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--donation bonus (day #27, post 5/5)--
Under cover of darkness, they set out. Of the six cars, one was left unoccupied by a servant, as Karkash chose to simply fly under his own power and observe the convoy from above.

Desmond relaxed in the backseat, a soldier on either side of him. His body still felt a bit stiff, muscles sore, bones heavy. He rubbed his eyes and gave a loud yawn. “I’m going to take a nap now,” he announced to his fellow passengers. “You may be tempted to try to kill me or run away while my guard seems to be down. Go ahead and give it a try, if you want, but I will become rather cranky. At which point, I won’t care if only one of you tried something. I’ll kill all four of you, anyway.” At their uncomfortable silence, he added, “Can I get a ‘yes, sir’?”

“...Yes, sir.”

“Delightful. Wake me up when we get there. Or if something catches fire. Or if that plane crashes. I will need to go laugh in Hanjir’s face in the event of that last one.”

“...Yes, sir.”

Desmond grinned and shut his eyes. “I could get used to this. Have you given any thought to becoming professional yes men? Because I might like to hire you.”

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The Carthrace Nature Reserve was an enormous stretch of forested mountains and valleys, occasionally broken by small lakes or hidden caverns. There were only two roads that ran through this area, both having been built long before the land had come under protection, and as such, they were no more than dirt trails, used only by hikers and forest rangers these days.

Hector supposed the place would have been more beautiful during the daytime, when it wasn’t all just pitch blackness against the lone headlight of his motorcycle.

The servants took up positions at the far western edge of the reserve, while the reapers all flew up high in the sky to enhance their view of the horizon. They’d all expected a long wait, and they certainly got one.

Hector partnered with Roman to watch the southern path, the Atreya-Rendon border at their backs, no more than three kilometers away.