The Zombie Knight

Chapter Two Hundred Sixteen: 'Thy sharpening edge...'

By the time they made it back to Warrenhold, more unsettling news was arriving.

The four defending nations of Melmoore, Hoss, Sair, and Czacoa had all formally declared war against their invaders. Additionally, the three nations of Lyste, Naos, and Yena Maria had collectively declared war on Vantalay.

And most recently, the nation of Dozer--which had already been at war with Korgum before this whole thing kicked off--had declared war on Lyste.

That last bit of news seemed to have a particularly negative impact on all of the reapers present.

Hector could understand why. It all but confirmed that Abolish was somehow behind these invasions. Or if they weren't, then at the very least, they were trying to take advantage of the chaos.

And that prospect, while unsurprising, didn't seem much better.

Just browsing the internet on his phone, Hector noticed that a lot of media attention was being given to the still-undeclared nations of Intar and Steccat. There appeared to be considerable international pressure on them to get involved, and just about every news outlet was anticipating them to issue an official statement about their position very soon.

The reapers, however, all seemed to think that neither of those giants would join the war.

And many of the other reapers around Warrenhold had more things to say about this subject. The persistent reaper chatter in his head was at an all-time high. It got so bad, in fact, that a lot of the servants decided to leave the main area and go hang out in the lower caves just to get away from all voices in their heads.

Hector, for his part, could just kind of tune them out if he wanted, but he felt like he had to listen as best he could. Whatever decision they eventually arrived at would be enormously important to all of their futures.

Overall, the Rainlords were pretty clearly in a state of confusion and anger. They needed time to sort their thoughts out. The war between Sair and Calthos was obviously their greatest concern, but there was no consensus among them regarding what they should do about it.

Some, unsurprisingly, wanted to depart immediately and go join the Sandlords in battle this very moment, but thankfully, there were many voices in opposition to that idea--more voices than Hector might've expected, actually.

Hector sat with Lynn and the King of Atreya while they observed the commotion in the Grand Hall of the Night. They couldn't hear the reapers talking, of course, but there were plenty of corporeal Rainlords discussing the subject as well. The other non-servants apparently had plenty to say, too.

After a while of chaos, the heads managed to gain everyone's attention by standing together in the middle of the chamber and rising up on a giant platform of ice made by Zeff.

From there, the debate became more formal and organized. The heads split everyone up into two sides, and they cleared the middle of the Grand Hall to make space for speakers to come forth and present their arguments. None of the selected speakers were reapers, presumably so as not to exclude any of the non-servants.

Hector listened carefully to each person who spoke. The crowd listened, too, though they were occasionally more vocal whenever someone made a point that they agreed or disagreed with.

He obviously agreed with those who were calling for everyone to stay, to have patience, to leave the fighting to the Sandlords for now; but he had to admit, he did find some of the arguments from the other side somewhat compelling.

They had a responsibility to their subjects, they said. The people of Sair were living in fear, they said. The Vanguard couldn't be trusted, they said. And as Rainlords, whether the danger came from Abolish or the Vanguard or anything else, it didn't matter.

"The rain fears not the torch," they said.

Hector wished he could say that he completely disagreed with that sentiment. He wished he could say that it was foolish. But honestly, if he were in their position, he wasn't really sure what he would do. And if they did decide to go, he was tempted to go with them, even though he knew he probably shouldn't.

In fact, now that he was thinking about it, he'd been in their position, hadn't he? More or less? When Abolish had taken the capital and planned to destroy the town of Harold. Hadn't he wanted to do something just as reckless as this?

Garovel had stopped him, of course, but they'd still ended up doing something pretty damn reckless anyway with their plan to "kidnap" the King.

In retrospect, that plan probably would've gone to absolute shit, if Lynn hadn't showed up to help him out when she did.

Agh. He was torn.

And so were the Rainlords, it seemed. Even after it was time for dinner, no agreement had been reached. Food was prepared and served, and everyone ate together in the Grand Hall while the debate just kept going. Speaker after speaker, counterargument after counterargument.

It was going to be a long evening.

