Page 4107

There was plenty to see, apparently. Between the Scarf of Amordiin and his aura sense, Hector could tell that there were all sorts of sneaky hallways to go down. And were those hidden passages? Secret rooms?

Yeah. The way the air flowed through some of these places was definitely odd. Cracks between the floor and certain sections of walls.

Oh, wait a minute. Maybe those weren't just hidden passageways. Maybe they were actually defensive features. Designed to be deployed during an invasion. He'd read about such things before. Medieval architects would sometimes create labyrinthine hallways that could be manipulated by the defenders in order to both disorient and even trap any attackers.

Hector had employed a basic version of that concept with that crude iron castle that he'd built atop Warrenhold, but this was obviously much more advanced. With a bit more focus, he was able to sense entire hidden rooms that seemed to be packed full of gears and levers and big turning columns. Entirely mechanical? No electricity needed?

Interesting. He could certainly see the value there. In the event of a prolonged siege, one had to account for the possibility of power outages and electronic warfare. It would certainly be good as a fallback, if primary systems failed.

Moreover, building elaborate rooms for such operations would also make it much more viable for even non-servants to aid in the defense of a fortress. People could be trained to use all sorts of whatever crazy bullshit he could dream up. Which would make Warrenhold safer even while he was away.

Come to think of it, that was kinda the claim to fame of the Rainlords--or of their Arman ancestors, at least. Those people had been master trap-builders.

Hector wondered if any of the younger Rainlords might be interested in that type of thing. He had a rather strong feeling that they would.

Still, the more he observed this place, the stranger it seemed to him that the Basilica would be concealing such a convoluted defensive system. Nothing else about the building seemed like it was designed with sieges in mind, so maybe these movable hallways and secret rooms had actually been built with something else in mind.

...Perhaps to hide something.

As they kept walking, he decided to privately consult Garovel with his findings.

And indeed, the reaper provided quite the fresh perspective. 'Well, historically speaking, religious institutions have often served as nexus points for smuggling operations.'

Next page on the 10th

Thanks for reading, everyone.

Page 4106

He decided to simply wait. The others in the group seemed a little anxious by that decision, but no one protested--not even Voreese, which was a surprise. When the guards got there, Hector stepped forward.

"The Basilica is currently closed, and you are trespassing," said the foremost guard. His gear was very modern and tactical, making Hector wonder what he must've been thinking about their group's sets of medieval plate armor. "Please identify yourselves."

Did they really not know that already, Hector wondered? Perhaps they just wanted confirmation. "I am Hector Goffe of Atreya, serving under Ambassador David Lumenbel, Prince of Atreya." Wow, when did introducing himself become such a mouthful? "These are my friends. We'd like an audience with Senator Jacobson."

The guard in front paused. "One moment, please." Then he chattered inaudibly into the radio on his vest, waiting for a response, then answering, waiting, answering, back and forth for a while.

Hector remained patient and simply observed the group of guardsmen during the downtime. The auras were all calm, solid, but also very attentive. Watching him like a band of hawks.

Their eyes seemed to be especially keen on the large cube floating in orbit around him. Bartholomew hadn't seemed to give it any mind, but maybe he'd just been better at hiding it, because these guys were clearly wary of it.

The longer the Ceese remained in there, the more Hector questioned what he was going to do with it. Was he really gonna have to keep carrying it around the entire time he was here in Intar? And then take it all the way back to Warrenhold? Maybe he should've shown it to Bartholomew and gotten his opinion on it.

Bah. Well, it was fine for now. He could still sense the Ceese's aura in there. Totally subdued and docile. If it started getting agitated, that might become an issue, but so far, the thing hadn't moved a muscle.

In fact, it might've been playing dead. Hmm.

At length, the leading guard got back to him. "Alright, please follow me. The senator has agreed to meet you."

Damn, just like that? Hector wasn't about to argue, but it was certainly surprising. As the group started walking, a background thought process began to question just how surprised he should feel here. As in, should he be suspicious, right now? A senator he'd never met agreeing to a meeting so easily?

Yeah, maybe a little suspicious.

But in the meantime, he also intended to enjoy this little tour of the Basilica.