovel, again privately. 'Now ask him if he's caught wind of Intar offering to annex any other countries.'

Hector did so.

"...As a matter of fact, I have," said David. "Two of our neighbors, Kahm and Rendon, have received offers. And this one is only a rumor, a very dubious one at that, but I have also heard Czacoa has recently been sent an offer as well."

Hector blinked. "In the middle of the war with Vantalay?"

"Yes," said David. "It would be quite absurd, if true. If Czacoa accepted, then Intar would immediately be thrust into the greater continental war, which is what Intar seems to have been trying to avoid this entire time. Such an action goes against all conventional wisdom, at the moment, but..."

"You think the rumor might be true?" said Hector.

The Prince's expression became strained. "I am torn on that. I would not have even brought it up if I thought it to be completely baseless. And I do think that Intar's government is currently chaotic enough for such a thing to happen..."

"But?"

The Prince nodded. "But this could also be an instance of information warfare. Even spreading the mere idea that Intar might enter the war... could have a profound impact. I can imagine Czacoa spreading this rumor, if for no other reason than to discourage Vantalay, but the source could of course come from elsewhere. With so many participants in the war, motivations abound."

Interesting. Frankly, Hector hadn't even considered that possibility.

"As for Kahm and Rendon," the Prince continued, "well, those two offers combined with our own do end up painting a rather clear picture of Intar's interest in our region."

That caused a new thought to strike Hector. "Do you think there's something about the land itself that they could want?"

"That is, of course, also a possibility. I think it likely that Intar's interest in us is not driven by a single factor."

"Hmm."

"And lest we forget, there was another group of Abolish instigators working in Rendon at the same time as there were in Atreya, remember? That nation may not have struggled quite so publicly as we did, but if you look at their economic numbers for the last several months, you will see that they were hurt just as badly by that conflict as we were--perhaps more, even, because their recovery does not appear to be going quite as smoothly as ours is."

Hector had to cock an eyebrow at that last remark. "You think ours is going smoothly?"

"Compared to Rendon's, yes," said David. "Your bank may still be new, but its effects have gone far beyond merely those who have signed up for an account. Word of mouth alone of the Darksteel National Bank has reignited confidence in the economy from foreign investors. Where before, they saw us as rubble to be sifted through and picked clean of whatever valuables might remain, now they are beginning to see us as a potential dark horse."

He tilted his head. "A dark horse?"

"Oh, are you unfamiliar? It is a gambling term. In horse racing. When a horse wins unexpectedly, it is a dark horse."

"...But if they see us as a 'potential' dark horse, then it wouldn't be unexpected, would it?"

"Heh. Perhaps. But all I am saying is that speculation is beginning to turn in our favor, albeit slowly. Foreign investors are taking more risks on our companies, instead of merely trying to buy them on the cheap and scrap them for parts. Which is not to say that we are out of danger, of course, but there is at least now a visible turn and step toward economic stability."

Hector felt like he understood what the Prince was saying, though he wasn't sure how to respond to it. For his part, he was still quite wary of getting too comfortable with the Bank's progress. On the one hand, he felt like he'd done all he could before leaving for Lorent, but on the other, he expected to hear a bunch of bad news when he returned to Warrenhold. Maybe he was just being cynical, though.

"I must say, however," said David, "it does make one curious about how, precisely, Abolish manged to crash Rendon's economy. From what I have been able to discern, it was not the work of my incarcerated brother."

It had been quite a while since Hector had thought about Prince Luther. It felt a little strange to know that a man whom he'd never even met was almost entirely responsible for the events that had thrown Atreya into such chaos all those months ago, events that had changed Hector's life in more ways than he could even count. Hell, if not for all the news coverage, Hector might not have even known what the guy looked like.

Truthfully, a part of Hector was curious to meet him, to hear his justifications for his actions. It didn't really matter now, of course, and it wouldn't change anything, but still.

Maybe one day, if he ever found the time, Hector would pay him a visit.

"Do you think that they had saboteurs in their government, too?" said Hector.

"Probably," said David. "I cannot imagine a scenario in which they accomplished such economic devastation without abusing some type of governing influence. Perhaps I am being small-minded, though. I should have a chat with our ambassador to Rendon soon, I think."

Hmm. Hector didn't even know who that was, and abruptly, he felt as though he probably should. Considering how close their two nations had come to war, the Queen wouldn't be allowing just anyone to have that position.

Prince David decided to push the conversation onward before Hector thought to ask for elaboration. "But in any event, we're here to talk about Lorent, not Rendon. And it is already getting quite late in the evening. Why don't you tell me your version of events regarding this Beast you fought?"

