Page 1024

‘Well... maybe the killer knows Qorvass really well.’

‘Better than Asad, huh? Fine, I’m sure that’s a possibility. But I’m hearing a whole lot of speculation and not very much actual investigating.’

‘I’m just trying to narrow down our pool of suspects.’

‘Ha. Did you watch a lot of cop shows when you were younger?’

‘Uh. Maybe.’

‘Was this before or after that little stint as a criminal mastermind you told me about?’

‘L-let’s just focus on the investigation.’

‘Yes, let’s.’

Hector stopped walking as he realized that he was staring at one of the building’s exits. Dunehall was still practically a maze to him, so he’d just kinda been following Garovel around, but now he had to ask, “Where are we going?”

‘Everyone else is questioning people around the castle, so I think they’ve got that covered. We’re going to talk to people outside.’

“Uhh--” When he saw that Garovel had not stopped along with him, Hector jumped to a brisk walk in order to catch up again. “Why would anyone outside Dunehall know anything?”

‘Not sure, actually. That’s why I didn’t ask anyone to come with us. I don’t want to waste their time.’

“...But?”

‘But what Lynn said is still bothering me.’

“Lynn?”

‘Don’t you remember? Those mysterious reports she told us about?’

“Oh.” Frankly, he’d all but forgotten. Strange occurrences all across Sandlord territory, is what Lynn had said. And he supposed Garovel had a point. Fuad Saqqaf’s apparent murder certainly qualified as a strange occurrence.

Soon, they were outside and venturing up the underground path into the fresh air of early morning. It felt a little strange, sneaking off like this. He’d already grown accustomed to following the lead of these more experienced and powerful lords. He hadn’t realized how much he enjoyed this sense of independence. Though, he WAS still taking orders from Garovel, but that didn’t really count, Hector felt.

Without any other method of transport, Hector resorted to running. He considered using iron platforms to launch himself over long distance--like he’d practiced in Gray Rock--but Moaban made that seem like a bad idea, what with so many trees everywhere. The deep forestation might have been pretty to look at, but it sure didn’t make navigation any easier. After about five minutes, he’d already lost track of which direction Dunehall was in.