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‘By the way,’ said Voreese, still talking from behind one of the other buildings, ‘how old are you, Axiolis? I only ask because usually, I find that you uppity-types are quite young, but if you’re a Rainlord, then there’s a good chance you’re pretty damn ancient, eh?’

‘I am older than most reapers, yes,’ said Axiolis. ‘And you?’

‘Oh, I’ve got a fair few years on me,’ she said. ‘Have you ever met any of the current emperors?’

‘Yes, Zeff and I have both met Sermung several times. I have also met Sai-hee once, though that was over two hundred years ago now.’

‘Oh?’ said Voreese. ‘And what was she like?’

‘Hospitable. And quite passionate. Still building her reputation in those days. I do not think she would be quite so welcoming to us now.’

‘Yeah, Roman mentioned that she’s got a grudge against you guys. Said that Leo told him as much. Don’t suppose you’d have any idea as to why that might be, hmm?’

Axiolis spared a glance toward Garovel and the others. ‘In fact, I do. Have you heard of something called the Richland Affair?’

Voreese floated up over the farthest warehouse and was visible to Hector again. ‘The incident that gave birth to a brand new country in the middle of the Jungle Wars?’

‘That is the one, yes.’

Voreese hovered over to the group again, having apparently lost interest in her scouting. ‘You guys were responsible for that shit?’

‘I would not say we were “responsible” for it, no, but our kin did play a fairly significant role.’

‘Your kin? Not you, yourself?’

‘In truth, it was our Intarian brethren. Many of us from Sair might like to place the blame wholly upon them, but the fact of the matter is that we share blood ties, and the rest of the world is not going to forget that for quite some time.’

‘Hmm. So you’re saying, your cousins fucked everything up big time during the Jungle Wars, and now Sai-hee just hates all of you guys as a result?’

Axiolis paused. ‘That is... an oversimplification of what happened, but... not terribly inaccurate, either.’

‘Well, fork over some juicy details, then.’

Axiolis looked at Zeff a moment, who was still diligently drilling away. The hole that the man had thus far managed to make was big enough for most of Hector’s hovering platform to fit inside, but there was still no telling how close they were to breaking through yet.

‘I was not involved in the Richland Affair personally,’ said Axiolis, ‘so I cannot give you a firsthand account of what happened. Perhaps Orric might be able to.’

‘Who’s that?’ said Voreese.

‘The reaper of Melchor Blackburn.’

Voreese’s skeletal brow rose a little. ‘Ooh, Darktide, huh? I’ve heard of him. Is he here, by the way?

‘He should be, yes,’ said Axiolis. ‘We’ll soon find out for certain.’

Hector recalled having a fairly pleasant conversation with that man. He also recalled having a fairly unpleasant fight against him.