After another few hours, when Hector could see that many of the participants were beginning to tire, a familiar woman stepped into the center to speak.

It was Nere Blackburn, Hector realized after a moment, making his heavy eyelids perk back up again. She hadn't said anything all night long. Her reaper, Sentsia, was hovering beside her.

"Perhaps we can arrive at a compromise," said Nere. Her voice was rather flat, lacking the passion of most of the previous speakers, but perhaps that wasn't surprising, given the late hour. "Instead of committing ourselves fully to either attacking or staying behind, we could send a team to monitor the situation in Sair and report back."

A few whispers and mutters ran through the crowd of listeners.

"We have already dispatched two other teams abroad," said Nere. "What would be the harm in sending one more?"

Hmm. It didn't sound like the worst idea in the world, Hector thought.

Apparently, the other Rainlords thought similarly. It took a little while longer of debate, but soon enough, an agreement was reached between the two sides, and the crowd of listeners finally began to disperse from the Grand Hall.

The heads, wanting to continue discussing the details in private, moved to the conference room higher up in the Tower of Night. Hector sat in on that meeting as well, curious to know who they might choose for this mission to Sair.

The two teams that they had dispatched on treasure hunts had each consisted of three lesser known servants and one reaper for guidance. However, the reason they hadn't dispatched one more team to find a third treasure was because some of the heads hadn't been fully confident in the remaining candidates' suitability.

The heads' collective standards appeared to be quite high, and there had been various concerns that kept getting brought up, ranging from the candidates' levels of fame to their levels of maturity. Even the trio that they'd sent to Vantalay had almost not made the cut.

Which reminded Hector of an earlier thought he'd had.

"Ah--excuse me for interrupting," he said, standing up from his chair at the end of the long conference table.

The heads and their reapers all looked at him, perhaps a bit surprised since he'd been quiet this whole time.

"I was thinking that maybe we should recall the team we sent to Ridgemark in Vantalay," said Hector.

There was a brief silence.

"That was the team of Blackburn triplets, was it not?" said Salvador Delaguna, eyeing the family's representatives seated across from him.

"Yes," said Horatio Blackburn. His cousin, Nere, sat next to him, and his reaper, Yovess, hovered behind him along with Sentsia.

'The decision ultimately falls to you, then,' said Mevox, Salvador's reaper. 'Personally, I'm inclined to agree with our Lord Darksteel here. The risk in Vantalay has obviously been compounded to a greater degree than we could have anticipated, and if we bring them back now, we could instead dispatch them to Sair. Or elsewhere, if we prefer.'

'Is Sair any less dangerous than Vantalay?' said Sentsia. 'It seems a bit premature to say that.'

Axiolis chimed in next. 'Maybe so, but we have already decided that a team must be sent to Sair, regardless of the danger. This is not the case for Vantalay. It is less a matter of risk and more a matter of necessity. To my mind, the mission in Ridgemark is unnecessary, given all we have learned today.'

Sentsia was silent a moment as everyone looked at her, waiting for her response. 'Your reasoning is sound,' she said. 'However, the Ridgemark team has been there for over two weeks now, and their last report was a rather optimistic one. It seems a shame to waste that progress.'

Zeff Elroy leaned forward in his chair. "What 'progress' has there been, precisely?"

'They have heard rumors of the artifact in question among the locals.' Sentsia leveled her gaze toward Hector now. 'They also mentioned that the Tuning Orb of Karugetti has been lighting up more frequently.'

Hector's eyes widened a little, and he couldn't help glancing at Garovel.

The Tuning Orb Of Karugetti was one of the few objects he'd managed to snag from Himmekel, the Paradise Vault. He hadn't even known the name of it when Garovel told him to pick it up during his battle with that worm, and he might've even forgotten about it entirely if Garovel hadn't reminded him of it just prior to dispatching the two teams.

According to Garovel, the Tuning Orb of Karugetti was an item that could locate ardor-infused materials. Or something. Apparently, it was a little weird and unreliable. The whole time he'd been in possession of it, Hector had never once seen it light up like Sentsia had just said, even in the presence of the Scarf of Amordiin and the Shifting Spear of Logante that he'd given to Mr. Easton.

