Page 971

The Tunnels themselves were rather difficult to miss. There were three of them, right in a row, and they were so massive that Hector wasn’t sure they qualified as tunnels anymore, particularly because he could see buildings inside them. There were restaurants, gas stations, a few office buildings, and even what looked like residential housing. Sure, they were a bit crammed together--some being partially embedded into the walls or serving as a foundation to an immense support column--but Hector could still hardly believe his eyes.

Most of all, though, Hector admired the vast inlaid stonework. Perhaps it was because he’d recently been trying his own hand at construction back at Warrenhold. The sheer volume of individual bricks that lined the walls here astounded him.

The Elroys observed alongside him, though did not seem particularly surprised. No doubt, they had already known of this place or even been here before.

Garovel offered Hector some context in private. ‘The Lyzakks made these tunnels. You remember them, right?’

‘Your people,’ said Hector.

‘Yep. The Waress Mountains stood between them and the Armans. But instead of going over, they punched through.’

Hector scratched his head. ‘So I guess these were servant-made?’

‘Servants in conjunction with slave-labor.’

‘Oh. That’s... kind of horrible.’

‘Yeah. It was a different time. A time full of shitheaded motherfuckers.’

‘Mm...’

‘Not that we have a shortage of those nowadays.’

‘A tunnel seems like a dangerous way for us to go,’ said Hector. ‘It’s, um... like, a pretty obvious funnel point, isn’t it? I mean, won’t the Vanguard be guarding it?’

Garovel shook his head. ‘The Waress Tunnels are more than just the three you see here. Just in Sair alone, they number in the hundreds. The Vanguard would have a hell of a time trying to block them all. But yes, in the off chance that the Vanguard picked one of these three, Dimas has taken a scouting party ahead.’

‘Ah...’

From their vantage point atop a southern bluff, Hector could see all the different roads convening in front of the Tunnels. It seemed like some kind of major intersection, what with all the directional signs about, but there wasn’t very much traffic to speak of. Only a handful of cars dotted the road. Hector wondered if it was always like this or if the Rainlords had evacuated the place while he’d slept.