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((The Mon/Wen/Fri Double -- page 1 of 2))
Selena stared at him. And after a few more moments, when she still hadn't said anything, Hector began to feel uncomfortable.

Ojarea, however, was not quite so speechless. 'Lord Goffe, I appreciate your attempt to provide Selena with encouragement, but I must disagree with you rather strongly on this point.'

Hector just waited for the reaper to explain.

'You speak of Selena taking on a more supporting role,' said Ojarea, 'but as a servant, not having her fight on the front lines would be a profound waste of a precious resource. Servants are not easy to come by, you know. And we have many non-servants who are perfectly capable of taking on supporting roles.'

Hector bobbed his head admissively. "What you're saying makes sense... and I do think that you should try to make use of all the advantages of being a servant, but at the same time, is that really all there is to it?"

Ojarea's skeletal form shifted a little beneath her black shroud. 'What are you saying? Servants have a responsibility to protect others. Rainlord servants, even more so. You may not be a Rainlord yourself, but I thought you, of all people, would understand that much.'

"No, I get it," said Hector. "Believe me, I do. But if you want to talk about managing resources, then... I mean, what if Selena, as a servant, is able to provide higher-quality support than a non-servant can?"

Ojarea's hollow gaze seemed to twitch, and she glanced at Selena. 'I find that unlikely.'

Garovel decided to chime in. 'Why?'

But Ojarea made no response.

And Hector was left to wonder. With what little else he knew about their relationship, he couldn't help thinking that perhaps Ojarea didn't have much faith in Selena's overall competency--and that she didn't want to come right out and say so.

'I agree with Hector,' said Garovel. 'Take your time and look around Warrenhold--REALLY look around it, I mean. Every facility in this place is meant to provide support in one way or another. And yes, some of those facilities are in shambles or barely functional at the moment, but that doesn't mean they won't become important or valuable in the future. One day, perhaps the Book Tower over there or the Bell Tower next to it might become the difference between life and death for someone here.'