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~~((The 6 Pages of New Year's + Double Monday = Page 1 of 8))~~
“I am also concerned about what our kin in Capaporo are doing now,” said Manuel. “While a part of me is glad that they have not come for us in some haphazard fashion, I am also... surprised that they haven’t.”

‘What do you mean?’ said Garovel.

“Think of it,” said Manuel. “We are talking about the likes of Darktide, Grayguard, the Yellow Tempest, the Blue Bull, the Lord of the Drowning Sky, and the Lion of the Desert. Knowing what we know of these people, I find it difficult to believe that, even if they did believe us dead, they would not at least come searching for our corpses.”

Hector was beginning to notice a pattern with this Manuel fellow.

However, he had not heard a few of those names before. He didn’t know who Grayguard or the Yellow Tempest referred to, but the Blue Bull? Given what Hector remembered of the siege of Marshrock, that name could have only belonged to Salvador Delaguna. The man’s size alone accounted for the animal, and his cobalt transfiguration power accounted for the color. And the Lord of the Drowning Sky? That was a strange name, but he couldn’t imagine that it belonged to anyone other than Dimas Sebolt. That man’s aerial mobility was unmatched by any other Rainlord whom Hector had met--arguably any other servant he had met.

“So what are you saying?” said Elise. “Do you believe something is preventing them from coming after us?”

“Possibly,” said Manuel. “It has been nearly three days, yet none of the reapers have sensed them.”

‘I think you are worrying too much,’ said Lorios. ‘They could be searching for us right now and simply having trouble finding us. We fell a long way, remember? Not to mention all the monsters above us right now, making it more difficult to sense anything or anyone specific.’

“That is true,” Manuel admitted. “But even so, I imagine Bloodhound would have been able to locate us by now.”

Okay, who the hell was Bloodhound? Hector wondered if Manuel was just making some of these names up himself.

He did find himself agreeing with Manuel, though. Especially with regard to Asad. After witnessing the lengths that the man had gone to for Zeff back in Sair, Hector doubted that even a nest of giant worms would prevent Asad from coming to help him again.

Oh, hey, maybe that was a way he could contribute to this conversation. He gathered his composure, waited for an opening, and said, “...I don’t think Asad would ever leave Zeff behind.”

“Yes,” said Manuel. “If recent events have proven anything, it is that the Lion and the Dragon care even more for one another than most of us realized.”

Hector couldn’t help smiling meekly beneath his helmet. Social interaction certainly was terrifying, but it wasn’t all bad, either.

He probably shouldn’t have been getting such a strong feeling of accomplishment for making such a minor contribution to the conversation, though, he figured.