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((Triple Monday -- Page 1 of 3))
‘Yeah, I’m familiar with some of his exploits,’ said Voreese. ‘He snuck into an Abolish fortress and killed two dudes who were pretty infamous at the time. Real malevolent bastards, those ones. I was following their careers because of an awful encounter I had with them several years earlier, so it was quite the pleasant surprise for me when I learned that some guy named Darktide had not only crushed them, but made ‘em look like utter fools, too.’

That brought up a question that Hector wanted answered. “How do you sneak into a fortress full of reapers? Wouldn’t they sense any intruders immediately?”

‘Yep,’ said Voreese. ‘That’s one of the reasons why it was so impressive. According to what I learned, Darktide pretended to be a non-servant and allowed himself to be taken prisoner. Now, Abolish is known for not usually taking prisoners, but in this instance, they were kidnapping locals and using them for experimentation. Pretty horrific stuff, from what I heard. But essentially, Darktide was able to use their own shittiness against them. I always liked that thought. Can’t wait to meet the guy. What’s he like? Is he nice?’

“Uh,” said Hector, “y-yeah, I guess. I only talked to him a little bit, but, er, I kinda like him.”

‘Hector is being modest,’ said Garovel. ‘They hit it off pretty well. I bet they’ll get along famously, if and when they spend more time together.’

‘Ooh, you’re makin’ me jealous,’ said Voreese. ‘I wonder if Roman’ll be able to get along with him, too. Never can tell with that guy. Sometimes, he seems like he can make friends with anyone, but then he’ll surprise you and totally ruin everything.’

‘Are you sure that it is not YOU who has difficulty getting along with people?’ said Axiolis.

‘Psh, no. Everyone loves my ability to speak the truth in a straightforward and candid manner.’

‘Straightforward and candid are two words that mean the same thing,’ said Axiolis.

‘Yeah, I know,’ said Voreese. ‘The redundancy enhances the ease of comprehension for the listener. Don’t tell me you’re a grammar purist, too.’

‘More like a grammar appreciator,’ said Axiolis.

‘Oh, geez,’ said Voreeze. ‘You must be a blast at parties.’

‘I imagine you must be, as well,’ said Axiolis, ‘on the rare occasion when someone invites you.’

And there was silence as Voreese merely stared at him for a moment. The only noise was that of Zeff’s digging.

Then she gave an approving nod. ‘Not bad, you uptight son of a bitch. That one actually kinda stung.’

‘...I apologize if I caused offense,’ said Axiolis.

Voreese laughed. ‘Oh, fuck you! Don’t try to take it back now! Just be proud and own it! That’s what I’d do!’

‘Why would I ever wish to model my behavior after yours?’

‘There, you see?! That’s more like it!’

A loud and abrupt crack sound intervened in the conversation, and everyone looked toward Zeff and saw the small breakthrough that he had finally made in the wall of black. They were so deep that the entire platform now fit into the greater hole that Zeff have carved out, but only now could they see light pouring through.