He also remembered grabbing a mirror during the worm fight, but sadly, Hector had no idea what happened to it. He must've dropped it at some point in all the confusion. He didn't recall having it during the rather bumpy "flight" back to Warrenhold from Rathmore's Gate, so he figured that it probably hadn't even made the trip back to Atreya in the first place.

"If they are getting close to their target," said Horatio, "then I would like to give the boys more time. Perhaps another week, and then we can reassess their progress. If it seems as if they have hit a wall, then I will recall them."

Evangelina Stroud folded her arms. "Like Mevox said, it is your decision. If you truly have faith in that silly little frat party of yours, then so be it."

Hector remembered the Lady Stroud being one of the two most vocal opponents to sending the Blackburn triplets to Vantalay. And her stance had not been without justification, either. Those three dudes had been... an interesting bunch, to say the least.

'Well, "faith" may be a strong word for it,' said Sentsia, 'but if nothing else, I think this is a good opportunity for them to prove themselves. When it comes down to it, they are reliable.'

"For their own sake, let us hope so," said Zeff. He'd been the other opponent.

Horatio nodded. "It's settled, then. The Ridgemark team will stay on task for one more week." He breathed a long breath and settled deeper into his chair. "Which means that they cannot be assigned to the Sair team."

Grumbles of acknowledgment rolled across the conference table, and the discussion returned to exactly the same place it had been before Hector interrupted.

After a while, Hector began to have trouble keeping his eyes open. It seemed like the heads were going to keep discussing this well into the morning, if they had to.

Not having anything else to say, Hector decided to leave them to it. He wasn't about to argue with whoever they ultimately chose for the job, anyway.

He wanted to check on Ericoros.

The problem of Leo was far less threatening than before, but Hector knew that he couldn't just move on. He'd tried to speak with Ericoros multiple times over the last three weeks, but the reaper had only recently even begun to respond to him at all.

Mainly, Hector wanted to hear Ericoros' thoughts on Leo. He wanted to know about their relationship from Ericoros' perspective. Of course, he also wanted to know more about Sai-hee, but he felt that asking the reaper about her would only serve to create more distrust, not less. Given everything Leo had told him about Ericoros' sense of loyalty to her, it seemed likely that Ericoros would not respond well if Hector ever gave off an impression that of wanting to disrupt or otherwise harm her operations.

Regardless, convincing the reaper that he could be trusted was quite a tall order. Frankly, Hector wasn't sure if it was even possible. The starting point seemed clear enough, sure: he had to get to know Ericoros better. But what came after that? What would he do if he came to conclusion that Ericoros simply couldn't be swayed? Or trusted?

That seemed like the most likely outcome, in fact. The more Hector tried to imagine himself in Ericoros' position, the more convinced he became that the reaper's plan would be to say whatever it took to get himself released and then just bail.

Which, of course, Hector could not allow. If Ericoros managed to escape, the threat thereafter was immense. No doubt, he would return to Sai-hee and tell her all about Leo and the Rainlords and Hector, and then who knows what she would do?

Hector knew how careful he had to be, which was why he only trusted a handful of people to look after Ericoros when he wasn't doing so himself. Oftentimes, the chosen person was Melchor Blackburn, and today was no different.

Hector grabbed some late night snacks from the kitchen on the first floor, then made the trek all the way back up the Tower of Night and across one of the interconnecting nightrock bridges near the cavern ceiling. His destination the Star Tower, which could only be entered from the top floors, because the bottom half of the structure was still missing.

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The restoration effort had not yet made any progress on the Star Tower, as it was the most daunting project by far. The other towers just had to be renovated and updated, but the Star Tower's foundation had to be completely rebuilt.

How the Star Tower was managing to hang there in midair like that with only its connection to the rocky ceiling to support its weight, Hector still had no idea. A part of him thought that it would collapse any day now. And why anyone would choose a room in the most unstable tower in all of Warrenhold, Hector also wasn't too sure about.

But that was exactly what Melchor had done. For whatever reason, the man known as Darktide preferred this place.