Hector did so over dinner. Hector had eaten in the extravagant dining hall a few times by now and was prepared to do so again, but much like the Rainlords, the Prince seemed to prefer the privacy that Hector's room afforded them.

The Prince mostly just listened, and as usual, the man's laidback expression didn't betray much of what he might be thinking or feeling.

Hector decided to leave out some of the more confusing details, such as auras and Sparrows--and what Sparrows even were for that matter. He was a little torn on keeping that information from the Prince, but it was all rather complicated to delve into, and he didn't really think that David would be comforted by the knowledge that were giant, invisible birds skulking around who were also capable of screwing with his mind in all sorts of terrifying ways.

Plus, Hanton had already tried to impress upon him the importance of keeping the Sparrows' existence in Atreya a secret. Hector had already made the decision to tell some of his closest allies about them, but if he allowed that circle of awareness to keep expanding, then it would only make things more difficult in the long run, he felt. Not to mention, Hector had an unpleasant feeling that such knowledge might in some way imperil Prince David.

In a background thought process, though, he kept thinking it through. This was someone he didn't want to keep secrets from, no matter how good the reason. He might change his mind, Hector felt.

They stayed up and talked for quite a while longer, catching up on more subjects and simply enjoying each other's company. The Prince spoke more generally about Intar, describing some of its lighter sides to Hector, including its food and entertainment. Hector ended up asking where David had been staying while in Intar, hoping to hear about a castle or two in the region, but sadly, the Prince's answer was a hotel.

The discussion of entertainment, however, bled into a more general one regarding Intarian culture, and the conversation began to turn more serious again.

"I remember you mentioning at the Gala," said Hector, "that there's some kind of big ideological divide in Intar, right now."

"Indeed," said David. "Politically, the divide is between the Blue Moon Party and the Grand National Republic Party. Ideologically, it is between pacifism and interventionism. They have other issues dividing them as well, but that is the primary one, and now with the war, it has only been amplified to heights that were previously thought impossible."

"I see," said Hector. "And have you taken a side?"

"Oh, of course not. Not officially, at least. As a representative of the nation, that would just be asking for trouble."

"And... unofficially?"

The Prince regarded Hector a moment, then briefly Matteo and Vito as well. "Well. The party currently in power is the GNRP--or the Grands, as they're often called. The Moons have been making strides, particularly among young people, but their actual degree of influence within the government is... questionable, at the moment."

"The Grands are the interventionists, I take it?"

"Yes. And the Moons are the pacifists."

"So you favor the interventionists, then?"

David bobbed his head. "Favor is a strong word. Ideologically, I can appreciate both sides of the argument. But in the interest of our country, I would say that the Grands are the more valuable allies for us. For now, at least."

"Hmm. And do you think that could change soon?" Hector was mildly more interested in hearing the ideological elements of the argument, but he could appreciate the difficulty of the Prince's position here. And it didn't seem all that relevant, either way, he supposed. Intarian issues were for the Intarians to worry about. Plus, Hector doubted that he would have much to contribute to such a complex-sounding debate, anyway.

"Ah. Whew. Tough question. Could the Moons become a more valuable ally to us? Hypothetically, sure. The political tide is turbulent enough at the moment that I feel like almost anything 'could' happen, but do I think it likely? Not especially. The Grands may be the interventionists, but they aren't advocating for direct involvement in the war, and that seems to be the most pressing issue on the public's mind, right now."

Hector scratched his chin as he thought about that. "I guess it's understandable that the public wouldn't be in favor of war... but, uh..."

Prince David tilted his head. "Hmm?"

Man, he really felt out of his depth here, but he figured that this was a pretty safe environment to be asking potentially stupid questions. Hopefully. "Er. Do the Intarian people think that the war is unjust?"

"Ah," said David with an air of realization. "That... particular point does not often get discussed, perhaps because it would conflict with the prevailing narrative of Intarian neutrality. Not that I blame them. I may not have been back to Atreya since the war broke out, but I highly doubt that our people are any different in this regard."

Hector nodded.

"The Grands, I suspect, want to intervene more forcefully," said David, "but I think they understand that admitting as much to the general public would be political suicide. The Moons are already arguing--and loudly--that Intar's current contributions to the war effort are too great. They say that even sending aid to allies is unacceptable. Though, I am sure they would choose different words than mine. They argue that the Grands are just trying to 'profiteer off of all the death and destruction.' Which, quite frankly, may hold truth to it, also. War is big business."

Damn. Now Hector wasn't sure what to think.

