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((Triple Saturday -- Page 3 of 3))
They managed to quicken their pace now that they had left the city behind. The lighting was much poorer here, but with so much more open space, Hector was able to carry the whole party forward on a growing platform. It was similar to the technique that Zeff had used to carry the group TO Capaporo earlier that day, though Hector wasn’t trying to make his move at the same breakneck speed that Zeff’s had.

At this pace, it would probably be a few more hours before they reached that same big cavern with all the branching pathways, Hector figured. If they were able to make it that far, though, then it would be a straight shot the rest of the way to Warrenhold.

From the corner of his helmet’s opening, Hector could see Voreese staring at him. She wasn’t saying anything, though, which was certainly unlike her.

He wanted to ask her if something was wrong, but the noise of the rushing wind would have made it impractical, so he asked Garovel to do it for him.

‘You’re awfully quiet all of a sudden,’ the reaper told her.

She finally moved her empty eye sockets away from Hector. ‘Hmm? Oh. Yeah. Just thinkin’ about stuff. Why? You got something you want to talk about?’

‘More like, I was wondering if YOU did,’ said Garovel.

‘Not as of yet,’ said Voreese.

Garovel pushed a little more after that, but she would say nothing else.

Hector had a dreadful feeling that he knew what could be bothering her, and as the hours passed, he became increasingly convinced of it. By the time they reached the cavern of split paths, he could hold his tongue no longer and brought the group to a stop.

Everyone was looking at him now, but he was prepared for it.

“Voreese,” he said softly. “Where’s Roman?”

‘He’s with Leo,’ she said.

“...He still hasn’t managed to sneak away?” said Hector. “It’s been hours since we left Capaporo.”

‘Well, he can’t just run, now can he? Leo would obviously notice that. So he’s waiting for Leo to go to sleep.’

Hector found that strange. “...Will it really be that easy? What if Leo checks on the warehouses and sees that everyone’s gone? He’ll probably suspect Roman immediately.”

‘...That is a possibility,’ said Voreese.

‘Why doesn’t he just destroy his own brain?’ said Iziol. ‘It is a grisly tactic, I know, but quite useful for these types of situations.’

‘He’s never done that before,’ said Voreese. ‘He’s worried he’ll screw it up and accidentally let Leo capture him.’

‘I see,’ said Iziol, glancing at his own servant. ‘I suppose it CAN be a little tricky.’

“Okay,” said Hector, raising up an iron chair for himself to sit down in. “I’ll wait for him here. Garovel can show you guys the rest of the way. It’s not that far now.”