Page 1007 -- CXIV.

Chapter One Hundred Fourteen: ‘Thy discerning nature...’
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Rather than sleeping, Hector spent most of the night exploring Dunehall. And he wasn’t the only one. He saw other people wandering around wherever he went. It must have been a side effect of the long day trip, he figured. Everyone had slept on the way here, and now they were all restless.

He finally managed to give Madame Carthrace a call and inform her that he would be staying in Sair a while longer. She told him that the reconstruction was proceeding steadily, though at a slower pace than when he’d been there to assist. Apparently, the workmen kept asking about him. He hoped he’d be able to return soon. This elaborate sand fortress was a feast for his eyes, but it really just made him want to work on Warrenhold again. In particular, there was a windowless gallery that was giving Hector ideas. It overlooked Dunehall’s domed courtyard, offering a lovely view of sandstone monolith surrounded by humble greenery and a small stream. The whole thing reminded Hector of Warrenhold’s central plaza, that open space between those eight hulking towers. He wondered if there was any kind of plant that could grow in Warrenhold. Probably not, he supposed.

When he wasn’t thinking about decorations and structural design, however, he was wondering about what the Rainlords were doing. The heads had all gone into another meeting not long after their arrival, no doubt still trying to reach a consensus about what their next course of action should be. Mostly, Hector wondered if they had reached a consensus concerning Ibai Blackburn yet, especially because he kept seeing Ibai pop up all over the place.

Though, that might’ve also been because Hector was slightly following Ibai around. Just a little.

The man seemed to be giving his guardians a hell of a time keeping up with him. Hector overheard Horatio chastising him a few times.

Upon the fifth sighting, Ibai spotted Hector and didn’t hesitate to teleport over.

“Hello there!” said Ibai. “Can’t sleep, huh? Me neither. Well, I don’t sleep much in general, but still, it’s pretty exciting, isn’t it? This place is so neat! I hope we can stay here a while.”

Frankly, Hector was surprised that Ibai had been allowed to roam freely, but he guessed there wasn’t a whole lot they could do to stop him from going wherever he liked.