Hector had been meaning to ask him about that decision. Maybe he'd do that today, too.

From the inside, though, he supposed the Star Tower didn't feel that unstable. The stone floor felt perfectly solid under his feet, if a bit uneven due to the dangling building's slight tilt. There were large cracks in the halls as well, but the area with nightrock was of course perfectly pristine. The special material crafted by Stasya Orlov in an age long past did have the ability to regenerate itself, after all.

Melchor's chamber was within the Star Tower's large subsection of nightrock. Hector knocked on the hefty stone door, though the act was done more out of courtesy than need, since he knew that Melchor and Orric would have sensed his approach long beforehand.

"Come in, Lord Goffe," came Melchor's familiarly penetrating voice.

Hector opened the door and observed the scene before him.

Melchor sat cross-legged on a large rug in the middle of the floor. Had he been meditating? Perhaps not. Ericoros was in his right hand, and Orric floated behind him.

The man's tilted bedroom was a sparse affair. A bed, a lamp, one bookshelf, and one cardboard box summed up the entirety of its furnishings. A couple pillows here, a blanket there. That was it. The man didn't have a television or even a computer, despite those implements having been made available to everyone who wanted them.

Hector wasn't even sure if Melchor had a phone. He never saw the man using one. But he must've, right? For emergencies, if nothing else.

"Welcome," said Melchor with a faint smile. "We were just discussing the nature of captivity."

Hector cocked an eyebrow. "That so?"

"We have all had experience with it at one time or another," Melchor went on. "It gives one a certain opportunity for reflection that the hustle and bustle of normal life tends to take for granted." He looked to Ericoros. "Wouldn't you say?"

As usual, the reaper remained silent.

"Lost for words again, hmm?" Melchor's gaze returned to Hector. "Apologies, my lord. He seems to grow a bit shy whenever you are around. I'm sure he doesn't mean any harm by it."

Hector had to consciously avoid reacting to that. Melchor was probably just teasing the reaper, but that word choice had still taken Hector by surprise. Shy, huh?

Ericoros, for his part, was a bundled up form of glowing and only-vaguely skeletal energy. Whenever reapers were being held or holding onto someone themselves, their usual appearance slowly shifted and condensed into something a bit more spherical.

"You may find it difficult to believe, but Ericoros here has actually been quite talkative lately," Melchor went on. "All things considered, I would say that he is taking his admittedly difficult circumstances in stride."

Hector closed the door behind him as he stepped into the room, not yet sure what he wanted to say--if anything.

In some ways, Melchor's attitude still surprised him. It had been weeks now, but Darktide had never really eased up with this performance of his, pretending to be subordinate to the Lord of Warrenhold.

And for the life of him, Hector wasn't sure why. At this point, Hector was confident that Melchor Blackburn was the absolute last person who needed to keep pretending. Having observed Melchor sparring with a few different people now, Hector was of the opinion that Melchor probably could fight Leo on even footing, if he really wanted to. In fact, with Melchor having access to hyper-states and Leo not, the battle might even be in Darktide's favor.

So why was he still bothering with this whole charade? Hector appreciated it, of course, since he certainly wasn't looking for a fight to break out among potential comrades, but it was hard to deny that Melchor seemed to take a certain delight in the deception being played here.

'Do you have new orders for us, Lord?' said Orric. Melchor's reaper had been quite obviously on board with it, as well.

Hector wasn't as surprised by that. Most reapers seemed to have a mischievous streak in one form or another. "No. Just thought I would drop by."

'Ah. Well, it is always a pleasure to see you. In fact, it's a pleasure to see just about anyone around here, sometimes. But I suspect that's why Melchor chose this place for his sleeping quarters.'

That remark piqued Hector's interest, and he regarded Melchor another time. "You like the isolation of the Star Tower?"

Melchor bobbed his head to the side briefly. "Oh, I don't know if it's that, exactly." He scratched his scruffy chin. "I've always had a soft spot for unloved things."

"Hmm," hummed Hector. "Then does that mean you'll stop liking this place after it gets renovated?"

"Heh, perhaps," said Melchor. "I guess we'll find out."