"But it is true that the justness of the war is difficult to dispute," said David. "Fighting in defense of so many sovereign lands that have been violently invaded--that's a slam dunk legally and morally, if not politically. Perhaps if the Grands were able to highlight that aspect of the situation more, they could spin the public narrative back in their favor. I don't know how feasible that is in the middle of all this chaos, though."

What a tough situation, Hector thought. He didn't envy the leaders of Intar right now, nor Prince David here. A new question occurred to him, though. "Do you know what the Intarian Rainlords are up to?"

Vito and his reaper perked up a little, as did Matteo in Hector's peripheral vision.

"Yes, I was curious about them, too, so I have been trying to keep eye on their movements," said the Prince. "But it has not been easy. Unlike in Sair, their presence in the government is quite small. They appear to be keeping to themselves. I would have expected their representatives to voice more concern regarding the Calthosi invasion of Sair, but they were noticeably quiet on that front. The issue might not have been brought up at all if the ambassador from Sair had not done so himself."

A briefly awkward silence gripped the room.

David glanced at his bodyguard. "Vito explained to me that... certain relations with the Intarian Rainlords are rather complicated, at the moment, so I did not think it wise to make contact with them."

Vito merely gave a grim nod.

"...Who was the ambassador from Sair?" said Hector.

"I believe it was Lord Hasan Duxan," said Prince David.

Hector blinked. "Did you meet him?"

"I did not." David turned his head slightly. "Should I have?"

Hector shrugged. "I don't know. But I met him while I was in Sair. He's the head of Hahl Duxan and one of the most powerful figures in the country, right now."

"Ah. I must admit, my knowledge of Sairi politicians is comparatively lacking. My brother Meriwether would know them better. Perhaps I will call him soon."

Hector hadn't forgotten. Prince Meriwether was the entire reason he'd gone to Sair in the first place. The man was married to one of the Saqqaf women. Hector remembered their reunion at the airport not feeling particularly warm despite the desert's blistering heat.

"If Hasan Duxan went to Intar himself," said Hector, "then he must have had a really good reason. The Sandlords have their hands full with the war. I don't think they would want to spare one of their most powerful warriors for a diplomatic mission unless they thought it was extremely important."

"I see..." The Prince touched his bare chin as he eyed Hector intently for a moment. "You seem surprisingly familiar with the Sandlords' thinking."

"Ah... well, I've been keeping in contact with Lord Asad Najir. And I did spend several days sitting in on the meetings of the Golden Council."

David blinked at him. "The Golden Council..."

He'd just kind of blurted that out, but now that he thought about it more, that had sounded like a bigger deal than he'd meant for it to. "Uh. In Moaban. After the attack on Dunehall. It was actually pretty informal. The Sandlords just requested that I show up to the meetings. I didn't participate. Much. Uh..."

Technically, that last meeting had been when he and Garovel invited the Rainlords to Warrenhold. Without asking the Queen's permission.

Okay, maybe it was kind of a big deal. He'd been so busy during those days with trying to help civilians evacuate the city that he hadn't given the matter much thought. Hell, he hadn't even known that the collective group of Sandlord heads was referred to as the Golden Council until Garovel mentioned it.

The Prince was still just sort of staring at him, though.

"...Er, a-anyway, if you get a chance to talk to Lord Duxan when you return, you might wanna take it. That's... all I was trying to say."

"Very well..." More gears seemed to be turning in the man's head. "If your assessment is correct, however, then it sounds like Lord Duxan would only have been there to request military assistance from Intar. Nothing else would strike me as important enough, given the timing."

Hector bobbed his head to the side. "You're probably right, but... you never know. I've seen a lot of weird stuff over the last few months. Lord Duxan having some other kind of motive for his visit would hardly even make the list."

"I shall try to keep that in mind," said the Prince with a mild laugh.

The conversation didn't last much longer before they finally turned in for the night. They'd scheduled their meeting with the President for tomorrow morning, since Prince David wanted to be back in Intar before nightfall.

It would be a shame to see him off so soon, but Hector had no doubt the man's work there was important, if for no other reason than to keep an eye on what was happening in that country. Intar was one of the three great superpowers of the Eloan continent, the other two being Steccat and Melmoore. If the situation changed there, the consequences would surely be far-reaching.

In the morning, Hector had breakfast together with David and Hanton. They were both exceptionally polite while in each other's company--even more so than when either of them spoke to him individually.

It was kind of uncomfortable, Hector thought. While their words were nice, he got the impression that they were actually quite wary of one another, like they were being careful not to say anything too revealing. Perhaps Hanton was worried about how much Hector had told Prince David about him, and the Prince probably knew of Hanton's reputation as a political enigma.

Hector felt like he should serve as some kind of icebreaker for the two of them, but he honestly had no idea how to go about it.

