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((The Mon/Wen/Fri Double -- page 1 of 2))
Hector could see Zeff and Axiolis both staring at him.

'Additionally,' said Garovel, 'it is important to us that we continue to keep a low profile on this one. And that means not sending out any of our most famous combatants on these missions. They would only draw attention.'

'I agree in sentiment,' said Yovess, the reaper of Horatio Blackburn. 'But while assigning these missions to young servants who have not yet made names for themselves out in the world would certainly be possible, such servants are also significantly less experienced, which would make things much more perilous for them without anyone around to help guide them.'

Dimas decided to chime in. "And if we truly wish to operate discreetly, then even sending a reaper who is widely known would be a bad idea. And most of our reapers are widely known--at least insofar as being associated with the Rainlords."

'Yes, that does present a problem,' said Garovel. 'I would therefore ask that you think very carefully about who to select for these assignments. Lesser known reapers are harder to come by, so if you have any in your family, then they might make for good candidates. Depending on how many we have available to us, we may wish to form teams without any reapers on them at all.'

'Your point is a valid one, but I dislike that idea greatly,' said Sentsia to Hector's mild surprise.

He had never heard the reaper of Nere Blackburn say anything at all--and not just in this meeting. He wondered briefly if she and Garovel had ever spoken before. Probably, he figured. Garovel seemed to spend the majority of his time lately just talking to all the different reapers around.

Ever since they'd first traveled to Sair, Hector had gotten the impression that Garovel was trying to collect as much knowledge from every other reaper they encountered as he possibly could--without seeming like that was what he was doing, perhaps.

But maybe every reaper was constantly trying to do that. He was beginning to see what Rasalased had meant about all reapers being hungry for power.