Would we? Even if the renovation continued to proceed as smoothly as it had been over the last few weeks, Hector figured that it would probably still be a while before they reached the Star Tower. Considering how much more work it needed and how low of a priority it was when compared to some of the others, the Star Tower might very well be the last one to get worked on.

Would Melchor still be staying at Warrenhold by then? Would any of the Rainlords?

Those questions bothered him, but Hector didn't want to dwell on them too much. With Ericoros here, he felt like he couldn't just ask whatever he pleased. He had to choose his words carefully.

"Ericoros," said Hector. "Have you spoken to Leo at all yet?"

Still, the reaper said nothing.

'Hey, now,' said Orric, sounding genuinely perturbed. 'The Lord Goffe asked you a question. Don't be rude.'

Hector held up a hand. "It's fine." He already knew that Leo had been trying to speak to Ericoros and that it hadn't been going anywhere. Hector would've liked to get a bit more information from the reaper's side of things, but this silent treatment was going to continue for a while longer yet, it seemed.

Certainly, Hector could understand why the reaper was reluctant to say anything to him. Hector was an unknown quantity in Ericoros' eyes. If Melchor really had managed to converse with him--and Hector wasn't entirely sure of that, either--then that was probably because Ericoros had at least heard of Darktide before.

Hector was beginning to feel like Ericoros was doing more than just silently judging him this whole time. Perhaps the reaper was waiting for him to try something. To try to torture or coerce him in some way--or maybe to use that weird ability that could compel people to talk. Obviously, Hector couldn't do the latter, but even if he could, he felt like that would seal Ericoros' opinion of him for good.

As for Leo himself, Hector felt like the guy had been making some real progress. Thus far, Leo had been performing his new job with enthusiasm--so much so that Hector even had to tell him to relax a bit and taking things a bit slower.

That had devolved into a minor argument, with Leo seemingly questioning Hector's commitment to the homeless problem, but they'd hashed it out before it became too serious.

Another time, Leo had also grown a bit irritated when Hector asked if he had made any new friends, and Leo had taken that as an implication that Hector was already seeking to exploit said new friends.

That one hadn't turned into an argument, but it probably could have.

Certainly, Leo was not the easiest guy in the world to work with, but his heart appeared to be in the right place, at least.

Hector had to wonder if that was enough, though. According to Roman, Leo had been a victim of some type of mental manipulation, much like the people of Babbadelo and Himmekel had been.

In retrospect, that was probably no coincidence. Leo had been the guardian of that territory in the Undercrust. It made sense that Ettol--or whoever was behind it all--would've wanted to neutralize Leo before sowing the seeds of all that chaos that had unfolded down there.

Which was a whole other subject that Hector had been thinking about.

Clearly, that had been Ettol's objective. To create chaos. That made him sound like an agent of Abolish, but the way he'd gone about it didn't seem like their typical method of operation. And the presence of Malast had obviously been an enormous factor, too. Had Ettol caused that whole mess in hopes of leading someone--anyone--to the God of Boredom?

Garovel seemed to think so, though the reaper also believed that the so-called Supreme Will also played a role in things, as well.

And now there were these Sparrows who could manipulate minds as well. Were they in some way related to Ettol? Hector intended to ask Hanton Gaolanet about that the next time they spoke, but he had a feeling that even if the Sparrow did know something, he wouldn't be inclined to reveal it.

The notion that the Sparrows might be able to assist with this whole Leo situation had crossed Hector's mind, but he didn't much care for the multitude of different ways in which he could imagine that going horribly wrong. And while it was certainly tempting, thinking that Hanton might be able to just fix everything for him with a simple 'mind tweak' or whatever, it also seemed... like a pretty fucked up thing to do to someone, regardless of the reasoning behind it.

'Lord Goffe.'

Hector's eyes perked up. He hadn't allowed himself to become so lost in thought that he stopped paying to attention to those in front of him, but a protracted silence had drawn out while he considered what else he might be able to say or do here tonight.

All such concerns were shoved to the back of his mind, however, when he heard Ericoros address him for the very first time since they'd met.

'I do have one question,' the captive reaper said.

