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Hector and Garovel excused themselves and followed Manuel out of the building.

Hector got to wondering about Torveis as they walked. Certainly, the man was not lacking in politeness. Most of the Hun’Sho were like that, it seemed, but Torveis in particular had struck Hector as even more so. Somehow, it made Hector not want to even humor the idea that the man had been lying to them.

But then, wouldn’t that be what a liar wanted? Wouldn’t that be a compelling reason for a liar to go out of their way to be polite in the first place?

Then again, Hector knew that he wasn’t exactly a paragon of honesty, himself. He’d told plenty of his own lies, hadn’t he? Some quite recently.

Whatever the case, Hector figured he shouldn’t jump to any conclusions or rush to any judgments.

Manuel’s group remained mostly quiet en route to Carver’s biosphere.

‘So why did you come to get us?’ asked Garovel along the way.

“It was at Lord Diego’s behest,” said Manuel. “He also said to not go near any mirrors.”

‘...What?’

“I can’t say I fully understand, either,” said Manuel. “But he didn’t seem like he was joking. He has gone to retrieve the Water Dragon. He said he will explain further once we have all gathered.”

Hector needed a moment to remember who “the Water Dragon” referred to. The last time he heard someone call Zeff that was at Dunehall when Ivan, of all people, said it.

When they made it back to the biosphere, Diego was not there, so they decided to take a seat in the main room and wait for him.

Hector reworked his armor for the cooler environment instead of simply removing it. Heavy though it was, he was beginning to feel more comfortable with it on than with it off, perhaps because he had spent so much time learning to materialize it perfectly around his body. No longer did it feel too bulky around his torso, too tight around his neck, or too loose around his feet. Best of all, though, he had finally managed to curve and interweave the joints just right so that they stopped pinching him when they touched. Even with a thick layer of cloth for added protection, that had occasionally been a nuisance.

He still wanted to try out some different styles of visors for his helmet, though. Perhaps he could still improve his visibility in some way.

“Lord Darksteel?” came a feminine voice. It of course belonged to Elise Garza, who was staring at him. “Why do you keep your armor on? Are you afraid we will attack you?”

Oh shit. He hadn’t even considered what they might be thinking. What was he supposed to say here? ‘Garovel, help...’

‘Of course we aren’t worried about that,’ said Garovel. ‘But my “Lord Darksteel” here is ever vigilant, you see. We have had some rather nasty surprises in the past, and perhaps as a result of that, he has developed a habit of keeping his guard up even when things seem peaceful.’

She couldn’t hear any of that, of course, as she was not a servant, but Manuel was kind enough to relay it to her.

Hector breathed silently in relief.