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~~((The 6 Pages of New Year's + Double Monday = Page 4 of 8))~~
He’d never even heard of a soul net that could do something like this, but Damian Rofal had been full of such surprises. The old man’s pet worms were probably the most notable in that regard. Even the other members of the Rofal family seemed to be uncomfortable around those things.

“Don’t worry,” Damian had told everyone gathered in the main room, “they don’t bite. They will give you a nasty shock, but it probably won’t be enough to kill you. And as long as you stay within the barrier, they’ll leave you alone. So just relax, everyone! Everything will be just fine! You’ll see!”

The listeners hadn’t looked pleased, but none of them had voiced any objections, either--apart from Damian’s apparent wife, whose loud and frequent questions the old man never bothered to answer. Instead, Damian would just sidle up to her, give her a quick kiss on the nose or the cheek, and then run away again.

And even knowing what Dunstan had told him, Cisco found it difficult to not feel pity for these people. None of them were servants, as far as Cisco could tell. Criminals or not, they were still normal human beings, trapped here along with him and Dunstan by their insane patriarch.

And no one seemed to know what Damian’s plan was, either. Dennex and Rezamaar were going around, eavesdropping on everyone’s conversations, but that critical question had remained unanswered.

Damian himself had also been curiously absent, much of the time. Cisco thought the old man might have been going out in order to find and retrieve more family members, but by all accounts, there were none. Dunstan had been the last family member to arrive.

Ultimately, Cisco found himself with an abundance of downtime on his hands. He tried to make use of it as best he could by meditating and practicing with his ability, but he found it difficult to concentrate on such things with so much uncertainty hanging around him. There wasn’t any internet or even electricity for that matter, so catching up on the news was also impossible.

And that was perhaps the most worrisome thing.

Whenever he thought about his family, his imagination was left to run wild. From what little Dunstan had been able to tell him, the Vanguard had failed to capture his father or any of his other family members, but the Rainlords as a whole had still been dealt a massive blow.

Cisco wondered when he would see home again. Or if he ever would.

“Up for another game?” came Dunstan’s voice.

Cisco turned from the window and saw him standing there, chessboard in hand. Honestly, he wasn’t up for it, but there wasn’t much else to do, so Cisco just nodded and followed him down the stairs and onto the main floor by one of the cabin’s three fireplaces.

At least the extra warmth was nice.

A few of the other Rofals were enjoying it as well. As Cisco recalled, their names were Lucia, Jonah, and Elwood.

Dunstan didn’t seem to appreciate their company very much, nor they his.