"I'm listening," said Hector.

'What is the overall objective of this little empire of yours?' said Ericoros.

And there arrived more silence, heavier than before as Hector thought about his response carefully. His "little empire," huh? Why was Ericoros asking about that kind of thing now? It was a bit late, wasn't it? Three weeks of cold, silent observance--and now this?

Well, whatever. Hector had pondered that question for himself many times, already. Maybe he hadn't fully articulated it to anyone else yet, but he didn't think it was that difficult to answer.

"It's pretty simple," said Hector. "The protection of civilians and the preservation of knowledge."

Again, Ericoros said nothing.

Hector waited for him, though. Surely, the reaper had something to say in response, right? He must've just been taking some time to think.

...Right?

No. The answer to that was no.

Hector could see why Leo had warned him about Ericoros being difficult to deal with.

Orric, however, decided to chime in now. 'Ericoros, do you have a request that you would like to make of Lord Goffe?'

Hmm?

Still, though, Ericoros remained silent.

Hector was abruptly uncertain. A request? He looked between Melchor and Orric, hoping for an explanation.

'C'mon, now,' Orric prodded. 'Isn't there something about all this news of war that has been bothering you?'

Hector had to ask. "What are you talking about?"

'Apologies, Lord,' said Orric. 'I didn't intend to keep this from you for so long, but everything just worked out so beautifully that I wanted to enjoy the simple secrecy of it for a bit.'

'You really never told him?' said Ericoros.

'Of course not. Why would I lie about something like that?'

'Hmph.'

Hector was lost, but he remained patient.

'The truth is,' said Orric, 'Ericoros and I happen to be very old acquaintances.'

Hector blinked. "Is that right?"

Orric returned a nod. 'That is one of the reasons why Melchor and I have been so happy to look after him for you all this time. We had a lot of catching up to do.'

"To be clear," added Melchor, "I had never met Ericoros before. These two knew each other from a thousand years ago and hadn't spoken since."

'More like two thousand,' said Orric.

"Why were you keeping that a secret?" said Hector.

'To manipulate me, I suspect,' said Ericoros. 'To try to use our old friendship as a means of gaining my trust.'

'Ah, so you DO admit that we were once friends, then?'

Ericoros just growled.

'I wasn't trying to manipulate you,' said Orric. 'If anything, it's rather bold of you to assume that supposed manipulation would be enough to make me trust you.'

'What?' said Ericoros.

'We're at an impasse, old friend.' Orric shook his skeletal head. 'As things currently stand, I honestly don't know if there is a way forward from here. We Rainlords are an untrusting bunch by nature--and lately, even more so.'

'Hmph. What is your point?'

'My point, old friend, is that this stalemate is not going to change anytime soon, so there's no harm in making your request of Lord Goffe. The worst he can say is no.'

Hector would not be distracted, however. "Before that, Orric, answer my question. Why did you keep your past relationship with Ericoros a secret."

'Ah...' Orric's hollow gaze lingered on Hector for a moment, then glanced back toward the other reaper. 'As I mentioned, it was not my intention to hide it from you for so long. But perhaps I was afraid that you would no longer allow me to speak to Ericoros, if you knew.'

Hector made no reaction. He could see that Ericoros was watching him again, so after another intermission of silence, Hector simply said, "Ask."

The reaper took his time. '...There is a certain place in Vantalay that I am concerned about. A village called Miro.'

Vantalay? That was obviously no coincidence.

Hector wasn't surprised that Ericoros had caught wind of their missions abroad. No doubt, there was plenty of loose talk about them going on all over Warrenhold, and in order to keep that secret from Ericoros, Hector would've had to imprison the reaper completely, which he didn't want to do.

It was a bit of a risk, of course, but the whole point of this difficult situation was to build a rapport with the reaper, to let Ericoros see exactly the kind of people that Leo was getting involved with. And imprisoning him wouldn't accomplish that.

'I know that asking you to protect Miro would probably be overreaching,' said Ericoros, 'but if you could at least send someone to check on it, I would be grateful.'

"...What is this place to you, exactly?" said Hector.

'It is where Leo grew up. And where he and I met.'