Which annoyed him. A proper lord would've known what to do. And worse, by the time he thought to consult Garovel for help, everyone was nearly done eating--or nearly done appearing to eat, in Hanton's case.

As a member of the Riverton Hall staff guided them toward the President's office, it gradually became clear to Hector that this was going to be an even bigger occasion than he'd expected. There were more people around than ever, and he occasionally caught glimpses of camera crews through windows or among the crowd.

He'd known that this was going to be televised, of course, but that did little to settle his discomfort now, especially without his armor. He so badly wanted to materialize it again and hide behind it, but there was really no good justification for that.

Or at least, that was what Garovel kept telling him. Maybe the reaper didn't know what he was talking about, though. It's not like Garovel was always right about everything, right?

Agh. He just had to focus. He'd done this sort of thing before. He was more experienced now. He could handle it. Probably.

The President's office was actually quite huge, but it didn't feel that way with all these people crammed into it. Hector immediately spotted Ravi Zaman and Carl Rondel among the onlookers, as their accompanying reapers made them rather easy to notice. Aside from them, he also recognized the faces of Secretary Karr, Ambassador Stoutamire, and several other officials that he had met briefly over the course of his stay here.

Which included the President himself, actually. Allen Dance was a tall man with a black-and-gray beard. His expression had a natural severity to it, not entirely unlike several Rainlords whom Hector could think of.

"On behalf of the Free Nation of Lorent, allow me to thank you for all that you have done for this country, Lord Hector Goffe of Atreya." And the President offered him a handshake.

Hector took it, of course, but it hardly felt like a normal handshake with all this pomp and circumstance going on around them.

"I hope the amicable relationship between our two countries will continue indefinitely into the future," said President Dance. It wasn't quite a smile that crossed his face, but it might've been an attempt at one.

And.

Uh.

Hector was supposed to say something here. He knew that. He and Garovel had discussed how to handle this meeting at length before going to bed and again while getting ready this morning.

Words. Were needed. Really simple ones, too. So what the fuck were they again?

Uhhh.

Shit.

The cameras were all looking at him.

Standing calmly in front of them was one thing, but actually talking in front of them was another. Now that he was thinking about it, the only time that he'd ever actually spoken in front of a camera was when he had recorded that fake threat video in order to prevent Abolish from destroying the town of Harold. And he was suddenly recalling with perfect clarity how many fucking takes that recording had required.

Agh. Right now, it was all he could do to maintain his composure. He had to do something, though. Quick. Before the moment got too awkward. Or was it already too awkward? With all these parallel thought processes freaking out simultaneously, it was somehow difficult to tell how much time was actually passing here. A few seconds? A few minutes? Definitely not the second one, right? Oh god.

Would a nod suffice? Could he even manage that much? He could, right? He wasn't a fucking baby.

Yeah.

A nod.

He nodded.

And he breathed.

Agh.

Why did that have to be so difficult? Was talking in front of a camera really that different to talking to a person?

He felt like such a dumbass.

The President turned around to his desk, and for a terrible second, Hector thought that he'd fucked everything up, but then the man turned back around again, holding a finely engraved box in both hands.

Hector didn't know what to expect here. He hadn't been told what the exact reward for killing the Beast of Lorent would be--which seemed a little odd, considering this ceremony was being broadcast live across the country. Prince David had expressed some concern when he'd learned about that fact last night, but there wasn't much to be done about it. Ultimately, they were still just guests here.

So when President Dance pulled back the lid of the box and revealed its contents, Hector did his best to look pleasantly surprised despite having zero idea what he was looking at.

Inside the box, on a faintly blue cushion, lay an object about the size of a dagger. An object that, to Hector's eyes, looked... like a big noodle. It was a pale brown color, nearly white and mildly translucent.

And it was... fuzzy.

Was it some kind of plant?

"Please accept this symbol of our esteem," said the President, and he held the box closer.

Hector didn't see much choice but to accept it, but he sure hoped the man was about to explain what the hell this thing was, because asking directly seemed like it might be pretty rude.

"This Root of the Farakano Tree is one of our most sacred items," said Dance. "Few in our nation's history have been given away, and of those, you are only the second foreigner to have ever received one. We hope you will cherish it as we will cherish your remarkable service to Lorent."

Well, when he put it like that, it sure sounded important. Hector nodded another time and tried not to look as lost for words as he felt again.

A sudden round of applause filled the chamber as all the Lorentians began clapping for some reason, including the two servant advisors.

Garovel was peering over Hector's shoulder at the Root. 'Hmm,' he hummed privately. 'I gotta say, I wasn't expecting a big white hairy turd as a gift.'