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He grit his teeth at that question and hesitated. He felt like he should just come right out and tell her. He felt like she’d probably figured it out already, anyway. But still, he hesitated.

‘Hector, just tell me. And please... please don’t lie. Because, right now, it’s just... Chergoa, Ibai... and you. You’re the only ones I can trust, so... please, just...’

Hector had no defense against her words or her pleading tone. ‘Okay,’ he finally said. ‘The truth is... we’re in the Undercrust right now, trying to avoid the Vanguard. We’re on our way back to Warrenhold, and yeah... we’ve been fighting a lot. Worms are really... annoying and hard to kill.’

She paused again. ‘Has anyone gotten hurt? Or...?’

He knew what she was really wanting to ask, but he didn’t actually know if the worms had killed anyone.

But he did know about Dunehall. And if there was ever a time to bring it up, now was it. He had to make a decision, he knew. Putting it off wouldn’t be avoiding anything. That would be a decision, too. And his gut was telling him that he shouldn’t keep it from them. They deserved to know. Especially Ibai. The man’s father had been killed, after all.

He took a deliberate breath.

‘...It’s been pretty chaotic, so I’m not sure if the worms have killed any of us. However... I should tell you that... back at Dunehall, after you left... there were many casualties.’ He allowed a beat to pass, in case she wanted to say anything, but when she didn’t, he kept going. ‘Ismael Blackburn was among them. He and his reaper... were murdered by Ivan.’

‘How horrible...’

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t want to bring it up, but... I thought Ibai should know.’

‘I-I understand. Thank you for telling me. I will relay it to him.’ She paused another time, perhaps considering her next words. ‘Who... who else was killed? And, and how many casualties were there, exactly?’

Both of those were questions he had trouble answering--partly because he simply didn’t want to and partly because he wasn’t sure he could remember everyone. He didn’t want to suddenly reach out to Garovel with such awful questions, but in the end, that was exactly what he did. The reaper handled it with more grace than surprise, and Emiliana mostly just waited and listened quietly.

It took a while.

‘...Thank you for telling me,’ she eventually said, once Hector and Garovel had finished going down the list. She remained quiet for a while longer after that, perhaps talking to Ibai, perhaps just processing everything.

Hector didn’t know how to revive the conversation. Or even if he should.

But he could tell that she was still there. It was more obvious than ever. He could feel something from the Shard that he never had previously. Some sort of... intensity in his head and in his heart. A heaviness that seemed not to be his own, somehow.

It was her sorrow, he eventually realized. He could actually feel her sorrow.