"I thought Leo was born in Kahm," said Hector. Roman had mentioned Leo telling him that. It was a small detail, but one that Hector had wanted to remember since it seemed like something that could end up becoming important.

'Yes,' said Ericoros. 'He was born there, but he spent much of his young and adolescent life in Vantalay. He and I both grew to love Miro during our time there. No doubt, it has changed considerably since then, but I would see it kept safe during this war, if possible.'

Hmm. That was a new detail. "So you've been with Leo since he was a teenager?"

'That's right.'

It was somehow difficult to imagine. After constantly being made aware of how bad their relationship was, how Ericoros would release Leo's soul as soon as he had the chance, Hector had trouble picturing their relationship in different, happier circumstances. How much had the passage of time compounded their problems with one another?

Could that happen to Garovel and him?

Hector didn't even want to think about it. But then, perhaps not thinking about it... would be what allowed it to come to pass. He needed to be attentive, didn't he? Even for things like this. No, especially for things like this.

"...How long ago was this?" asked Hector.

And Ericoros hesitated.

Understandably so. It was a more important question than it perhaps seemed, Hector knew. He'd essentially just asked for Leo's age as a servant. Hector wondered if Ericoros would tell him the truth--or anything at all, for that matter.

But at length, Ericoros finally said, 'It was 223 years ago.'

It was useful intel on Leo, to be sure, but that wasn't really why Hector had asked. "And you're still attached to this place after 223 years?" said Hector.

'...Yes,' was all Ericoros said.

Hmm. He had to be careful how he responded here. "Why is your affection for Miro so strong?"

'I told you, already. It is where Leo grew up.'

"That's not good enough," said Hector calmly. "Convince me that you're not trying to make me send my people into a trap."

'A trap? How would I...?' Ericoros drifted off, perhaps realizing on his own.

Hector waited in silence. It was true that the team in Vantalay could probably check on this village easily enough, but what if it was a key location for Sai-hee's forces? What if the Blackburn Triplets ended up being taken hostage and tortured for information? What if they revealed Ericoros' whereabouts?

Admittedly, it was an extreme hypothetical scenario, but Hector didn't want to underestimate Ericoros' capacity for cunning.

'Well,' the reaper finally said, 'you can ask Leo if I'm telling the truth or not. He won't lie to you.'

Hector had his doubts about that as well, but he kept them to himself. "I'm asking you," he said. "I do sympathize, but 223 years is quite a long time to hold on to feelings of affection for a place. I'm sure you've lived elsewhere over the years, no? Why not ask me to send people to any of those places? What makes Miro so special?"

Ericoros gave an inaudible sigh. 'I see you have the paranoia of an older servant, as well...'

Hmm? Oh.

Hector kept his poker face, though he could see Melchor cracking a smile.

'If you must know,' said Ericoros, 'Miro was a village that suffered numerous tragedies during our stay there. A flood, a plague, constant attacks from cannibals. Our trials there forged a bond with the villagers that we shall never be able to forget.'

Stone-faced, Hector still had to blink a couple times. "...Cannibals?"

'That's right,' said Ericoros. 'A string of unrelated misfortunes lead to the further misfortune of a famine. And a famine led to cannibals.'

"I see," said Hector. He remembered Garovel telling him a similar story regarding a now-extinct Hahl of Sandlords in Sair. The notion of eating human flesh was certainly repulsive, but at least servants could regrow body parts. In that respect, he could imagine a moral argument for resource efficiency being made.

He doubted that was the kind of cannibalism that Ericoros was referring to, though.

'Though the friends we made there are gone,' Ericoros continued, 'their descendants remain. Our last visit was more than thirty years ago now, so there may not be many there who remember Leo personally, but the stories about his deeds have survived from generation to generation.'

Hector supposed that he would just have to ask Leo about this story. If Ericoros really was lying, though, then he didn't think it would be so easy to prove it.

'Please, Lord Goffe. Please send your team to check on Miro for me. I would like to know that it is safe.'

Hmm. And what if it wasn't safe?

"...I'll think about it," said Hector.

'Thank you.'

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