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Parson was too preoccupied with his thoughts to be amused by the other men's conversation. Germal's power resonated with the land and monuments of ancient power, eh? Thinking back to his encounter with Ettol, Overra had mentioned something about Ettol using a long-forgotten name for the region at the time.

And taken in combination with everything else Ettol had said, it seemed clear to Parson now that Germal must have been the one that the mysterious man had been searching for.

But what did that mean in regard to their present circumstances? In regard to this town? This whole area?

Parson was beginning to get a bad feeling.

But why, exactly?

Perhaps because he had only meant to come here in order to investigate. In the back of his mind, he'd hoped to encounter the mysterious Ettol another time and hopefully discover some answers to his long-lingering questions, but he still had a vague instinct in the pit of his stomach that was telling him that he shouldn't give Ettol what he wanted, that he shouldn't allow his friends here to meet him.

That could've just been paranoia, though. As a servant, he was getting old. That was becoming an increasingly greater concern.

And yet... something about Germal's explanation just now was really starting to bother him. If Germal's power was linked with the very land itself, then... wasn't that an unprecedented risk factor? Parson had never even heard of a servant ability working like that before.

...What if they had made a mistake? Could the mere act of coming here have been foolish? Sure, it had been forty years, but... what if this was a trap?

Looking at Germal's face now, though the man may have been laughing at the moment, the sweat droplets on his face only seemed to be multiplying. And that paleness...

Parson stood up from the table, drawing looks from both men and all three reapers.

"Something wrong?" said Damian.